Ishimka Treasure

Ishimka Treasure 

a group of ancient articles found in 1911 (near the village of Ishimka, 50 km north of Achinsk) on a small island amid the bogs in the taiga. The site was a sacrificial ground (similar to the Gliadenovo Kostishche) frequented by the population in the course of a millennium, beginning in the first centuries B.C. The treasure contained articles that were gifts to the gods and were connected with the ancient shamanistic ritual. They included such weapons as iron swords, daggers, spears, and arrowheads (including very ancient bronze arrowheads); metal mirrors of local and Chinese craftsmanship; and amulet-ornaments executed in the animal style. Among the latter are items of southern origin, typical of the Tagarskoe and the Tashtyk cultures, but most are characteristic of the forest belt of Siberia and the Ural Region (for example, the P’ianyi Bor culture). The existence of various imported items in the treasure testifies to the far-reaching trade relations of the native taiga hunters, who were suppliers of furs.

The Ishimka treasure is housed in the Krasnoiarsk Museum of Local Lore.

REFERENCES

Ermolaev, A. Ishimskaia kollektsiia. Krasnoiarsk, 1914. (Opisanie kollektsii krasnoiarskogo muzeia. Otdel arkheologicheskii, issue 1.)
Kiselev, S. V. Drevniaia istoriia Iuzhnoi Sibiri [2nd ed.]. Moscow, 1951.