Cultural and Chronological Attribution of the Cowrie Shells in the West and East Siberia Based on the Archaeological and Ethnographic Artifacts
Abstract
The study represents the first attempt to summarize available information related to a rare category of archaeological finds, that is cowrie shells. The interest is sparked by fourteen cowrie artifacts collected in 1954 from the Selkup burial complex Pachanga dated to the 16th century. In comparison with South Siberia regions where due to geographical proximity to the centers of its origin and distribution, the volume of these finds is much higher, the amount of material found in the North is very small, but its scientific value cannot be overestimated. The study aims to give a cultural and chronological attribution of the cowrie shells in archaeological and ethnographic material collected in West and South Siberia. The study is based on the published artifacts from the burial and residential complexes. Judging by the number of the finds, cowrie shells were universally in demand but hard to acquire material, which explains their imitation in stone and bronze. The same can be suggested in the relation to the cowrie shells distribution in ethnographic material — cowrie shell artifacts are more present in the South populated by the Turkic ethnic groups.
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References
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