Ethnographic Analogy Research Articles

Comparing Australian Message Sticks and Sequentially Marked Objects of the Upper Palaeolithic: Problems and Opportunities

AbstractEngraved portable objects from Upper Palaeolithic and earlier sites are argued to be cognitive tools designed to store information for the purposes of calculation, record‐keeping, or communication. This paper reviews the surprisingly long intellectual history of comparisons between these ancient objects and message sticks: marked graphic devices traditionally used for long‐distance communication in Indigenous Australia. I argue that, while such comparisons have often been misguided, more cautious applications of ethnographic analogy may yield useful insights. A systematic analysis of historical observations together with more recent fieldwork, indicate that Australian message sticks are primarily tools of social cognition, as opposed to cognition tout court, and rely on orality and other context to become meaningful. Further, the practice of message stick communication may help clarify ongoing problems in the interpretation of Upper Palaeolithic objects including their possible role in aggregation activities, the distinction between decoration and notation, and the interplay between graphic sequences and speech.

Principal Results of the Project Implemented by the Research and Educational Center for Altaic and Turkic Studies “Greater Altai”

We outline the result of collaboration by a team of more than sixty researchers from 22 Russian and 13 foreign institutions under the project implemented by the Research and Educational Center for Altaic and Turkic Studies “Greater Altai” in 2022–2023. Six archaeological and four ethnographic expeditions were carried out in the Russian Federation, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. Findings concern the origin of the Turkic ethno-cultural complex and its spread across Central Asia. Archaeological surveys revealed new sites, many of which were excavated, and some were included in the museum projects. Extensive photographic and volumetric documentation was conducted. In the course of ethnographic expeditions, Turkic epic texts were collected, many elements of traditional culture were revealed, showing parallels between Altaic and Kyrgyzian traditions. Also ethnographic parallels were documented between Slavic and Turkic cultures of the Greater Altai. These were used to elaborate the concept of Slavo-Turkic unity, which has both theoretical and practical implications.

A note on the trident mark, stone worship and cult practices in Southeast Arabia

AbstractThe worship of baetyls in antiquity is well documented in the Near East and the Mediterranean, archaeologically as well as historically. While such practices were also common in South‐East Arabia, the archaeological information on it is still very limited. A boulder carved with a ‘trident’ (a mark familiar from local Abiel coin issues), which came to light at the site of Mleiha, has a circular cavity on the side similar to those visible on stones and on an eagle statue from contemporary ed‐Dur. This association suggests a religious context for the Mleiha petroglyph and, thus, a possible identification as a baetyl. The archaeological evidence for stone worship and associated cult practices from the SE‐Arabian Mleiha/PIR A‐C period (3rd century bce–3rd century ce) is reviewed and compared with ethnographic parallels and information from, among other sources, the Kitāb al‐aṣnām (Book of Idols) by Hishām ibn al‐Kalbī (737–819 ce).

A birchbark anthropomorphic article from the Early Iron Age Novotroitskoye necropolis in the Upper Ob

This paper discusses a burial doll discovered within the Early Iron Age necropolis of Novotriotskoye-1 during field research by the expedition of Barnaul State Pedagogical Institute under the direction of A.P. Umanskii in the Talmensky District of Altai Krai. The object found in a woman's burial is an anthropomorphic image with wing-shaped arms and schematically indicated facial features, namely prominent eyes, eyebrows, nose and gouged mouth. The purpose of this work is to publish the Novotriotskoye idol in high quality, since in various publications by A.P. Umanskii and co-authors it was presented only in schematic drawings. Cleaning the object from field dirt, undertaken by the authors, made it possible to better observe the stylistic features of the artifact. Furthermore, the authors made an attempt to create experimental stylistic replicas of the analysed article. Three scenarios of its production have been implemented, and the details are presented in this publication. The authors suggest that the schematic exterior of the Novotriotskoye object allows considering it as a peculiar burial doll. The iconography of the Novotriotskoye anthropomorphic image has been characterized in the context of connections of the Upper Ob River region population of the second half of the 1st mil. AD with the cultures of Northern Asia (Tashtyk, Kokel, “Bulan-Koby”). A wide range of archaeological and ethnographic parallels to the discussed anthropomorphic ob-ject has been analyzed. The authors conclude that the routine production of anthropomorphic images and masks was deeply rooted in the Ob River region, and it appeared in the Early Iron Age. Earlier, we came across an opin-ion, that its origins need to be searched for among the cultures of Southern Siberia — mainly Khakass-Munusinsk Basin and Eastern Siberia. The discovery of the studied birchbark image in the Novotriotskoye necropolis in-cludes the Upper Ob River region into the potential areas of formation of this tradition.

Technological Study of the Neolithic Pottery in Archaeology of Baikal-Yenisei Siberia. Historiographical Essay

Purpose. This article is devoted to the history of the study of the Neolithic pottery in Baikal-Yenisei Siberia from the point of view of the vessel manufacturing technology.Results. At the first stage (1880–1915), researchers proposed hypotheses for the manufacture of vessels based on logical conclusions and ethnographic analogies without analyzing design features. The second stage (1916–1960s) was characterized by serious progress in the diagnosis of various techniques and the creation of hypotheses about Neolithic vessels manufacturing. Separate experiments on vessel modeling were carried out. At the third stage (1970–1990), due to the shift in the focus of research on the typology and chronology of ceramics, technological research was episodic. But after these issues were partially resolved and the achievements of domestic archeology were used in the study of ceramics, at the fourth stage (2000–2020s), the technological direction began to develop most actively. As a result of the technical and technological analysis and experiments, the cultural traditions of pottery were identified and options for reconstructing the manufacturing technology of all groups and types of Neolithic ceramics of Baikal-Yenisei Siberia were proposed.Conclusion. As a result of studies carried out over many years, a lot of data has been obtained on the manufacture of vessels and a number of cultural traditions in the field of pottery have been identified among the Neolithic population of the region. The technological direction remains promising for obtaining further data, which requires the development of existing methods and the introduction of new ones.

Evaluating the Evidence for Lunar Calendars in Upper Palaeolithic Parietal Art

In this paper, we examine the lunar calendar interpretation to evaluate whether it is a viable explanation for the production of Upper Palaeolithic parietal art. We consider in detail the history of this approach, focusing on recently published variations on this interpretation. We then discuss the scientific method and whether these recent studies are designed to address the research questions necessary to test a lunar calendar hypothesis. More broadly, we explore challenges related to inferring meaning in art of the deep past, the use of secondary sources and selecting appropriate ethnographic analogies. Finally, we assess claims that the lunar calendar interpretation documents the world's oldest (proto)writing system. We conclude that the lunar calendar interpretation as currently construed suffers from multiple theoretical and methodological weaknesses preventing it from being a viable explanation for the production of Upper Palaeolithic art. We further find that claims following from this interpretation to have discovered the oldest known (proto)writing system are unsubstantiated.

Holme I (Seahenge) and Holme II: ritual responses to climate change in Early Bronze Age Britain

Holme I and II were contemporary, adjacent Early Bronze Age (EBA) oak-timber enclosures exposed intertidally at Holme-next-the-sea, Norfolk, England, in 1998. Holme I enclosed a central upturned tree-stump, its function and intent unknown. Holme II is thought a mortuary structure. Both are proposed here best explained as independent ritual responses to reverse a period of severe climate deterioration recorded before 2049 BC when their timbers were felled. Holme I is thought erected on the summer-solstice, when the cuckoo traditionally stopped singing, departing to the ‘Otherworld’. It replicated the cuckoo’s supposed overwintering quarters: a tree-hole or the ‘bowers of the Otherworld’ represented by the tree-stump, remembered in folklore as ‘penning-the-cuckoo’ where a cuckoo is confined to keep singing and maintain summer. The cuckoo symbolised male-fertility being associated with several Indo-European goddesses of fertility that deified Venus - one previously identified in EBA Britain. Some mortal consorts of these goddesses appear to have been ritually sacrificed at Samhain. Holme II may be an enclosure for the body of one such ‘sacral king’. These hypotheses are considered, using abductive reasoning, as ‘inferences to the best explanations’ from the available evidence. They are supported with environmental data, astronomic and biological evidence, regional folklore, toponymy, and an ethnographic analogy with indigenous Late Iron Age practices that indirect evidence indicates were undertaken in EBA Britain. Cultural and religious continuity is supported by textual sources, the material record and ancient DNA (aDNA) studies.

Obsidian-tipped Spears from the Admiralty Islands in the Oceania Collection of the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest

The authors studied 36 obsidian-tipped spears in the Oceania collection of the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest. In addition to describing the objects from the Admiralty Islands collected before 1897, the paper provides a summary of the related ethnographic information, including the technological and technical details of spear point making and the characterisation of the obsidian raw material used.The blades used for making the obsidian points presented in this study showed no sign of standardisation (an indicator of advanced blade technology) in the spear point-making process. According to 19th-century ethnographic sources, the functional part of the points was the most important, and much time and effort were invested in ensuring that the blades were effective weapons. Later, as a sign of decline, primary production of obsidian blades ceased, and manufacturers started scavenging old artefacts and utilising waste and by-products. As a result, the blades decreased in size and became more irregular, and an increasingly large number included parts of the cortex, the crust of obsidian. After 1911, the relative importance of decoration increased, and the type became more standardised.The irregular shape of the spear points presented in the study and the thin, weak shafts with an awkward curvature raise questions about whether the spears were actual weapons. At the same time, the artistic decoration of the mounting sockets and ethnographic parallels suggest that the pieces in the collection were likely status objects instead.

Ethnoarchaeology before Processual Ethnoarchaeology: The First Ethnographic Comparisons

ABSTRACT From a genealogical perspective, this article explores the foundations of ethnoarchaeological research in the context of European colonialism. It investigates methodologies that utilize ethnographic information for reconstructing historical contexts, focusing first on early comparisons during colonial encounters. These comparisons significantly shaped the amalgamation of ethnographic data into archaeology and the formulation of interpretive strategies, encompassing the direct historical method and ethnographic analogy to decipher societies via material evidence using ethnographies of non-western societies. Despite the initial prevalence of ethnographic analogy in the 1950s, ethnoarchaeology progressed by integrating novel data collection techniques into broader scientific discussions. This article critically challenges established historiographical narratives within ethnoarchaeology, asserting that aspects of ethnographic analogy and ethnoarchaeological methodology did not solely emerge as processual innovations in the 1950s, but rather their roots trace back to earlier archaeologists and ethnographers and previous colonial scholars.

Naczynia funeralne - „dymokur” znad ujścia rzeki Szamanka (środkowa Angara). Interpretacja symboliki

The purpose of this article is to analyze the fumigator vessel found in one of the burials on the left mouth of the Shamanka River (Central Angara) in East Siberia in 2001. By examining the ornament in the context of the symbolic and worldview system of the Siberian peoples, an attempt is made to define its cult role. Particular importance is attached to the semantic study of the ornament, as well as its interpretation using archaeological and ethnographic analogies. The result of the work is a proposal of a construct of the function of fumigator vessels in Eastern Siberia.

Georgian Traces in the History of the Chuvash

The paper deals with the Transcaucasian prehistoric period in the history of the ancestors of the Chuvash people. Goals. The study aims to identify and analyse the sources and literature on the topic relating to events of the 7th to 1st centuries BC. Materials and methods. The work employs a complex approach to the examination of the material, which made it possible to analyse the sources and the thoughts of predecessors consistently and systematically. The study focuses on works of historians, ethnographers and linguists about the ethnic groups that previously inhabited and now inhabit the areas to the south of the Greater Caucasus. The sources that proved important include the works by such historians as Herodotus (5th century BC), Apollonius of Rhodes (3rd c. BC), Pseudo-Orpheus (4th c. AD), Priscus Panionensis (5th c.), Menander Protector and Stephanus of Byzantium (both 6th c.). The paper also makes use of some pronouncements by such remarkable researchers as Andrey Golovnev, Sergey Arutyunov, Alikber Alikberov, Nicholas Berdzenishvili, Vera Budanova, Murtazali Gadzhiev, and David Muskhelishvili. Results. Impartial investigation shows that the ethnonym of the Chuvash has undergone a lengthy course of transformation through history in the form of Savir (Saspir/Sapir, Savar, Sabir) → Suvar (Suvas, Suvan) → Suvash → T’šăvaš (Chuvash). As far back as the 7th century BC, to the southeast of Colchis a large confederation of tribes headed by the Saspirs came into being. The study reveals and confirms traces in the pre-history of the distant ancestors of the Chuvash that are shared with the peoples of Georgia. In the period under examination, the historical forerunners of the Chuvash lived in a territory between Media and Colchis, between the Medes and the Colchians. In the 3rd century BC and the 3rd century AD, they were recorded to inhabit the Chorokh River valley. Alongside historical events, the publication traces ethnographic parallels with the ancient Georgian peoples and some shared elements of vocabulary.

Reassessing the Interpretative Potential of Ethnographic Collections for Early Hunting Technologies

Archaeological studies of early weaponry have relied for decades on ethnographic parallels—whether from ethnohistorical accounts, ethnographic literature, or from objects studied in museum collections. While such accounts and collected objects provided key data in the past, including of morphometrics and functionality, few studies have explored the quality of such data. In this paper, we critically assess a dominant theoretical paradigm, namely the utility of ethnographic collections to assess Pleistocene archaeological material. Our focus is how ethnographic spear morphometrics are used to propose delivery methods of archaeological weapons. We discuss the archaeological significance of early spears, and the role that ethnography has played in interpreting them. We provide new morphometric data of ethnographic wooden spears, which have been used analogically to assess the earliest archaeological hunting tools. We systematically collected data from ethnographic collections of wooden spears in five museums in the UK and Australia including mass, length, diameters and point of balance, alongside any recorded information on provenance and use. Older datasets, as well as the data in this paper, are limited due to collection bias and a lack of detailed museum records. By subjecting the new data to statistical analyses, we find that with a few exceptions morphometrics are not reliable predictors of delivery as thrusting or hand-thrown spears (javelins). Prevalent hypotheses linking variables such as mass, tip design, or maximum diameter with delivery are unsupported by our results. However, the descriptive statistics provided may remain useful as a means of comparative data for archaeological material. We conclude that using simple morphometrics to parse weapon delivery has had a drag effect on forming new and interesting hypotheses about early weapons.

Socioeconomic roles of Holocene marine shell beads reveal the daily life of composite objects from East Kalimantan, Borneo

Cultural objects composed of composite materials with differing physical properties are often differentially preserved in archaeological records favouring those materials less susceptible to taphonomic processes. Using microscopically observed wear patterns to decipher a model of socioeconomic roles for composite beaded objects, this study examines the rich marine shell bead assemblage excavated from Liang Jon in East Kalimantan, Borneo. Assessment of this 16,700-year sequence provides a unique context for discussing collection, transport, manufacture, and use of marine shell beads; spanning the biogeographical change associated with sea level rise 11,700 years ago creating the island of Borneo. Quantifying differences in bead wear patterning and distribution has revealed changes across 11,000 years of human occupation—detail seldom exposed in Island South East Asian archaeology. Results demonstrate marine species belonging to the families Nassariidae and Cypraeidae were targeted for the manufacture of beads. Whole shells and removed dorsa indicate some onsite manufacture occurred, while patterns of wear and residues including pigments, suggest most beads originated from different varieties of composite objects brought to the site and maintained in different contexts of daily life. Our model reveals a novel picture of Holocene social complexity broadly associated with dated rock art, providing a unique link between parts of the rich archaeological record at the Liang Jon, circumventing popular modes of ethnographic analogy less appropriate for this region.

The Use of Wooden Clubs and Throwing Sticks among Recent Foragers

There is a popular idea that archaic humans commonly used wooden clubs as their weapons. This is not based on archaeological finds, which are minimal from the Pleistocene, but rather on a few ethnographic analogies and the association of these weapons with simple technology. This article presents the first quantitative cross-cultural analysis of the use of wooden clubs and throwing sticks for hunting and violence among foragers. Using a sample of 57 recent hunting-gathering societies from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, it is shown that the majority used clubs for violence (86%) and/or hunting (74%). Whereas in hunting and fishing the club usually served only as a secondary tool, 33% of societies used the club as one of their main fighting weapons. The use of throwing sticks was less frequent among the societies surveyed (12% for violence, 14% for hunting). Based on these results and other evidence, it is argued that the use of clubs by early humans was highly probable, at least in the simplest form of a crude stick. The great variation in the forms and use of clubs and throwing sticks among recent hunter-gatherers, however, indicates that they are not standardized weapons and that similar variation may have existed in the past. Many such prehistoric weapons may therefore have been quite sophisticated, multifunctional, and carried strong symbolic meaning.

In search of a musical past: evidence for early chordophones from Vietnam

ABSTRACTMusic likely played an important role within prehistoric societies but can be challenging to study in the absence of evidence for musical instruments. Here, the authors present two deer antlers recovered from the early Metal Age site of Go O Chua in southern Vietnam. A detailed examination of the artefacts, including evidence for use-wear, combined with insights from ethnographic analogies, leads the authors to conclude that the artefacts were single-stringed musical instruments. At least 2000 years old, the Go O Chua artefacts would be the earliest-known examples of chordophones from the region and indicate a long musical tradition. Their identification gives impetus to archaeo-musicological research in Southeast Asia and beyond.

A Late Paleolithic Housing and Utility Complex at Afontova Gora IV (Ovrazhnaya): New Findings (2020–2021)

The study focuses on a specific area of Afontova Gora !V (0vrazhnaya)-a newly discovered Late Paleolithic site in Krasnoyarsk. We describe the diversity of cultural and utilitarian traditions at Afontova Gora and tackle the problem of detecting remains of dwellings in the structure of Paleolithic deposits. Brief information on the geomorphology and stratigraphy of the site and on the location of archaeological features in the paleorelief of Afontova Gora slopes is provided. We analyze the surface of the specific part of the site with remains of dwellings. Results of the statistical and typological analyses of lithics and bone artifacts are presented, along with information on microknapping and procession of stone, groups of rocks, species composition of fauna, and resource utilization. We reconstruct activities associated with various zones of the site. Results of surface (intrasite spatial) analysis are outlined. A dwelling with a single hearth and a utility zone are delimited and shown to be contemporaneous. Debitage connections are traced, places of individual activities are located, and directions whereby humans and artifacts had migrated are reconstructed. Ethnographic parallels are discussed; regularities in the distribution of cultural remains around the hearth in a radial fashion, with free deposition in certain places, are assessed. Drop zones, front and back toss zones, and microdeformations of the "fioor" are pinpointed. The radiocarЬon age of the complex is estimated at ~15.5 ka, Ьased on several 14 C dates. It is concluded that habitation deposits with remains of a camp and one dwelling have been detected. Prospects for further studies are outlined.

Colonialism and the European Mesolithic

This paper heeds the broader societal calls for decolonisation in Britain and Ireland, and seeks to apply various strands of decolonial practice within the context of Mesolithic archaeology; a subfield which has seen little postcolonial reflection to date. We question the historic interactions between Mesolithic archaeology and colonial hegemony, and argue that Mesolithic research continues to reinforce these hegemonies today. This occurs simultaneously within Europe, and on the inter-continental scale. With this in mind, we explore areas of Mesolithic research practice that hold potential to shift this dynamic, and contribute to the deconstruction of colonially rooted power imbalances. In doing so, our focus falls upon the ethics of ethnographic analogy, and the ontological turn within Mesolithic Studies.

From vessel to community : Possibilities of investigating the function of a special Bronze Age vessel type

This paper attempts to reconstruct the use of fermenting vessels and their role in Middle Bronze Age communities. Vessels of this type can be found in the record of several periods of the Bronze Age in the Carpathian Basin but seem to be the most widespread in the Middle Bronze Age (2000/1900–1500/1400 cal BC). Storage vessels with internal knobs and special decoration have been associated with the production of dairy products or the fermentation of alcoholic beverages, but it is not possible to reconstruct their function based on typological and ethnographic analogies alone. Clarifying the actual function of this rare vessel type, often found in special context as part of so-called structured deposits, could provide loads of new information on the culinary habits of people in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC and their social context.

“Paraboloids”, “lattice figures” and “poles with canvases” (petroglyphic images and ethnographic parallels)

The article is focused on the study of the geometric petroglyphs of Southern Siberia and Mongolia. All of them are characterized by the presence of anthropomorphic features. The petroglyphs were divided into three complexes. The first complex is a parabola with a recess at the top and a pair of “legs” at the bottom. The second one is a combination of rectangles and trapezoids with “legs”. Sometimes they have “heads”, “hands” and “vulvas”. The third one is poles with crossbars, on which rectangular canvases with fringe are suspended. According to archaeologists, the first complex dating back to the Eneolithic — the Bronze Age belongs to the Chemurchek and Karakol cultures, the second to the Afanasiev and Karakol cultures, and the third to the Okunevo culture. The latest is the third complex, which belongs to the final stage of the Okunevo culture. Based on the results of a comparative analysis of ethnographic materials, it can be assumed that the petroglyphs of the first complex depicted people hidden under shoots, grass or straw. These mummers during the rituals represented vegetative spirits. The petroglyphs of the second complex, which were characteristic attributes used on holidays and rituals associated with the change of seasons are presented by dummies in the form of women. The petroglyphs of the third complex had a memorial character, depicting models of the deceased in the form of a cross with suspended shrouds. In general, all the complexes reflected different variants (or stages?) of anthropomorphic modeling: a mummer—a dummy (doll)—a model..

The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity, Yahweh before Israel: Glimpses of History in a Divine Name and Yahweh: Origin of a Desert God

The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity, Yahweh before Israel: Glimpses of History in a Divine Name and Yahweh: Origin of a Desert God