Warrior’s burial of the Great migration period from the Karban I complex (Northern Altai)

Purpose. Archaeological complexes of Altai dated by the Great Migration Period indicate a high level of militarization of nomads. According to available materials, most of the male population was involved in the military activities. In the materials of individual necropolises, burials with a representative composition of weapons are distinguished, which confirm the hierarchy among the soldiers. The article presents one of such extraordinary burials and its interpretation in the context of contemporary ideas of the ethnocultural and social history of the Altai nomads.Results. The authors concern the features of ritual practice and the complex of finds revealed during the excavation of mound no. 39 of the Karban-I necropolis, located in Northern Altai. The recorded characteristics indicate that the object belongs to the Bulan-Koby archaeological culture. Morphological analysis of weapons, equipment, tools and their comparison with materials from the complexes of Central Asia became the basis for determining the dating of the object in the framework of the 2nd - 3rd centuries AD.Conclusion. It has been established that the burial of kurgan no. 39 belongs to the Karban tradition, which has become widespread among the population of the Bulan-Koby culture in the Northern Altai. According to the composition of the inventory, the deceased man was a professional warrior. In addition, there is some reason to believe that he has a skill in carpentry. During his lifetime, this person belonged to a prosperous stratum of ordinary pastoralists who left the Karban I necropolis and other synchronous sites of Northern Altai.