Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 50 (1) 2022   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2022.50.1.126-137

Annotation:  Fossil Bone Implements in the Industry of the Early Paleolithic Site Bogatyri/ Sinyaya Balka (Taman Paleoenvironmental Conditions of Neanderthal Habitation in the Altai: Chagyrskaya and Okladnikov Cav Komudvany—a Final Paleolithic Site in the Lower Ob Valley: Geomorphology, Paleontology, Archaeology On the Cultural Geography of the Eastern Caucasus and Southern Caspian in the Mesolithic Ornaments Made from Unio Shells in a Neolithic Burial at Ust-Aleika-5, Barnaul, Southwestern Siberia The Specifics of Japanese Terms Referring to the Jomon Period, Based on Publications by Yamanouchi S A New Andronovo (Fedorovka) Cemetery in the Eastern Irtysh Basin Stone Tools from an Island in Berd Bay, Novosibirsk Reservoir Metal Celts from the Little Sea Coast of Lake Baikal A Group of Large Kurgans in the Suusamyr Valley, Kyrgyzstan Female Burials with Weapons in the Early Nomadic Kurgans in the Southern Urals (Late 5th to 2nd Cent The Chemical Analysis of Glass Samples from Roman Era Cemeteries in the Crimean Piedmont A Set of Clothing Items from the Iyus Hoard Monumental Wooden Statues from the Ust-Voikary Fortifi ed Settlement, Northwestern Siberia: A Multid The Aul-Koshkul-1 Cemetery in the Baraba Forest-Steppe: Findings of a Multidisciplinary Study Chronic Maxillary Sinusitis Recorded in Archaeological Samples: Geographical Distribution and Predis   

Monumental Wooden Statues
from the Ust-Voikary Fortified Settlement, Northwestern Siberia:
A Multidisciplinary Analysis

Y.N. Garkusha, A.V. Novikov, and A.V. Baulo

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

This article presents the results of a comprehensive study of two unusual large wooden statues with anthropomorphic faces. They were excavated from the Ust-Voikary stratified site, in the southwestern Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The site dwellers were native Siberians (Ugro-Samoyeds), who lived there from the Middle Ages to the recent centuries. This is one of the few sites in the region with frozen habitation deposits. The statues are unique in terms of attribution, size, preservation, and integrity of archaeological context. They were part of dwellings, being situated in the foundations of the walls near the entrance. Their faces are modeled in bas-relief. Iconographically, they conform to the Ob Ugrian sculptural tradition. The analysis of the architectural context of the location of the statues and certain details suggests a secondary use. Initially, they might have belonged to the frame supporting the roof. The statues are made of Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.). The dendrochronological analysis has allowed us to estimate the date when the trees were felled—the late 17th century. A retrospective analysis of data on the ritual art of the northern Khanty and Mansi suggests an interpretation of the Voikary statues in comparing them with wooden sculptures representing menkvs—forest spirits. Thus, their ritual role was mostly to protect the home.

Keywords: Ust-Voikary fortified settlement, northwestern Siberia, northern Khanty, dendrochronology, anthropomorphic sculpture