No. 3 (34) (2024), Forum
No. 3 (34) (2024)

The Anthropology of art: the mysteries of the artifacts of the Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands cultures

Forum
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46748/ARTEURAS.2024.03.006
Published 2024-09-29
Liudmila I. Missonova
Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7376-3434
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missmila@iea.ras.ru
Выпуск № 3 (34) 2024 журнала "Искусство Евразии"
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Keywords

Aboriginal art of Sakhalin and Kuril Islands, anthropology of art, origins of ornament, starry sky in the culture of anthropos

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Missonova, L.I. (2024) ‘The Anthropology of art: the mysteries of the artifacts of the Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands cultures’, The Art of Eurasia, (3), pp. 96–119. doi:10.46748/ARTEURAS.2024.03.006.
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Abstract

The article endeavours to examine the representation of the sacral in the archaeological monuments of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, juxtaposed with the linguistic and folkloric materials of the Tungus-Manchurian ethnic communities. In the context of the problem of the origin and meaning of art, the author addresses a number of key questions, including the origin and purpose of ornament, its interrelation with ideas about cognisable (sacred) space, and the role of kinship and cultural ties in the similarity of ornamental motifs. The author also considers the timeless factors of perception and existence of art. In difference from the preceding approaches to the study of an art's origins, which have been based on archaeological, art historical, or historical-psychological perspectives, the author of this article adopts an anthropological approach to art as an interdisciplinary scientific field. The concept of art as a form of anthropic activity is useful for understanding art as a holistic mode of cognition and understanding of the world by humans. In this discourse, the ‘text’ of images is comparable with verbal sources (linguistic, mythological) and evidence from other related scientific disciplines. The material of the study is the archaeological monuments of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, which are correlated with cultural objects from other regions, including the Bryansk region, the Vaygach Peninsula, Hokkaido Island, Germany, and France. The evidence indicates that the images of Polaris, Orion, Sirius, Cassiopeia and others depicted in ancient art are represented in mythological and ritual consciousness and serve as a reflection of the vital laws of Earth's space and the starry sky. In this way, they fulfil the role of cultural memory translation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46748/ARTEURAS.2024.03.006

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