Above-Ground Frame Buildings in Western Siberia: Archaeological and Ethnographic Parallels

Above-Ground Frame Buildings in Western Siberia:
Archaeological and Ethnographic Parallels

DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2016.44.3.063-071

V.N. Adayev and O.Y. Zimina
Institute of Northern Development, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2774, Tyumen, 625003, Russia

This study examines above-ground frame buildings and their numerous parallels in various cultures. In Western Siberia, these structures occur throughout the area from the forest-steppe to the northern taiga and over a time span from the Chalcolithic to the Middle Ages. They were especially popular during the Bronze to Iron Age transition. In settlements, remains of these buildings usually look like oval or rounded areas raised above the ground and surrounded by shallow pits or ditches and sometimes by low earthen mounds. Recent ethnographic studies among the Selkups of the Upper Taz River, Krasnoselkupsky District, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, demonstrate that the natives of the northern taiga have been using such constructions until the present time. These frame dwellings, shaped like truncated pyramids, had no foundation pits, and were covered with sand and turf. They were called poy-mat, which means “wooden house” in Selkup. Poy-mat was a seasonal dwelling that, in the 20th century, was used by hunters and poor reindeer herders in the winter. Our fi ndings reveal parallels between Selkup and archaeological dwellings and allow us to reconstruct the appearance of ancient buildings, their construction, materials, and usage. This type of building had several adaptive advantages that contributed to its viability over the centuries.

Keywords: Ethno-archaeology, Western Siberia, Selkups, above-ground buildings.