Historical and Cultural Relations of Ainu, Tungus-Manchus, Nivkh: Problems of Ethnogenesis and Ethnic History
The ethnogenesis and ethnic history of the Ainu, Nivkh and Tungus-Manchus of Sakhalin, which until recently retained archaic features in production, social structure and culture, is a big and complex problem. In recent decades, interest in it has increased dramatically not only due to the increased attention to the mysteries of the ancient history of the Pacific region, but also due to the extensive archaeological study of Sakhalin, in-depth anthropological research and the accumulation of ethnographic and folklore materials. On the basis of historical and ethnographic, linguistic data and folklore collections, the article examine the mutual influence of Ainu, Tungus-Manchu and Nivkh cultures in the pre-Soviet period. In the process of ethnic mixing, there were changes in anthropological types and the complexity of the anthropological composition of the considered ethnic groups, borrowings in the economy, material and spiritual culture, language, there were certain changes in social and family life, etc. All this, along with other reasons, contributed to the development of the economy and leveling of spiritual culture. The materials of the article are of interest for the study of ethnic interactions and interrelations on Sakhalin, relating to the later stages of ethnogenesis, as well as for understanding the specifics of it.