Paper short abstract:

There has been a moratorium on virtually all archaeological work in the Altai republic since 1996. Focusing on local perceptions of excavated artefacts I shall explore this case not just with the aim of understanding identity politics in Siberia, but also in order to theorise about creativity.

Paper long abstract:

The Altai Republic (Russian Federation) is home of the Pazyryk burial mounds, a world famous archaeological excavation site which preserved for 2500 years the frozen bodies and artefacts of former inhabitants of the Altai mountains. However, because of active and successful opposition from the native inhabitants, there has been a moratorium on virtually all archaeological work in the republic since 1996. Drawing on fieldwork in the villages surrounding the Pazyryk site, I shall argue in this paper that a focus on the perception of excavated artefacts helps us understand the situation in which archaeology finds itself in the Altai Republic. Such artefacts are viewed by locals as having been stolen from graves, and as such, they bring bad luck and misfortune. For example, locals have blamed earlier excavations for the devastating earthquake of 2003. At the same time, artefacts are indices of creativity (inspirational or genetically determined), creativity that Altaians allegedly share with the people of "Pazyryk culture". Such creativity drives contemporary Altaians to produce copies of Pazyryk artefacts, which are then presented as proof of an ancestral link to "Pazyryk people," despite the fact that this link is refuted by archaeologists on the basis of DNA analyses. I shall explore this case not just with the aim of understanding identity politics in contemporary Siberia, but also in order to theorise about creativity. This is where, somewhat surprisingly, Walt Disney enters the debate.