Papers by Viktor Dyakonov
Северо-Восточный гуманитарный вестник
The burial near Lake Atlasovskoye, Yakutia, is one of the earliest Yakut burials, dating back to ... more The burial near Lake Atlasovskoye, Yakutia, is one of the earliest Yakut burials, dating back to the 14th or 15th centuries and associated with the medieval Kulun-Atakh culture. Initially, its age was assessed by the comparative typological method based on artifacts, and later а radiocarbon estimate was generated, suggesting that the burial dates to the early stage of the Kulun-Atakh culture. Its highly unusual feature is that the individual was buried in a seated position – an exceptional case in the Yakut funerary practice. The cranium was completely wrapped in a bandage sewn from birchbark sheets, under which lethal injuries were found. Our comprehensive study was aimed at assessing the individual’s lifestyle and cause of death. Postcranial bones revealed pathologal symptoms unusual for an early age (20–25) and caused by excessive physical strain, suggesting that the man was either a slave or a warrior. The complex birchbark bandage may indicate high status. Together with the sea...
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020
Quaternary International, 2018
Северо-Восточный гуманитарный вестник, 2021
World Archaeology , 2019
Findings and traces of early metallurgical production in the Far Northeast of Asia and Alaska sho... more Findings and traces of early metallurgical production in the Far Northeast of Asia and Alaska show that the spread of bronze and iron metallurgy took place mainly along the Lena River towards of the Far Northeast, as well as to Taimyr. Spread of metallurgical technology is confirmed by the casting mould for a burin or awl, which was discovered in Eastern Chukotka on the Amguema River. However, metals in Chukotka were obviously too rare to trade until the first millennium AD. An eastward decline in emphasis on metals is evidenced. Across the Bering Strait, into Alaska, iron appeared nearly two thousand years later than it existed within the the Far Northeast of Asia. Traces of metallurgy production were not found in Alaska. The spread of metals across Northeast Asia to Alaska indicates the existence of lasting and persistent connections between the Lena River Basin, the Far Northeast and Chukotka.
Fukuda M., Shevkomud I.Ya., Kunikita D., Dyakonov V.M., Gorshkov M.V., Gabrilchuk M.A. Syalakh-type pottery at the Dalzha-2 site in the Amur River mouth // Записки Гродековского музея. Вып. 39. – Хабаровск: КГБНУК «ХКМ им. Н.И. Гродекова», 2020. – С. 84–94., 2020
The Amur River mouth located around 50° N is a socio-ecological transition zone from the Far East... more The Amur River mouth located around 50° N is a socio-ecological transition zone from the Far Eastern near taiga forest zone to the Far Eastern taiga zone. Around this area, several variations of the ancient round-bottomed pottery style, which is thought to have originated in East Siberia, are often discovered at archaeological sites. Yu. A. Mochanov [1969] first mentioned that the distribution of the Middle Neolithic Belkachi culture found in East Siberia from the Taimyr to the Chukotka regions might have spread to this region. This is probably because when surveys were conducted by his investigation team in the Lower Amur and the Upper Amgun River basins in the 1960s [see Mochanov, Fedoseeva 2013a: 68–69], fragments of round-bottomed vessels with cord-marked decoration had already been collected. Then, following the excavations at the Malaya Gavan multilayer site by A. K. Konopatskiy [e.g., 1993] from 1985 to 1986, Belkachi-type cord-marked pottery of the Lower Amur region drew attention as showing traces of an East Siberian cultural influence [Konopatskiy, Milyutin 1989].
The results of a joint Russia-Japan excavation at the Malaya Gavan site from 2007 to 2008 revealed that the Belkachi phenomenon was parallel to any period of the Middle Neolithic Malyshevo culture in the Lower Amur basin [Fukuda, et al. 2011b]. Furthermore, around the Amur River mouth during the Paleometal age of the late stage of the 1st millennium BC, there was another style of round-bottomed Bolshe-bukhta-type pottery [see Shevkomud 2002], which was characterized by a blister pattern (or “pearl ornaments”) just below the rim. It has been pointed out that there is a relationship with the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture of the Bronze age in the Southwestern Yakutia [Dyakonov 2012]. So how should a historical dynamism of cultural contacts in the Holocene between different ecological zones, that is Far East and East Siberia, be described today? That is one of the major concerns for us. In this paper, two potsherds from the Dalzha 2 site located on the bank of Lake Dalzha will be reported on with details of typological features and AMS radiocarbon dates of charred residues.
Романова Е.Н., Игнатьева В.Б., Дьяконов В.М. Степная Арктика: «помнящая культура» номадов Севера // Геокультуры Арктики: методология анализа и прикладные исследования: Монография / Отв. ред. Д.Н. Замятин, Е.Н. Романова. – М.: Изд-во «Канон+» РООИ «Реабилитация», 2017. – С. 295–327. , 2017
The article is devoted to the disclosure of the phenomenon of steppe Arctic and to the role of Ya... more The article is devoted to the disclosure of the phenomenon of steppe Arctic and to the role of Yakut-herdsmen in the development of extreme northern territories and to the formation of the original version of „northern nomadism“. The Yakuts are the most northern cattle-breeding Turcic-speaking people of Siberia, who early broke away from the main core of the Turks and due to the complex migration processes they eventually found themselves in North Asia. On the basis of interdisciplinary analysis, the article develops strategies for adapting horse breeding culture in the North. The geocultural approach made it possible to reveal the spatial representations of the Sakha people associated with the memory of the south, which formed a mental map of the northern landscape. The geoethnic and mental landscape of the „South“ formed a peculiar model of nomad cultures, introduced its own variations, set its rhythm and movement in the Arctic world.
Большая российская энциклопедия, 2017
Большая российская энциклопедия, 2017
Историко-культурное наследие народов Севера, Сибири и Дальнего Востока Российской Федерации: проблемы репрезентации в формате современных цифровых технологий: мат-лы Всеросс. (с междунар. участием) науч.-практ. конф. – Якутск: Электрон. изд-во НБ РС(Я), 2019. – С. 24–28., 2019
В последние годы становится актуальным создание цифровых геоинформационных баз данных, каталогов,... more В последние годы становится актуальным создание цифровых геоинформационных баз данных, каталогов, справочников и карт для объектов культурного наследия различных категорий, позволяющих хранить и систематизировать большое количество качественной информации. Такой подход актуален и в сфере охраны археологического наследия. Электронная информационно-справочная база данных объектов археологического наследия долины Туймаада позволит не только хранить информацию, но и постоянно обновлять ее, что создаст возможность мониторинга состояния объектов культурного наследия в этом чрезвычайно насыщенном памятниками археологии регионе.
Viktor M. Dyakonov, Kunney A. Pestereva, Alexander D. Stepanov & Owen K. Mason (2020): The spread of metal and metal production technology in the Far Northeast and Alaska over the second millenium BC to the first millenium AD, World Archaeology, 2019
Findings and traces of early metallurgical production in the Far Northeast of Asia and Alaska sho... more Findings and traces of early metallurgical production in the Far Northeast of Asia and Alaska show that the spread of bronze and iron metallurgy took place mainly along the Lena River towards of the Far Northeast, as well as to Taimyr. Spread of metallurgical technology is confirmed by the casting mould for a burin or awl, which was discovered in Eastern Chukotka on the Amguema River. However, metals in Chukotka were obviously too rare to trade until the first millennium AD. An eastward decline in emphasis on metals is evidenced. Across the Bering Strait, into Alaska, iron appeared nearly two thousand years later than it existed within the the Far Northeast of Asia. Traces of metallurgy production were not found in Alaska. The spread of metals across Northeast Asia to Alaska indicates the existence of lasting and persistent connections between the Lena River Basin, the Far Northeast and Chukotka.
In this study, geographic and linguistic distributions of contemporary and ancient matches with t... more In this study, geographic and linguistic distributions of contemporary and ancient matches with the paternal and maternal lineages of two individuals exhumed from the exemplary Pazyryk culture burial site of Ak-Alakha-1 mound 1 were investigated. Using the shared paternal and maternal haplotypes observed in both ancient individuals, extensive database and literature searches were conducted revealing numerous full matches among contemporary Eurasians, majority of whom speak Altaic Languages. Despite the current focus on the two Pazyryk individuals, a rare glimpse into the ancient migrations was gained through the discovery of paternal and maternal haplotype matches across an immense geography that spans from Yakutia to Turkey. In addition to a vast array of archaeological findings in such Scythian "frozen graves" across Central Asia, accumulating archaeogenetic data are expected to shed light on the anthropology of these otherwise mysterious people.
A comparative analysis and correlation of materials of Ust-Tal’kin culture of XII–XIV centuries A... more A comparative analysis and correlation of materials of Ust-Tal’kin culture of XII–XIV centuries AD and Yakut materials of XIV–XVIII centuries AD were carried out. They showed the unconditional continuity and undoubted cultural connection of the monuments of the late Middle Ages of Central Yakutia and the burial complexes of the Upper Lena steppe and forest-steppe sections of the Pre-Baikal region. The parallels are traced in the device of graves, coffins, ways of placing the bodies of the dead, ritual traditions of animal burials in the same pit with a person or next to him, in the accompanying inventory, including virtually identical types of items and similar categories of objects. Some differences are visible in the device of the burial structures and partly in the orientation of the buried relative to the cardinal directions. A rather large variety of ways of burial of the dead at the ancestors of the Yakuts on the middle Lena is explained by the still low consolidation of society, some components of which still retained their traditional tribal customs.
Новые радиоуглеродные даты позволили существенно скорректировать хронологию ымыяхтахской культуры... more Новые радиоуглеродные даты позволили существенно скорректировать хронологию ымыяхтахской культуры позднего неолита Восточной Сибири и сугуннахской пережиточно-ымыяхтахской культуры бронзового века сибирского Заполярья. Ключевые даты для ымыяхтахской культуры были получены в последние годы для нижних культурных горизонтов многослойной стоянки Улахан Сегеленнях (Южная Якутия), а для сугуннахской культуры – на памятниках Нижней Индигирки, в том числе на стоянке Сугуннах. Согласно новым данным, ымыяхтахская культура относится к календарному промежутку 2960±60 – 1185±185 гг. до н.э., а сугуннахская пережиточно-ымыяхтахская культура – к 955±125 г. до н.э. – 335±205 г. н.э. Продолжительность ымыяхтахской культуры составляет около 1775 лет, сугуннахской – около 1290 лет.
Geochemical analysis of 102 obsidian artifacts from the lower reaches of the Kolyma River was per... more Geochemical analysis of 102 obsidian artifacts from the lower reaches of the Kolyma River was performed to understand the provenance of the raw material; previously, there were no such studies in this region. Sites under investigation belong to the Arctic Neolithic, generally dated to ca. 6000–1500 BP. Based on the data for potential obsidian sources in Northeastern Siberia and neighboring territories, available to us, it was found that all obsidian artifacts originated from the Lake Krasnoe source in Chukotka, with a straight-line distance of ca. 800–1100 km from archaeological sites of the Kolyma River. This is a remarkable example of long-distance exchange/transport of obsidian in Northeastern Siberia during the Stone Age. The Lake Krasnoe locale was the primary obsidian source for prehistoric populations in this vast region, including Chukotka, the Kolyma River basin, and Okhotsk Sea coast; this obsidian was also identified at some Alaskan sites near the Bering Strait.
Статья вводит в научный оборот открытую в Ленском районе Якутии в 2011 г. стоянку Калайка, относя... more Статья вводит в научный оборот открытую в Ленском районе Якутии в 2011 г. стоянку Калайка, относящуюся к неолиту. Памятник находится на надпойменной террасе р. Лены на берегу старичного озера Калайка. В инвентаре стоянки имеются фрагменты керамики, кусочки обожжённой глины, кремневые вкладыши, наконечник стрелы, резчик, ножевидные пластины, осколки, отщепы, чешуйки ретуши и мелкие обожжённые фрагменты костей.
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Papers by Viktor Dyakonov
The results of a joint Russia-Japan excavation at the Malaya Gavan site from 2007 to 2008 revealed that the Belkachi phenomenon was parallel to any period of the Middle Neolithic Malyshevo culture in the Lower Amur basin [Fukuda, et al. 2011b]. Furthermore, around the Amur River mouth during the Paleometal age of the late stage of the 1st millennium BC, there was another style of round-bottomed Bolshe-bukhta-type pottery [see Shevkomud 2002], which was characterized by a blister pattern (or “pearl ornaments”) just below the rim. It has been pointed out that there is a relationship with the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture of the Bronze age in the Southwestern Yakutia [Dyakonov 2012]. So how should a historical dynamism of cultural contacts in the Holocene between different ecological zones, that is Far East and East Siberia, be described today? That is one of the major concerns for us. In this paper, two potsherds from the Dalzha 2 site located on the bank of Lake Dalzha will be reported on with details of typological features and AMS radiocarbon dates of charred residues.
The results of a joint Russia-Japan excavation at the Malaya Gavan site from 2007 to 2008 revealed that the Belkachi phenomenon was parallel to any period of the Middle Neolithic Malyshevo culture in the Lower Amur basin [Fukuda, et al. 2011b]. Furthermore, around the Amur River mouth during the Paleometal age of the late stage of the 1st millennium BC, there was another style of round-bottomed Bolshe-bukhta-type pottery [see Shevkomud 2002], which was characterized by a blister pattern (or “pearl ornaments”) just below the rim. It has been pointed out that there is a relationship with the Ulakhan-Segelennyakh culture of the Bronze age in the Southwestern Yakutia [Dyakonov 2012]. So how should a historical dynamism of cultural contacts in the Holocene between different ecological zones, that is Far East and East Siberia, be described today? That is one of the major concerns for us. In this paper, two potsherds from the Dalzha 2 site located on the bank of Lake Dalzha will be reported on with details of typological features and AMS radiocarbon dates of charred residues.