Editor's Introduction

Abstract

Scholars have many ways to push the boundaries of archeology and further the field. One is to establish an entire new line of cultural grouping or humanoid existence, something newsworthy and rare. Another, more common practice is to expand the known areal of a given established cultural tradition. Further possibilities include deepening time horizons, and creating new understandings of migrations of peoples. Uncovering class, gender, rural–urban, and nomadic–settled differences can become pathways toward new frameworks. Collaborative use of multiple technologies and disciplines to create new synergistic learning is yet another important way to advance archeologically based knowledge. These only begin to touch the surface of a field that is constantly expanding through attention to minute details. In the archeology of Russia, and more broadly, in Russian-influenced archeology throughout the whole Soviet and post-Soviet territory, attention to detail, collaborative mixes of multiple disciplines, and flexible understanding of changing migration or class patterns in Eurasia have long been established standards. They require communication across countries, access to museum collections, and complex technologies that are not always easily available. However, the superb record of diligent archeological research continues, and is represented by the première journal Rossiiskaia Arkheologiia. The articles in this issue, recently published in Rossiiskaia Arkheologiia, represent several ways to push the boundaries of archeologically dominant knowledge. The first, by Vladimir Iu. Koval,