Abstract: The object of the study was a representative collection of ceramic vessels (324 specimens) of the Potchevash culture of the VI–IX centuries, obtained during archaeological research in 1997 at the Dolgovskoye 1 settlement in the Tobolsk Irtysh region. The purpose of the study: to determine the main morphological and decorative features of the ceramic complex of the Potchevash culture based on the materials of the collection of the Dolgovskoye 1 settlement, to determine the place of the ceramic complex of the settlement in the system of archaeological cultures of Western Siberia. Based on the purpose of the study, the following tasks were put forward: characterization of the main morphological, decorative and stylistic characteristics of the ceramic collection; comparison with the materials of synchronous monuments of adjacent territories, determination of the degree of their similarities and differences. The relevance of the work is determined by the small number of publications in which statistical calculations on Potchevash ceramics are given. To solve the tasks set in the work, traditional research methods are used for historical science: comparative-historical, typological, comparative-typological, formal-stylistic, descriptive method of analyzing material sources, the method of analogies. As a result of the study, it was found that the dominant features of the studied complex include the numerical predominance of pot-shaped vessels with a high neck and a sharp transition to a slightly expanded body; the ornamentation is characterized by a combination of dimpled pearl decor, combed stamp and horizontal drawn grooves, as well as a small proportion of curly stamps. A comparative analysis showed the proximity of the ceramics of the Dolgovskoye 1 settlement with the collections of a number of Potchevash monuments of the South Taiga Irtysh region and the Barabinsk forest-steppe, as well as its significant difference from both the Potchevash ceramic complexes from the Priishimye region and ceramics from the monuments of the Zelenogorsky stage from the Surgut Ob region. A certain similarity with the ceramics of the Kuchiminsky stage, which is expressed in the rare use of figured stamps, a large proportion of grooves, fixed on ceramics from the 1997 excavation from the Dolgovskoye 1 settlement, allows us to suggest its synchronicity with the Kuchiminskaya and date it within the VIII–IX centuries AD.

Abstract: The object of this research is the clay figurine of an owl discovered in the course of archaeological excavations in the Yurtobor 9 hillfort on the right bank of the Tobol River. The goal lies in introduction of in the scientific discourse of the new unique sample of small clay plastic, as well as in preliminary determination of the functional purpose of the item. The following tasks were set: morphological and stylistic description of the item; description of the context of discovery of the figurine; establishment of the chronological framework of existence of the item, its cultural affiliation; familiarization with the history of studying the regional clay figurines in the Russian archaeological science; search for analogies in the archaeological sites of Siberia and other territories; assessment of the semantic connotation of the image of an owl in the traditional culture of Ob Ugrians (Khanty and Mansi). To article employs the traditional methods, such as comparative-historical, typological, comparative-typological, formal-stylistic, semantic methods, as well as method of analogies. As a result of the conducted research, the clay figurine of an owl is attributed to the Yudinskaya archaeological culture and dated within the framework of the XI – XII centuries. It is established that it is the only item in Western Siberian region depicting a bird in the technique of small clay plastic. Based on the analysis of ethnographic literature and medieval archaeological finds, it is established that for a long period of time, the image of an owl had positive semantic connotation due to its high sacred status. The author assumes on the use of figurine of an owl in religious rites associated with hearth and home.