Bone Anthropomorphic Sculpture from the Ust-Polui Sanctuary

Bone Anthropomorphic Sculpture from the Ust-Polui Sanctuary

N.V. Fedorova.

The article examines a unique bone anthropomorphic fi gurine from the ancient Ust-Polui sanctuary (1st century BC – 1st century AD), located within the boundaries of the town of Salekhard. A detailed description of the fi nd and the circumstances of its discovery are provided. The article traces parallels for the fi gurine over a signifi cant chronological period (from the Early Iron Age to the ethnographic present). The fi gurine is dated to around the end of the Kulaika period and was used in rituals where it was made offerings of fat or blood.

Keywords: Anthropomorphic representation, bone sculpture, ancient sanctuary, Kulaika period, iconography, engraved
images, Samoyeds, Ob Ugrians, cult attributes, three-headed representation, masks, Kholmogory collection.