Gopher/Otter

This is a hollow statuette of an animal whose species is difficult to define. The figurine has a clearly seen head, four legs, a back and a "tummy". On the front legs we can find a special platform due to which the figurine can be put on surface and stand there without support. But if we put the figurine on the front legs, the hind legs will not touch the surface (4-5 mm). On the both sides of the head there are convex parts, which can depict cheeks (but there is no fur drawing) or eyes (but there is no apple of the eye). The lower part of the body is large. On the both sides of the statuette we can see C-shaped ornament. When exploring the item under a microscope, traces of green paint had been found (but it can probably be an optical effet)



Manufacturing technique

The process of hollow shaping inside the figurine cannot be traced, since all traces are covered by a layer of “plasticine” during restoration. General shaping is made with a push-plane. The whole surface is covered with pollishing. Traces of a burin treatment are found on left front foot. A knife was probably used for snaping the legs' volume. Decoration was made with a cutting tool.  


Use-wear traces

There are some traces of pollishing, probably, due to a contact with soft organic material. These traces are found near the convex eyes and on the front legs (apperently, one carried the item in a pocket). 


Storage location

The State Historical museum of Russia

Inventory number

1822-621

The Museum KAMIS

no

Size

Length - 12.24 mm

Width: 33.62 mm for the body, 29.32 mm for the shoulders, 19.86 mm for the head


Material

Ivory

Dating

19-23 th. years BP

Culture

Mal'ta-Buret' archaeological culture

The author of the excavations

Gerasimov M. M.
1957

Publications

Volkova YU. S. Iskusstvo malyh form Severnoj Azii v ehpohu verhnego paleolita. – Dissertaciya na soiskanie u. stepeni kand. ist. nauk. – Kemerovo, 2011. S. 78, 172. Ris. 10 - 2, 11 - 3

Gerasimov M. M. Paleoliticheskaya stoyanka Mal'ta (raskopki 1956–1957 gg.)// SEH. – 1958. -  № 3. S. 47

Kamennyj vek YUzhnogo Priangar'ya. Bel'skij geoarheologicheskij rajon. / Medvedev G.I., Slagoda E.A., Lipnina E.A., Berdnikova N.E., Generalov A.G., Rogovskoj E.O., Oshepkova E.B., Vorob'eva G.A., SHmygun P.E. – Irkutsk: Izd-vo IGU, 2001. – T.II. – S. 77. Ris. 29 - 4.

Larichev V. E. Pervoobrazy luny (rasshifrovka znakovyh zapisej na skul'pturah Mal'ty i semantika voploshchennyh v nih obrazov) // Antropogen. Paleoantropologiya, geoarheologiya, ehtnologiya Azii. - Irkutsk: Ottisk. - 2008. - S. 96.

Lbova L.V., Volkov P.V., Pankina A.I. Tekhnologicheskie aspekty proizvodstva mobil'noj plastiki v verhnem paleolite (zoomorfnaya skul'ptura Mal'ty) // V (XXI) Vserossijskij arheologicheskij s"ezd: sbornik nauchnyh trudov / otv. red. A.P. Derevyanko, A.A. Tishkin. – EHlektron. tekst. dan. (36,739 Mb). – Barnaul: FGBOU VO «Altajskij gosudarstvennyj universitet», 2017. – S. 609.

Lipnina E. A. Antropomorfnye i zoomorfnye skul'pturnye izobrazheniya paleoliticheskogo ansamblya Mal'ty // Antropogen. Paleoantropologiya, geoarheologiya, ehtnologiya Azii. - Irkutsk: Ottisk. – 2008. – S. 128.

Lipnina E. A. Mal'tinskoe mestonahozhdenie verhnepaleoliticheskih kul'tur: sovremennoe sostoyanie izuchennosti i perspektivy issledovaniya. – Dissertaciya na soiskanie u. stepeni kand. ist. nauk. – Irkutsk, 2002. S. 148, 166, 184. Ris. 75 - 4.

Pankina A.I. Zoomorfnaya skul'ptura paleoliticheskoj stoyanki Mal'ta: tekhnologicheskij aspekt // Materialy 55-j Mezhdunarodnoj nauchnoj studencheskoj konferencii MNSK-2017: Arheologiya. – Novosibirsk: IPC NGU, 2017a. – S. 16.

Formozov A.A. Neopublikovannye proizvedeniya iskusstva paleoliticheskoj stoyanki Mal'ta // SEH. – 1976.- №4. S. 180-181. Ris. 1.

SHmidt I. V. Izobrazitel'noe tvorchestvo v paleolite Severnoj Azii: metodiki interpretacij (istoriograficheskij aspekt). – Dissertaciya na soiskanie u. stepeni kand. ist. nauk. – Novosibirsk, 2006. – S. 240. Ris. 54.