[3] The tribes of the Pozdnegorodetskaya culture are believed to be the distant ancestors of the modern Hill Mari.

[4] The Hill Mari are first mentioned in the written record in the 16th century, during the Russo-Kazan Wars in the region.

The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum in Kozmodemyansk, opened in 1983, holds a collection of artefacts and architecture relating to traditional Hill Mari farming and craft.

The Nikon Ignatyev Museum of Local History, which is mainly dedicated to art and literature, was opened in Salymsola in 1995.

[6] Traditionally, the Hill Mari have mainly engaged in farming, foraging, fishing, and beekeeping.