Materials from the vicinity of lake Lop nor in the funds of the Central national museum of Korea and their understanding in the context of contemporary archaeological studies in Xinjiang

Purpose. The article introduces and analyzes in detail the materials of the Bronze Age from the vicinity of Lake Lop Nor (Xinjiang, China), which are stored in the funds of the National Museum of Korea. The artifacts were obtained by the expedition to Xinjiang under the general guidance of the Japanese explorer and religious public figure, count Otani Kodzui. They are part of a special section of the famous “Otani Collection”. The Korean segment of this collection was completely described in the Republic of Korea in 2016, and now its analysis is presented in Russian for the first time. The materials of the Bronze Age constitute the most archaic part of the Xinjiang collection. This group includes 12 items: 4 woven baskets, 3 wooden masks with carvings of human faces, 2 ritual staves, 2 felt hats and one boot from a pair of leather footwear. Results. Analysis of the artifacts demonstrates analogies with the eponymous and most famous site of Xiaohe culture on the territory of Xinjiang - the Xiaohe burial ground at Lake Lop Nor. However, there were other complexes like Xiaohe which existed in ancient Xinjiang (for example, Beifang burial ground on the Keriya River). The authors note that the ornamental composition on the surface of woven baskets demonstrates similarity to the decor of the Andronovo culture’s ceramic vessels, and the iconography of wooden carvings of human faces is close to the images on the steles and plates of the Okunevo culture of Southern Siberia. Separate objects similar to both Andronovo and Okunevo cultures are also known to have been found on other sites of Xinjiang. Conclusion. The closest analogy to the described items from the funds of the National Museum of Korea is the Xiaohe culture materials. The question about the exact location of the site where the items of Xinjiang collection in Korea come from is still open. It requires additional research.