Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 47 (1) 2019   DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2019.47.1.119-126

Annotation:  The Loess-Paleosol Sequence at the Krasnogorskoye Section, the Low-Hill Zone of the Northeastern Alt The Early Neolithic Complex on the Tartas-1 Site: Results of the AMS Radiocarbon Dating Water and Cosmology in the Stone Age of Northeastern Europe Turning Points in Horse Breeding in the Eurasian Steppes and the Near East The Study of Middle Bronze Age Interments at Khanghah Gilavan: Tentative Results The Petrovka Bronze Age Sites: Issues in Taxonomy and Chronology A Comparative Study of the Layout of Bronze Age Fortifi ed Settlements in the Southern Urals (3rd to Early Iron Age Pyramidal Kurgans in Western Siberia The Xiongnu Gold from Noin-Ula (Mongolia) Geophysical Studies at the Horogoru Fortifi ed Settlement in South Korea Medieval Sites of Tara Region, the Irtysh Basin: Origin, Chronology, Cultural and Ethnic Attribution A Central Asian Helmet from the Northern Kazakhstan Regional Museum The 18th-Century Udmurt Women’s Outfi ts Depicted in J.P. Falk’s Book: Interpretation and Attributio Wearing Folk Costumes as a Mimetic Practice in Russian Ethnographic Field Studies Types of Winter Clothing Worn by Descendants of the Russian Pioneers in Siberia (Late 19th to Early Long-Bone Growth in the Bronze Age Skeletal Population of Gonur-Depe, Turkmenistan   

The 18th-Century Udmurt Women’s Outfi ts Depicted in J.P. Falk’s Book:
Interpretation and Attribution

E.E. Nechvaloda

Institute for Ethnological Studies, Ufa Federal Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Karla Marksa 6, Ufa, 450077, Russia

This study describes three engravings in the book by Academician Johan Peter Falk, showing Udmurt women in traditional outfits. Falk headed one of the most important expeditions of the 18th century, sponsored by the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to the figure captions, the women are Votyak, Bashkir, and Mishar, respectively; but ethnographic data suggest that two of these attributions are wrong. On the basis of comparison of the women’s outfits to those drawn by members of other 18th-century expeditions and of late 19th to early 20th-century ethnographic sources, relating to the composition of outfits, their construction, decoration, and ornaments, all the three women are Udmurt. The “Votyak” outfit matches that of the southern Udmurt, the allegedly Mishar woman is central Udmurt, and the one said to be Bashkir is northern Udmurt. The accuracy of detail allows us to specify not only the ethnicity of the women, but their social status as well. The so-called “Votyak” and “Bashkir” outfits are those worn by married women, and that of the alleged “Mishar” is a girl’s dress. Generally, accurate representations, such as those illustrating the proceedings of the 18th-century expeditions from the Academy of Sciences, are a valuable and underexplored source of information.

Keywords: 18th century academic expeditions, Johan Peter Falk, traditional outfit, early representations, Udmurt, graphic images attribution