Log Cabins of Ust-Voikary, a Fortiied Settlement in Northwestern Siberia: Dendrochronological Analysis

Abstract

Ust-Voikary is a stratified settlement complex associated with the indigenous population of Northwestern SiЬeria and spanning the period from the Middle Ages to the recent centuries. It is one of the few sites in the region with the habitation layer preserved in the permafrost. Architecturally, it is marked by the prolonged coexistence of two types of wooden Ьuildings-frame-and-post constructions and log caЬins. Wood from nine log caЬins excavated in 2012-2016 was suЬjected to dendrochronological analysis. The findings suggest that the earliest structures of that type date to the late 1400s. The proportion of types and the chronology of structures suggest that log cabins predominated by the mid 18th century. In the late 18th century construction activity at the site ceased. Later stages in the history of Ust-Voikary largely correlate with those of other indigenous stratified sites such as the Nadym and Polui promontory forts. Нowever, at the latter sites, archaic frame-and-post buildings predominate.