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- Anthropology & Archaeology
Abstract
Temporary panel for accepted proposals in ANT
Accepted papers
Abstract
In this research paper, the main topic of analysis is Sufism among Kazakhs in the late 19th century and contemporary commemoration of it, with the focus on two hagiographies about Etzhemes or Etzhimas Ishan or Ishan-baba-Ahund-Shadman-Khodzha-Ishanov (b. 1833) and the sacred sites associated with him. Islam and Sufism among Kazakhs and their complicated relations with the Russian colonial power are getting more and more scholarly attention. The recent excellent book by Pavel Shablya and Paolo Sartori, The Case of Mansurov, which shows how colonial orientalism pervaded Kazakh religiosity, seeks to shape and understand Kazakh religiosity in its own terms (Shablya and Sartori 2025). This article aims to widen the academic knowledge of Islam in Kazakh steppe, which bordered in south with sedentary parts of Central Asia, with focus on the figure of the so-called Etzhemes of Etzhimas Ishan of the Tashkent area, about whom Russian colonial office Nil Sergeevich Lykoshin (1880-1920), left highly positive memories and compared him in the colonial fashion of that time as only pious and “true” representative of Muslim spirituality and Sufism in Tashkenti area. What is essential is that the memory about Etzhemsa Ishan did not vanish after the turmoil of the 20th century and after the collapse of the USSR, the figure of Etzhemes Ishan became reimagined in a new wave of hagiographies in Kazakh about him, but they are based on colonial written heritages, such as works of Lykoshin
Abstract
A group of people, who have been trying to promote and practice Tengrism since the independence of Kyrgyzstan, are marginalized due to their attempts to maintain their national and religious identity. The proponents of Tengrism have been trying to revive and revitalize Tengrism in a new, modified way, and they are divided into several groups, depending on their concepts of Tengrism. Since there is not much information about Tengrism, its rituals, practices, etc., people follow and adopt different concepts and practices. Overall, the concept and practices are vague, even among practitioners and supporters, leading to different debates and discussions. People who practice Tengrism have a small community, which is divided into several subgroups based on their shared ideas on Tengrism. They cannot come up with a general conceptualization and understanding of Tengrism. They understand Tengrism in different ways. This research will contribute to categorizing the conceptualization and practices of Tengrism in Kyrgyzstan. The main purpose of the research is to find out their understanding and perception of Tengrism and analyze why different groups understand and interpret Tengrism in different way and they cannot come up with a general perception of Tengrism. The research is focused on the community of Tengrism with ethnographic research methods to understand and analyze their perception of their worldview, with qualitative data collection. I chose ethnographic research methods to conduct an in-depth and detailed study of each subgroup of Tengrism and to provide a holistic understanding of their belief in general.
Abstract
My paper examines railway infrastructure in Armenia as a key instrument through which imperial and Soviet authorities reshaped space, mobility, and power relations. Focusing on the Armenian railway system during the late Soviet period (1950s–1980s), particularly the construction of the Yerevan–Hrazdan–Ijevan line, my study explores how railway development functioned simultaneously as a strategic infrastructure of state power and as a material environment through which societies imagined political and economic futures.
Railways have historically played a central role in integrating the South Caucasus into wider imperial and regional networks linking the Black Sea, the Caspian basin, and Central Eurasia. Soviet planners presented railway expansion as a mechanism of modernization that would accelerate industrial development, secure strategic borderlands, and strengthen economic integration across the region. In this sense, infrastructure operated not only as a technical system but also as a political project aimed at reorganizing spatial relations between imperial centers and peripheral territories.
Drawing on archival sources and anthropological methodology, my research analyzes how Soviet railway projects articulated what Reinhart Koselleck describes as a particular “horizon of expectation,” in which infrastructure symbolized progress, connectivity, and socialist transformation. At the same time, these projects were deeply embedded in earlier imperial spatial orders, as railway corridors initially constructed under the Russian Empire were repurposed to serve Soviet geopolitical and military objectives in a strategically volatile borderland.
The research further explores the legacies of these infrastructures in the post-Soviet period. Many railway lines built during the late Soviet decades now exist in states of stagnation or partial abandonment, transforming infrastructures once associated with socialist modernization into material reminders of unrealized futures. By examining railways as both instruments of territorial integration and as mnemonic landscapes of imperial power, my study contributes to the broader debate on infrastructure, spatial transformation, and the politics of power in the South Caucasus region.
Abstract
This paper analyzes Soviet efforts to standardize and “modernize” funeral practices in Kazakhstan by promoting socialist forms of ceremonial life. During the Soviet period, practices surrounding death became an arena for ideological intervention, as authorities sought to regulate and transform customary and religious traditions associated with life-cycle events. Publications in Soviet Kazakhstan promoting “new socialist rites and traditions” provided guidelines for organizing weddings, funerals, and other ceremonies, proposing ceremonial scenarios, recommended speeches, musical accompaniment, and spatial arrangements intended to establish uniform models of public ritual.
Drawing on Soviet ethnographic and ideological publications alongside contemporary ethnographic material collected during field research among Kazakhs in the Oral (Uralsk) and Aqtobe regions of western Kazakhstan, the study compares prescriptive Soviet texts with ethnographic accounts and field observations. The analysis shows how authorities attempted to standardize funeral ceremonies through practices such as burial in coffins, organized farewell ceremonies, and the introduction of classical music, together with traditional elements, such as joqtau, however they became marginalized and today survive only rarely.
Soviet reforms thus produced a process of selective adaptation: some ritual elements disappeared while communal practices connected to mourning and kinship persisted, contributing to broader anthropological discussions on ritual change and state regulation in socialist contexts.
Abstract
This paper examines the shifting linguistic landscape within contemporary Mountain Jewish communities, exploring how migration patterns and socio-economic transformations shape language strategies and intergenerational transmission. The study is based on a series of anthropological expeditions conducted in Pyatigorsk, supplemented by field data collected in Moscow, Perm, and Quba (Azerbaijan). This geographic diversity allows for a comparative perspective on how different local contexts—from traditional compact settlements to new urban centers of attraction—influence language practices.
The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with statistical data processing. This methodology aims to test the presence and nature of correlations between socio-economic factors and stresses, migration strategies (including completed, ongoing, or hypothetical future relocation), and the linguistic choices made by members of Mountain Jewish communities. The core question is whether specific socio-economic statuses or migration plans predictably correlate with the use of Russian, Azerbaijani, Juhuri, or the growing institutional role of Hebrew.
Unlike traditional Mountain Jewish settlements, where multigenerational families fostered daily use of Juhuri, contemporary communities increasingly feature nuclear families and dispersed urban living. Field materials from Pyatigorsk suggest that this structural shift has disrupted intergenerational transmission, with a notable gender dimension: the primary space for Juhuri usage remains the predominantly male domain of the synagogue and intra-community business. Meanwhile, with post-Soviet religious revival, Hebrew is gaining status as the community's ancestral language through institutional education, aligning with both religious identity and the migration aspirations of families with ties to Israel.
By incorporating data from multiple locations, this study seeks to contribute to the understanding of the changing linguistic landscape in post-Soviet spaces and the complex interplay of gender, migration, and tradition in minority language communities facing rapid socio-economic change.
Abstract
This paper examines landscape perception by Eveny, indigenous hunters, and reindeer herders of Northern Yakutia. Drawing on long-term anthropological fieldwork conducted in Yakutia, it explores how Eveny relate to the landscape through mobility, subsistence practices, and local knowledge.
I argue that for Eveny, the landscape is not a neutral physical terrain but a vibrant, relational space animated by sentient beings - animals, ancestral beings, and master-spirits. Within this animistic ontology, the taiga is perceived through multiple signs and the embodied practices of dwelling, such as hunting, herding, and daily movements. Knowledge of the landscape, therefore, is enacted through lived engagement and the practical skills necessary for dwelling in it.
These perceptual and ontological relations coexist with, and have been reshaped by, the profound historical transformations introduced by Soviet modernization policy in the Arctic. Collectivization, sedentarization, and new territorial-administrative regimes altered mobility patterns, economic activities, and the social organization of Eveny people. Despite these transformations, Eveny relations with the land remain grounded in animistic perceptions and multispecies interactions, particularly with reindeer and predators such as wolves, bears, and eagles.
I further argue that Eveny identity is multilayered and dynamic, shaped by the interplay between indigenous landscape practices, the legacies of Soviet governance, and the political-economic conditions of the contemporary Russian state. Landscape acts as a vital domain through which knowledge, belonging, and moral relations are produced, negotiated, and transmitted. By analyzing the entanglement of environment, history, and identity, the paper contributes to broader debates on space, power, and indigenous knowledge in Northern Siberia. It shows how indigenous dwelling practices challenge the notion of landscape as a passive, purely material setting.
Abstract
This paper examines how ethnic Kazak migrants from China’s Xinjiang region navigate social marginalization in Kazakhstan, challenging dominant frameworks that interpret return migration primarily through transnationalism and dual place attachment. Drawing on 30 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Astana (2023–2026), including participant observation and in-depth interviews, the study analyzes the everyday practices, identity constructions, and adaptive strategies of Xinjiang-origin migrants within the broader context of Kazakhstan’s post-Soviet repatriation policy.
The paper argues that, unlike Kazak migrants from Mongolia—whose adaptation is often characterized by strong transnational networks and dual homeland attachment—Xinjiang migrants exhibit a distinct pattern: many of them treat migration to Kazakhstan as a final destination rather than part of an ongoing transnational lifecycle. While they experience similar forms of marginalization (e.g., exclusion from Russian-speaking labor markets and stigmatization as culturally “backward”), their primary adaptive strategy is not the maintenance of cross-border ties. Instead, they mobilize what this paper conceptualizes as “Chinese modernity”—a repertoire of linguistic skills, technological familiarity (e.g., WeChat usage), and market-oriented practices acquired in China—as a cultural resource.
Empirically, the study demonstrates that these “Chinese” cultural practices serve both practical and symbolic functions: they facilitate everyday communication and economic activity, while simultaneously enabling migrants to construct an alternative identity that combines “authentic” Kazak tradition with a competing form of modernity distinct from the Russian-influenced norms of local society. This dual positioning allows Xinjiang migrants to counter local hierarchies that label them as inferior, even as it paradoxically reinforces their othering.
By foregrounding intra-ethnic heterogeneity and the role of non-territorial cultural resources, this paper contributes to broader debates in migration studies, in particular, territorially bounded notions of identity and nationalism. It suggests that return migration cannot be fully understood through transnationalism alone and calls for greater attention to how migrants selectively appropriate multiple modernities in negotiating belonging within “homelands” that are themselves culturally fragmented.
Abstract
Personal ornaments serve as a critical proxy for tracing the social networks and information technologies of Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers. This paper investigates the cultural geography of the prehistoric Caucasus by analyzing personal ornaments, specifically red deer (Cervus elaphus) canine pendants, recovered from the pre-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) layers of Dzudzuana and Satsurblia caves (Georgia). Drawing on evolutionary costly signaling theory, this research evaluates whether the production of these pendants represents localized independent invention or participation in a widespread Eurasian social signaling network.
Methodologically, this study employs a two-pronged approach. First, it establishes an ecological baseline, a "biogeography of scarcity", by comparing the frequency of red deer in broader Western Georgian faunal assemblages with the targeted prevalence of red deer pendants. Assessing this discrepancy tests whether these specific animal products were opportunistic local resources or high-value, costly signals acquired through long-distance mobility and exchange. Second, it applies a chaîne opératoire framework to analyze the taphonomic and technological signatures, such as deliberate surface scraping and bifacial gouging, on both published and newly observed museum specimens.
By utilizing the Southern Caucasus as an anchor to compare local manufacturing gestures against broader Eurasian practices, this research aims to identify potential transcontinental "social manuals" of craftsmanship. Ultimately, exploring these material life histories sheds light on how Ice Age populations utilized standardized symbolic technologies to negotiate group identity, trustworthiness, and social boundaries during a period of extreme climatic oscillation.
Abstract
Mountain Jews are a Jewish sub-ethnic group traditionally residing in the Eastern Caucasus. Throughout the Soviet era, Mountain Jews continued to reside in the Caucasus, despite the community's urbanization and migration from villages to cities. Traditional practices associated with life-cycle rites continued to be preserved. Even religious marriages were practiced by the majority of the community, despite prohibitions imposed by the Soviet regime.
In the 1990s, the socio-political and economic situation in the Caucasus changed, with active migration of Jews from the Caucasus to major Russian cities, Israel, and the United States. However, even under these conditions, Mountain Jews maintained endogamy; marriages, even with members of other Jewish groups, were extremely rare. The structure of the traditional wedding ceremony did not collapse, but it underwent certain changes in the new environment. Matchmaking remains of great importance; it remains an essential function for the elder women of the clan or nuclear family. The report will examine the main stages of the wedding ceremony and their transformations. It will also examine traditions associated with the first wedding night, how women today talk about them, their attitudes toward these rituals, and how these rituals are being transformed or preserved in different families in the modern world. These stories are usually quite emotional. While in most cases "ancestral traditions" are not criticized, and changes are described as necessary measures, traditions associated with the first wedding night are subject to condemnation.
My paper will be based on the corpus of interviews (approximately 50) with Mountain Jewish women from Derbent, Pyatigorsk, and Moscow.
Abstract
Throughout Central Asia, there has been a reconstruction and re-evaluation of ethnoreligious identities since the collapse of the socialist system. In the remote western part of Mongolia, the Qazaq minority, who enjoyed cultural autonomy for decades, now find themselves disturbed by these transformations. The suspension of state-funded economic, employment, and education opportunities shifted the means by which Qazaqs gained social mobility and integration within mainstream Mongolian society. Meanwhile, the rise of Mongolian nationalism, which proudly emphasized the Chinggis lineages (Bulag, 1998), put the country’s only non-titular minority, the Qazaqs, in “a more ambiguous position in the new landscape of nationalist imagination” (Sneath, 2010, p. 260). Parallel to these changes, almost half of the Qazaq Mongolians immigrated to newly independent Qazaqstan, with whom they shared historical and ethno-cultural heritage (Diener, 2009; Werner & Barcus, 2010). While the democratic constitution continues to guarantee cultural and religious rights for minorities, the questions of language, loyalty, and civic participation have increasingly been scrutinized in public discourse around Qazaq belonging.
This paper examines how Qazaq minorities articulate and negotiate their sense of belonging in this shifting context. Drawing on eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Bayan-Ulgii and a series of in-depth interviews, it takes everyday life as its primary analytical site. Combining theoretical frameworks of everyday nationalism (Brubaker, 2004) and the politics of belonging (Yuval-Davis, 2011), this paper argues that the imaginaries of being Qazaq in contemporary Mongolia are dynamic processes in which multiple strategies of ethnoreligious identity and the sense of belonging constantly unfold and shift. The paper shows that ordinary Qazaqs navigate this unsettled terrain through active and creative strategies by realigning their ancestral histories, leveraging cultural resources, and asserting civic belonging in their everyday life. While previous research on national identity in post-socialist contexts has primarily examined majority populations through a top-down approach, this study takes a bottom-up approach, focusing on the lived experiences of a minority community. By situating these everyday strategies in broader national discourses, the paper illuminates how ordinary Qazaq men and women, across different generations, talk, perform, and choose their place within the shifting terms of belonging in contemporary Mongolia.
Abstract
Modern Kyrgyz society, as it has for many centuries, practices a wide range of rituals that play an important role in building relationships among people within their communities. Rituals have a profound significance in people’s everyday life and are guided by specific needs, beliefs, and expectations.
The aim of this research is to explore the social significance of rituals in Kyrgyz society, both historically and in the present day, in order to understand the rationales behind the changes or preservation of specific rituals over time.
The researcher studies episodes from the epic “Manas”, which describes the rituals of turning into foster brothers of Manas and his friend from China Almambet, the matchmaking ritual of Manas Kanykey and some others, as well as the most common ritual in Kyrgyz society,” give a taste of bread. “I will be interviewing two epic storytellers, as well as 8-10 people practicing various Kyrgyz rituals.
This is an ongoing study and the researcher studies episodes from the epic "Manas", which describes the rituals of becoming foster brothers of Manas and his Chinese friend Almambet, the marriage ritual of Manas's Kanykey, and other common rituals in Kyrgyz society such as giving a taste of bread to visitors. The data has been collected through semi-structured interviews Manas tellers and eight to ten people who practice various Kyrgyz rituals.
My argument is twofold: first, some Kyrgyz rituals were dictated by a nomadic way of life, when people did not have a lot of protection and needed trustworthy people in their environment. As a result, most rituals aim to oblige another person to be more friendly, tolerant, and in difficult times to make them an ally, so they do not turn against them. Second, with changing living conditions, opportunities, and relationships, some rituals have become less relevant but continue to exist in people's memories. These rituals are important for preserving a more complete picture of the Kyrgyz culture. The meaning of other rituals has evolved, and people continue to perform them with new meanings.
The study will contribute to a better understanding of the significance of rituals in shaping relationships within the Kyrgyz community. This knowledge will provide a solid foundation for a more informed discussion on certain practices specific to the Kyrgyz people and the historical context of ritual actions influenced by the unique circumstances of Kyrgyz life.
Abstract
Within the Eastern intellectual elite, who were awakening in reaction to Western conquests since the 19th century, Jadidism became a relatively mature political, ideological and religious movement. It was a political doctrine that was periodically updated in accordance with the demands of the times, in terms of both conceptual views and national strategy. In light of the substantial body of research on the Jadidist movement, which is widely regarded as a significant national awakening phenomenon, it is imperative to continue examining its political and strategic methods and philosophy, which closely align with the spirit of the nation.
The beginning of the 20th century was a pivotal moment for the Turkic peoples of Central Asia, characterized by substantial economic and social changes linked to the region's transition to capitalism. During this period, the foundations of a national bourgeoisie began to form, contributing to increased economic activity and the emergence of new class structures. The Jadids emerged at a time when the historical territory of Turkestan was united for all the peoples of Central Asia, and all the materials of Jadidism reflected their political and ideological struggle for the independence of Turkestan. One of the most important aspects of this time was the emergence of a new philosophy and innovative ideas that spread actively among the Turkic peoples. These ideas, in particular, were devoted to the necessity of modernizing society, education, and culture.
In the current context of integration and a unified regional strategy for Central Asia within the framework of global development, there is a need for ideological teachings based on its roots and the mechanisms of national development. Being progressive at its core, Jadidism created a national strategic concept based on a synthesis of the experiences of countries that, at the time, were pursuing the most progressive paths of modernisation. This article analyses the importance of studying the political and strategic teachings of the Jadid movement and its role in the history of Central Asia.
Keywords: Jadidism, Turkestan, political strategy, decolonisation policy, post-Jadidism, identity, ideology.
Abstract
This paper examines how Pamiri-Isma'ili migrant populations in Poland maintain, negotiate, and transmit their intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in the context of migration and settlement. Originating from the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) of Tajikistan, Pamiris constitute a marginalised ethno-linguistic and religious minority whose identities are shaped by minority language status, regional belonging, and adherence to Nizari Isma'ilism. Although migration flows from Central Asia to Poland have intensified over the past decade, Pamiri migrants and refugees remain largely invisible in Polish public debate and academic literature. Drawing on preliminary ethnographic research conducted since 2025, this project explores how a small but cohesive community of approximately 500 Pamiris in Polish urban centres mobilises ICH as a resource for belonging, continuity, and coping with displacement.
The study is grounded in contemporary anthropological and critical heritage scholarship, which conceptualises ICH not as a static inheritance but as a dynamic, performative, and continually negotiated set of practices. Following the UNESCO definition, it focuses on festive celebrations, religious rituals, music and poetry, as well as language practices, oral traditions, foodways, social practices, and community knowledge. The paper addresses the following questions: (1) Which forms of ICH are maintained, adapted, or silenced by Pamiri migrant populations in Poland, and in what social contexts (family, community gatherings, digital spaces) are they performed? (2) How is ICH renegotiated within the Polish social, political, and legal environment, including in interactions with state institutions, NGOs, and other migrant communities? The paper also explores how ICH functions as a resource for coping with displacement. Empirically, the project is based on in-depth interviews and participant observation among Pamiris in Poland, complemented by online ethnography of transnational Pamiri networks.
Preliminary findings suggest that ICH functions both as a resource for continuity and as a means of navigating displacement and uncertainty. Pamiris in Poland show a strong commitment to engaging in heritage practices, especially joint celebrations of religious and family occasions; at the same time, these practices are subject to transformation through interactions with Polish legal frameworks, the lack of adequate infrastructure, and the absence of appropriate social roles—particularly the absence of elder relatives. Furthermore, preliminary findings suggest that Pamiri cultural practices remain invisible within the Polish institutional framework.
The paper offers one of the first in-depth analyses of Central Asian ICH in the Polish migration context and contributes to broader debates on diasporic heritage, lived religion, and the politics of visibility in contemporary Europe.
Abstract
This paper studies how canals in Qaraqalpaqstan, an autonomous republic of western Uzbekistan, function as a form of environmental memory to preserve pre-colonial knowledge of water management, while being simultaneously reinterpreted by state narratives of heritage and modernization.
The lower Amu Darya is a highly dynamic floodplain, whose shifting course has led to frequent shifts in the distribution of arable land. As a result of efforts to optimize agricultural production, the basin has undergone particular desiccation over the last 70 years.
I refer to the basin through the framework of hydro-heritage, denoting the cultural meanings connected to a water body, which carry importance for a community’s past, present and future. In Qaraqalpaqstan heritage has been used to understand how communities manage water in a deltaic landscape facing rapid desertification.
My research reflects on 6-month fieldwork under the Arts and Culture Development Fund (ACDF). I examine how canal heritage is constructed through institutional narratives “from above” and compare these with local experiences of hydro-heritage “from below”. Locally, canals are described in four ways: jap (main/secondary canals), salma (tertiary canals), qaryq (field furrows) and zeykash (drainage). This system, described in pre-Russian sources and still in use today, stores and transmits pre-colonial understandings of water management.
The region was annexed by the Russian empire in 1873. By combining contemporary ethnographic data with Russian ethnographic and archaeological sources from 1873–1936 and Khivan historical accounts, the paper shows how imperial scholarship, Soviet modernization, and present-day heritage initiatives have reshaped interpretations of irrigation history. I likewise study the contribution of artists like Taras Shevchenko and Igor Savitsky, participating in the Butakov and Tolstov expeditions, on interpretations of the basin. As such, my analysis highlights how competing interpretations of canals continue to influence how communities remember their local hydraulic histories.
Abstract
In my research, I dive into a unique way of looking at "personal space" within traditional Kyrgyz life—a concept that moves in perfect harmony with the human life cycle. I want to challenge the standard Western ideas of privacy by exploring five specific spatial stages that every person in our culture traditionally passes through: the womb, the cradle (beshik), the bridal curtain (koshogo), the small family tent (alachyk), and finally, the grave (kör). I believe these aren't just physical spots or rooms; they act as "sociocultural incubators." From the very first days in a beshik to the highly ritualized privacy of the koshogo, each space helps a person adapt to their changing social role. By tracing this path—from the tiny, protected world of a child to the wide-open life of a yurt, and eventually back to the solitude of the earth—I try to show how nomadic life balances our need for a personal identity with our deep duty to the community.