Birch bark in the funeral rite of the Yakuts: a case-study of the Uchugei-Yuryakh burial (15th–17th cc.)

VIRVELINĖS KERAMIKOS KULTŪRA LIETUVOJE 2800–2400 cal BC

Stylus is a metal or bone instrument that was used for writing on a birch bark or wax-coated wooden tablets. The tool itself (Greek: stilos; Latin: stilus) originated in antiquity: styli were common in ancient Greece and Rome. In Medieval Rus', which is characterised by an abundance of archaeological finds related to writing, the first styli date back to the 10th century. In the Middle Ages two types of styli were used – made of iron, for writing on birch, and made of animal bone, for writing on waxed tablets. This particular paper focuses on the latter. Medieval bone styli are a very rare find in Lithuanian archaeological material, especially in burial monuments. According to the data from 1998, only 15 graves out of almost 8000 contained styli. Bone styli are also rare in urban cultural layers. In addition, styli found in cities precede those found in burial grounds. Styli found in ethnic Lithuania are identical to those found in other cities of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, therefore their origin and spread could be associated with the influence of Ruthenian cities of the duchy. Two medieval burial grounds were found in the earliest towns of pagan Lithuania – Kernavė and Vilnius – where the dead were buried according to the Christian tradition (inhumation of the deceased, the east-west orientation (head to the west), wooden constructions, the scant presence of grave goods, and so forth). The most abundant type of grave goods included ornaments; however no tools or weapons typical of pagan burials were found in these two burial grounds. According to archaeological and historical material, burial grounds in Kernavė and Bokšto Street are nearly contemporaneous, both dating back to 13th–14th century although, the burial ground in Bokšto Street remained in use late as the 15th century. Various arguments are provided in debates on the religious affiliation of those who buried members of their community in these burial grounds. Some researchers disagree that the Orthodox were buried in these two burial grounds in the still pagan Lithuania. The lack of evidence on writing in the layers of the town of Kernavė, that is the absence of styli (except those found on the site of the ruler's castle), birch bark or waxed tablets, is presented as one of the arguments supporting the theory of non-Orthodox burials there. It is well known, that such finds were typical of Rus' cities, especially in Great Novgorod, where 1144 items of birch bark have been found up to 2021. Notably, fewer such finds were found in other cities of the Rus'. During the detailed archaeological investigations on the burial ground in Bokšto Street, several bone styli were found. It must be mentioned, that these artefacts were not found in the horizon of the burial ground, but in the later cultural layer, dating back to the 16th century. The material found is discussed in this paper. We also tried to answer the question of whether these styli could have originated from the horizon of the burial ground and how (or if) they could be associated with the 'Civitas Rutenica', Ruthenian city of Vilnius, which was mentioned in historical sources in 1383.

This contribution revolves around the concepts of ‘immediacy’ and ‘distance’ in the Old Russian birchbark letters. Over the centuries, oral habits of formulation have given way to a more literate mode of communication. A crucial stage of this development can be traced in the Middle Ages, in the oldest sources written in an East Slavic vernacular. In these birchbark letters, several linguistic parameters have been identified in which this transition can be traced. In the same vein, we can distinguish two more dimensions, viz. 1) the use of local dialect morphology vs. a supra-regional variety and 2) the use of two different spelling systems. These are assessed in terms of the more general tendency in the birchbark corpus which shows a development away from orality and towards a more fixed form of literacy.

Issues of the origins and development of pottery are actualized through a study of new Early Neolithic forest-steppe and taiga sites in Western Siberia. The fl at-bottomed and roundbottomed Neolithic dishes found in Western Siberia are similar in shape and ornamentation. They seem to be a continuation of an earlier ceramic tradition that was introduced into the region. Based upon the radiocarbon dates, those dishes appeared in West Siberia within the 7th millennium BC. We adhere to the opinion that the local population borrowed ceramic production from migrants and believe that imitation of structural parts of birch bark containers in ceramic vessels was important for the formation of West Siberian pottery. For example, such sculptured elements as ledges, drips, and moldings on the outer and inner sides of the rims of ceramic vessels can be correlated to the bands on birch bark dishes and their fastening elements. In our opinion, sculptured elements on ceramic dishes gradually transformed into semantic elements: wavy lines (zigzags) on the drips on the inner side of the rim not only refer to a band attached to the vessel but apparently represent water (waves) as the contents of the vessel

The subject of this research is the woodworking tools of the Bashkirs in in the XVII– XVIII centuries. The goal lies in examination of the tools used by the Bashkirs for wood processing during the XVII – XVIII centuries leaning on the archaeological materials obtained in the course of exploration of Aznayevo settlement and Berekovo rural localities. The article also involves the written record of the authors of the late XVIII sources and the data of historical-ethnographic researcher of later periods. The research relies in the comprehensive approach of the available archaeological, written and ethnographic materials; as well as descriptive, historical-comparative methods, and analysis of real sources. This article is first to examine the woodworking tools used by the Bashkirs in XVII – XVIII centuries. The archaeological collections allows establishing that the Bashkirs used axes, knives, scraper, graver and drill for wood processing. For basket weaving from bast and birch bark was used the curved awl. According to the written sources, the woodworking tools also included adzes and chisels. The explored archaeological and written materials allow concluding that the woodworking tools of the XVII – XVIII centuries continued to exist among the Bashkir population until the XIX – early XXI centuries, which is proven by the results of historical-ethnographic research.

The article presents the birch bark item, found by A.P. Umanskii during the field study of the ground burial 3 of the ancient settlement of Razdumie-1, Kamenskii District, Altai Krai. The burial has been dated to the Mongol period (13th–14th centuries). The aim of this proposed research is to examine and to present the reconstruction of the birch bark item (a small cup vessel) originated from the ground burial 3 of Razdumie-1 site, stored in the col-lection of the Museum of Local History of Altai State Pedagogical University. The relevance of referring to the above-mentioned, partially published before material is due to the rarity of the surviving birch bark items from burial complexes of the Upper Ob region of different periods, and also due to the limited practice of their recon-struction and interpretation. In the course of the research and pre-restoration work, the authors for the first time accurately defined the shape, size and the technological characteristics of the vessel. An archival photograph of the same type of artifact from burial 1 of Razdumie-1, explored by A.P. Umanskii in 1960, has been discovered. Having considered a wide range of similarities to the item, the authors came to the conclusion that, despite a wide territorial and chronological coverage, vessels of this type are primarily united by the prevalence of the raw mate-rials used for their manufacture and the simplicity of technological performance (layer method). At the same time, the authors specifically note the variety of methods of sewing birch bark vessels identified in the burial complexes of different periods in the south of Western Siberia. Having analysed the contents of birch bark vessels of a small cup type, the authors conclude that, within the burial space, they served as a receptacle for various substances from, possibly, cosmetic potions (during the Hun-Sarmatian period) to funeral meals in all subsequent periods, irre-spective of the sex of the buried person and the variety of the construction of birch bark ware. The authors cautiously suggest that in cases where the examined burials do not contain traces of the vessels themselves, despite the pre-sence of leftovers of funeral meals, it should be assumed a priori that these were present, and their absence is rather related to the poor preservation of organic matter in the climatic conditions of the Upper Ob area.

The article addresses diamond-shaped birch bark products, which are part of headdresses and earrings, on the example of finds from graves in the burial grounds of the Inner Tien Shan and Issyk-Kul Basin of the Kyrgyz Republic. These items are closely related to the female headdress “bokka” (“bogto”, “bokhtag”), which is characteristic for the “Mongolian Imperial Culture”. Most of the birchbark lozenges from women’s burials were decorated with small white beads. However, finds from the mounds of the Boz-Adyr burial mound indicate that they could have been decorated with small round bronze plaques and used as one of the main elements of headdress decoration. A similar birch bark rhomboid decorated with small white beads was the central element of a bronze earring. According to the available data, the rhombic birch bark pieces were attached to the headdress from both sides and dangled as decoration pieces. In one case they were sewn to the ties of a cloth cap which was the basis for fixing a birch bark bokka topping on the head. In Mongolian culture, a symbol could be perceived as an expression of a complex philosophical doctrine. For example, the symbol of rhombus represented a «powerful» tool, triangle symbolized progress and prosperity, etc. The rhombus was also a symbol of earth, protection, power, strength, prosperity, harmony, balance, abundance, fertility, and femininity and was used everywhere from ancient times to the present day. The analysis of archaeological materials shows that rhombic birch bark pieces are most often found in the burials of adult women, together with bokka of the Mongolian-Tian-Shan type. These finds are unique artifacts that provide valuable information about the material culture of the population of the Tian Shan and nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppe in the Mongol period.

Birch bark has so far been observed in passage graves at eight localities. It appears that the bark had originally lain between all the slabs of the dry walling and the intermediary layer of the chamber; it was folded double, forming two layers, with the fold facing in towards the grave chamber. As the bark was put in place during erection it provides an opportunity for dating the construction. Radiocarbon dates have been obtained for one sample from each of the seven megalithic graves. The graves have an even geographical distribution and as a group they show no constructional divergences from other passage graves. Similarly, the standard of the construction is not exceptional, although two or three of them do have a chamber which is higher than is normal. It is presumed that birch bark was commonly used and was an important element in passage graves, apart from in certain areas where chalk mass was used as a kind of mortar. It is suggested that both the bark and the chalk mass functioned partly...

Currently, much attention is paid to maintaining the health of poultry and in this regard, the role of the immune system can hardly be overestimated. Specific protective reactions are carried out by immunocompetent cells that are located in the central and peripheral organs of the immune system. The purpose of the research was to study histomorphological changes in the thymus and Bursa fabricii of broiler chickens when using the phytodrug Betulin. The histomorphological changes in the central organs of the immune system (thymus and fabricius sac) of broiler chickens when using Betulin have been presented in the article. Betulin is a natural pentacyclic triterpenoid of the lupan series. It is found in a large number of plants (hazel, calendula, licorice), but it does not occur in free form. On an industrial scale, it is extracted from birch bark – the outer layer of the bark of white birch (Betula alba), hanging (Betula pendula). Its biological activity has been confirmed in the course of scientific research in more than forty international scientific centers. The effectiveness of using triterpene compounds as direct regulators of the activity of the body’s enzymatic systems has been demonstrated. The research was carried out in the veterinary department of poultry at Siberian Scientifi c and Research Institute of Poultry – a branch of the Federal State Budget Scientific Institution “Omsk Agrarian Scientific Center” on broiler chickens of the cross Sibiryak. The chickens of the experimental groups were used Betulin from 7–21 days, the 1st experimental group at a dose of 2,5 mg/kg of live weight, the 2nd – 5,0 mg/kg, the 3rd – 10,0 mg/kg and the 4th – 15,0 mg/kg of live weight. The poultry of the control group did not receive the phytodrug Betulin. Vaccination of chickens was carried out at the age of 7 days against Newcastle disease viruses and infectious bronchitis of chickens, at 14 days against infectious bursal disease. It was found on the base histological studies that Betulin in doses of 10,0 and 15,0 mg/kg of live weight stimulated the proliferation of lymphocytes and differentiation of the central organs of the immune system of broiler chickens.

Between winter storm surges – Human occupation on a growing Mid-Holocene transgression maximum (Tapes) beach ridge at Longva, Western Norway

The latitudinal changes of vegetation cover on the plains of Siberia are observed. In Western Siberia there are 4 zones (tundra and taiga, and forest-steppe and steppe only here), in Central and North-Eastern Siberia − only 2 zones (tundra and taiga).Tundra zone is represented by 4 subzones in Central Siberia; in Western and North-Eastern Siberia − by 3 subzones (there are no polar subzone). All 5 subzones of the taiga zone are distinguished both in Western Siberia and in the Central Siberia, but in the Central Siberia, forests are found in very high latitudes. The feature of the taiga zone of Western Siberia is high paludification. As a result, the vegetation of mires dominates over the zonal vegetation. Zonal West Siberian types are dark coniferous forests. Light coniferous forests predominate in the taiga zone of Central and North-Eastern Siberia. In the forest-steppe zone in Western Siberia forests are small-leaved − birch, aspen-birch (Betula pendula, Populus tremula). The abundance of mires is the feature of this zone, as well as in the taiga.

Extinction chronology of the woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis in the context of late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions in northern Eurasia

In this work, we for the first time consolidate all known cases of archaeological documentation of large birch bark vessel fragments from medieval burials of the nomadic populations in the southern part of Western Siberia. These findings not only attest to the widespread use of such vessels in the nomadic daily life in antiquity but also indicate a special, careful attitude toward their remains after the items had fallen out of use. An important factor contributing to this careful treatment of birch bark as a material may have been its scarcity in the steppe regions. The presence of a large birch bark fragment allowed it to be reused as part of a burial birch bark structure. It is in this form that such fragments have been preserved in burials dating from the 8th to the 14th centuries AD.

The use of birch bark in the design of knife sheaths and sabers have become the subject of our research more than once. These theses are no exception. Research carried out in recent years in the Black Sea region, and the study of museum collections, allow us not only to identify new pieces of cold steel weapons of the 17th-18th centuries, with the scabbard made of birch bark, but also to identify common technological traditions with earlier samples of cold weapons from the archaeological sites of medieval nomads in the south of Western Siberia. One of the topical issues in the study of the design features of the sheath of bladed weapons of the 16th -18th centuries. In the North Caucasus and Eastern Poland, there are issues of continuity in the use of birch bark in their design. Keywords: Saber-chechugi, Armenian saber, scabbard, birch bark, medieval nomads, western Siberia, Eastern Poland, north Caucasus, Black Sea region

Introduction. The article presents the results of 2012 excavations of a late nomadic burial in Kurgan 1 at Ozek-Suat – 5 mound grave field in Neftekumsky District (Stavropol Krai, Russia). Goals. The paper publishes the archaeological materials from the specified site in the Lower Kuma excavated in 2012. So, the work shall describe and characterize the investigated late nomadic complex, specify its culture and historical attribution. Materials. Archaeological materials from the burial include items made of iron, bronze and bone from the Golden Horde era. The grave goods comprised elements of a composite bow, a wooden (birch bark) quiver with unornamented bone overlays, bone loops to fix a quiver and a bow case, arrowheads, an iron saber and an iron knife, two bell buttons and a piece of chalk. Results. Burial 1 was the main and only one in Kurgan 1. It was made in a grave pit with an alcove in its southern wall, the human body and a stuffed horse oriented westwards. This burial pattern has analogies in the Golden Horde sites of the Don Region and the Volga-Don steppes. However, the asymmetric composite bow from the burial is unique enough for Ciscaucasia and the specified territories. Similar items have been discovered at pre-Mongol sites in South Siberia where this bow type had preceded the ‘Mongol’ one. The South Siberian nomads could have delivered it to Ciscaucasia during conquest campaigns. The site in the Lower Kuma dates to the mid-thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries.