Oleneostrovski mogilnik: Reconstructing the social and economic organization of prehistoric foragers in Northern Russia

• Published in: Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
• Main Authors: O'Shea, John, Zvelebil, Marek
• Other Authors: Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA, Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1O 2TN, England
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 1984
• Subjects: Population and Demography; Classical Studies; Social Sciences; Humanities; karelia*
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/24870; http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WH6-4D5W1P6-B/2/ce2fa2835deba54c4260fc07964f020f; https://doi.org/10.1016/0278-4165(84)90011-4

Oleneostrovski mogilnik (Red Deer Island cemetery) in Karelia, USSR, is the largest known Mesolithic-age cemetery in the Boreal zone, containing the remains of at least 170 individual interments. An analysis of mortuary patterning, demographic structure, and regional interaction was performed in order to elucidate the nature of Boreal zone forager society during the late Mesolithic. These analyses suggest that the society which produced Oleneostrovski mogilnik was larger and more internally differentiated than previously believed, with a complex system of social differentiation that included hereditary social positions and economic ranking. It also participated in an extensive regional exchange network which moved exotic goods and raw materials over considerable distances. It is concluded that the climax of forager occupation in the Boreal zone occurred during late Mesolithic times, with a maximum density of population and maximum social complexity, and that more recent hunter-fisher-gatherer occupations represent only a pale reflection of this peak. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24870/1/0000297.pdf