Archaeoastronomy and Ancient Technologies 2017, 5(1), 40-52
DOI: 10.24411/2310-2144-2017-00003
Tamila Mikhailovna Potemkina in the Trans-Ural archeology
Mikhail P. Vohmentsev1
1The Scientific and Production Center for the Protection and Use of Cultural Heritage Objects (Historical and Cultural Monuments) of the Kurgan Region, Kurgan, Russian Federation;
E-Mail: vohma555@yandex.ru
Abstract
This article is devoted to the outstanding Russian researcher-archeologist Tamila Mikhaylovne Potemkina who celebrates the 80-year anniversary in 2017. In article the main milestones of its career are described: the beginning of scientific activity in Kurgan regional museum of local lore, participation in work of archaeological expedition of the Ural university, the Ural archaeological expedition, the management of excavation of the Big Bakalsky ancient settlement. In 1966 T.M. Potemkina organized in Kurgan teacher's college archaeological laboratory and the first archaeological expedition which worked under her management till 1975. Archaeological expedition of Kurgan teacher's college in 60-70-h of 20th century revealed several hundred new archaeological sites, settlements and burial grounds of different eras - from a paleolith before the Middle Ages are dug out and studied. In 1970 the most ancient sites of archeology of Trans-Ural - the Paleolithic parking at the village of Shikayevka in Vargashinsky district is opened for T.M. Potemkina. As a result the early stage of history of region began to be dated in the XIII-XII millennia BC. Under the leadership of T.M. Potemkina were studied by excavation of the parking of an era of mesolite of Kamyshnoye 1 and Ubagan 1 where the Zauralie's first mesolytic dwelling was dug out; neolytic parking - Okhotino, Lis'ya gora, Ubagan 3. Sites of later eras are studied: settlement (Belyy Yar 12) and kurganny burial grounds (Shikayevka, Yazevo) of the early Iron Age. The most significant researches in the years of work in Kurgan teacher's college were conducted by T.M. Potemkina on bronze era sites: settlements of Yazevo 1, Yazevo 3, Kamyshnoye 1, Kamyshnoye 2; kurganny burial grounds - Raskatikh 1, 4, Subbotino, Kamyshnoye 1. Collections of long-term excavation of T.M. Potemkina make about a quarter of archaeological funds of Kurgan regional museum of local lore. A complex of gold jewelry from excavation of a barrow 4 of Shikayevsky burial ground (1969-1970) it is stored in the State Historical Museum in Moscow. Since 1975 T.M. Potemkina began work at Institute of Archeology of Academy of Sciences of the USSR (nowadays Institute of archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and researched, mainly, eras of bronze of the Uralo-Sibirsky region. At the end of 70-80-e of the last century under her management large-scale excavation of a burial ground and the settlement of the period of an eneolit, early and average bronze Upper Alabuga, a number of sites on the river Ubagan, big excavation on the multilayer ancient settlement the Chudsky mountain on Irtysh, excavation on a site Savin 1 - sanctuary with astronomical functions were carried out. Thanks to interdisciplinary approach in research of a sanctuary of Savin 1 in Trans-Ural the new type of sites - eneolit round sanctuaries with astronomical reference points was open. T.M. Potemkina was among the first archeologists who began to develop an arhaeoastronomy in Russia. She published more than 80 articles on problems of arhaeoastronomy and the monograph together with the astronomer V.A. Yurevich. T.M. Potemkina was an initiator and one of organizers of the first scientific actions for an arhaeoastronomy in Russia, including two international conferences: "Arhaeoastronomy: formation problems" (1996) and "Astronomy of ancient civilizations" (2000) and three All-Russian field seminars. Now Tamila Mikhaylovna Potemkina continues to conduct actively scientific researches in the field of arhaeoastronomy and is an editor of the first arhaeoastronomy Russian scientific journal "Archaeoastronomy and Ancient Technologies".
Keywords: creation of Kurgan archaeological expedition, paleolithic location of Shikayevk, shikayevsky priestess, bronze era, archaeoastronomy.
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