Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences / Container in the North: The Use of Mobile Modules in Chukotka and Taimyr

Full text (.pdf)
Issue
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences. 2022 15 (2)
Authors
Davydov, Vladimir N.
Contact information
Davydov, Vladimir N.: Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) Russian Academy of Sciences St. Petersburg, Russian Federation; ; ORCID: 0000-0003-2738-4609
Keywords
Arctic; Chukotka; Taimyr; infrastructure; mobility; built environment; storage space; iron container; containerization
Abstract

People designed an iron container to rationalize cargo transportation on the sea. In the Northern regions, it has become a universal module for appropriation of space. When local people install it in a specific point, they use it as a stationary structure and a place for storing property, as well as for a temporary stay. Giving the examples of field research in Chukotka and Taimyr, the author examines the ways of using an iron container in the households of local people in situation of relative remoteness from the centers of resource distribution. Under the conditions of the Far North, it is gradually turning into a dominant module, replacing other buildings. Its special qualities, resistance to deformation, mobility, the ability to use it to perform a large number of everyday tasks – all this makes it a useful element of both local peoples’ and newcomers households. Following John Urry’s concept of offshoring, the author analyzes how the informal economy practices involve the inland communities, changing spatial practices and materiality in the Arctic. He argues that the appropriation of the northern territories by humans is a result of the creative use of modular systems, including both complexes of material objects used by nomads, and innovative mobile modules that allows use resources in the situation of harsh natural and climatic conditions more effectively

Pages
161–168
DOI
10.17516/1997-1370-0896
Paper at repository of SibFU
https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/145351

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