Pages: 319-335

The article presents the oldest evidence of non- utilitarian use of marmot incisors in North Asia. The ornamented marmot incisor comes from the Early Holocene layer of the Kaminnaya Cave. The artifact was studied by methods of high precision three-dimensional modeling, experiment and traceological analysis. In order to obtain detailed information on the morphological characteristics of the artificial relief, a high-precision three-dimensional scanner of structured light and a three-dimensional surface profiler were used to analyze and compare the features of artificial modification on the surfaces of both the prehistoric artifact and its experimental replicas. As a result, the method of modification was reconstructed, and the non-utilitarian function of the object was identified. The concluding part of the article touches upon the interaction between marmots and man in the Pleistocene and Holocene of the Altai Mountains, with special attention paid to their use in the Holocene funeral practices.

Keywords: Altai Mountains, Kaminnaya Cave, Early Holocene, personal ornaments, experiment, traceology

Information about authors:

Kseniya Kolobova (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Lidia Zotkina (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Sergey Markin (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Sergey Vasilev (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Candidate of Biological Sciences. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Pavel Chistyakov (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Ekaterina Bocharova (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Alena Kharevich (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]