The article continues a series of publications in this journal, addressing the peopling of Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan by H. s. denisovan. Around 400 ka BP, two large populations branched off from the ancestral taxon H. heidelbergensis in the Levant. One of them migrated to Europe, where its hybridization with natives gave rise to a new taxon H. s. neanderthalensis 200–150 ka BP. The other, having passed through the Iranian Highland, settled in Central Asia, where its mixture with local Central Asiatic H. erectus, natural and sexual selection, and adaptation to various environments in the vast Central Asiatic region 200–150 ka BP resulted in the emergence of a morphologically and genetically distinct taxon, whose informal name is H. s. denisovan.

Herpetomorphic images are quite rare in Paleolithic and Mesolithic art. Published bone daggers from Cherno-Ozerye (OMK 9675/702) and Aitkulovo (MAEAAGU OF 93) are the earliest examples of the Middle Irtysh Final Paleolithic or Mesolithic art showing snakes engraved in a stylistically original manner. Both specimens show opposed reptiles striving, as it were, to meet. This plot has so far not been described or geographically localized. An attempt is made to interpret it at least tentatively. It is proposed that people inhabiting southwestern Siberia and the southern Urals in the Final Paleolithic and Mesolithic practiced a snake cult, resulting in amazingly similar works of art. While this region has not been subjected to detailed archaeological studies, examples of early art suggest that it was an ancient cultural province, comparable with that of Malta–Buret, where a search for graphic forms of communication was conducted, special cultural texts were created, and major aspects of worldview were discussed. 

The article brings together the most important results of work carried out by archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS on the Ukok Plateau in the southwestern part of the Altai Republic, Russia, over the past thirty years since the fi rst excavations by Natalia Polosmak. Over this period, a series of fundamental discoveries was made on the plateau, and the fi ndings were published in a number of monographs and articles. Regrettably, these publications have received little attention from experts and lay public amenable to scientifi c boom and to myths spread by hedge journalists, by the public craving for brouhaha, and sometimes even by professional archaeologists. This study highlights major excavation fi ndings, their scholarly interpretation and museumization of the Early Iron Age Pazyryk mounds, including rare ones with permafrost. These were interpreted with regard to the specifi c area of Central Asia, and to the entire timespan from its initial peopling in the Late Pleistocene to the recent centuries. The archaeologists’ role in the detection and description of over 400 sites on the plateau is assessed. Rock art galleries, especially the key site at Kalgutinsky Rudnik with the earliest petroglyphs among those known in the Russian and Mongolian Altai, are described. Protective measures regarding cultural legacy of the Ukok Plateau, its coverage by the media, and prevention of ecological harm by tourists are proposed to municipal authorities in the Republic of Altai. 

This article presents a rare bronze idol—a winged bear with an anthropomorphic mask and a bear head on the chest. The artifact was found in the Khangalas Ulus (district) of Yakutia and is kept in the Samartai Museum in the village of Kerdem. The search for parallels led to a wide range of Early Iron Age and medieval cultures of the Western Urals and Western Siberia. Similar composite images are common among cast ritual items relating to the Pechora, Perm, and Western Siberian animal styles. Chemical analysis showed that the sculpture was made of tin bronze with the addition of iron. This bronze idol could have been brought to Yakutia by tradesmen or Cossacks. While being quite unusual for Yakutia, it could have been used to represent a patron spirit or aid in shamanic or domestic rituals, being consonant with Yakut religious, specifi cally totemic beliefs, as evidenced by numerous ethnographic sources. 

This article describes previously unknown paintings at the Boyary I rock art site, Republic of Khakassia. They are especially important because they were situated in the part of the panel where a missing ledge could have been located. The petroglyphs could indicate the time of its disappearance. Based on stylistic features, it is possible that they date to the Karasuk period (late 2nd to early 1st millennium BC). The article presents the results of Raman spectroscopy analysis of pigments detected in the paintings. The method involved their context assessment with regard to the rock surface and the white paint of recent inscriptions, the composition of ancient pigments, and searching for organic binder residue. The study covered panel 7 and the adjacent panels 8 and 9. The results are based on 103 spectra of various compositions. All three surfaces mainly consist of sandstone, the predominant constituents being albite, quartzite, and anatase, with occasional natural ferruginization. Modern white paint of two types—chalk (panel 7) and styrene acrylic (panel 9)—were detected. The red pigment used for the paintings in the right part of panel 7 consists of hematite. Calcium oxalate (whewellite) was found only where residues of pigments were located, suggesting that it resulted from the decomposition of the organic binder of the ancient paint. 

This article addresses the assessment of anonymous artistry in rock art—something basically different from the attribution of later paintings, where extra-artistic information may help to attribute the work to a specific artist. No such information is normally available in the case of rock art. The most one can expect in that case is to reveal pictures by one and the same creator, or by his imitators. In this study, we used the method of Giovanni Morelli, who proposed to assess artistry on the basis of secondary details reproduced unconsciously. Two examples of such details are discussed in detail. One concerns structural elements such as fossa, fossula, foveola, insecta, and fissura, detected by traceological analysis of petroglyphs associated with the Tagar culture of Khakassia. Their occurrence and orientation provide clues as to individual motility and thereby to their creators, albeit anonymous. The second example concerns diagnostic features of the large marine mammals depicted in the petroglyphs of the Ulsan group, South Korea (Bangudae and Cheonjeon-ri). Animals represented in those petroglyphs can be diagnosed at the species level, and the way they are represented enables us to decide whether the artist himself observed them or whether he merely imitated someone else’s mannerisms. 

We describe artifacts found in cremation burials at Ust-Zelinda-2 in the Northern Angara region. Such sites have been traditionally attributed to the Early Iron Age, specifically to the second stage of the Tsepan culture (8th–2nd centuries BC), first described by V.I. Privalikhin. Six cremation burials were found at the cemetery. We focus on the most informative burial 16, while other burials are described in brief. The bodies were cremated outside the graves; most artifacts also reveal traces of fire. Cremated remains are those of adults. Accompanying finds are rather abundant, including stone, bone, and bronze arrowheads, horn sockets for attaching them, horn overlays for bows, and bronze ornaments. A specific type of butterfly-shaped belt plaques was common in Scythian-type cultures of northeastern Eurasia from Ordos to the Upper Ob region. Those from Ust-Zelinda-2 are the most numerous in the Angara area and the taiga zone from the Tomsk stretch of the Ob to the Upper Lena. Bronze butterfly-shaped belt plaques used in eastern North Eurasia were examined. On the Angara, they appeared in the 5th century BC and continued to be in use until the 3rd century BC, i.e., longer than on the Upper Ob or in Tuva. The attribution of culture that existed in the Northern Angara region is an open question. 

This article outlines the findings of a multidisciplinary analysis of pottery from the Early Iron Age ritual and production complex at Ust-Polui, in northwestern Siberia. The raw material used in pottery manufacture was aleuritetype silty ferruginous clay with a small amount of sand. Six recipes for paste preparation are described, the most common of which was adding grus to clay. Both materials were mined nearby. Two types of modeling are identified: base and base-and-body. Both the hollow form and the base were modeled by the coil method. Surface treatment was variable. Eighteen combinations of tools are identifi ed. Two peculiar techniques were employed: shaping the rim by an additional coil, and smoothing with a denticulate tool on the inner surface of the shoulder-body junction. Three pots were painted with ocher. Ceramics were used in foundry as crucibles and possibly ladles for molten metal. Comparison of Ust-Polui ceramic technology with that of Kulaika culture revealed both similarities and differences. Basically, the Ust-Polui ceramics belong to the Kulaika tradition. Their specifi city, however, supports the idea of the Ust-Polui variant, which is not synonymous with the Ust-Polui culture sensu V.N. Chernetsov. People associated with this variant were not isolated; they maintained ties with people living upstream on the Ob as far south as Barsova Gora, resulting in a blend of technological traditions differing from those of the Lower and Surgut stretches of the Ob. 

This study examines the use of charcoal for dating iron-smelting furnaces in the southeastern Altai. Problems with using radiocarbon analysis in this case are connected with the accuracy of assessing the calendar age. Another important reason why the age of furnaces is overestimated is the “old wood” effect. This effect cannot be avoided by making radiocarbon dating of thin tree trunks (branches) from slag or by using the youngest radiocarbon dates of samples from a single archaeological context. In the case of dendrochronological analysis, considering the age trend in individual series is also not a reliable criterion for determining closeness to the bark due to the long lifespan of trees in the southeastern Altai. Currently, the only way to avoid the “old wood” effect is to date samples with preserved bark, which are quite rare. Results of dendrochronological analysis demonstrate that conclusions drawn from the earliest dates for the same furnace are unreliable. Long tree-ring chronologies based on archaeological charcoal are more prospective for dating ferrous metallurgy sites in the region. The use of dendrochronological analysis minimizes the difficulties with interpreting radiocarbon dates.

This study explores the connection between archaic construction methods in pottery in Central Asian, mostly that of tandoors (tonurs), and present-day building technologies associated with the use of unbaked clay (“pakhsa”, “kuloh”, “adobe bricks”). Ethnographic fi eldwork was done in several areas of Central Asia, including the Sughd Region of Tajikistan, the Turkestan Region of Kazakhstan, the Fergana and Samarkand regions of Uzbekistan, and the Batkent Region of Kyrgyzstan. Traditions of constructing tandoors were examined; materials relating to various building technologies using clay were collected and systematized. Two main methods of pakhsa construction were identified—lining up undried clay lumps in layers, or backfilling clay into a mold (“packed techniques”). The first was developed in construction technology using kuloh—dried lumps of clay joined with mortar. The technique of building tandoors from two layers of slabs, with subsequent transformation into a band, and coils connected pairwise during drying, resembles that of pakhsa construction by placing clay lumps in several rows across the width of the wall in strips (“kurses”) laid along the entire length of it. This confirms the common origin of the most archaic construction methods in pottery and construction from clay in architecture. 

In Indonesia, agricultural rituals are consistently performed before, after, and even during specific periods, with variations in form across regions and ethnicities. We outline the results of our study of the siungkapungkapon ritual and its role in agricultural practices of the Batak Toba community. We examine the ecological context and archaeological data relevant to rice farming. Our study includes interviews with community members and observation of rites involving the siungkap-ungkapon stone. We discuss intertwined aspects of the rite—religious, social, ecological, and technological. The rite itself has been practiced at least since the Late Neolithic with a view to receive the ancestors’ blessings and instructions as to which rice variety should be cultivated during a specific season. The ritual reveals the peasants’ knowledge of agricultural practices, rice types, and the environment, all of which, taken together, ensure the highest yield. How the choice of the rice variety depends on the presence of ants under the stone is not immediately apparent. We conclude that the siungkap-ungkapon ritual, which involves practical knowledge, strengthens social unity and is supposed to optimize agricultural labor. 

Data on the distribution of folklore and mythological motifs in the New World are analyzed. Their areas agree with the idea that early migrants moved along the Pacific coast of North America. The Columbian Plateau with the adjacent part of the coast could have been a hub whence people dispersed to the south, southeast, and east. The transfer of cultural elements along the Mackenzie Corridor is supported neither by the distribution of mythological episodes and images nor by archaeological evidence (the latter suggests an oppositely directed migration in the Terminal Pleistocene—from the main territory of the U.S. to Alaska). North American and South American narrative episodes and mythological motifs are separated by a huge geographic gap: Many migrant populations seem to have rapidly reached South America, leaving certain groups behind. While in America distribution areas of motifs follow recognizable patterns, in the Old World the same motifs are scattered from Europe to the Pacific, which may attest to the heterogeneity of the Beringian population immediately before the migration to the New World. Besides the main (early) episode of peopling, data on the areal distribution of motifs reveal three or four later episodes. 

Using the social constructivist paradigm, we analyze the model of Siberian regional identity, focusing on the ethno-cultural aspects, shaped by sociocultural practices relating to institutes such as museums and theaters and by integrated forms such as cultural projects, festivals, etc., constructing ethnic identity in the late 20th to the first decades of the 21st century. The role of landscape and ethnographic museums, which introduce natural and cultural legacy to the public, in modeling and translating collective and individual identity is highlighted. Theatrical performances in natural languages and ethnographic festivals contribute to the construction of regional identity and strengthen the idea of Siberia as part of the Russian state. We describe symbolic interpretations of Siberian images, enhanced by festivals, tourism, etc. Municipal authorities, regional cultural centers, and theatrical performances shape and propagate the image of “manifold Siberia”. 

The Akhshtyrskaya cave site in northwestern Caucasus dates mostly to the Middle Paleolithic. In 1961, during the analysis of faunal assemblage from layer 3a, a permanent upper second molar of Homo (AKH 1) was discovered. Initially, it was attributed to fossil Homo sapiens. Here, we present new findings related to this specimen, specifically to its external and internal morphology, amount of enamel and dentine in the lateral part of its crown, and a comparison of metric and nonmetric characteristics with those of Denisovans, H. ergaster/erectus/georgicus, H. erectus, H. antecessor, H. neanderthalensis, H. sapiens, Middle Pleistocene Homo of Europe, and Middle and Late Pleistocene Homo of China, distinct from H. erectus. At the first stage, frequencies of nonmetric traits were subjected to principal component analysis. At the second stage, obtained PCA scores were integrated with measurements of the same specimens using PC analysis with grouping variable. Results suggest that the molar from Akhshtyrskaya by no means belongs to H. sapiens. Its morphology is very archaic, linking it to mostly Middle Pleistocene hominin teeth from China. The volume of lateral dentine opposes AKH 1 to molars of Late Pleistocene Homo of Europe and those of H. sapiens, revealing a shift toward Denisovans. The specimen likely belongs to an evolutionary line that has thus far not been found in Europe. Probably, it is of Asian origin. 

We present data on SNP haplogroups and STR haplotypes of the Y-chromosome in main Yakut ethno-local populations. Clusters of STR haplotypes and median networks of principal haplogroup N3a2 (N-M1982) indicate three lines: N-M1983, N-M1933, and N-Y25011. The first one, widely distributed throughout Yakutia and present in one half of Yakut males, marks the putative descendants of Elley, the legendary progenitor of the Yakuts. Line N-M1933 is found where descendants of another legendary progenitor, Omogoy, live. The N-Y25011 line is frequent in the Vilyuy basin, where the Yakuts had migrated from the Middle Lena in the 1600s. The predominance of lines N-M1983 and N-Y25011 is less marked in the northeastern part of this region than in the southwestern one. The frequency of haplogroup N3a2 drops to 70 % in the Yakuts of the northeastern Vilyuy basin, northeastern Yakutia, and northeastern Khabarovsk Territory. The estimated time to the most recent common ancestor of Yakuts, marked by the N3a2 haplogroup, 1200 ± 480 years, shows a fair agreement with aDNA data. Samples of the Yakuts from Yakutia and the Okhotsk coast and of Sakha-speaking Evenki reveal a compact “Yakut” core area in the multidimensional genetic space of the Y-gene pools of Siberia and the Far East. This core is marked by an elevated frequency (68–95 %) of the N3a2 haplogroup, which is rare (0–21 %) in other populations of Siberia (Dolgans, Nanais, Negidals, Nivkhs, Tuvans, Ulchi, Evenki, and Evens). Regional Y-chromosome profiles are consistent with historical data regarding Yakut origins and legends.