Magic as it is: anthropologist Stanislav Drobyshevsky on how an attempt was made to replace bronze with stone in Siberia

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The first meeting of the new educational project at the National Centre RUSSIA — "Conversations with Stanislav Drobyshevsky" — focused on the earliest inhabitants of Siberia. The host of the project, anthropologist and Associate Professor at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Stanislav Drobyshevsky, spoke in detail about how metal was explored across this vast territory — or rather, how it was not. As long as, according to him, the Bronze Age in Siberia unfolded very differently from elsewhere.

After the Neolithic came the Bronze Age. However, across much of Siberia, this period remained largely nominal.

"Yes, people in Siberia were familiar with bronze objects — just as they later became familiar with iron. But they did not concern themselves much with it, because in case of mastering work with these metals they first would have to extract ore and then smelt it. And when your settlement is a tiny one, and consists of just 20 people, transporting ore and processing it becomes extremely complicated. So a significant part of the population simply did not engage with it," explained Stanislav Drobyshevsky.

A vivid example of this "formal" acquaintance with metal is stone arrowheads imitating bronze ones. The anthropologist demonstrated on a slide of his presentation a slate arrowhead featuring a longitudinal ridge — a pilaster — running along its centre.

"Imagine a craftsman skilled in making stone tools. At some point, he sees a bronze arrowhead and is allowed to hold it. He understands immediately that the bronze one is far superior in every respect. It even shines — freshly made copper or bronze is very beautiful. But carving such a raised ridge out of stone is extremely difficult and time-consuming. It requires prolonged polishing and serves no practical purpose," he continued.

According to him, the bronze original holds this ridge as a stiffening rib — a functional technological element. In stone, however, it becomes entirely useless, which led craftsmen to attribute magical properties to it: "He takes a piece of slate and carves a similar arrowhead, working long and hard. But sooner or later it breaks in half. 'That must mean there's also a special spell involved. If only I knew the magic word, it would have worked,'" he said.

As the anthropologist noted, this kind of magical thinking remains familiar even today, and everyone can think of their own examples. At the same time, he said, in southern Siberia the Bronze Age was far more advanced. Fully developed bronze-casting cultures existed there, including the Afanasievo, Okunev, Karasuk, Andronovo, and the Seima-Turbino phenomenon.

"In the southern mountains of Siberia, there are abundant ore deposits — copper and tin. Here, fully developed pastoral cultures emerged, moving across the steppe. It is noteworthy that in the early Bronze Age, migration waves mostly moved from west to east — from the European part into Siberia. But there were also reverse movements. For example, the Seima-Turbino intercultural phenomenon involved waves moving both through the steppe and the taiga from east to west — also with fully developed bronze casting," concluded Stanislav Drobyshevsky.

"Conversations with Stanislav Drobyshevsky" is an original educational project by the National Centre RUSSIA, with Stanislav Drobyshevsky as its host. Participation in these discussions on fascinating discoveries and research in anthropology is free of charge, but prior registration on the website russia.ru is required.