PEAT-BOG SITES IN THE EASTERN URALS

Peat-bog sites are unique archaeological sources due to their ability to preserve organic remains which otherwise decompose in mineral soils. This opens up a wide range of prospects for the use of science-based methods in paleoenvironmental research. Relatively few peat-bog sites are known in Russia; most are located in the Eastern Urals and in the forest zone of the Russian Plain. At the Uralian sites, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic sculptures, vessels, transportation means, hunting and fishing tools, and details of structures made from organic materials have been discovered. All these are highly relevant to archaeological reconstruction. Along with finds from numerous sites in mineral soils they provide a basis for multidisciplinary approaches to reconstructing the environments, lifestyles, and ideologies of prehistoric Northern Eurasia.