A new find of spearhead with “kinks” from Southern Siberia

The article provides thorough analysis of a spear head found in Biysk region of the Altai Krai. The spear head measures 25.0 cm long (including the 11 cm long pen). Its pen has a triangular section. The neck of the spear head features ring-shaped kinks. Our analysis reveals that according to the structural design the spear head is a close analogue of the Russian spears with a wide leaf-shaped pen (“rogatina ” or bear spear) of the second half of XVI-XVII centuries It is the type of weapons that had typical kinks which prevented the spear head from dipping into the flesh too far (so that the following withdrawal would be easier). Such types of bear spears were widely used both in hunting and warfare. Based upon the spear head decoration, we can conclude that rather than being brought to Siberia from the European part of Russia, it was hammered either by local Russian craftsmen or by Southern Siberian gunsmiths according to a sample available in XVII - early XVIII centuries.