From the funds of the Museum of Anthropology of Moscow State University. Photographs of the peoples of the North Caucasus in the exposition of the Anthropological Exhibition of 1879: Abazins

Recieved: 04/27/2025

Accepted: 04/30/2025

Published: 05/24/2025

Keywords: ethnic anthropology; historical anthropology; Abazins; E.D. Felitsyn; Museum of Anthropology, Moscow State University; Kuban region; 19th century

Available online: 24.05.2025

To cite this article

Stepanova Alevtina V., Sukhova Alla V. From the funds of the Museum of Anthropology of Moscow State University. Photographs of the peoples of the North Caucasus in the exposition of the Anthropological Exhibition of 1879: Abazins. // Lomonosov Journal of Anthropology 2025. Vol. 23. Issue 2. 143-156 https://doi.org/10.55959/MSU2074-8132-25-2-12.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). (CC BY 4.0). (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ru)

Stepanova Alevtina V. (Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Lomonosov Moscow State University)
Sukhova Alla V. (Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Lomonosov Moscow State University)

Abstract

Introduction. The publication continues the series of articles devoted to the description of the collection of photographs of representatives of the peoples of the Kuban region, and is devoted to the study of photographic images of the Abaza. The method of anthropological photography is not only a visual way to preserve information over time, but also plays a significant role in shaping scientific heritage.

Materials and methods. The work was based on a collection of photographs collected by E.D. Felitsyn (1848-1903), presented by him at the Anthropological Exhibition of 1879 in Moscow and stored in the collections of the D.N. Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Results. Describe and analyze the photographic images of the Abaza people who lived in the Batalpashinsky district of the Kuban region in the villages of Loovo-Kubansky and Dudarukovsky.

Discussion. The authorship of the studied Abaza photographs has been established: A.K. Engel, a famous photographer in the Caucasus in the late 19th and early 20th centuries made them. The article presents literary information on the problems of studying the origin, ethnic history, and cultural traditions of this nationality, as well as data on the study of the anthropological features of the Abaza.

Conclusion. The first published photographic images of Abaza, which are part of the collection provided by E.D. Felitsyn at the Anthropological Exhibition in 1879, are unique and have scientific, historical and documentary value and significance as visual material. With the development of modern society, photographs, along with museum exhibits, become the only witnesses of past times and events, an essential addition to the study of the indigenous peoples of the North Caucasus, which requires persistent joint efforts by anthropologists, ethnographers, geneticists, historians and linguists. © 2025. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license