Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 52 (2) 2024   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.2.108-118

Annotation:  Who Were the Chagyrskaya Neanderthals? The Possibility of Their Dispersal Across Central Asia and S The “Makarovo” Component of Sosnovyi Bor, Southern Angara, Revisited Archaeological Collections from the Jomon Period in the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and E Revisiting the Correlation Between the Valdivia and San Pedro Ceramic Complexes (Based on Technologi Testing the Sample Preparation Method and Oxygen Isotopic Analysis of Tooth Enamel for the Reconstru Radiocarbon Chronology of the Bronze Age Fedorovka Culture (New Data Relevant to an Earlier Problem) Metal Spearheads from the Bronze Age—New Finds in the Omsk Region The Geochemistry of Unalloyed Copper Metallurgical Group Indicates Copper Ore Sources in the Late Br New Data on Armed Confl icts in the Altai During the Rouran Period: The Choburak I Cemetery New Findings Relating to Bone Processing from Chernyatino-2, Primorye Boundaries, Structure, and Integrity of the Occupation Layer at the Gordinskoye I (Guryakar) Fortifi Miniature Anthropomorphic Sculptures from Ust-Voikary: Chronology, Context, Semantics Russian Orthodox Churches “Under the Bells”: Semantic Features and Origin of the Worldview The Tree-Clan-Individual Concept in Traditional Khakas Culture (Late 19th to Mid-20th Century) The Oral Panji Story Rendered by the Javanese Mask Puppet Show The Origin of the Karasuk People: Craniometric Evidence   

Miniature Anthropomorphic Sculptures from Ust-Voikary:
Chronology, Context, Semantics

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

We publish a sample of anthropomorphic sculptures unearthed in 2012-2016 at the Ust-Voikary fortified settlement in the circumpolar zone of Western Siberia. This is one of the permafrost sites, where artifacts made of organic materials are well preserved. The vast majority of the sculptures are made of wood, two of sheet metal, and one from a limonite concretion. Four main categories are identified: busts, heads, relatively full anthropomorphic figurines, and masks on sticks. Most of the sculptures follow the tradition of Ob-Ugric art, while a few can be attributed to Samoyedic art. Some figurines have additional elements such as rows of notches and diamond-shaped signs. According to ethnographic data, these signs endowed the sculptures with a sacral status. The finds have a clear archaeological, architectural, and dendrochronological context. Most were discovered in cultural layers dating to the early 1500s to early and mid-1700s. The artistic style is analyzed, and parallels are cited. The sculptures are compared with 18th to early 20th century ethnographic data. The connection of mostfigurines with dwellings, their small size and style show that they all belong to the ritual wooden anthropomorphic sculpture and were attributes of domestic sanctuaries. They fall into two main categories: family patron spirits and ittarma—temporary abodes of souls of the dead.

Keywords: Ust-Voikary, northwestern Siberia, northern Khanty, anthropomorphic sculpture, patron spirits, ittarma