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   

Gypsy Easter

The paper highlights certain issues in the history and culture of the Roma people (Gypsies) that are part of a multinational population of the Kama River area. Currently, members of three Roma groups inhabit the region: the Russian, the Crimean, and the Moldavian (Caldarari) Roma. The latter are Orthodox Christians and maintain traditional social institutions and rites. Their folk calendar is based on religious holidays, one of them being Easter – Patradi. The Caldarari Roma believe that the good wishes they exchange during Easter house-to-house visits enhance the wealth of the community. Holidays are an important mechanism of self-organization and self-preservation of this ethnic group.