The second volume of the biography of prominent Soviet archaeologist Aleksei P. Okladnikov (1908-1981) concentrates on his works in 1961–1981, when he was a director at the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, in Novosibirsk. during this time he continued his active fieldworks in Siberia, Russian Far East, Central Asia and Mongolia.
Aleksei P. Okladnikov: The Great Explorer of the Past (Volume II) is about the life and works of Aleksei P. Okladnikov (1908–1981), a prominent archaeologist who spent more than 50 years studying prehistoric sites in various parts of the Soviet Union and in Mongolia. This part of Okladnikov’s biography concentrates on his works in 1961–1981, when he was organiser (1961–1966) and since 1966 the Director of the Institute of History, Philology, and Philosophy, Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, in Novosibirsk. This institute was a part of large-scale project of Akademgorodok (Academic Town) built in 1957– 1964, the unique phenomenon of Soviet science. In Novosibirsk, Okladnikov continued active fieldworks in Siberia, Russian Far East, Central Asia and Mongolia, and writing of books and articles on different subjects of archaeology and history. He also created the Novosibirsk school of archaeologists who continue to work in Siberia and the neighbouring regions of Asia until today. In 1974, Okladnikov with four colleagues participated in joint US–Soviet expedition to the Aleutian Islands, where W. S. Laughlin and he directed the excavations of early sites. The book is for archaeologists, historians, and everyone who is interested in the history of scholarship (particularly the humanities) in the twentieth century.
Contents
List of figures ;
Translators’ introduction ;
Aleksei P. Okladnikov and the Akademgorodok of Novosibirsk: story of twenty fruitful years ;
Part I - Introduction ;
Part II - On business trips, at home, in the field (the first half of the 1970s) ;
Part III - Trip to the United States, 1974 ;
Part IV - The last years of life (1975–1981) ;
Appendices ;
Index
About the Author
Aleksander K. Konopatskii joined the Institute of History, Philology and Philosophy, Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1972 where he was closely associated with Aleksei P. Okladnikov, assisting in fieldwork, travel and the preparation of scientific reports. Since 1998 he has been an assistant professor at the Novosibirsk General Military Academy where he teaches humanities. ;
Richard L. Bland studied Alaskan prehistory in the 1970s – 1990s (PhD 1996, University of Oregon). He has translated numerous books and articles on the archaeology of Northeastern Siberia and the Russian Far East, helping to bring the rich Soviet/Russian records of prehistory and early history to the international scholarly community. ;
Yaroslav V. Kuzmin has been studying geoarchaeology of the Russian Far East, Siberia and neighbouring Northeast Asia since 1979 (PhD 1991; DSc. 2007). He has also assisted in translating and editing books on the archaeology of eastern Russia.