<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="6.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>47</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Istomina, Tatiana</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Zoomorphic Imagery in the Ancient Art of the European Northeast</style></title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2006</style></year></dates><pub-location><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Toronto</style></pub-location><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Images of animals and birds occupied a central place in the ancient mythology of the peoples who lived in the boreal forest zone of the far northeast of Europe. The earliest animistic images, tiny stone sculptures of animals, birds, and fish, called &quot;figure flints&quot;, were recorded in the archaeological sites of the Bronze Age (III- II millennium BC). During the Early Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages (I millennium BC- I millennium AD) the animistic imagery appears on artefacts of the so called Permian Animal Style. These artifacts are metal plates with semantically complex images reflecting the mythological concept of the Universe. The images represent certain animal and bird species with an image of man-animal-bird on them; each image taking its fixed place within the mythological scheme. Images of another set of animals and birds became popular during the late Middle Ages (Perm Vychegodskaya culture, XI-XIV cent. AD). They appear on the basal parts of women's &quot;noisy&quot; metal pendants, representing most commonly horse and duck. The paper discusses the links between the animistic imagery of Finno-Ugric and Indo-Iranian mythologies.</style></abstract></record></records></xml>