Types of Personal Jewelry and the Structure of the Mortuary Construction at Sungir: Chronological Analogies

The paper explores how the cultural and historical traits of the Sungir mortuary construction were reflected in its spatial structure and types of composite jewelry in the funerary offerings. To answer this question, the authors compared the Sungir burials and the early Upper Paleolithic mortuary constructions in Europe dating to chronologically close periods. The paper highlights that the Sungir burials are elements of a complex and elaborate spatial structure and that these burials can be compared with a small number of burials dating to the early Upper Paleolithic in Europe. Such mortuary constructions are characterized by presence of several burials of humans, both single burials and multiple ones, and, in some cases, with partial skeletons which also were spatially connected. Our analysis of the Sungir mortuary construction has identified active use of ocher sprinkled over the dead bodies as well as presence of personal composite jewelry made of mammoth ivory. They consisted of various types of beads some of which reflect local/regional traits of the site while others exhibit forms typical of the developed Aurignacian throughout entire Europe. These Sungir characteristics are consistent with those identified for the materials from the Upper Paleolithic sites that existed in Europe around 29.000–27.000 years ago.