Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 52 (1) 2024   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.1.145-153

Annotation:  Origin of Neanderthals. Neanderthals of the Altai: Myth or Reality? The Origin of Biogenic Horizons in the Pleistocene Strata of Denisova Cave: Mineralogical and Geoche Newly Discovered Remains of a Late Upper Paleolithic Dwelling in the Northern Baikal Area: Cultural Sanctuary with “Kalguty” Style Images in Northwestern Mongolia (Preliminary Data) Pottery Traditions Among the Carriers of the Novosibirsk Variant of the Kulaika Culture: A Multidis Origin and Date of Cast-Iron Moldboards from Southern Siberia The Wanyan Digunai (Wanyan Zhong, Esikui) Funerary Complex in Primorye Cultural Horizons at the Uyelgi Cemetery Mound 11, Southeastern Urals Types of Construction Nails from Markul, Abkhazia (Based on Metallographic Analysis) A Log Structure in the Northern Palisade of Fort Umrevinsky An Archaeobotanical Study of the Bukhta Nakhodka Fort, the Yamal Peninsula (13th to Early 14th Centu Archaeological and Anthropological Study on the Grave of Eunuch-Offi cial Couple Serving for a Royal Traditional Bow of the Selenga Buryats (Based on a 2019 Field Study)   

Traditional Bow of the Selenga Buryats
(Based on a 2019 Field Study)

R.M. Kharitonov

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

Three Buryat bows, studied at Tashir village, in the Selenginsky District, Republic of Buryatia, in 2019, are described. They are relatively well preserved, and one is still functioning. A detailed description of their design is given. The specimens are similar in terms of morphology and technology (specifically, an outline without strings), design of transition zones, section of elastic part, and the shape and position of horn overlays. The tension force of the bows is evaluated, and conclusions are made about the impact of force and practical use. Comments made by a Buryat archer (the bow’s owner) are cited about specific use under various weather conditions. The information is compared with that gained from ethnographic sources, and archival illustrations made in late 1800s and early 1900s are given.

Keywords: Traditional bow, Selenga Buryats, weapons, Trans-Baikal, 19th-20th centuries, hunting