Exhibition 'Ancient Inhabitants of the Chuvash Region: Archaeological and Paleontological Evidence'

About exhibition

Visits to the exhibitions of the Chuvash National Museum begin with the most interesting pages of the history of the Chuvash region. The exhibition opens with a unique archaeological map of the republic, created specifically for the museum and published here for the first time. A distinctive 'gallery of memory' is dedicated to the world-renowned scholars who laid the foundations of the National Museum's archaeological collections, which today comprise more than 30,000 storage units. A reconstruction of a Stone Age dwelling and Paleolithic finds are displayed, giving an impression of the living conditions of ancient people. The Mesolithic, Neolithic and Eneolithic periods are represented by excavation materials, as well as field photographs and excerpts from archaeologists' diaries. The Bronze Age in Chuvashia is represented by three major cultural-historical groups: the Balanovo, Abashevo and Srubnaya cultures. The eponymous sites were excavated in the Kozlovsky and Cheboksarsky districts. The appearance of members of these populations can be judged by the sculptural reconstructions by the outstanding anthropologist M. M. Gerasimov (1907–1970). The Early Iron Age is reflected in materials from the excavations of the Ivankovo burial ground and the fortified settlements 'Nozha-var', 'Pichke-sarche' and others. The exhibition concludes with a display case devoted to the most recent archaeological artifacts received into the collections of the Chuvash National Museum.