A. P. Borodovsky, Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS

17 Akademika Lavrentieva Ave., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

E-mail: 32S@mail.ru

UDC 903.01.09

Introduction

The problem of specialization of ancient bone-cutting [Ambrosiani, 1981; MacGregor, 1985], as well as any production, is debatable. Arguments in favor of craft specialization are usually based on three assumptions (Wellbourn, 1985, p. 123-124): first, the presence of certain groups of standardized artifacts in industries of several periods may mean that these products are the result of mass production; second, the specialization of production affects the development of society; third, the division of labor was determined by the fact that the production of handicrafts It is determined by the needs of the society's elite.

Features of specialization of ancient bone-cutting production

Specialization of the ancient bone-cutting business has its own characteristics. First of all, the close connection between bone processing and food production had a significant impact on the organization of this activity and the development of specialization [Pankovsky, 2000, p.95]. According to researchers, in the era of advanced bronze, bone carving was one of the first to become an independent type of bone - cutting craft-jewelry (see, for example, [Lyashko, 1994, p. 166]). On the archaeological material, this feature can be traced back to Modern times. For example, the tools of bone cutters and jewelers in Mangazeya are very similar [Vizgalov, 2005, p. 102]. Experts also believe that from an organizational and production point of view, the ancient bone-cutting industry was rather amorphous and very often associated with other industries, such as leather processing (see, for example, [Gorbov and Usachuk, 2000; Pankovsky, 2000]). In the Bronze Age, specialized sites where bone and leather processing was carried out were located on the settlement, unlike pottery production complexes, which were often located outside the settlements. The close connection between bone-cutting and leather industries in the late Bronze Age was reflected in their development. In the Northern Black Sea region, the decline of leather processing caused a significant reduction in the complex of bone tools [Gorbov and Usachuk, 2000, p. 99-100]. The integration of bone-cutting and decorative ceramic production is characteristic of antiquity [Etruscans..., 1998, p. 79].

According to a number of researchers, the production sites of the ancient bone-cutting industry of the Paleometal epoch in Eastern Europe are characterized by a number of features::

isolation of a land plot or structure in a complex of buildings for various purposes;

mass of finds representing raw materials, blanks, waste and products of different stages of processing;

the predominance of production waste, blanks and defective items over finished products.

A comparable amount of blanks, waste, and bone tools is an indirect sign of a bone-cutting production site. The presence of valuable horn blanks (elk spokes) on settlement complexes can be considered a sign of purposeful storage of bone-cutting raw materials

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Fig. 1. Burial grounds with carved horn products in the accompanying inventory. The Early Iron Age of the territory of Tuva.

2. Burial grounds with carved horn products in the accompanying inventory. Early Iron age of the Minusinsk basin.

for its subsequent processing. Successful attempts to determine the storage location are made on the materials of medieval Novgorod [Smirnova. 1998b, p. 247].

The signs of bone-cutting specialization found in burials of the Late Bronze and Early Iron ages in the south of Western Siberia (Borodovsky, 1997, p.121-122), whose analogues have not yet been found in synchronous burial complexes of Eastern Europe, are interpreted not only as industrial, but also as social (Pankovsky, 2000, p. 97). Nevertheless, it is recognized that in the Bronze Age, the manufacture of individual items, such as psalms, was carried out by professional craftsmen who, most likely, were not "narrow" specialists [Usachuk, 2007, pp. 16-17]. For bone-cutting production in different territories, this was typical until the Middle Ages. According to the majority of foreign and domestic specialists (for the bibliography, see [Smirnova, 1998b, p. 238-239]), master bone cutters often combined several types of production activities. The individual skill of a bone cutter can be fully appreciated in its relation to the cutting of raw materials. According to the observations of E. Tsnotlivy, experienced craftsmen cut raw horn almost completely [1988]. They had almost no marriage [Flerova, 2001, p. 117] and little waste [Smirnova, 1998b, p. 246].

Archaeological materials clearly demonstrate along with individual regional features of bone-cutting production. Thus, shield and grooved psalms of the Bronze Age of the steppe and forest-steppe zones from the Don - Donets region, from the Middle and Saratov Volga regions, and from the Southern Urals (Northern Kazakhstan) differ technologically and ornamentally (Usachuk, 2007, pp. 12-13). During the Scythian period, several centers of artistic bone - cutting production were formed in Southern Siberia and adjacent territories: Tuva, Minusinsk, Altai, Verkhneobsky, and Ob-Irtysh (Borodovsky, 1999, 2007). The basis for the identification of ancient bone-cutting centers was the method tested during the study of materials from the bronze foundry [Chernykh and Kuzminykh, 1989, pp. 214-217]. It was based on the assumption that each large necropolis with an abundance of carved objects belonged to a collective of related groups, each of which had its own masters (Fig. 1-5). Signs of bone-cutting centers are: uncharacteristic use of various types of natural materials (Fig. 6); specific material cutting and types of bone-cutting blanks (Fig. 7); a unique technique of artistic carving; the results of the impact of processing other materials.-

3. Burial grounds with carved horn products in the accompanying inventory. The Early Iron Age of Gorny Altai.

4. Burial grounds with carved horn products in the accompanying inventory. Early iron age of the Upper Ob River.

5. Burial grounds with carved horn objects of the Early Iron Age in Southern Siberia and adjacent territories.

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6. Burial grounds with carvings from various bone-cutting raw materials of the Early Iron Age.

1-Tuva; 2-Minusinsk basin; 3-Altai; 4-upper Ob; 5-Ob-Irtysh.

7. Horn blanks for carvings from monuments of the Early Iron Age of Tuva.

8-horn; 9 - blank from the horn trunk; 14-single horn plates from the trunk; 20-single horn plates from the horn branch. 1 - 7,10 - 13, 15 - 19, 22 - Aimyrlig; 21, 23-Khemchik-Bom III.

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Figure 8. Viking bone-cutting industry. 1-graphic reconstruction of the working and trading places of the bone cutter; 2 - cutting of raw horn; 3 - horn blanks for the back and teeth of the comb; 4-the sequence of manufacturing a horn composite comb (Ambrosiani, 1981; MacGregor, 1985).

special ornamental decoration of products; unusual artistic images and compositions; tinting, painting or inlaying of carvings.

These centers differ somewhat in their raw material base. In the Middle Ages, bone-cutting largely determined the level of organization of the "steppe craft" (Nakhapetyan, 1995). In this historical period, according to I. Ulbricht, the bone-cutting craft of the settled cultures of Scandinavia was characterized by: the absence of a specially designated area for this craft activity; the breadth of distribution of finished products and their blanks on the monument; bone-cutting business did not have the opportunity to become the basis for the existence of an artisan. In addition, the medieval bone-cutting craft in the Baltic region, according to K. Ambrosiani, was not "stationary", but "wandering", depending on seasonal factors, which generally affected the nature of products and waste localization [Smirnova, 1998b, pp. 239-240].

A. Kristoffersen noted three stages in the development of medieval urban bone-cutting production in Scandinavia with their inherent features of archeologization: the first is the activity of an individual producer, which corresponds to limited heterogeneous waste accumulations associated mainly with dwellings, various groups of products in shape and assortment, as well as the breadth of distribution of bone-cutting processing; the second is the production of products to order by a group of traveling craftsmen or home manufacturers. This is reflected in an increase in the amount of waste in a certain chronological period, which is not necessarily associated with specific residential buildings; for finished products, the following characteristics are used:-

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the third is the work of professional craftsmen focused on the anonymous market consumer. It is accompanied by a significant concentration of waste accumulated over a long period, the design of production sites and specialization in the production of mass products of four or five types; localization of bone-cutting fishing, usually in the market area. The characteristics of these stages of bone-cutting craft development were used to interpret the level of bone-cutting in Ancient Novgorod (Smirnova, 1995, 1997, 1998a-b, 1999). The conclusions were based on an in-depth analysis of raw materials, data on the distribution of production waste, their localization and accumulation time. The study of materials related to the bone-cutting production of Sarkel-Belaya Vezha (Volga region), in particular waste (Tsnotliva, 1988), allowed, firstly, to agree with the regulations on the activities of "wandering" craftsmen (grebenshchikov) (Fig. 8); secondly, to consider the lack of specialized premises for bone cutters as a peculiarity of nomadic culture [Vainshtein, 1972, pp. 263-284]. The problem of seasonality of ancient bone-cutting production for horn processing requires special attention [Khlopachev, 2006, p. 7]. According to V. E. Flerova, the seasonality of bone cutting in a nomadic environment also affected the localization of blanks and finished products: if bone and horn processing was carried out mainly in the summer, then only finished products could be presented at the winter festival [2001, p. 134]. The seasonal nature of bone-cutting was preserved in Russia (Vologda Province). until the end of the XIX century, artisan bone cutters were engaged in horn processing for only six months-from mid-October to early May [Ukhanova, 1981, p. 174].

Of particular importance is the discussion of the relationship between the specialization of bone-cutting production and the elite customer. For example, in the 18th and early 20th centuries, the Kholmogorsky bone - cutting industry developed exclusively thanks to privileged metropolitan customers who not only consumed products, but also encouraged fishing [Flerova, 2001, p. 22].

Conclusion

In general, despite the controversial nature of a number of issues related to the specialization of ancient bone-cutting production, the early stages of the development of this craft are characterized by universal features: the absence of a specific production site, seasonality of production, and the mobility of the producer. The duration of the existence of bone-cutting in the framework of domestic crafts largely determined its late specialization [Ibid., p. 32]. The development of bone carving, especially the production of artistic carvings, has always been sensitive to the socio-economic and military upheavals of its time [Orlova, 1964; Flerova, 2001, p. 22; Borodovsky, 1999, 2005]. The migration activity of the ancient population was often accompanied by the widespread use of bone-cutting products.

List of literature

Borodovsky A. P. Drevneye kostoreznoe delo yuga Zapadnoi Sibiri (vtoraya polovina II ka B.C. - pervaya polovina I ka B.C.) [Ancient bone-cutting business in the South of Western Siberia (the second half of the second millennium BC-the first half of the first millennium AD)].

Borodovsky A. P. Tsentry khudozhestvennoi kostoreznoy obrabotki scifskoy epokhi na yuzhu Zapadnoy Sibiri [Centers of artistic bone-cutting processing of the Scythian epoch in the south of Western Siberia]. Barnaul: Alt. State University Press, 1999, pp. 23-26.

Borodovsky A. P. Ugryazh ' i raskroy rog v Zapadnoy Sibiri [Harness and cutting of horns in Western Siberia]. Barnaul: Alt. State University Publ., 2005, pp. 58-62.

Borodovsky A. P. Ancient carved horn of Southern Siberia (Paleometallic epoch). Novosibirsk: Publishing House of IAET SB RAS, 2007, 176 p.

Vainshtein S. I. Historical ethnography of Tuvans: Problemy kochevogo khozyaistva [Problems of nomadic economy], Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1972, 295 p.

Vizgalov G. P. Khozyaistvo i zanyatii posadskogo naseleniya Mangazei (po materialam raskopok 2001 - 2004 gg.) [Economy and occupations of the Mangazei village population (based on the materials of excavations in 2001-2004)]. Omsk: Publishing House of the Omsk State University, 2005, pp. 97-105.

Gorbov V. N., Usachuk A. N. Specialized production complex at the Bronze Age settlement Bezymennoye-2 / / Archeology and ancient architecture of the left-bank Ukraine and adjacent territories. Donetsk: [B. I.], 2000, pp. 97-100.

Lyashko S. N. Kostoreznoe proizvodstvo v epokhu bronzy [Bone - cutting production in the Bronze Age]. Kiev: Nauk, dumka Publ., 1994, pp. 152-166.

Nakhapetyan V. E. Nekotorye osobennosti stepnogo crafta po dannym rogoobrabotki [Some features of steppe crafts based on horn processing data]. Samara: [B. I.], 1995, pp. 78-82.

Orlova L. A. Chukotka, Koryak, Eskimo, Aleutian carved bone. Novosibirsk: Nauka Publ., 1964, 111 p. (in Russian)

Pankovsky V. B. Podkhody k izucheniyu spetsializatsii i organizatsii form kostoreznogo i kozhevennogo proizvodstv v epokhu pozdnoi bronzy [Approaches to the study of specialization and organization of forms of bone-cutting and leather production in the Late Bronze Age]. Donetsk: [B. I.], 2000, pp. 95-97.

Smirnova L. I. Sostav raw materials kostorezov Drevnego Novgoroda (opyt analiza otkhodov kostoreznogo proizvodstva po materialam Troitskogo raskopa) [Composition of raw materials of bone cutters of Ancient Novgorod (experience of analysis of bone cutting production waste based on the materials of the Troitsky excavation)]. History and archeology. 1995, Issue 9, pp. 115-127.

Smirnova L. I. Processing of bone and horn on the estates of Nerevsky and Ludin of the end of medieval Novgorod (experience in analyzing bone-cutting production waste).

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VI International congr. Slavs, archeology. - 1997. - Vol. 1. - pp. 354-359.

Smirnova L. I. Kostoreznoe craft srednevekovogo Novgoroda: Avtoref. dis. ... kand. ist. nauk. - Moscow, 1998a. -24 p.

Smirnova L. I. Organizatsiya kostoreznogo crafta v Drevnem Novgorodom (po materialam Troitskogo raskopa) [Organization of bone-cutting crafts in Ancient Novgorod (based on the materials of the Troitsky excavation)]. Istoricheskaya arkheologiya: Traditsii i perspektivy [Historical Archeology: Traditions and Prospects], Moscow: Pamyatniki istoricheskoi mysli, 1998, pp. 237-247.

Smirnova L. I. Etapy stanovleniya kostoreznogo crafta v srednevekovom Novgorodom (po materialam Fyodorovskogo raskopa v Plotnitskogo kontse) [Stages of the formation of bone-cutting craft in medieval Novgorod (based on the materials of the Fedorovsky excavation at the Plotnitsky end)]. History and archeology. - 1998b. - Vol. 12. - p. 96-101.

Smirnova L. I. Raw materials of Novgorod bone cutters (horn, bone and "fish tooth") / / Veliky Novgorod in the history of medieval Europe (to the 70th anniversary of V. L. Yanin). Moscow: Moscow State University Press, 1999, pp. 123-134.

Usachuk A. N. The oldest psalms of the Bronze Age of the forest-steppe and steppe of Eurasia (technological and functional aspects): Author's abstract. dis. ... candidate of Historical Sciences. - Kiev, 2007. - 24 p.

Ukhanova I. N. Bone carving in Russia of the XVIII-XIX centuries. - L.: Khudozhnik RSFSR, 1981. - 236 p.

Flerova V. E. Carved bone of the South-East of Europe of the IX-XII centuries. St. Petersburg: Aleteya Publ., 2001, 254 p.

Khlopachev G. A. Tusk industries of the Upper Paleolithic of Eastern Europe. Saint Petersburg: Nauka Publ., 2006, 261 p. (in Russian)

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Chernykh E. I., Kuzminykh S. V. Drevnyaya metallurgiya Severnoi Evrazii [Ancient Metallurgy of Northern Eurasia], Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1989, 320 p.

Etruscans: Italian love of Life, Moscow: Terra, 1998, 168 p.

Ambrosiani K. Viking Age combs, Comb Making and Comb Makers in the light of finds from Birka and Ribe. - Stockholm: [S.I.], 1981. - 175 p. - (Stockholm studies in archaeology 2).

MacGregor A. Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn. The Technology of Skeletal Materials sinse the Roman Period. - L.: CroomHelm, 1985. - 243 p.

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The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 11.02.08.

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