Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 34 (2) 2008

Annotation:  New Insights into the Archaeological Record at Chikhen Agui Rockshelter (Mongolia) A Paleolithic Bracelet from Denisova Cave Principal Excavation Techniques under Permafrost Conditions (Based on Zhokhov and Yana Sites, Northe Late Pleistocene Bison (Bison p. priscus Bojanis, 1827) from the Southeastern Part of Western Siberi Infant Burials in Dwellings at Chicha-1, in the Baraba Forest-Steppe: Results of DNA Analysis Burial Assemblages of Boisman-2 – a Stratifi ed Site in Southern Primorye The Burial Construction of Noin Ula Mound 20, Mongolia Ornamental Traditions of the Lower Amur Neolithic Horseman Image on an Ostrich Eggshell Fragment Gamma-shaped Artifacts from Western and Southern Siberia, the Urals, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia Destiny in the Traditional Beliefs of the Aginsk Buryats A Historical and Ethnological Analysis of Intellectual Play in the Japanese Art of Incense Blending: Gypsy Easter The Paleodemography of Western Siberia in the Middle and Late Bronze Age The Origins of the Koreans: Evidence of Physical Anthropology   

Gamma-shaped Artifacts from Western and Southern Siberia, the Urals, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia

Yu.N. Esin and Yu.I. Ozheredov.

This article concentrates on the study of gamma-shaped stone and clay artifacts from Western and Southern Siberia, the Urals, Kazakhstan and Mongolia in which terms and criteria for a common description and comparison are proposed. Gamma-shaped artifacts associated with various cultures dating back to the late 3rd – early 2nd millennia BC are described and trends in their evolution are traced. It is concluded that gamma-shaped artifacts probably derive from pestles used in Eastern Central Asia. An analysis of use-wear, decoration, size, and material suggests that their principal function was plant grinding, although they may also have been used for grinding and crushing other substances for both domestic and ritual purposes. A structural and semiotic approach to the analysis of images decorating the gamma-shaped artifacts is also shown to assist in their interpretation.