The Bolvanskii Nos I shrine as a reflection of the position of wooden idols in the cultural tradition of the Polar Urals in an archaeological context

摘要

Typical cultic sites in the Central, Northern and Polar Urals are associated with wooden idols. This ancient tradition was gradually lost in the process of the Christianization of the population until the end of the 19th century. However it still existed for a long time in peripheral regions. Due to this fact, using descriptions of travellers and ethnographers, we are able to form an idea of the rituals that led to the addition of such archaeological sites as, for example, bone-bearing sites. In this article we consider the archaeological context that has developed on the location around wooden idols as a result of ritual activity. For the reconstruction of the archaeological context, we used descriptions and analysis of materials from the pagan shrine Bolvanskii Nos I on Vaygach Island.