Generate QR code
Open Access
Subscription Access
An Early Metal Age Burial in Treugolnaya Cave, Primorye: A Multidisciplinary Study
N. A. Kluyev,
I. Y. Sleptsov,
A. V. Zubova,
V. G. Moiseyev,
D. V. Pozdnyakov,
K. V. Zhur,
M. V. Leonova,
F. S. Sharko,
E. B. Prokhorchuk,
M. P. Tiunov,
V. E. Omelko https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2025.53.4.092-100
Abstract
The article outlines the findings of a multidisciplinary study of an Early Metal Age burial of a woman in Treugolnaya Cave, Primorye—the first such burial in the region. The human skeleton was accompanied by funerary goods including stone and bone artifacts and ceramics. The most noteworthy specimen among the lithics is a polished knife, very similar to those from the late 2nd to early 1st millennia BC sites in Primorye. DNA analysis showed that the individual was a female member of a Mongoloid population. Her morphological features indicate an age of more than 50 years and a stature of ~153 cm. Her elongated cranium reveals an antemortem deformation. The comparative analysis suggests that the closest morphological parallel was a cranium from Rodinka II, Yakutia, associated with the Belkachi Neolithic culture. The paleogenetic analysis suggests that the most similar paleogenomes are those from China, Mongolia, and the Russian Far East. Two of the latter are Neolithic ones from Primorye (Chertovy Vorota and Boismana-2). We conclude that genetic continuity in this region was high during the Holocene. A more detailed analysis of population affinities is ongoing. A facial reconstruction was carried out. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the burial in Treugolnaya Cave dates to the late 12th–11th centuries BC.
Keywords
Primorye,
Treugolnaya Cave,
Early Metal Age,
anthropological analysis,
paleogenetic analysis,
facial reconstruction
Supporting agencies: The archaeological excavations of the burial were supported by the Russian Science Foundation Project No. 20-18-00081 “Archaeology of the Russian Far East”. The paleogenetic research was carried out under state assignment of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science (themes No. 122041100149-7 and 124060400040-3). Creating the facial reconstruction of the individual was supported by the funds of the R&D Project “Siberia and Adjacent Territories: Study and Reconstruction of the Historical and Cultural Past” (FWZG-2025-0001).
About the Authors
N. A. Kluyev
Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Kluyev N.A., Deputy Director,
Pushkinskaya 89, Vladivostok, 690001.
I. Y. Sleptsov
Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Sleptsov I.Y., Junior Researcher,
Pushkinskaya 89, Vladivostok, 690001.
A. V. Zubova
Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Zubova A.V., Senior Researcher,
Universitetskaya nab. 3, St. Petersburg, 199034.
V. G. Moiseyev
Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Moiseyev V.G., Senior Researcher,
Universitetskaya nab. 3, St. Petersburg, 199034.
D. V. Pozdnyakov
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Pozdnyakov D.V., Senior Researcher,
pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090.
K. V. Zhur
Federal Research Centre “Fundamentals of Biotechnology”, Skryabin Institute of Bioengineering, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Zhur K.V., Junior Researcher,
pr. 60-letiya Oktyabrya 7, bldg. 1, Moscow, 117312.
M. V. Leonova
Federal Research Centre “Fundamentals of Biotechnology”, Skryabin Institute of Bioengineering, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Leonova M.V., Junior Researcher,
pr. 60-letiya Oktyabrya 7, bldg. 1, Moscow, 117312.
F. S. Sharko
Federal Research Centre “Fundamentals of Biotechnology”, Skryabin Institute of Bioengineering, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Sharko F.S., Junior Researcher,
60-letiya Oktyabrya 7, bldg. 1, Moscow, 117312.
E. B. Prokhorchuk
Federal Research Centre “Fundamentals of Biotechnology”, Skryabin Institute of Bioengineering, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Prokhorchuk E.B., Laboratory Head,
60-letiya Oktyabrya 7, bldg. 1, Moscow, 117312.
M. P. Tiunov
Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Tiunov M.P., Leading Researcher,
100-letiya Vladivostoka 159/1, Vladivostok, 690022.
V. E. Omelko
Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Omelko V.E., Senior Researcher,
100-letiya Vladivostoka 159/1, Vladivostok, 690022.
References
1. Alekseev V.P., Debets G.F. 1964 Kraniometriya: Metodika antropologicheskikh issledovaniy. Moscow: Nauka.
2. Balueva T.S., Veselovskaya E.V. 2004 New developments in facial reconstruction. Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia, No. 1: 143–150. (In Russian and English).
3. Chikisheva T.A. 2003 Rezultaty issledovaniya novykh antropologicheskikh materialov iz mogilnika na poselenii Boysmana-2. In Problemy arkheologii i paleoekologii Severnoy, Vostochnoy i Tsentralnoy Azii (raskopki 1998–2000 gg.). Novosibirsk: Izd. IAET SO RAN, pp. 209–213.
4. Derenko M., Malyarchuk B., Denisova G., Perkova M., Rogalla U., Grzybowski T., Khusnutdinova E., Dambueva I., Zakharov I. 2012 Complete mitochondrial DNA analysis of eastern Eurasian haplogroups rarely found in populations of northern Asia and eastern Europe. PLoS One, vol. 7 (2), Art. No. e32179.
5. Dyakov V.I. 1989 Primorye v epokhu bronzy. Vladivostok: Izd. Dalnevost. Gos. Univ.
6. Gerasimov M.M. 1949 Osnovy vosstanovleniya litsa po cherepu. Moscow: Sov. nauka.
7. Gerasimov M.M. 1955 Vosstanovleniye litsa po cherepu (sovremenniy i iskopayemiy chelovek). Moscow: Izd. AN SSSR. (TIE. Nov. ser.; vol. 28).
8. Gokhman I.I. 1980 Proiskhozhdeniye tsentralnoaziatskoy rasy v svete novykh paleoantropologicheskikh materialov. In Issledovaniya po paleoantropologii i kraniologii SSSR. Leningrad: Nauka, pp. 3–34. (Sbornik MAE; vol. 36).
9. Gokhman I.I., Tomtosova L.F. 1992 Antropologicheskiye issledovaniya neoliticheskikh mogilnikov Diring-Yuryakh i Rodinka. In Arkheologicheskiye issledovaniya v Yakutii. Novosibirsk: Nauka, pp. 105–124.
10. Gromov A.V., Zubova A.V., Moiseyev V.G. 2017 Antropologicheskiye materialy s poseleniya yankovskoy kultury Cherepakha-13 v Yuzhnom Primorye. In Arkheologiya CIRCUM-PACIFIC: Pamyati Igorya Yakovlevicha Shevkomuda. Vladivostok: Rubezh, pp. 418–449.
11. Hsu Yu, Klein S., O’Sullivan R., Zhushchikhovskaya I.S., Popov A.N., Kluyev N.A., Nikitin Y.G., Sidorenko E.V. 2023 Provenance and distribution networks of the earliest bronze in the Maritime Territory (Primorye), Russian Far East. The Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology, vol. 18 (2): 329–349.
12. Kistenev S.P. 1980 Noviye arkheologicheskiye pamyatniki basseyna Kolymy. In Novoye v arkheologii Yakutii: (Trudy Prilen. arkheol. ekspeditsii). Yakutsk: Yakut. fi l. SO AN SSSR, pp. 74–87.
13. Kluyev N.A. 2013 Mogilnik epokhi paleometalla na pamyatnike Dvoryanka-1 v Primorye. In Aziatsko-Tikhookeanskiy region: Arkheologiya, etnografiya, istoriya, iss. 2. Vladivostok: Dalnauka, pp. 60–70.
14. Kluyev N.A., Kan In Uk, Sleptsov I.Y., Gladchenkov A.A. 2009 Kuznechnaya masterskaya rannego zheleznogo veka v Primorye. In Kulturnaya khronologiya i drugiye problemy v issledovaniyakh drevnostey vostoka Azii. Khabarovsk: Khabarov. kraevoy muzey im. N.I. Grodekova, pp. 175–178.
15. Kluyev N.A., Sleptsov I.Y., Gladchenkov A.A., Shapovalov E.Y., Belova I.V., Tiunov M.P., Gusev A.E., Vorobiev A.M., Pochivalova N.M., Panin P.S., Kolganova A.M. 2023 Noviye peshcherniye arkheologicheskiye pamyatniki Primorya (perviye rezultaty issledovaniy). Trudy Instituta instorii, arkheologii i etnografi i DVO RAN, vol. 39: 50–65.
16. Lebedinskaya G.V. 1998 Rekonstruktsiya litsa po cherepu (metodicheskoye rukovodstvo). Moscow: Stariy sad.
17. Levin M.G. 1956 Antropologicheskiy material iz Verkholenskogo mogilnika. In Antropologicheskiy sbornik, No. 1. Moscow: Izd. AN SSSR, pp. 299–339. (TIE. Nov. ser.; vol. 33).
18. Lynsha V.A., Tarasenko V.N., Kuzmin Y.V. 2011 Noviye danniye po absolyutnoy khronologii arkheologicheskikh kultur doliny srednego Imana. In Aktualniye problemy arkheologii Sibiri i Dalnego Vostoka. Ussuriysk: Izd. Ussur. Gos. Ped. Univ., pp. 199–222.
19. Mamonova N.N. 1957 Noviye nakhodki neoliticheskikh cherepov v Zabaikalye. Zapiski Buryat-Mongol. nauch.-issled. inst. kultury, iss. XXIII: 118–135.
20. McKenzie H.G., Popov A.N. 2016 A metric assessment of evidence for artifi cial cranial modifi cation at the Boisman 2 Neolithic cemetery (ca. 5,800– 5,400 14C BP), Primorye, Russian Far East. Quaternary International, vol. 405: 210–221.
21. Moiseyev V.G., Zubova A.V., Batarshev S.V. 2020 Paleodiyeta nositeley yankovskoy kultury: Odontologicheskiye danniye. In Ekologiya drevnikh i traditsionnykh obshchestv: Materialy VI Mezhdunar. nauch. konf. Tyumen: Tyumen. nauch. tsentr SO RAN, pp. 422–425.
22. Nikitin S.A. 2009 Plasticheskaya rekonstruktsiya portreta po cherepu. In Nekropol russkikh velikikh knyagin i tsarits v Voznesenskom monastyre Moskovskogo Kremlya. Vol. 1: Istoriya usypalnitsy i metodika issledovaniya zakhoroneniy. Moscow: Gos. istor.-kult. muzey-zapovednik “Moskovskiy Kreml”, pp. 137–167.
23. Nikitin Y.G. 2003 Nekotoriye rezultaty issledovaniya Posyetskogo grota. In Problemy arkheologii i paleoekologii Severnoy, Vostochnoy i Tsentralnoy Azii: Materialy Mezhdunar. konf. “Iz veka v vek”, posvyashch. 95-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya akad. A.P. Okladnikova i 50-letiyu Dalnevost. arkheol. ekspeditsii RAN. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAET SO RAN, pp. 271–274.
24. Ning C., Li T., Wang K., Zhang F., Li T., Wu X., Gao S., Zhang Q., Zhang H., Hudson M.J., Dong G., Wu S., Fang Y., Liu C., Feng C., Li W., Han T., Li R., Wei J., Zhu Y., Zhou Y., Wang C.-C., Fan S., Xiong Z., Sun Z., Ye M., Sun L., Wu X., Liang F., Cao Y., Wei X., Zhu H., Zhou H., Krause J., Robbeets M., Jeong C., Cui Y. 2020 Ancient genomes from northern China suggest links between subsistence changes and human migration. Nature Communications, vol. 11, Art. No. 2700.
25. Popov A.N., Chikisheva T.A., Shpakova E.G. 1997 Boysmanskaya arkheologicheskaya kultura Yuzhnogo Primorya. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAET SO RAN.
26. Siska V., Jones E.R., Jeon S., Bhak Y., Kim H.-M., Cho Y.S., Kim H., Lee K., Veselovskaya E., Balueva T., Gallego-Llorente M., Hofreiter M., Bradley D.G., Eriksson A., Pinhasi R., Bhak J., Manica A. 2017 Genome-wide data from two early Neolithic East Asian individuals dating to 7700 years ago. Science Advances, vol. 3, Art. No. e1601877.
27. Veselovskaya E.V. 2015 Kraniofatsialniye proportsii v antropologicheskoy rekonstruktsii. Etnografi cheskoye obozreniye, No. 2: 83–98.
28. Wang C.-C., Yeh H.-Y., Popov A.N., Zhang H.-Q., Matsumura H., Sirak K., Cheronet O., Kovalev A., Rohland N., Kim A.M., Mallick S., Bernardos R., Tumen D., Zhao J., Liu Y.-C., Liu J.-Y., Mah M., Wang K., Zhang Z., Adamski N., Broomandkhoshbacht N., Callan K., Candilio F., Carlson K.S.D., Culleton B.J., Eccles L., Freilich S., Keating D., Lawson A.M., Mandl K., Michel M., Oppenheimer J., Özdoğan K.T., Stewardson K., Wen S., Yan S., Zalzala F., Chuang R., Huang C.-J., Looh H., Shiung C.-C., Nikitin Y.G., Tabarev A.V., Tishkin A.A., Lin S., Sun Z.-Y., Wu X.-M., Yang T.-L., Hu X., Chen L., Du H., Bayarsaikhan J., Mijiddorj E., Erdenebaatar D., Iderkhangai T.-O., Myagmar E., Kanzawa-Kiriyama H., Nishino M., Shinoda K., Shubina O.A., Guo J., Cai W., Deng Q., Kang L., Li D., Li D., Lin R., Nini, Shrestha R., Wang L.-X., Wei L., Xie G., Yao H., Zhang M., He G., Yang X., Hu R., Robbeets M., Schiffels S., Kennett D.J., Jin L., Li H., Krause J., Pinhasi R., Reich D. 2021 Genomic insights into the formation of human populations in East Asia. Nature, vol. 591: 413–419.
29. Yanshina O.V. 2011 Nekotoriye aspekty drevney etnokulturnoy istorii Sakhalina. In Radlovskiy sbornik: Nauchniye issledovaniya i muzeyniye proyekty MAE RAN v 2010 g. St. Petersburg: Izd. MAE RAN, pp. 245–250.
30. Zhang Q., Liu P., Yeh H.-Y., Man X., Wang L., Zhu H., Wang Q., Zhang Q. 2019 Intentional cranial modifi cation from the Houtaomuga site in Jilin, China: Earliest evidence and longest in situ practice during the Neolithic Age. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, vol. 169: 747–756.
31. Zubova A.V., Moiseyev V.G., Dupa S., Khartanovich V.I. 2020 Patologii zubnoy sistemy u ainov Sakhalina. In Ekologiya drevnikh i traditsionnykh obshchestv: Materialy VI Mezhdunar. nauch. konf. Tyumen: Tyum. nauch. tsentr SO RAN, pp. 386–390.
Review
For citations:
Kluyev N.A., Sleptsov I.Y., Zubova A.V., Moiseyev V.G., Pozdnyakov D.V., Zhur K.V., Leonova M.V., Sharko F.S., Prokhorchuk E.B., Tiunov M.P., Omelko V.E. An Early Metal Age Burial in Treugolnaya Cave, Primorye: A Multidisciplinary Study. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2025;53(4):92-100. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2025.53.4.092-100
Views:
36
JATS XML
Email this article 