First archaeological research on Krestovsky Island in the East Siberian Arctic (Medvezhyi Islands Archipelago)

In the field season of2024, the Arctic Team of the Yakut Integrated Laboratory for Archaeology of the Far North at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with the Arctic Research Center of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), didfirst archaeological exploration on Krestovsky Island which is part of the Medvezhyi Islands Archipelago in the East Siberian Sea. Three ancient Eskimo sites were discovered, containing pottery fragments, stone scraper, grindstone, flake, various wooden objects, woodchips, planed poles, sticks, logs, item made of reindeer antler, fragment of iron plate, fragments of polar bear skulls with traces of hunting, deer bones and teeth, tubular bones of birds, and what seems to be bone fragments of marine mammals. Many of these objects were fragmented and burned. All sites were located at small bays. Low soil hills of the yedoma type, covered with baijarakhs in different stages of formation, were on the shores of these bays near the mouths of streams with fresh water. Archaeological excavation has shown that the finds were almost on the surface. The rest of the island was mostly rocky and uninhabitable. Exploration works revealed that Krestovsky Island was always practically uninhabited, and the ancient Eskimos used it as a transshipment point for reaching other islands of the archipelago, in particular, Chetyryokhstolbovoy Island which had at least nine dwellings of arctic marine hunters.