Seasonal Site of Shadrinsky Maslozavod of Russian Migrants in the Ishim Steppe Region

Abstract

Purpose. The sites of the Russian colonization period continued to stay insufficiently known in Western Siberia. The author considers new materials of excavation of two Russian migrant dwellings for studying local and chronological dynamic of life-support. Results. This site was localized at the bank of Shadrinskoye Lake in the steppe region of Ishim River valley in the Western Siberia region. Buildings stood alone and were not synchronic. They were small in size - 10 m2 and 18 m2, of rectangular form, and of varying depth. They had plank floors, a gable roof and access to the lake. After the fire, a shallow half-dugout dwelling with a larger area was built in place of the deep dugout, which eventually burned down too. The iron axes, traces of drying of nets with sinkers arranged in the complexes, the bones of domestic animals and fish were found. It is interesting that the sinkers are of different forms: biconic, cylindrical, trapeziform with one hole and flat oval form without a hole. The last type was used with wrapped birch bark. Two pots looked like 18th century brown Russian professional pottery. Despite fishing of the habitants, the bones of animals from food leftovers show the developing cattle breeding with predominant livestock and pig breeding in the local community. The chronology of this site was defined based on the periods of function of iron axes with the wide and the rounded off blades, ceramic and adobe clay brick (which had not been imported until much later) at the beginning of the 18th century. Conclusion. The site is interesting as a source of the early stage of Russian development of Siberia and as an ordinary life-supporting complex. It shows the combination of production branches with the development in fishing and game bird hunting in their natural habitat in the ecological lake systems of the steppe zone. Fishing for smaller fish was conducted for the purposes of diversifying the food ration.