Technological Features of Decorated Ivory Artifacts in the “Classic” Collection from the Mal’ta Site (Siberia, Upper Paleolithic)

Mal’ta is one of the most important archeological complexes of the Siberian Upper Paleolithic. M. M. Gerasimov discovered the site in 1928 and excavated there until 1958 collections widely considered "classic" for the middle Upper Paleolithic with cultural layers dating to the Last Glacial Maximum (19 to 23 kyr). New data, based on the modern methods of the archaeological expertize, found the problem to identification of "classical" collection as the compound of the micro stratigraphy levels and propose the opportunity coexisting of different chronological or cultural complexes. The article aims to prove the coexistence in Mal'ta's collection of various techniques of manufacturing stable forms of ornament, as a consequence of different technological or cultural processes, and chronology. Microscopic examination of the site’s ivory artifact collection revealed several methods to produce variously functioning ornamental objects. These include portable sculptures, items of personal adornment, and a few other artifacts. Microscopic analysis revealed a variety of the manufacturing techniques and functions of the mobile art. From technological position, we categorized artifacts based on the fragments of the artifacts, blanks, and finished products with and without decoration. In general, there were distinct technological approaches to produce anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures with specific sets of tools and technological standards. In addition, we identified four categories of ivory ornaments and six different technology-processing methods. We argue that there are temporal or cultural differences in artifact’s style and manufacturing techniques based on technological analysis, that may be useful in general reconstruction of the cultural process in the Upper Paleolithic (LGM-period) in the Nord-Eastern Eurasia.Lbova Lyudmila. Technological Features of Decorated Ivory Artifacts in the “Classic” Collection from the Mal’ta Site (Siberia, Upper Paleolithic). In: Annales d'Université "Valahia" Târgovişte. Section d'Archéologie et d'Histoire, Tome 19, 2017. pp. 7-17

Virtual Prehistory portable art collection of Siberian Mal’ta-Buret’ culture: ways of documenting, classification and representation

Modern research of museum archaeological collections, their attribution and digitizing are relevant questions of science, culture, and education in the world. The paper presents archaeological materials of the Siberian Upper Paleolithic sites Mal’ta and Buret’ and the ways of their systematization and documentation in a form of an information system on the internet. The system has a full-fledged item attribution, scientific description and extensive multimedia support including 3D models and macro photographs. The collections were obtained during the excavations under the direction of M. M. Gerasimov and A. P. Okladnikov, carried out in the early to mid-20th century ; the unique artifacts from the collections are kept in the funds of various museums in different cities of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Irkutsk) in a scattered and unsystematic form. Our project is aimed to the developing of the documentation of unique items from the collection of the Upper Paleolithic Mal’ta-Buret’ archaeological culture and presenting the results in a systematic way with visual materials. The collection includes a number of anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, ornithomorphic figurines, ornamented discs and plates, as well as items of personal ornamentation, and other unique artefacts. As part of the project, we took photographs and macro photographs of the objects, their 3D models using the photogrammetry method, made a detailed description and collected all available publications on them, both modern and the earliest. The art objects of the fragmented collection are systematized and presented in the form of a single virtual collection on the Internet – Information System of Mal’ta and Buret’ Mobile Art. Descriptions, photographic images and three-dimensional models of objects, the results of microscopic studies and trace analysis have been published.Lbova Lyudmila, V. Kazakov Vladislav, E. Rostiazhenko Tatiana. Virtual Prehistory portable art collection of Siberian Mal’ta-Buret’ culture: ways of documenting, classification and representation. In: Annales d'Université "Valahia" Târgovişte. Section d'Archéologie et d'Histoire, Tome 22, 2020. pp. 7-18

The Initial Upper Paleolithic in Northeast Asia : toward the definition of a techno complex.

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