Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS

17 Akademika Lavrentieva Ave., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

E-mail: aseev@archaeology.nsc.ru

Introduction

As a certain worldview that emerged in primitive society, shamanism was closely connected with social and family life, expressing in a "vulgar", i.e. simplified, form the development of life. To understand how relevant its study is for historians, ethnographers, and folklorists, it is enough to refer to the index of literature "Buryat Shamanism" compiled by researchers of this religion T. M. Mikhailov and P. P. Khoroshnykh, which contains more than 500 names [1973]. Archaeological and ethnographic materials served as the basis for writing many works.

One of the sources for studying the religious views of the Baikal people in the stone and metal eras are funeral rites and works of art, including small plastic objects from burials and sites, which are semantically explained in ethnographic information. But the most vivid spiritual world of the ancient population of the Baikal region, associated with religion, and in particular with shamanism, was manifested in petroglyphs distributed on the coastal rocks of the Angara, Lena, and Baikal. Many works have been devoted to their study, which address the problems of chronology and semantics, clarify the connection with local shamanic folklore, and trace a certain continuity between the ancient and modern populations of the Baikal region [Okladnikov, 1959, 1964, 1972, 1974, 1977; Okladnikov, Zaporizhia, 1959, 1972].

In recent years, archaeological research in the region has revealed another type of monuments - objects of a religious nature that have similarities with funerary structures and find analogies in petroglyphs and ethnographic materials. But due to their small number, they are poorly studied. Therefore, each new discovery of a cult character is of great scientific interest.

The article is devoted to the analysis of such objects found at the Neolithic site of Elgen - the altar and the sanctuary.

Religious sites and their ethnographic parallels

The parking lot is located on the shore of Lake Baikal, 4 km east of the village. Bolshoe Kocherikovo on the first above-floodplain terrace at the mouth of the Elgen River. The monument was discovered by A. P. Okladnikov in 1978.In 1979 - 1982, under his general supervision, employees of the Sayan detachment of the North Asian Archaeological Expedition of the IIFF SB of the USSR Academy of Sciences and students of the Historical Faculty of the Irkutsk State Pedagogical Institute conducted excavations at the parking lot. Their results are published in a condensed form in the monographic work of A. K. Konopadsky [1982, pp. 27-30]. The monument is unique in the content of specific tools, indicating the existence of a workshop for the mass production of axes with ears and excavated hoes from silicified stones.

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and shale rocks. Experimental and traceological studies conducted by P. V. Volkov confirmed one of the assumptions previously put forward by researchers regarding the purpose of these tools: they were mainly used for hollowing holes in ice fishing for ichthyofauna in water bodies, and in particular on Lake Baikal (Volkov, 1986; Aseev, 2001).

Excavation of the site resumed in 2002. At the same time, it turned out that the materials of the lower level of cultural deposits, represented mainly by the microplate industry, belong to the Mesolithic. Ceramics are practically absent in the filling at the level of 35-45 cm and deeper (slight differences in relief), but there are stone chops made of pebbles that are characteristic of the Paleolithic era (Aseev, 20036).

In 2003, an exploration site was laid down on the slope of the first above-flood terrace 27 m south-east of the Neolithic site under study in the direction of the Baikal surf line. It fell on an annular masonry of pebbles, which was located between a gneissogranite block of approx. 2 m long and 60 cm wide, lying flat on its southern side, and bedrock outcrops - on the north. The nature of the masonry does not raise doubts about its artificial origin. It resembles the tombstones of the Serov culture, which researchers refer to as 5.5-4.5 thousand years ago. Burials with similar masonry structures are known from previous excavations [Okladnikov, 1950, p. 191-354; Goryunova, 1997, p. 99]. The larger diameter of the masonry (C - U) is 2.7 m, the smaller one (B-3) is 1.7 m. During its stripping in the sod and sub-sod layers (up to 25 cm deep), a series of various tools made of flint and quartzite was found: cutting tools on large chips, an adze made of pebbles with polished oval blades, end and end tools. wedge-shaped nuclei, triangular in plan with concave base arrowhead, puncture, knife-shaped plates and microplates, horn wringer. Fragments of ceramics with and without various ornaments, several fragments of calcified bones, two chips and three flakes of gray siliceous rock were also found. Under the masonry to a depth of 70 cm was a continental layer of dredge and loam of light ochre color. There is no trace of a grave spot or any other artificial inclusions in the mainland.

The clothing complex is represented by a variety of tools for specific purposes with almost no production waste, which indicates that it was deliberately placed in a certain place: on a cenotaph or an altar in the form of gravestone masonry. According to the typology of artefacts, the object belongs to the Advanced Neolithic period (Aseev, 2003a).

A similar monument was discovered in 2004 during the continuation of excavations of the Neolithic site located next to the altar. On an area of 16 ^m2, culture-containing layers were revealed, saturated with a significant number of knife-shaped plates and microplates, flakes, scrapers; wedge-shaped, end and prismatic nuclei; fragments of ceramics with and without ornaments. In addition, several massive axes with ears and hoes with an intercept were found, which are generally considered to belong to the Chinese archaeological culture.

During excavations at a depth of 30 - 35 cm from the daytime surface, a layer of light-ochre sandy loam revealed masonry from horizontally laid slabs of rock. In plan, it is elongated-oval, with a length of approx. 2 m and 70 cm wide in the middle (Fig. 1). Below it, at a depth of 20-25 cm, in the western half of the grave pit, there was a second masonry (Fig.2). In the central part, at the level of this masonry, a group of artefacts made of rounded pebbles was revealed. In the foreground, there was a segment of flat pebbles placed on the edge of the chip (Fig. 2, D). Behind it, along the north - south line, lay two well-rounded spherical pebbles of light gray marble-like rock (Fig. 2, B, C). Next,a pest-terochnik made of pebbles of gray silicified rock was located vertically, reminders-

Figure 1. The first masonry ceiling of the sanctuary at the Elgen site (taken from the southwest).

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it resembles the shape of a half-bent figure of a person sitting on bent legs. The similarity with the human figure is also enhanced by the fact that the ancient master marked the front part with a side chip on the upper truncated end. On the lower third of the pebbles, a picket line is drawn in a circular pattern (Figs. 2, D; 3). Here you can trace the indentations and bumps decorated with a dot pattern, which may indicate details of clothing and shoes, which emphasizes the sitting position of the figure. A sigma-shaped depression on the back side clearly marks the hip part of the body (Fig. 4).

Thus, with rather modest processing techniques, the pest is turned into a primitive sculpture. Its largest diameter in cross-section is approx. 5 cm, height 12.5 cm. The ground working plane of the lower end of the pestle is rounded, with a diameter of approx. 4 cm, has a slope to the vertical axis of 10-12°. In one place, on the border between the working plane and the side surface with the picket line, a charred fat plaque remained, indicating some manipulations related to the fire. Small fragments of burnt birch bark were also found here. The pebble crust that remained untouched by the picket line has been flattened as a result of long-term use of the pestle for its intended purpose and has a glossy surface.

Further, as if from the back of the primitive sculpture, a flat pebble of oval shape lay on the side edge of the southern side of the grave pit (see Fig. 2, E). On the eastern side of this group of artifacts, oblong pebbles with a length of 19.5 cm and 5 cm in diameter, with chipped edges and traces of grinding at the ends, were located with a slope to the side of the grave pit (Fig. Perhaps it was used as a hollow. A ceramic fragment with impressions of a netting was placed horizontally next to it (see Fig. 2, F).

If we consider the described group of artefacts from rounded pebbles against the general background of disordered masonry slabs of the second intra-grave floor, taking into account that three of the six objects have artificial part-time work (a segment of pebbles placed on the edge of a chip; a pestle with picket lines; oblong pebbles with chipped edges and traces of grinding at the ends), here, undoubtedly, you can see the purposeful placement of objects, due to the content intended for a certain perception. As is known, such features determine the semantic load of the term "composition" [Soviet Encyclopedia, 1981, p. 622].

There are no direct analogues of the described composition in the Baikal region. However, the archaeological materials of Siberia and the Far East currently contain a sufficient number of individual objects-symbols, which can be used to more or less fully interpret the semantics of the ritual object at the Neolithic site of Elgen.

A collection of items found by V. D. Kubarev at a stone stele in the Yustyd River valley in Altai and attributed to the Early Bronze Age is close in functional meaning to the composition under consideration. It contains a phallic pebble and two pestles (Kubarev, 2004, Figs. 4, 5). Pestles are known to be a tool of human economic activity. It is also very important to note that such tools were used mainly by a woman leading a household. Therefore, there is a paired symbolism - male (phallic pebble) and female (pest). the beginning.

In Khakassia, L. R. Kyzlasov found oblong pebbles at the foot of a stone statue dating back to the Eneolithic period. According to the researcher, this figure with pebbles was revered "by the Khakas, primarily because of its alleged magical power to save women from infertility" [Kyzlasov, 1986, p. 129]. But there is another point of view: "...it is possible that the phallic pebbles at the base of the statue revered in Khakassia were donated during the ancient rite of fertility, similar in scenario to the ritual that once took place at megalithic stelae and deer stones in the Altai, Kazakhstan and Mongolia" [Kubarev, 2004, p.30].

The very name of this statue - Ulugh-Khurtuyagtas - "Big stone old woman" - is not accidental.

2. The second masonry ceiling of the sanctuary with a ritual sculptural composition of artifacts during excavations at the Neolithic site of Elgen (taken from the north). A - pebbles of oblong shape; B, C-spherical pebbles; D-pestle with additional processing by picketing; E-flat pebbles on the side edge; E - segment of flat pebbles; G - fragment of ceramics.

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Fig. 3. Pest-terochnik with additional processing by picketing and chipping. Sanctuary in the Elgen parking lot.

Fig. 4. Drawing a picket line from four sides on a pestle. Sanctuary in the Elgen parking lot.

5. Phallic and spherical pebbles from the sanctuary at the Elgen site.

shamanists of Khakassia, presumably, refers to the spirit of the ancestress embodied in it, which in this case contributes to the preservation and multiplication of the genus, and therefore to fertility.

Based on the above examples, when deciphering the semantics of the composition at the Neolithic site of Elgen, we can assume with a high degree of probability that a primitive sculpture-a pest-terochnik (see Fig. 3) - with two flat pebbles (see Fig. 2, E, E), which limit the space in which it is enclosed, denotes the mother's birth womb, and an oblong phallic pebble in combination with two spherical ones (Fig. 5) symbolizes the male reproductive organ. In other words, the ritual composition of artifacts from the Elgen site is similar in meaning to the above-mentioned archaeological sites from the Yustyd River valley and Khakassia, whose purpose, according to their researchers, is to promote fertility.

More clearly, the paired symbolism can be traced in hybrid sculptural images from Neolithic monuments on the Amur River. Symbols of the phallus and vulva are combined on clay hollows [Medvedev, 2001, Figs. 7, 4, 8, 9]. There are also sculptures that are interpreted as a female phallus [Ibid., Fig. 2]. Among the hybrid ones, there are objects of simplified forms, interpreted by V. E. Medvedev as phallic images, such as clay rods from the Suchu settlement [Ibid., Fig. 10, 11]. The researcher's observations on the localization of these sculptures in a certain place are indicative. Many of them were hidden under the floor or in holes in the eastern corner of dwelling 4 (Suchu Island), which was located in close proximity to the sanctuary of the solar cult (Medvedev, 1994). The owner of this dwelling, according to V. E. Medvedev, "could be a person who had a special social status. Apparently, he was engaged in performing religious ceremonies not only in an earthen structure, but also in a sanctuary under his jurisdiction " [2000, p. 68]. Comparing the Lower Amur polyeikonic figurines with the sculptures of the Paleolithic period (with reference to the works of Z. A. Abramova and others), the researcher connects them with the cult of fertility [Ibid., p. 61].

Thus, the above-mentioned archaeological facts indicating the presence of sculptural symbols of fertility in the Neolithic and later epochs confirm our conclusions that the composition of artifacts in the grave pit at the Neolithic site of Elgen is ritual and is associated with the cult of fertility.

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This idea corresponds to the paired image of human figures found between Bazaikha and Torgashino on the Yenisei (Figs. 6, 1). The same-type figures located antipodally in outline differ from each other by an emphatically pronounced difference in gender. They are cast in copper and are obviously chronologically far removed from the composition of artefacts at the Neolithic site of Elgen. But it is possible that this object belongs to the Eneolithic era.

The images of two human figures from border 18 of the Verkholensk burial ground, carved on a horn plate, are close to the Neolithic artifacts of the cult object from the Elgen site (Figs. 6, 2). Academician A. P. Okladnikov dated them to the Glazkov period [1955, pp. 285-286]. In them you can see either images of twins, the cult of which has a deep antiquity, or different-sex creatures-spouses. At the same time, A. P. Okladnikov refers in his work to the research of L. Ya.Sternberg, who specifically studied the mythology of primitive and ancient peoples about the cult of twins and came to the conclusion that pairing is associated not with twins, but with spouses [Ibid., p. 305]. With this in mind, the paired anthropomorphic image from Verkholensk probably represents a couple, although there are no obvious gender differences between the figures. The validity of this conclusion is confirmed by other artifacts also published by A. P. Okladnikov. These are two separate images of a man from the Glazkovsky pogr. 4 Ust-Uda burial grounds made on mammoth bone plates. The researcher notes that they have signs of different sexes [Okladnikov, 1950, p. 286-288]. According to their idea of combining a woman and a man, the figures are also close to the considered ritual composition from the Elgen parking lot.

But more revealing is the variant of paired antipodal images of human figures in the copulation pose, which are carved on rocks, including on the well-known petroglyphs in the Sagan-Zaba Bay on Lake Baikal (Figs. 6, 3). A. P. Okladnikov wrote on this occasion: "...we are not talking about some erotic theme in this book. in the proper sense of the word. These rock carvings express the desire to strengthen the productive power of the human community and nature, i.e., the animal world, by magical methods" ([1974, p. 87]). This drawing is located next to the horned-headed images of shaman spirits. It is noteworthy that one of the antipodes is also horned and, obviously, according to the canons of shamanism, belongs to the host of images of spirits surrounding it. This leads to the conclusion about the magic meaning of the drawing with antipodal figures. It provides the power of the magic rule-like causes like.

The entire group of horned images of Sagan-Zaba dates back to the end or middle of Glazkov time, c. 1500-1300 BC [Ibid., p. 74]. But the cult site at the Elgen site is much older than these petroglyphs, as evidenced by the tool complex found directly in the grave pit. In its western part, in the layer (10 - 15 cm) between the first and second levels of the floor slabs, an end nucleus is found (Fig. 7, 1), knife-shaped plates (Fig. 7, 2, 3) and a chalcedony tip of an elongated triangular shape, decorated with two-sided counter-jet retouching (Fig. 7, 4). At a depth of 40 cm from the base of the upper masonry, about pieces of rock that rested on

Figure 6. Antipodal anthropomorphic images. 1-a paired image of human figures made of copper, found on the Yenisei River, between Bazaikha and Torgashino (according to [Okladnikov, 1955]); 2-a paired image of human figures made of horn, found in Verkholensk (according to [Okladnikov, 1955]); 3-antipodal figures next to horned images of spirits on rock in the bay of Sagan-Zaba.

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7. Artefacts from the sanctuary at the Neolithic site of Elgen.

on the dry continental soil (the third level of intra-grave masonry), there was an end nucleus (Figs. 7, 5) and a large chip.

In the eastern part of the grave pit, near the slabs sloping to the horizon and bounding its end, two levels of masonry have been preserved. During the dismantling of the filling (pebbles and dark humus layer) at the southern side of the grave pit at a depth of 20 cm from the base of the upper masonry, a pestle of oblong pebbles with chipped and polished planes at the ends was found (Fig. 7, 6). A ceramic fragment with intersecting cord impressions was also found here (Fig. 7, 7); 7, 8); a triangular planed plate chip with two cutting edges and a sharp tip between them, which was used as a puncture or screwdriver (Fig. 7, 9). A chopper made of jasper was found at a depth of 40 cm from the base of the first floor masonry. pebbles with a blade made with large and then small chips (Fig. 7, 10).

According to the typology, material material from the filling of the burial pit with a ritual composition and from the cultural deposits of the Neolithic site that overlap this pit belongs to the period of the developed Neolithic, corresponding to the Kitoy archaeological culture [Aseev, 2004]. For the site, two radiocarbon dates were obtained for coal from the source from a depth of 20-25 cm from the daytime surface (SOAN-5121) - 6130 ±; 115 bp; from a depth of 35-45 cm (SOAN - 5122)-6790 ±;85 BP (Aseev, 2003b, p.66).

Consequently, the time gap between the ritual composition from the Elgen Bay parking lot and the considered image of antipodal figures on the Sagan-Zaba petroglyphs is quite large. Nevertheless, they have one thing in common - pairing. As A. P. Okladnikov noted, "the paired nature of these images gives us the right to recall the numerous dual images of the anthropomorphic type among the peoples of Siberia associated with shamanic beliefs and cults" [1955, p.304]. This fact finds numerous confirmations in ethnography.

It is known that the Evenks on the sacrificial sites, on the ancestral shrines, symbolizing the universe, the central place is occupied by images of paired spirits. As an example of a married couple, we can mention the family idols-patrons - Zuolin, revered by shamanists-Nanai. The Evenks-Orochons have male and female amulets in the form of images of guardian idols under the general name "savekichan". The former, according to beliefs, helps in fishing and maintaining the reindeer herd, and the latter-in all women's economic affairs [Mazin, 1984, pp. 27-28]. In Altai, Kumandins and Shors considered married couples to be orokennerov spirits that promote childbearing in the family. Obviously, the same function was performed by paired images of the fire owner in Western Buryats, called Sakhale-Khatun and Sakhyadai-Ubugun (Khangalov, 1958, pp. 295-296). Sometimes shamans painted guardian spirits in the form of a human or animal with paint on cloth and leather. These drawings have much in common with petroglyphs, including the Sagan-Zabinsky ones [Ibid., Table II, Figs. 1,2].

If we consider the petroglyphs of Sagan-Zaba from the point of view of religious beliefs, it is necessary to say that A. P. Okladnikov (with reference to the researchers-predecessors of the XIX - XX centuries N. N. Agapitov, T. I. Savenkov, B. E. Petri, M. N. Khangalov, P. P. Good, etc.) noted their connection with the shamanistic cult [Okladnikov, 1974, p. 17-20]. Direct evidence of this is provided by the materials of border 1 of the Kurma XI burial ground, obtained during joint excavations in 2002 by Irkutsk and Canadian archaeologists. Here, under the ring tombstone structure, an underground burial site with five levels of internal soil was revealed.-

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It is connected with the construction of the foundation pit of the sanctuary from the Elgen Bay. Noteworthy is the presence in the inventory of border 1 of the burial ground of Kurma XI of an openwork bronze plaque with a horned anthropomorphic image, similar in outline to those on the petroglyphs of Sagan-Zaba. It was kept in a birch bark case. This serves as a strong argument in favor of the researchers ' conclusion that the object was used not as an ornament, but as a cult, ritual object and belonged to a shaman (Goryunova and Weber, 2003, pp. 111-113). In our opinion, the horned-headed figure on the openwork plaque may represent the spirit of the ancestor of its owner, buried in border 1 of the Kurma XI burial ground. It is known that among the Buryats, everyone can become a shaman, but usually they "make a person who has already been a shaman between the ancestors on the paternal or maternal side" [Khangalov, 1958, p. 370].

Sagan-Zabinsky rocks with petroglyphs from functional positions were a sanctuary, a place of worship of spirits in the Bronze Age, since the main part of rock carvings refers to this era. Already in the ethnographic period, the surrounding population held public prayers with sacrifices, called "tailgan". At the same time, the sacrifice of animal meat, fumigation of odorous herbs with smoke, libations of vodka, etc. were mandatory. One of these rites on Lake Baikal was dedicated to Ulan-khat (the owner of water) and was described in detail by M. N. Khangalov [1958, pp. 114-121]. Tailguns have been held at certain times of the year for generations. Their essence consisted in invoking spirits, asking them to grant prosperity to the population of a given area, to help increase its number and health, up to great-grandchildren, to breed cattle and herds, etc. [Okladnikov, 1974, p. 34].

The cult object in the Elgen parking lot is certainly more specific from the point of view of its purposefulness compared to the petroglyphs of Sagan-Zaba. Obviously, it was repeatedly used as a sanctuary for certain religious functions, if we take into account that tools that were not exposed to fire were found at different depths between the floors inside the mill filled with crushed and whole pebbles with humus containing inclusions of charcoal. The purpose of this object, as it seems to us, was one - to promote fertility and well-being. To perform some rituals, it could be used in the spring and summer period, as well as during the ice freeze, when intensive fishing and seal hunting took place on Lake Baikal.

Conclusions

The considered cult objects of the Elgen site-the altar and sanctuary-are directly related to the burial structures. In one case, this is a gravestone masonry, in the other-a pit that copies the structure of the grave pit with three layers of masonry located in it. Obviously, the composition of artifacts with primitive sculpture presented here can be considered, according to the beliefs of shamanists, as a receptacle of ancestral spirits, whose images were periodically "treated" and fumigated with smoke. In this case, it is appropriate to speak about the belief of the Neolithic population of the Baikal region in anthropomorphic spirits. This is confirmed by the presence of paired or double anthropomorphic images in the materials of Eneolithic burials, which resemble the images of shamanic spirits in the form of human figures among the peoples of Siberia, in particular, on the shaman's cloaks among the Yakuts and Evenks. Such images are known in ethnographic literature as special spirits-patrons of the family or clan. In fact, family idols sewn or placed in a certain place of the home in the image of a person are iconography of a personal nature. Both the anthropomorphic images on shamanic cloaks and the family patron spirits were constantly near their owners. Guardian spirits were called upon for help when human illnesses began or hunting failures occurred. A. P. Okladnikov, with reference to A. F. Anisimov, wrote that family patrons or guardians were revered in close connection with the views of the deceased. During the rite of "feeding" the dead, the images of the guards were smeared with the blood of the sacrificial animal," treated " with fat and bone marrow. At each new moon, as the ancestral spirits of the family, they were fumigated with the smoke of sacrificial fat burning on coals or on a red-hot stone. These images were also subjected to the same fumigation before hunting elk or wild deer, asking them for good luck, as well as asking for family well-being [Okladnikov, 1950, p.304].

Apparently, similar religious practices corresponding to shamanistic tailgans existed among the population of the Baikal region in the Stone Age. This is indicated by the presence of layers of heat-treated pebbles and inclusions of embers in the filling between the floor slabs in the burial pit at the Neolithic site of Elgen. At the same time, the gun complex in it was not exposed to fire. Artefacts were obviously offered as offerings.

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The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 31.01.05.

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