L. N. ZHUKOVA(TO THE METHOD OF STUDYING THE DEAF CLOTHING OF THE PEOPLES OF SIBERIA) Institute of Problems of Small-Numbered Peoples of the North SB RAS Sosnovaya str., 4, Yakutsk, 677008, Russia E-mail: inip@ysn.Ru Introduction Ancient man, finding himself in the harsh natural and climatic conditions of the North (low winter temperatures, a long cold period in the annual natural cycle, the constant need to have heat-saving housing and clothing, maintain a fire in the hearth, etc.), had to adapt the entire complex of his material culture to them. One of its most important components is clothing; in many peoples it is divided into commercial and road, everyday, sleeping, festive, dance, ritual, funeral, etc. Among the population groups of southern origin that found themselves in the North, adaptive changes in all types of clothing affected its three main characteristics - material, cut, and jewelry. Studies show that these changes were so profound and significant that they are found in folk clothing after many hundreds of years. However, jewelry and ornaments as elements of traditional culture that carry a worldview aspect were more resistant to innovations. Adaptive changes in the clothing of Samoyedic peoples N. F. Prytkova (1970) revealed changes in the open-back clothing of the ancient, southern Samoyeds under the influence of the pre-Samoyedic population of Western Siberia, as well as under the influence of the climatic features of the region. Her research has shown that the way clothing is designed is a reliable historical source that can provide valuable factual material both on the genesis of folk clothing and on the history of the people themselves. N. F. Prytkova came very close to solving the problem of reconstructing the clothing of the ancient Ural-speaking population of Western Siberia. She identified ways to adapt the originally loose-fitting Samoyedic clothing to the conditions of the North and transform it into a deaf one. The researcher proved that ... Read more