An Unusual Burial at Pyatiletka-1 Mound 6, Northern Salair Ridge: Cultural Affiliation and Chronology

Abstract

   This article presents the results of a multidisciplinary analysis of materials from an atypical burial beneath mound 6 at Pyatiletka-1 in the Novosibirsk Region. A complete description of the earth-and-timber structure above the burial chamber and of the chamber itself is provided. The deceased person’s position is described. Results of scientific analyses are outlined. Clay vessels were tempered with grog, and the clay was likely mined near Lake Krugloye. The analysis of samples of wood from the funerary structure shows that its parts were made of birch. Four radiocarbon dates fall within a narrow range: 1411–1404 BC. Craniometric analysis of the preserved part of the cranium reveals similarities with Irmen groups and certain representatives of the early stages of the Late Bronze Age in the Minusinsk Basin. In terms of rite, the burial is markedly different from those of other Late Bronze Age cultures in the region, including the Irmen, Korchazhka, and Yelovka cultures. The closest parallels are found among the materials of the first (Karasuk) stage of the Late Bronze Age in the Minusinsk Basin. It is hypothesized that the atypical burial evidences a wave (or waves) of eastward migration, giving rise to the first stage of the Late Bronze Age in the area.