ETHNO-MENTAL COMPONENTS OF LIFE-SUSTAINING TECHNOLOGIES OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE FAR EASTERN REGION
Authors:   Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, BEREZNITSKY S.V. 
Published: December 2024

The aim of the research is to identify the ethno-mental components of life-sustaining technologies of the indigenous peoples of the Far Eastern region, the adaptation mechanisms and practices of natural energy resources use. The results are necessary to find a special vector for the modern development of northern communities. To reach the aim, the methods of field ethnography on the collection and primary analysis of materials, the method of comparative-historical analysis of the traditional and modern state of culture of the northern peoples were used. To study the complex of life activity, its condition and transformation, the systemic and structural-functional methods were used. The sources are represented by a corpus of the author’s field materials collected at the Tunguso-Manchurians and Paleo-Asians settlement sites (Chukotka, Sakhalin, Amur basin). These data were archived in the form of field reports and are stored in the scientific archive of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The article examines the ethno-mental components of life-sustaining technologies of the indigenous peoples of the North in the Far Eastern region. The analysis is made on the example of features of the ethnic mentality of Tunguso-Manchurs and Paleo-Asians; its specificity is shown in the ethnic picture of the world, in representations about time and space, in mechanisms of a complex relation of cosmic cycles with fishing seasons presented in ethnic calendars; in traditional food patterns of foot hunters, sea hunters, deer breeders, fishermen of large river systems; in a complex of traditional ornamental art. The most stable were the mental components of hunting technologies: intuition in prey detection (game animals, ungulates, fur-bearing animals, marine mammals, fish, and game). The food technology system is undergoing radical changes: new types of food are being aggressively introduced into the traditional dietary model, transforming not only the customary food system, but also acquiring new anthropological characteristics. The influence of the Internet is particularly noticeable in the ornamental sphere and in decorative and scenic art, leading to a transformation of the canon. Transformation is understood as an inevitable process of consistent change in the structure and functions of a particular ethnic society, a change in the way energy resources are used, in patterns of motivation, in means and ways of introducing new materials, and in the information field. As a result of the rapid spread of cyberinformation, radical transformations of previous values and elements of economic activity take place, which are perceived as structural units of analysis. Such an approach to transformation analysis is a relevant methodology because this process is driven by the difficulties of Northern societies’ transition to a new stage in their development. This era is characterized by uncertainty and instability, and requires research strategies to study adaptation, identification with the new surrounding reality, the problems of identity formation in the conditions of the new reality. The author declares no conflicts of interests.