Results of preliminary technical and technological analysis of tissue samples from necropolis Novotroitskoye-1 (Upper Ob region)

Purpose. The aim is to introduce our preliminary technical and technological analysis of tissue samples found in the grave excavation grave nine dig eight necropolis Novotroitskoye-1, discovered during the expedition of A. P. Umansky in Tal'menka area of the Altai Territory in 1989. We describe the materials that have already been published in scientific journals but have not became the object of a focused study yet. The current finding is stored in the Historical museum of Altai State Pedagogical University under the accession code number 41. Results. The tissue fragment described presents two samples - a shoulder dress plain weave and a diagonal border (braid) gate made of double non-woven strands held together by a seam over the edge. Our analysis of the findings shed light on some of the features typical for decor gates of the burial clothes of the ancient population of the Upper Ob Region. The analysis of tissues shows that as the raw material used for manufacturing such clothes was wool. We used a broad source base to consider the production technology of fabrics and garments for funeral that was typical among the population of northern Asia in Scythian times. Special attention was paid to the semantics of woolen clothes and hairstyles in the Upper Ob Region basin in the Early Iron Age. Wool as a raw material for basic garments was woven into the beliefs of different peoples of the world, including the Indo-Iranians. For example, in the Rig Veda we often meet a comparison of the sacrificial offerings made to the rite with qualitative dressed hair. The wool-making process itself might well become a social procedure, a kind of rites with accompanying rituals, probably related to the initiation of the medium buried to Farnham deity. Similar findings were discovered in the burial sites in Western Siberia, the Altai Mountains and the Taklimakan Desert. Conclusion. The technical and technological analysis of the tissue sample examined revealed that in the Early Iron Age the population of the Upper Ob Region used ligated suture over the edge when they had to cut linen fabric and twill weave together its fragments. We also discovered a previously unknown way of decorating a gate shoulder dress with lace, which probably played a certain semantic role. There is a notable semantic compatibility between the resource base and the levels of clothing, which expands our understanding of tailoring traditions among the population of Upper Ob basin in the Early Iron Age. The results obtained allow us to address the issues related to archaeological textiles in the framework of studying clothes of the ancient population of Northern Asia more specifically.