Pages: 309-317

During the process of colonization and development of the Western Siberia by the Russians, the social structure of the population of the region was formed by service class people. The predominance of the military people was necessary for the colonization strategy. The service class people tried to emphasize their status in various ways, for example, by acquiring fashion habits such as tobacco smoking. Tobacco was an expensive and forbidden commodity and, because of this, prestigious. Habits are one of social markers which shaped the social and cultural appearance of the service class population. The author of the article analyzes smoking accessories which were obtained during archaeological excavations of rural settlements founded by service class people of Omsk (the Irtysh basin) and draws some conclusions about the role of tobacco and pipes as social markers.

Keywords: Western Siberia, 17th—18th centuries, archeology of Russians, social markers, tobacco, pipes

Information about authors:

Larisa Tataurova (Omsk, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Omsk Division of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Marx Ave., 15, Omsk, 644023, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]
Philip Tataurov (Omsk, Russian Federation). Omsk State Technical University. Krasnogvardeiskaya St., 9, Omsk, 644043, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]