Extraction of remains of the mammoth fauna and local communities of the Arctic territories of Yakutia at the end of the 20th century

• Published in: VESTNIK ARHEOLOGII, ANTROPOLOGII I ETNOGRAFII
• Main Author: Grigorev S.A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: Tyumen Scientific Centre SB RA 2021
• Subjects: indigenous peoples; yakutia; fossil mammoth bone; industrial development; late 20th century; arctic zone; environment; subsoil use; Archaeology; CC1-960; Arctic; Sakha; Republic of Sakha; Yakutia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.20874/2071-0437-2021-54-3-20; https://doaj.org/article/14dcb27bd1c44e3c9cfc517e21a1ca91

Studying the consequences of exploitation of indigenous territories is an urgent topic of modern science. This study presents the result of the research on the history of the development of a special type of resources — mammoth tusks in northern Yakutia. The paper is aimed at the analysis of impact of the new sector of the economy in the region on the local communities. It was also important to identify the sequence of the events that facilitated this development. The methodological basis of the study is represented by the historical method of analyzing archival data, periodicals, and legal and scientific literature on this subject. Sources for the paper included materials from the National Archive of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), regional periodicals, as well as legal and reference materials covering this crucial stage in the development of the local indigenous communities. Despite the fact that extraction of fossil mammoth bone has been carried out for a long time, its active development began only at the end of the 20th century. The formation and progress of such a new type of mining activity has left a special impression on the development of the local population engaged in the traditional farming. Opportunities and the weak state control in this area have created favorable conditions for the emergence of a special environment for economic relations. This has had a significant impact on social well-being of the local indigenous peoples. During this period, a special situation developed when, due to objective reasons, mammoth tusks turned from an object of natural origin that did not cause any interest into a valuable, highly sought resource. The growing global demand for mammoth remains and the removal of barriers for external contacts in the Soviet Union stimulated the rapid development of the fundamentally different structure of socio-economic relations in the Arctic zone. As a result, this situation greatly influenced the state of the local indigenous communities. The areas of their traditional living ...