Population of the Upper Vetluga region in the early 2nd mill. ad: new materials

Presently the sites in the Vetluga region dating to the Middle Ages areattributed to the Mari culture. In recent years three previously unknown cemeterieshave been uncovered by the Mari Archaeological Expedition in the Vetluga valley, i. e.the Kuzinskiye khutora cemetery in the upper basin of the river, the Rusenikha cemeteryin the middle basin of the river, and the Vyzhum cemetery in its lower basin. The sites aredated to the same chronological horizon, i. e. the 9th-11th centuries, and contain stylisticallysimilar burial offerings, though the burial rites have substantial differences, reflectingcomplexity of ethnocultural process that unfolded in the region. The paper is devoted tothe publication of artifacts from the Kuzinskiye khutora cemetery. Based on the resultsof the first excavations, preliminary conclusions on the site ethnocultural attribution havebeen derived: a) the site was used and left behind by communities pertaining to differentethnocultural groups; b) most of the earliest graves contain jewelry marking the attributionto the Mari culture; c) cremation burials reveal traditions of the Perm population, whichwas Komi ancestors