Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 37 (3) 2009

Annotation:  Middle Paleolithic Industries of the Early Late Pleistocene (OIS 5) in the Southwestern Part of East Evidence of Environmental Instability of the Lake Baikal Area after the Last Glaciation (Based on P Radiocarbon Chronology of Neolithic and Bronze Age Cultures in Yakutia Clay Balls from Suchu Island as Neolithic Sacral Symbols Models of Metal Production in the Near East (Chalcolithic – Middle Bronze Age) Chinese Inscription on the Lacquer Cup from Noin Ula Mound 20 (Mongolia) Horse Forehead Pieces from the Kuban Region The Pakhomovskaya Culture of the Late Bronze Age Stone Stele Bearing a “Sun-Headed” Deity on the Tuim River, Khakassia (In commemoration of the Finni Methodological Issues in the Digital Mapping of Archaeological Sites The Church of the Saviour from Zashiversk: The Dendrochronological Aspect The “Harlequin”: An Ostyak Idol “Technological Eschatology” in Modern Traditions of Popular Orthodoxy and among the Old Believers o Mummery in the Calendar Rites of German Settlers in Siberia Silver of Kazakh Zergers: Traditions in Modern Jewelry Art Dental Remains from Mound 20 at Noin-Ula, Mongolia The Origin of the Medieval Population of the Novgorod Republic) (10th–13th centuries): A Craniometri   

“Technological Eschatology” in Modern Traditions of Popular Orthodoxy and among the Old Believers of Siberia

G.V. Lyubimova.

This article deals with the way the traditional Christian denominations of the Siberian region (mainly popular Orthodox and Old Believers) adopt to changes in the surrounding world. Particular attention is paid to the phenomenon of “technological eschatology” associated with assigning eschatological signifi cance to technology. The spread of technological innovations, such as new means of transportation and communication, new types of household appliances, etc., are considered by the bearers of traditional religious consciousness as a direct sign of the upcoming or already occurring “last times.” The research is based on materials from the long-term fi eld study by the author and on published works of peasant Old Believer writers. In these sources, the new realities of modern life and especially the advances in science and technology of the 20th century are assessed in terms of Orthodox faith.

Keywords: Popular Orthodoxy, Old Believers in Siberia, traditional eschatological myth, apocalyptic imagery, modern advances in science and technology.