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A Neolithic Burial in the Northern Upper Ob Basin
https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2025.53.1.053-063
Abstract
The study describes new materials from Neolithic burial 33 at Krokhalevka-5 in the Kudryashovsky archaeological micro-region (Novosibirsk Region). The burial was single and had been disturbed. Details of funerary rite and descriptions of lithics are provided. The outlines of the lower part of the pit and the infill with remains of wood suggest that part of a wooden boat had been placed in the grave, possibly as a symbol of passage in space. Similar religious beliefs are evidenced by practices of the Neolithic Lower Ob people, who made tiny boats of clay. The custom of using boats or their copies in the funerary rite has survived until recently among the West Siberian natives, primarily those of the Ob basin. Results of radiocarbon analysis corrected for freshwater reservoir effect suggest that the burial dates to the mid-5th millennium BC (late 6th millennium BC without correction). Closest parallels to the lithics found there are those relating to the Zavyalovo stage of the Upper Ob culture and to certain Neolithic burials of the Barnaul-Biysk area and the Altai Mountains. Broader parallels include those from the Neolithic cultures of the Baraba forest-steppe and the Lower Ob. Craniometrically, the individual from Krokhalevka-5 burial 33 reveals eastern features. The graphic reconstruction of his appearance demonstrates that he differed from people of the Baraba forest-steppe.
Keywords
Neolithic,
boat burial,
Upper Ob basin,
radiocarbon chronology,
lithic artifacts,
funerary rite,
facial reconstruction
Supporting agencies: This study was carried out under the Project “Siberia and Adjacent Territories: Study and Reconstruction of the Historical and Cultural Past” (FWZG-2025-0001). Our special thanks go to D.V. Pozdnyakov for the graphic facial reconstruction of the man.
About the Authors
Z. V. Marchenko
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Marchenko Z.V., Senior Researcher
Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090
A. E. Grishin
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Grishin A.E., Senior Researcher
Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090
T. A. Chikisheva
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Chikisheva T.A., Department Head
Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090
M. S. Kishkurno
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Kishkurno M.S., Junior Researcher
Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090
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For citations:
Marchenko Z.V., Grishin A.E., Chikisheva T.A., Kishkurno M.S. A Neolithic Burial in the Northern Upper Ob Basin. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2025;53(1):53-63. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2025.53.1.053-063
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