RESCUE EXCAVATION OF THE ABAKAN-7 BURIAL GROUND IN 2018

Статья посвящена итогам исследований археологического памятника «Курганный могильник Абакан-7», проведенным в 2018 г. в рамках охранно - спасательных работ в центре г. Абакан. Несмотря на разрушение большей части культурного слоя, произошедшего в результате разновременного освоения городской территории, под техногенными напластованиями удалось обнаружить нетронутый участок, включавший частично сохранившийся курган раннего железного века с более поздним впускным погребением. В результате раскопок выявлены конструкции четырех погребений, содержавших 18 изделий из бронзы и кости (ножи, шилья, вток чекана, наконечник стрелы, украшения) и 8 фрагментарно сохранившихся керамических сосудов. Выявленный курган относится к подгороновскому этапу тагарской археологической культуры (8-9 вв. до н. э.), а впускное погребение - к тесинской археологической культуре (2-1 вв. до н. э.). The article is devoted to the results of the research of archaeological site “Abakan-7 burial ground”, which was conducted in 2018 within the rescue operations in the center of Abakan. Despite the destruction of most of the cultural layer, caused by the development of the urban area at diff erent times, under technogenic layers, researchers could fi nd an intact deposit, which included a partially preserved barrow of the Early Iron Age with a later inlet burial. As a result of the excavation, the structures of four burials were revealed, which contained 18 items made of bronze and bone (knives, awls, a handle spike of a pickaxe, arrowheads, jewelry) and 8 fragmentary preserved ceramic vessels. The discovered barrow belongs to the Podgornovo stage of the Tagar archaeological culture (8th-6th centuries BC), and the inlet burial belongs to the Tes archaeological culture (2nd-1st centuries BC).

Numismatic Material of the 15th—16th Centuries from Burials near the Village of Kovashi, Leningrad Oblast

In the fall of 2019, the archaeological expedition of the Institute of History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences carried out excavations in the Lomonosov district of the Leningrad region, in the village of Kovashi. During the course of the excavations, a previously unknown burial ground of the 15th—16th centuries was investigated, including at least 97 burials. Among the burial items, the most significant ones are 33 coins of Novgorod and Pskov Republics’ emission, of Principality of All Rus during the reigns of Ivan III, Vasily III and Ivan IV. The composition of the numismatic collection from the burials of the Kovashi burial ground reflected the most important changes that took place in the financial sphere of the Novgorod Republic during the period of its independence ceding to Moscow. Coins found in the tombs have become the leading chronological indicator, allowing us to refine both the dating of individual graves containing money and the functioning of all of the burial ground by following the process of its development. Fixation of the “obol of the dead” among the population of the Vodskaya Pyatina supplements the available data on the burial rites of the local population and their idea of the afterlife.

Archaeological lacquer objects from the Orgoyton burial ground

Исследованные лаковые артефакты были обнаружены при раскопках княжеского кургана хунну на могильнике Оргойтон в Забайкалье, который датируется I веком до н. э. – I веком нашей эры. Хотя захоронение было разграблено в древности, в нем были обнаружены детали колес китайской колесницы, покрытые черным лаком, а также мелкие фрагменты, возможно, осколки лаковой посуды. Технологические особенности этих разнообразных объектов были изучены путем исследования стратиграфии шлифов с помощью методов поляризационной микроскопии (ПМ) и сканирующей (растровой) электронной микроскопии в сочетании с энергодисперсионным рентгеновским микроанализом (РЭМ/ЭРМ). Состав органических материалов был изучен с помощью метода пиролитической хромато-масс-спектрометрии. В результате исследования было показано, что при создании всех предметов был использован китайский лак уруси. Поскольку лаковые деревья, сок которых служит для изготовления такого рода изделий, не произрастают в этом регионе, полученный результат дополняет имеющуюся информацию о существовании этнических контактов между Китаем и народами, проживающими в Забайкалье. После исследования археологических объектов была проведена их консервация. The studied lacquer artifacts were discovered during the excavations of the princely Hunnu burial mound at the Orgoyton burial ground in Transbaikalia, which dates back to the I century BC – I century AD and which is associated with the Asian Huns (Hunnu), in the Orgoyton burial ground on the territory of Transbaikalia. Although the burial was looted in ancient times, parts of the wheels of a Chinese chariot were found in it, covered with black lacquer, as well as small fragments, possibly fragments of lacquer ware. The technological features of these various objects were studied by studying the stratigraphy of the sections using the methods of polarization microscopy (PM) and scanning (scanning) electron microscopy in combination with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM/ERM). The composition of organic materials was studied using pyrolytic chromatomass spectrometry. As a result of the study, it was shown that when creating all the items, Chinese urushi varnish was used. Since the lacquer trees whose sap serves for the manufacture of such products do not grow in this region, the result obtained complements the available information about the existence of ethnic contacts between China and the peoples living in Transbaikalia. After the study of archaeological sites, their conservation was carried out.

First results of the archaeoparasitological study of the Volna 1 burial ground (Temryuk District, Krasnodar Krai)

The paper presents the results of an archaeoparasitological analysis of the soil samples from a number of the burials dated to the end of the 4th — first half of the 3rd c. B.C. of the ancient burial ground of Volna 1 situated in the territory of the “Asiatic part” of the Bosporan Kingdom (present-day Temryuk District, Krasnodar Krai). As the result of the investigation, the parasitogenic spectrum of the studied population group has been determined. The eggs of three types of helminths were found. The presence of the eggs of human whipworm (Trichuris trichi-ura) in the soil samples from the burials suggest relatively poor sanitary and hygienic condition of the population and undeveloped hygienic habits of the studied population group. Analysis of the archaeoparasitological data in the historical context and utilization of the archaeopathological material from the archaeological sites of the chronologically close period from the territory of Europe and Asia Minor permitted identification of the range of possible causes of such a situation. The undeveloped hygienic habits are also manifested by finding of of lancet fluke (Dicrocoelium dendriticum) eggs in the soil samples. Besides, the presence in the soil samples of the eggs of this parasite is indicative, from the point of view of archaeoparasitology, of the type of the economy, its methods and, partly, of the dietary specifics. Interesting is the fact of finding of the broad tapeworm (Diphyllobothrium latum) eggs in one of the samples. Given the life cycle of the broad tapeworm and mode of infestation, it is possible to determine unambiguously that the tapeworm infestation might have happened during the consumption of raw underboiled/underroast or dried fish from the freshwater lakes and rivers from the territory of the south of Russia (River Kuban, River Don etc.). Having considered the obtained data in the historical-archaeological con-text, it is possible to hypothesize on the directions of travels of the infested individual. Characteristics of the archaeoparasitological spectrum indicate possible use of anthelminthic agents, or consumption of food with vermicidal effect with respect to the round worms. An important result of the study is demonstration of capabilities of the archaeoparasitology as a source of bioarchaeological information on the population of Northern Black Sea coast.

Gordinsky Stone of 1323: New Details

The study of the Gordinsky stone (grave slab) discovered by A. P. Smirnov in 1930 in Gordino village of Balezinsky District in Votyak Autonomous Oblast (presently the Udmurt Republic) is represented in the paper. The stone was regarded by scientists as the most northeastern Bolgar epigraphic monument (Ali Rahim, G. V. Yusupov, D. G. Mukhametshin, D. S. Khakimzyanov) and dated by researchers back to 1323. As a monument of archaeology, the stone was studied by local historians and archaeologists (N. G. Pervukhin, P. M. Sorokin, V. F. Gening, A. G. Ivanov, and others), and as a sacral monument of the population of Gordino village and the Tatars of the Cheptsa river basin, it was studied by ethnographers (E. V. Popova). The paper features the history of the slab’s appearance in the archaeological fund of the National Museum of the Udmurt Republic named after Kuzebay Gerd. In recent years, new material has appeared (Gordinsky II burial ground was discovered, and another fragment of the slab was found). The grave slab of the early 14th century was located on a mountain near the Gordinsky I (Guryakar) hillfort (9th – 13th centuries) where a cemetery was arranged by the first Besermyan settlers (17th – 18th centuries). The Tatars who arrived in the Besermyan village in the second half of the 19th century (possibly the Besermyans who adopted Islam) according to the Muslim tradition, proclaimed the location of the grave slab as the grave of a “saint”. The discovered fragment made it possible to clarify the text of the epitaph (add the “testimony of faith” text). A tamga mark of the slab’s manufacturer was found on the back of the fragment. The grave slab from Gordino village belongs to the Bolgar school of stone carving which has its territorial originality (the northeastern version of the gravestone steles). The paper features an attempt of its reconstruction.

Zhangjipo site excavations’ history (1955-1992)

The article examines the question of the need to study the history of excavations at archaeological sites of ancient China, in particular at the largest burial ground of the Western Zhou era (1027-771 BC) - Zhangjiapo. Archaeological materials are the closest in time source for the history of the period. They not only confirm and supplement the reports of written sources on the political and social history of the era, but also provide new materials for the analysis of the economy and everyday life of the general population, which is not the object of description in written sources. In the first part, the author reveals the features of the source base of the era and points out a number of restrictions in conducting archaeological excavations and the further publication of their results. Then she proceeds to a brief description of the Zhangjiapo monument and reveals the stages in the history of its excavations, which allows us to answer the question about the reasons for the fragmentary excavations of the monument.

Reflection of the family structure of the population at the biritual burial ground of the Saltiv culture in Chervona Hirka

The article presents the preliminary results of the analysis of individual burial complexes discovered at the biritual burial ground of the Saltiv culture in Chervona Hirka (Balakliia district of Kharkiv Oblast). During the work at the burial ground, 313 burials were examined, of which 191 were performed as inhumations, and 122 – cremations. Also, 18 cases were recorded at the burial ground when some burials were inlet into the filling of the burial pits of other burials without destroying the latter. At the same time, most often, the main burial was an inhumation according to the rite, and the burial inlet into the filling of the burial pit belonged to the category of cremations (Table 1). Among the complexes under consideration, the burials performed simultaneously (one-act) and those made after a certain period of time are presented. The latter are numerically dominant over one-act burial complexes. In 18 cases, 11 burials belong to paired ones, in 6 cases a burial contained the remains of three deceased. In the filling of burial No. 75/ k-4, the remains of three deceased were found, deliberately placed there. Thus, in Chervona Hirka burial ground, cases are presented of one burial pit usage for the simultaneous or different graves of 2—4 deceased. In these complexes, we tend to see the burials of close relatives, members of the same family (husband and wife, mother with children, minor children). An analysis of the sex and age composition of people buried in these complex burials allows us to speak of the existence of undivided families of the paternal or fraternal type among the population who left the Chervona Hirka burial ground, along with small families. The most striking evidence of the latter is the fixation of a group of 11 burials (6 inhumations and 5 cremations) on an area of 25 m2, the main one is the burial of a man accompanied by a horse (burial No. 75/ k-4) (Fig. 6: 1). At the same time, in the filling of three graves from this group (No. 75/ k-4, No. 36 and No. 74) there were burial complexes, deliberately placed there: Nos. 37, 38, 58, 59, 64, 71 (Table 1).

On the origin of the Early Iron Age Kashino population of Western Siberia (archaeological and dental non-metric data evidence)

In this study, based on the analysis of the dental characteristics of the series from the burial ground Abatsky-3 (III–V centuries AD) we considered the questions of the origin of the Kashin population of Western Siberia of the early Iron Age. Despite the small number of the studied sample (16 individuals), the detailed morphological characteristics and the results of multivariate statistical analysis made it possible to clarify a number of hypotheses about the origins and relationships of the Early Iron Age Kashino population of Western Siberia. The specificity of the Kashino population from the Abatsky-3 burial ground lies in a high predominance of the “Eastern” dental non-metric complex, namely, in the high frequencies of the 6-cusps lower molars, the distal trigonid crest, and, to a lesser extent, the deflecting wrinkle on the first lower molars. This complex of characteristics clearly differentiates this population from the groups of the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age of Western Siberia and adjacent territories. According to the results of our study, it can be assumed that populations of the Kashino and Sargat cultures (latter is the closest to the representatives of the Kashino culture in the territorial and cultural terms) have different origin and their contacts were based more on cultural rather than population interactions. The results of the analysis favor to the hypothesis of the penetration of the Kama population related to the Ananyino and Glyadenovo cultures into the Trans-Urals and suggest the contribution of the Ananyino groups in the formation of the Kashino population.

Weapon Sets of the Kushulevsky III Burial Ground of the Pyanobor Archaeological Culture

One of the important directions in the study of military affairs of the Pyanobor culture is the study of weapon sets. A set of weapons means armaments in a specific closed complex. Their study allows us to understand the degree of the population’s armament, its diversity, the demand for certain types of weapons. The problem of the research lies in the fact that such conclusions were made on the basis of an analysis of complexes with weapons from only one burial ground. It was for this reason that the decision was made to analyze the larger-scale necropolis of the Pyanobor culture, in which the number of those buried with items of weapons significantly exceeds those previously studied. This was the Kushulevsky III burial ground. The purpose of this article is to identify and analyze sets of weapons for male burials at the Kushulevsky III burial ground. It is also necessary to compare the data obtained on the weapon sets of the Kushulevsky III burial ground with the necropolises already studied in a similar way: the Okhlebininsky Kara-Abyz culture and the Yuldashevsky Pyanobor culture. It will be fundamentally important to identify the types of arrowheads from the burials of the Kushulevsky III burial ground.An explanatory model for reducing the number of horse bridle sets in military burials of the Pyanobor culture is also presented. In the specialized literature, these theoretical conclusions are described for the first time, which determines the novelty of this work. This work was made possible by the use of statistical calculations, the comparative historical method, as well as the methods of chronology and typology. The use of these techniques made it possible to establish the number of weapons items, their types, types of weapon sets, chronology, etc. The result of the work performed was a demonstration of the proximity of the weapon sets of the Pyanobor and Kara-Abyz cultures. In some cases, certain categories of weapons predominate, for example, bone arrowheads. In bladed weapons, the single-edged combat knife is the most used. In the same category of weapons, there is an electiveness and singularity of swords hitting the drunken population. The combination of a combat knife with a bow or spear forms a standardized complex of weapons of the Pyanobor culture.

Cranial materials from the Oglakhty burial ground

In this article means of cranial measurements and indexes of the Tashtyk sample from the Oglakhty burial ground obtained as a result of analysis and integration of the measurements of G. Debets, V. Alexeev and I. Gokhman are presented. Also we updated the means of the pooled Tashtyk sample. It was demonstrated that the Oglakhty cranial sample cover the whole spectrum of variability of the Tashtyk population. The data on 37 male and 35 female Early Iron Age series of the Tashtyk culture, Early Tes tombs, Tes flat-grave burial grounds, Podgornovo, Bidzha, and Saragashen stages of the Tagar culture, were subjected to canonical variate analysis. The results of the analysis reveals that Tashtyk male and female series are very similar to the Early Tes samples mainly due to higher cranial index in both male and female samples and smaller nose protrusion angle in male sample. Describing the variety of options for postmortem trepanations of the Tashtyk skulls, we argue that the trepanation process was not a ritual in itself, but was a routine procedure aimed at extracting the brain.