MATERIALIZED IDENTITY AS A RESULT OF COMMUNICATIVE PRACTICES (THE CASE OF ARKAIM)

This article presents statistical data derived from surveys conducted in 2024 among visitors to the Chelyabinsk State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve “Arkaim” (N=483) and examines the process of the formation of materialized identity among visitors to the memorial landscape. Special attention is given to the communicative practices through which tourists engage with the spatial environment, cultural objects, and each other, constructing both individual and group forms of self-identification and collective belonging. The study also explores the interplay between the informational field and the representation of Arkaim as a “place of power,” including the issue of information deprivation. The article is structured around four thematic blocks of questions asked to respondents in varying order to maintain the natural flow of conversation: a general information block covering socio-demographic characteristics; a motivational block aimed at uncovering reasons for visiting Arkaim; an informational-epistemological block investigating sources of information about Arkaim and tourist attitudes toward its two primary interpretations-scientific and spiritual- esoteric; and a praxeological-identification block focused on practices of site engagement aligned with respondents’ epistemological identities. Drawing on comprehensive survey data, key motivations are identified, including spiritual seeking, exploration of historical heritage, and social production of shared meanings via rituals and collective actions. Materialized identity manifests in embodied practices, landscape perception, and symbolic use of objects. The article demonstrates that the appropriation of Arkaim is a dynamic process wherein the personal and collective continuously intertwine, creating a durable symbolic connection with the space. It also posits that information deprivation is sustained by visitors themselves as a condition for preserving the site’s aura.