Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 49 (1) 2021   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2021.49.1.101-107

Annotation:  Evolution of the Lithic Industry in Central Dagestan During the Early Pleistocene: The Rising Occurr New Evidence of the Late Neopleistocene Peopling of the Lower Ob Valley Cruciform Signs Decorating Paleolithic Bone Artifacts from Cherno-Ozerye II, the Middle Irtysh Area From Ore to Metal: Exploitation of the Novotemirsky Mine, Southern Trans-Urals, in the Second Millen On a Distinctive Feature of the Andronovo (Fedorovka) Funerary Rites in the Baraba Forest-Steppe A Method for Attributing Non-Refi tting Fragments to a Single Artifact: The Case of Bronze Age Flat Three Silver Dishes from Yugra On Early Medieval Contacts of the Urals and Western Siberia with Central Asia: The Evidence of Ceram Composite Belt Ornaments with Bear Claw Pieces in Medieval Men’s Costume of the Perm Region, Western Unfortifi ed Settlements of the Cheptsa Culture (9th–13th Centuries): Ambiguity of Interpretation an Sections of the Early 18th Century Ditch at Fort Umrevinsky The Use of Natural Scientifi c Methods in the Study of Leather Items from Archaeological Excavations Cattle in Buryat Mythology and Ritual Evenki Reindeer Riding Saddle: Certain Principles of Mobility in the Taiga The Consecration of Altars in 17th–21st Century Siberian Orthodox Churches: The Neurosymbolic Aspect The Peopling of the Baraba Forest-Steppe in the Neolithic: Cranial Evidence Morphofunctional Characteristics of Mongolian Children and Adolescents Living in Different Ecologica   

The Use of Natural Scientific Methods
in the Study of Leather Items from Archaeological Excavations

D.O. Osipov

State Historical Museum, Krasnaya pl. 1, Moscow, 109012, Russia

This article outlines the results of analyses of footwear and other late medieval and recent leather items. Orthopedic diagnostics are used to assess an early 18th-century woman’s shoe from the historic center of Kaluga. The insole, made of tightly fitted cords, suggests that the shoe had a corrective function. Infrared spectroscopy and liquid chromatography were used to analyze the leather of which the quiver found during the excavations in Moscow was made, and to evaluate the technique whereby its surface was processed. Natural scientific methods were used to study the various types of leather and threads, and to reconstruct the decorative techniques. Leather footwear from the medieval town of Galich, near Kostroma, is compared to that from other Central Russian towns, revealing local variations in footwear and the distribution areas of its types. It is concluded that natural scientific methods are helpful in the study of such finds.

Keywords: History of costume, leather processing, footwear manufacture, archaeological finds, analytical methods, interpretation, multidisciplinary approach