The metal ages and medieval period. Рубрика в журнале - Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia
Статья научная
An attempt is made to classify, analyze, and interpret female burials with weapons in the graves of early nomads in the Southern Urals, dating to late 5th–2nd centuries BC. In the Early Iron Age, this vast region was a center of the nomadic elite. The sample includes 23 graves with 24 buried individuals at well documented cemeteries. Only individuals for whom skeletal sex indicators are available have been included. Criteria and opinions are revised. Weapons in female burials include mostly quiver sets; whereas daggers, swords, and spearheads are rare. The placement of weapons was the same as in male burials: bladed weapons were placed on the right side, with hilts directed to the right hand, whereas quivers were found mostly on the left side. The remaining funerary items were exactly like in other female burials: there were numerous ornaments, bronze mirrors, spindle whorls, and stone altars. Female burials with weapons were found in kurgans regardless of social status. Apparently, those women represented all social strata, from elite to low-ranking nomads. Nothing indicates the existence of female military units, which, however, does not imply that women took no part in armed confl icts or did not use weapons to protect themselves and their homes.
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Foundries at Stary Tartas-5-an early bronze age site in the Baraba forest-steppe
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This study focuses on areas evidencing bronze casting at the Odino culture site, Stary Tartas-5, in the Baraba foreststeppe. One such area is within dwelling 1 and has a smelting hearth and pits situated nearby; the other, outside the dwelling, has a smelting kiln. We provide characteristics of these areas and their archaeological context. Each artifact from the foundries is described in detail, parallels are listed, and results of binocular microscopy of the molding compound are outlined. Based on fi ndings of thermogravimetric studies, we assess the functions of technical pottery represented by fragments, and the number of times various items of the casting set could have been used. Previously, crucibles shaped as straight-walled jars have not been found at Odino sites, with the exception of a single intact specimen from burial 286 at the Tartas-1 cemetery. Dwelling 1 at Tartas-5 and the workshop associated with it were apparently parts of a single household. The Odino bronze casting tradition was retained by the Krotovo population, who supplemented it with innovations, such as the use of oval cups with thicker bottoms adapted to their own casting practices. The Odino sites in the Baraba forest-steppe date to the fi rst half of the third millennium BC. It is concluded that the evidence of the bronze casting industry found at Stary Tartas-5 is the earliest in that region, and that its level in the Odino culture was high.
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Geophysical studies at the Kushmanskoye (Uchkakar) fortified settlement, Kama basin
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This article describes the findings of excavations of an Early Saka kurgan at Kyrykoba, Eastern Kazakhstan. The kurgan had been looted; human remains, according to physical anthropologists, belonged to a mature woman. Her cranium exhibited trepanation. Some 200 artifacts were found, mostly gold and stone ornaments (belt clips, gold seed beads, and simple beads). The most interesting find is a bimetallic pin made of iron. Its rod is missing; the tiny head, less the 1 cm in diameter, is covered with gold foil. On its surface, there is a figure of an ungulate with a curved antler, its body twisted 180°. This stylistic device in the depiction of ungulates and predators is typical of the Scythian-Siberian art of Kazakhstan and Western Siberia in 700–300 BC. Other rare finds include ornaments made from a cretaceous layer of oyster shells, such as pendants shaped as oval plates imitating tusks, or figurines of predatory animals— 20 pieces, ranging in size from 0.4 × 0.4 to 2.5 × 2.5 cm. Oyster shells with thick cretaceous layers had been procured from the coasts of the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. The beads and the animal figurine made from cretaceous layers of oyster shells are paralleled by those from an Early Scythian era burial at Gilevo-10, Altai. These artifacts indicate regional and intracontinental trade and cultural ties in Eastern Kazakhstan and Western Siberia, evidenced by similar technological traditions, images, compositions, and decorative motifs.
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Integrative geophysical studies at the Novaya Kurya-1 cemetery in the Kulunda steppe
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Jade artifacts from Bronze Age cemeteries in the Cis-Olkhon area, the western coast of lake Baikal
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Late Krotovo (Cherno-ozerye) burials with casting molds from Tartas-1, Baraba forest-steppe
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Medieval burials at Ryabchikov Klyuch-1, the Kansk-Rybinsk basin
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Previously, burials at Ryabchikov Klyuch-1 on the Kan River near Kansk were dated to the Late Middle Ages (pre-Russian period) and attributed to an autochthonous group. In 2015, two burials were discovered at the cemetery, with the remains of an adolescent girl and a child. A comprehensive analysis of the burial rite and grave goods suggests that the burials date to the 12th century. Numerous archaeological and ethnographic parallels were found. Morphologically, the girl’s cranium reveals generally eastern traits, specifically those common in Western Siberian (Uralic and Ob-Irtysh) populations. The cranium was restored, and a graphical reconstruction of the face was made. Burial practices of the 17th–19th century Middle Kan populations are described. They were Ket-speaking Kotts, Turkic-speaking Karagas, and Samoyed-speaking Kamasins. The analysis of sources suggests that the buried people were likely ancestors of the Kotts.
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