Электронная библиотека

The article reconsiders the idea of geographical determinism concept based on recent anthropological studies of the correlation between social systems and landscape conditions. The Mansi case shows the deep relationship between the boreal forest resources and derived culture of hunters and fishermen. Wealthy in fish and animals, the Taiga has been a feeding landscape for Mansi, that sprouted a spiritual ecological culture and complex social organization in the Middle Ages. Mansi actively roamed the territory in order to ensure the rational use of animal resources. The article describes the basic subsistence strategies of Mansi and the factors preserving the Severnaia Sosva basin as an ethnic refuge to date. The Mansi & Nature co-evolution can be presented as a cultural landscape, particularly through the projection of hunting and fishing practices to the land.