Rivers and Roads: Movement Vectors, Infrastructure Development and Changes in Yugan Khanty Cultural Landscapes

The article talks about cultural landscapes. Cultural landscapes are often presented as «timeless», but we know that the cultural landscapes of a community change over time. My field work on the Bolshoy Yugan river suggests that shifts in modes of movement have an impact on the cultural landscape of the Yugan Khanty. The vector of movement is considered as a source of development and change in cultural landscapes. The relationship between cultural landscapes and industry is assessed through an analysis of the evolution of the oil infrastructure on the Bolshoy Yugan river and the subsequent changes in the way of life and culture of the Yugan Khanty - the commercialization and objectification of the environment, the shift towards wage labor, changes in affordances and needs. Based on the analyzed materials, it is concluded that infrastructural development provokes transformations in the cultural landscape of local communities. The development of infrastructure and subsequent socio-economic shifts lead to alterations in the ways of movement, which affects the human habitus. Traditional approaches to interacting with the environment and, in general, the way people «do» culture thus change, which is reflected in their cultural landscape. The author declares no conflict of interests.

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