Resources and spatial analysis at actual Nenets campsites: Ethnoarchaeological implications

The aim of this paper is to present and discuss empirical evidence on the dynamics of occupation and site formation processes from contemporary mobile campsites in Northwestern Siberia. The questions posed are generally derived from archaeological studies of Upper Palaeolithic record in Europe. We d...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
Main Authors: Svoboda, J., Sázelová, S., Kosintsev, P. A., Jankovská, V. (Vlasta), Holub, M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2010.10.002
http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0207298
Description
Summary:The aim of this paper is to present and discuss empirical evidence on the dynamics of occupation and site formation processes from contemporary mobile campsites in Northwestern Siberia. The questions posed are generally derived from archaeological studies of Upper Palaeolithic record in Europe. We document the active Nenets summer camps at lakes and abandoned winter and spring camps in the open tundra and the forest tundra. Analysis of floral and faunal resources shows that plant resources and fish are available predominantely in the summer while reindeer are abundant in these regions in fall and winter when they return from the summer pastures from the north. When natural resources are not available, groups supplement with food purchased at shops. Within these living camps,"structures évidentes" and "structures and latentes" of classical French paleoethnology cannot be distinguished as clearly as at Upper Paleolithic sites.