Cremation at medieval sites of the Vetluga region: bioarchaeological aspects of research

Information on human fossil remnants is an important component characterizing funerary rites. Cremated remains do not contain information that is usually used in a paleoanthropological study; nevertheless, they are important for characterizing ritual actions. This study is focused on the funerary practice of medieval Finno-Ugric populations inhabiting the Vetluga region in the 6th - 12th centuries. For our research we used materials from a number of cemeteries excavated by T. B. Nikitina in 2008-2014: the Cheremisskoye cemetery, the Vyzhumskiy, the Veselevolskiy and the Kuzinskiye farmsteads. Based on archaeological characteristics, two groups of sites can be singled out. Formal characteristics of conditions of cremated remnants do not provide an opportunity to have clear differentiation. Significant polymorphism of funerary practices is quite evident. All this may imply that specific features of the grave are stipulated by a personality of the deceased and circumstances of his/her death rather than local attribution...