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Aleksashenko N. Old Bering Sea Ornamentation on Harpoon Heads from the Ekven Cemetery: Тechnological Aspect

Natalia Aleksashenko
Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the RAS
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0003-3317-9978
E-mail: nataleksash@kunstkamera.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. The article is devoted to the traceological studies of the technique of engraved ornamentation on the toggle harpoon heads from Ekven cemetery (Chukotka, 1st millennium AD). The finds came to the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences as a result of excavations carried out in the 1960s under the guidance of S. A. Arutyunov and D. A. Sergeev. The purpose of this study is to identify and compare the engraving methods characteristic of each style of the Old Bering Sea culture (OBS I, II, III). The microscopic examination of the grooves, notches of different shapes, or contour patterns on the surface of the heads showed that all styles used tools of the same shape and size, but the engraving techniques varied. As a result, it was found that OBS I is characterized by geometric compositions and high quality of thin even lines drawn with a single movement of the engraving tool. The appearance of adjoining triangular denticles depended on the carving technique. A total of three methods have been identified. The ornamentation of OBS II and OBS III is similar and is distinguished by wider lines, punctuated notches of different length and shape, and a combination of engraving with relief zoomorphic images. At the same time, OBS II shows a variety of variants of ornamentation, in contrast to OBS I and OBS III, in which standardization of techniques is observed. While observing the canons in the composition, individual features are often conditioned by the technical level of the carver’s skill.

 

KEYWORDS: Old Bering Sea culture, harpoon heads, engraving, traceological analysis

 

FOR CITATION: Aleksashenko N. Old Bering Sea Ornamentation on Harpoon Heads from the Ekven Cemetery: Тechnological Aspect. Kunstkamera. 2025. 2 (28): 34–47. (In Russian). DOI: 10.31250/2618-8619-2025-2(28)-34-47

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2025-2(28)-34-47
UDC 903.01(571.651)

 

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