Home – Home – Jornals – Humanitarian sciences in Siberia 2014 number

Based on the archival data and published sources the paper reconstructs the history of the Yukaghir complex expedition - the most important academic initiative in the history of Yukaghir studies. Researchers from the Institute of Ethnography, the Institute of Linguistics and the Institute of Language, Literature and History of the Yakut affiliate of the Siberian branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR took part in this expedition. The author characterizes the expeditionary research methods which included the archaeological reconnaissance and excavations, interviews with local people; observation of contemporary household practices, collection and analysis of archival, somatological and serological materials. The basic directions, results and geography of the research, covering a large part of the North-Eastern areas of Yakutia and Magadan region are defined and illustrated. Research made by the expedition members contributed a lot to identification and study of archaeological sites and monuments of the area under consideration. They helped to obtain information about the traditional occupations and lifestyles of ancient Yukaghirs, bio-anthropological characteristics of the Yukaghir ethnos, folklore, language and its dialectological features. They also helped to study the modern linguistic and ethno-cultural situation, economic activities and ethnic processes. The author stresses the significance of the research for the formation of the modern scientific knowledge about Yukaghirs and training of qualified scientific personnel were noted.