Томская научная археологическая школа: период формирования

Abstract

The article analyzes the formation period of the Tomsk school of archaeological though. The authors indicate that from the very beginning of its existence Tomsk University (TSU) had an organizational basis for archaeological research, that is the university museum of Archaeology and Ethnography. In the early 1940s, first prerequisites for the formation of an archaeological school emerged. They included the restoration of the History Faculty at TSU, the activity of K.E. Grinevich and A.P. Dulzon, the establishment of a students’ archaeological circle, the Basandayka (1944–1946) and Chulym (1946–1951) expeditions. V.I. Matyushchenko created the Tomsk School of Archaeological Thought by the mid-1970s. He was one of the first Siberian scientists to defend his Candidate’s Thesis in Archaeology (1960). It is under his leadership that TSU archaeologists implemented a unified plan for the study of ancient and medieval sites in the Middle Ob region and adjacent areas, created the Fundamental Research Laboratory for Archaeology and Ethnology of Siberia (FRLAES) and regular West Siberian archaeological and later archaeological and ethnographic meetings were first held. Concentration of archaeologists, ethnographers and anthropologists within the framework of FRLAES at TSU made it possible to bring interdisciplinary research to a new level, led to the creation and development of a unified program for studying cultures and peoples of the Middle Ob region from prehistory to the modern period, which in general still determines the peculiarity of the Tomsk School of Archaeological thought. The concepts proposed by the TSU archaeologists were recognized by their colleagues: in the first half of the 1970s V.I. Matyushchenko defended his Doctoral thesis, and some of his students – their candidates’ theses.