Paleoglyptics of the Coastal Territories
of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean:
History of Study and Criteria for Identification

A. I. Pankina

List of issues > «Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series». 2024. Vol 48

Paleoglyptics of the Coastal Territories of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean: History of Study and Criteria for Identification

Full text (russian)

Author(s)

A. I. Pankina

Abstract

One of the most controversial categories of prehistoric art is paleoglyptics, a sculpture made using the technique of stone knapping. Attention to this type of artifacts appeared at the stage of the formation of Stone Age archaeology as a scientific field in the early 19th century, when Jacques Boucher de Perthes described in detail “artistic flints” with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic features in two volumes of “Celtic and Antediluvian Antiquities”. By now, several mutually exclusive opinions on paleoglyptics have emerged in Russian archaeological science: from research works, a significant part of the empirical base of which is made up of “figured flints”, to a complete denial of paleoglyptics as a type of prehistoric art. In this regard, there is a need to consider existing approaches to the analysis of "flint sculptures" and develop an up-to-date list of criteria for their interpretation. We would like to discuss these criteria based on the materials of the coastal territories of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. This vast region is known for its representative collection of paleoglyptics, discovered both as a result of surface collections and during excavations at stratified sites from the Final Paleolithic to the Paleometal period in the territory from the north-eastern borders of the mainland (Kamchatka and Chukotka) to the south of the Russian Far East (Amur Region, Primorye and Sakhalin). Currently, this collection contains 200 items. Among the subjects are anthropomorphic images, images of animals, including bears, representatives of the canine (wolves/foxes/arctic foxes) and feline (tiger) families, ungulates (moose), fish, marine mammals (cetaceans and pinnipeds), birds, there are also images of inanimate objects and celestial bodies (moonlighters, stars, etc.). To solve theoretical problems, the following criteria for the analysis of “flint sculptures” were developed: 1. morphological atypicity of the artifact; 2. artistic techniques (retouching, drilling, etc.); 3. the planographic context of the artifact; 4. the ambiguity of the functional purpose and the absence of traces of refinement characteristic of a certain utilitarian use; 5. the characteristics of raw materials; 6. the coincidence of proportions with the prototype (including biological classification); 7. the wide cultural and geographical context of the artifacts.

About the Authors

Pankina Anna Iliinichna, Engineer, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University; 29B, Politechnicheskaya st., Saint Petersburg, 195251, Russian Federation, Junior research assistant, Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of the Peoples of the Far-East FEB RAS; 89, Pushkinskaya st., Vladivostok, 690001, Russian Federation, e-mail: pankina1995b@mail.ru

For citation

Pankina A. I. Paleoglyptics of the Coastal Territories of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean: History of Study and Criteria for Identification. Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series. 2024, Vol. 48, pp. 25–45. https://doi.org/10.26516/2227-2380.2024.48.25 (In Russ.)

Keywords

coastal territories of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, Northwestern Pacifica, paleoglyptics, “figured flints”, prehistoric art.

UDC

902+7.031

DOI

https://doi.org/10.26516/2227-2380.2024.48.25

References

Abramova Z. A. Zhivotnoe i chelovek v paleoliticheskom iskusstve Evropy [Animal and man in the Paleolithic Art of Europe]. St. Petersburg, Evropeiskii Dom Publ., 2005, 352 p. (In Russ.)

Alkin S. V. Predvaritelnye rezultaty izucheniya pamyatnika Mikhailovka-klyuch v srednem Priamurie [Preliminary results of the study of the MikhailovkaKlyuch site in the Middle Amur region]. Problemy arkheologii, etnografii, antropologii Sibiri i sopredelnykh territorii [Problems of Archaeology, Ethnography, Anthropology of Siberia and neighboring territories]. 2001, Vol. VII, pp. 11–14. (In Russ.)

Besednov L. N., Vostretsov Yu. E. Morskoi promysel ryb i mlekopitayushchikh v rannem i srednem golotsene v basseine Yaponskogo morya [Marine fisheries of fish and mammals in the Early and Middle Holocene in the basin of the Sea of Japan]. Lev Nikolaevich Besednov – issledovatel drevnego rybolovstva: sbornik nauchnykh statei [Lev Nikolaevich Besednov – researcher of ancient fisheries: collection of scientific works. articles]. Vladivostok, IIAE FEB RAS Publ., 2015, pp. 60–74. (In Russ.)

Brodyanskii D. L. Iskusstvo, dukhovnaya kultura drevnikh primortsev [Art, spiritual culture of the ancient Primorye people]. Vladivostok, FEFU Publ., 2015, Vol. 31, 350 p. (In Russ.)

Chernykh I. N. Melkaya kremnevaya plastika so stoyanki "Sinyaya gora 1" (Botovo 1) na oz. Seliger [Small flint plastic from the parking lot "Blue Mountain 1" (Botovo 1) on Lake Seliger]. Tverskoi arkheologicheskii sbornik [Tver Archaeological Collection]. Tver, 1996, Vol. 2, pp. 271–291. (In Russ.)

Crossroads Alaska: Native Cultures of Alaska and Siberia. Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian Institution. Washington, D. C., 1995, 113 p. (In Russ.)

Derevyanko A. P., Krivoshapkin A. K., Larichev V. E., Petrin V. T. Paleolit vostochnykh predgorii ArtsBogdo (Yuzhnaya Gobi) [Paleolithic of the eastern foothills of Arts-Bogdo (South Gobi)]. Novosibirsk, IAET SB RAS Publ., 2001, 152 p. (In Russ.)

Dikova T. M. Arkheologiya Yuzhnoi Kamchatki v svyazi s problemoi rasseleniya ainov [Archaeology of Southern Kamchatka in connection with the problem of Ainu settlement]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1983, 231 p. (In Russ.)

Diyakov V. I. Ritualno-obryadovye izobrazheniya v arkheologicheskikh ansamblyakh Primoriya [Ritual and ceremonial images in the archaeological ensembles of Primorye]. Rerikhovskie chteniya. 1984 god k 100- letiyu N. K. Rerikha i 80-letiyu S. N. Rerikha: materialy konferentsii [The Roerich readings. In 1984, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of N. K. Roerich and the 80th anniversary of S. N. Roerich: materials of the conference.]. Novosibirsk, 1985, pp. 262– 267. (In Russ.)

Diyakov V. I. Primorie v rannem golotsene (Mezoliticheskoe poselenie Ustinovka IV) [Primorye in the Early Holocene (Mesolithic settlement Ustinovka IV)]. Vladivostok, Dalnauka Publ., 2000, 228 p. (In Russ.)

Gabrilchuk M. A. Predmety neutilitarnogo naznacheniya arkheologicheskikh pamyatnikov KnyazVolkonskoe-1 i Petropavlovka (Poselenie-5, Gruntovyi Mogilnik-1). Obobshcheniya 2017 g. [Objects of non-utilitarian purpose of the archaeological sites Knyaz-Volkonskoe-1 and Petropavlovka (Poselenie-5, Gruntovyi Mogilnik-1). Generalizations of 2017]. Devyatye Grodekovskie chteniya. Materialy mezhregionalnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii, posvyashchennoi 100-letiyu nachala Grazhdanskoi voiny v Rossii [The ninth Grodek readings. Materials of the interregional scientific and practical conference dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Civil War in Russia.]. Khabarovsk, Grodekovskii muzei im. N. I. Grodekova Publ., 2018, Vol. 3, pp. 28–29. (In Russ.)

Garkovik A. V. Izobrazitelnaya deyatelnost drevnego naseleniya Primoriya [The pictorial activity of the ancient population of Primorye]. Arkhaicheskoe i traditsionnoe iskusstvo: problemy nauchnoi i khudozhestvennoi interpretatsii: materialy Vserossiiskoi (s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem) nauchnoi konferentsii [Archaic and traditional art: problems of scientific and artistic interpretation: materials of the All-Russian (with international participation) Scientific Conference]. Novosibirsk, IAET SB RAS Publ., 2014, pp. 19–25. (In Russ.)

Grishchenko V. A. Kashkalebagshskaya kultura finalnogo neolita ostrova Sakhalin (k voprosu o sosushchestvovanii traditsii epokh kamnya i paleometalla v I tys. do n. e. v ostrovnom mire Dalnego Vostoka) [The Kashkalebagsh culture of the Final Neolithic of Sakhalin Island (on the question of the coexistence of traditions of the Stone and Paleometallic epochs in the I thousand in the island world of the Far East)]. Uchenye zapiski Sakhalinskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Scientific notes of Sakhalin State University]. 2015, Vol. 11–12, pp. 117–131. (In Russ.)

Gryaznov M. P., Stolyar A. D., Rogachev A. N. Pismo v redaktsiyu [The letter to the editor]. Sovetskaya arheologiya [Soviet Archaeology]. 1981, Vol. 4, pp. 289– 295. (In Russ.)

Kagan M. S. Morfologiya iskusstva [Morphology of art]. Leningrad, Iskusstvo Publ., 1972, 440 p. (In Russ.)

Kiriyak (Dikova) M. A. Drevnee iskusstvo Severa Dalnego Vostoka kak istoricheskii istochnik (kamennyi vek) [Ancient Art of the North of the Far East as a Historical Source (Stone Age)]. Magadan, SVKNII DVO RAN Publ., 2000, 288 p. (In Russ.)

Klyuev N. A., Yanshina O. V., Kononenko N. A. Poselenie Sheklyaevo-7 – novyi neoliticheskii pamyatnik v Primorie [The settlement of Sheklyaevo-7 is a new Neolithic site in Primorye]. Rossiya i ATR [Russia and the Asia-Pacific region]. 2003, Vol. 4 (42), pp. 5–15. (In Russ.)

Konopatskii A. K. Neoliticheskoe iskusstvo Nizhnego Amura v svete novykh nakhodok [Neolithic art of the Lower Amur in the light of new finds]. Gumanitarnye nauki v Sibiri [Humanities in Siberia]. 1996, Vol. 3, pp. 73–79. (In Russ.)

Krupyanko A. A., Tabarev A. V. Drevnosti SikhoteAlinya. Arkheologiya Kavalerovskogo raiona [The antiquities of Sikhote-Alin. Archaeology of the Kavalerovsky district]. Vladivostok, FEFU Publ., 2004, 76 p. (In Russ.)

Lapshina Z. S. Skulptury ryb v kollektsii predmetov iskusstva iz arkheologicheskikh pamyatnikov Komsomolskogo raiona Khabarovskogo kraya [Fish sculptures in the collection of art objects from the archaeological sites of the Komsomolsk district of the Khabarovsk Territory]. Vestnik DVO RAN [Bulletin of the FEB RAS]. 2012, Vol. 1 (161), pp. 161–167. (In Russ.)

Larichev V. E. Chelovek i mirozdanie: Drevnie magi i chudesa podzemelii [Man and the Universe: Ancient Magicians and the wonders of the dungeons]. Novosibirsk, SB RAS, filial "Geo" Publ., 2002, 173 p. (In Russ.)

Latinsko-russkii slovar [Latin-Russian dictionary]. Available at: https://translate.academic.ru/artifex/la/ru/) (date of access: 12.05.24). (In Russ.)

Lbova L. V., Volkov P. V. Drevneishee iskusstvo Sibiri (tekhnologii, formy, simvoly) [The most ancient art of Siberia (technologies, forms, symbols)]. St. Petersburg, Politekh-press Publ., 2021, 149 p. https://doi.org/10.18720/SPBPU/2/i21-214 (In Russ.)

Lvova E. L., Oktyabrskaya I. V., Sagalaev A. M., Usmanova M. S. Traditsionnoe mirovozzrenie tyurkov Yuzhnoi Sibiri. Prostranstvo i vremya. Veshchnyi mir [The traditional worldview of the Turks of Southern Siberia. Space and time. The material world.]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 1988, 225 p. (In Russ.)

Marquet J. C., Lorblancher M. A Neanderthal face? The proto-figurine from La Roche-Cotard, Langeais (Indre-et-Loire, France). Antiquity. 2003, Vol. 77, Vol. 298, pp. 661–670.

Martynov A. I., Sher Ya. A. Metody arkheologicheskogo issledovaniya: Uchebnoe posobie dlya studentov vuzov [Methods of archaeological research: Textbook for university students]. Moscow, Vysshaya shkola Publ., 1989, 223 p. (In Russ.)

Okladnikov A. P. Utro iskusstva [Morning of Art]. Leningard, 1967, 136 p. (In Russ.)

Okladnikov A.P. Ancient art of the Amur region: Rock drawings, sculpture, pottery. Leningrad, Aurora, 1981, 158 p.

Pankina A. I., Garkovik A. V. Zoomorfnaya plastika kamennogo veka Primoriya [Zoomorphic plastic of the Stone Age of Primorye]. Trudy instituta istorii, arkheologii i etnografii DVO RAN [Proceedings of the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences]. 2023, Vol. 39, pp. 31–49. (In Russ.)

Pervye rybolovy v zalive Petra Velikogo. Priroda i drevnii chelovek v bukhte Boismana [The first fishermen in Peter the Great Bay. Nature and ancient man in Boisman Bay]. Vladivostok, FEB RAS Publ., 1998, 390 p. (In Russ.)

Ponkratova I. Yu. Kamennyi vek poluostrova Kamchatka : diss. … d-ra ist. nauk [The Stone Age of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Doc. histor. sci. syn. diss.]. Magadan, 2022, Vol. 1, 252 p. Vol. 2, 50 p. (In Russ.)

Ponkratova I. Yu. Iskusstvo kamennogo veka Kamchatki: obrazy i smysly [Kamchatka Stone Age Art: Images and Meanings]. Tikhookeanskaya arkheologiya: Tikhookeanskie issledovaniya v rossiiskoi i zarubezhnoi arkheologii: istoriya, sovremennost, perspektivy razvitiya (Posvyashchaetsya 125-letiyu DVFU i 300- letiyu Rossiiskoi akademii nauk) [Pacific Archaeology. Pacific studies in Russian and foreign archaeology: history, current stage and development prospects (Dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the FEFU and the 300th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences)]. Vladivostok, FEFU Publ., 2024, pp. 170– 173. (In Russ.)

Ponomarenko A. K. Stoyanka Bolshoi Kamen – pamyatnik razvitogo neolita Yuzhnoi Kamchatki [The Bolshoi Kamen site is a site of the developed Neolithic of Southern Kamchatka]. Kraevedcheskie zapiski [Local history notes]. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii, Far East book Publ., 1989, pp. 119– 154. (In Russ.)

Ptashinskii A. V. Novye antropo- i zoomorfnye figurki yugo-vostochnogo poberezhiya Kamchatki [New anthropo- and zoomorphic figurines of the southeastern coast of Kamchatka]. Vestnik KRAUNTS. Gumanitarnye nauki [Herald of KRAUNTS. Humanities]. 2020, Vol. 2 (36), pp. 21–36. (In Russ.)

Rakov V. A. Neoliticheskaya figurka kosatki iz zaliva Posieta [Neolithic figurine of a killer whale from the Gulf of Posyeta]. Yubilei lidera (70 letnemu yubileyu akademika A. P. Derevyanko posvyashchaetsya) [Anniversary of the leader (dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Academician A. P. Derevyanko)]. Vladivostok, FESU Publ., 2012, pp. 179–184. (In Russ.)

Roussot A. Glossarii pervobytnogo iskusstva [Petit Glossaire de l’art prehistorique au Paleolithique]. Kemerovo, Kuzbassvuzizdat Publ., 2003, 80 p. (In Russ.) Rudenko S. I. Kultura doistoricheskogo naseleniya Kamchatki [Culture of the prehistoric population of Kamchatka]. Sovetskaya etnografiya [Soviet Ethnography]. 1948, Vol. 1, pp. 153–179. (In Russ.)

Serikov Yu. B. Ocherki po pervobytnomu iskusstvu Urala [Essays on the primitive art of the Urals]. Nizhnii Tagil, NSSPA Publ., 2014, 268 p. (In Russ.)

Sevostyanov D. A. Prakticheskaya ikonika (Nauka ob izobrazheniyakh, sdelannykh rukoi cheloveka) [Practical Iconics (The science of images made by human hand)]. Novosibirsk, 1995, 184 p. (In Russ.)

Sher Ya. A. Pervobytnoe iskusstvo: fakty, gipotezy, metody i teoriya [Primitive Art: facts, hypotheses, methods and theory]. Arkheologiya, etnografiya i antropologiya Evrazii. Spetsialnyi nomer. Problemy izucheniya pervobytnogo iskusstva. Materialy diskissii [Archaeology, Ethnography and Anthropology of Eurasia. A special number. Problems of studying primitive art. Discussion materials]. 2009, pp. 4– 14. (In Russ.)

Shevkomud I. Ya. Ikhtiomorfnye retushirovannye izobrazheniya osipovskoi kultury nachalnogo neolita Priamuriya [Ichthyomorphic retouched images of the Osipov culture of the early Neolithic of the Amur region]. Dalnevostochno-sibirskie drevnosti: sbornik nauchnykh trudov, posvyashchennyi 70-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya V. E. Medvedeva [Far East-Siberian antiquities: a collection of scientific papers dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the birth of V. E. Medvedev.]. Novosibirsk, IAET SB RAS Publ., 2012, pp. 116– 121. (In Russ.)

Shmidt I. V., Kraft I. Zoomorfnye izobrazheniya Groicha v kontekste paleoiskusstvovedcheskoi problematiki [Zoomorphic images of Groich in the context of Paleo-art criticism]. Izvestiya Irkutskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya Geoarkheologiya. Etnologiya. Antropologiya [Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series]. 2017, Vol. 21, pp. 136–158. (In Russ.)

Shubina O. A., Yanshina O. V. Predvaritelnye itogi arkheologicheskogo issledovaniya poseleniya Yankito2 na o. Iturupe v 2013 godu [Preliminary results of the archaeological study of the settlement of Yankito2 on the island Iturup in 2013]. Vestnik Sakhalinskogo muzeya [Bulletin of the Sakhalin Museum]. 2014, Vol. 1 (21), pp. 3–47. (In Russ.)

Stolyar A. D. Proiskhozhdenie izobrazitelnogo iskusstva [The origin of fine art]. Moscow, Iskusstvo Publ., 1985, 300 p. (In Russ.)

Tabarev A. V. Kremnevaya plastika i problema dekorativnogo osvoeniya porod i mineralov v kamennom veke [Flint plastic and the problem of decorative development of rocks and minerals in the Stone Age]. VI Arsenevskie chteniya. Tezisy dokladov regionalnoi nauchnoi konferentsii po problemam istorii, arkheologii i kraevedeniya [VI Arseniev readings. Abstracts of the regional scientific conference on the problems of History, Archaeology and Local Lore]. Ussuriisk, 1992, pp. 206–208. (In Russ.)

Tabarev A. V. Dekorativnye elementy v rannegolotsenovykh industriyakh Dalnego Vostoka: problema interpretatsii [Decorative elements in the Early Holocene industries of the Far East: the problem of interpretation]. Pozdnii paleolit – rannii neolit Vostochnoi Azii i Severnoi Ameriki: materialy mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii [Late Paleolithic – Early Neolithic of East Asia and North America: proceedings of the International Conference]. Vladivostok, 1996a, pp. 213–218. (In Russ.)

Tabarev A. V. Po sledu khaltsedonovogo tigra. Arkheologicheskii etyud [On the trail of the chalcedony tiger. An archaeological study]. Drevnee iskusstvo tikhookeanskikh kultur [Ancient Art of Pacific Cultures]. Vladivostok, FESU Publ., 1996b, pp. 51–72. (In Russ.)

Tabarev A. V. Kamennye figurki ryb po materialam finalnopaleoliticheskikh pamyatnikov Dalnego Vostoka: versii i interpretatsii [Stone figurines of fish based on the materials of the final Paleolithic sites of the Far East: versions and interpretations]. Kamennaya skulptura i melkaya plastika drevnikh i srednevekovykh narodov Evrazii [Stone sculpture and small plastic of ancient and medieval peoples of Eurasia]. Barnaul, Azbuka Publ., 2007, pp. 79–81. (In Russ.)

Uvarov A. S. Arkheologiya Rossii. Kamennyi period [Archaeology of Russia. Stone Age]. Moscow, 1981, Vol. 2, 267 p. (In Russ.)

Vasiliev S. A., Bozinski G., Bredli B. A., Vishnyatskii L. B., Girya E. Yu., Gribchenko Yu. N., Zheltova M. N., Tikhonov A. N. Chetyrekhyazychnyi (russko-anglofranko-nemetskii) slovar-spravochnik po arkheologii paleolita [A four-language (Russian-English-French-German) dictionary-handbook of Paleolithic Archaeology]. St. Petersburg, Peterburgskoe Vostokovedenie Publ., 2007, 264 p. (In Russ.)

Vasilevskii A. A. Kamennyi vek ostrova Sakhalin [The Stone Age of Sakhalin Island]. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin book Publ., 2008, 412 p. (In Russ.)

Vishnyatskii L. B. Na podstupakh k iskusstvu (paleolit) [On the approaches to art (Paleolithic)]. Stratum: struktury i katastrofy. Sbornik simvolicheskoi indoevropeiskoi istorii [Stratum: Structures and catastrophes. Collection of symbolic Indo-European history]. St. Petersburg, 1997, pp. 4–19. (In Russ.)

Volkov P. V. Chelovek za kamnem. Arkheologiya v poslednee vremya [The man behind the stone. Archaeology in recent times]. St. Petersburg, Platonovskoe filosofskoe obshchestvo Publ., 2020, 280 p. (In Russ.)

Zamyatnin S. N. Miniatyurnye kremnevye skulptury v neolite Severo-Vostochnoi Evropy [Miniature flint sculptures in the Neolithic of Northeastern Europe]. Sovetskaya Arkheologiya [Soviet Archaeology]. 1948, Vol. 10, pp. 85–124. (In Russ.)