Burial Ground of Mogilno-Starozhilskoe V in the Omsk Irtysh Region as a Source on Ethnic and Cultural History of the Region

Abstract

This article presents the results of research at the burial ground near the village of Mogilno-Starozhilskoe in Bolsherechensky District of Omsk Region. Five mounds have been studied. Four mounds contained burials according to inhumation rite, and fifth mound was a ritual complex which the authors connected with funeral traditions of the population which created the site. The article describes the complexes and collections, as well as elements of the funeral rites. Four adult and one child burial have been studied. The deceased were buried in subrectangular pits in extended position on their backs with heads directed to the southwest. In one case, a structure above the grave - a logwork of five layers in the form of truncated pyramid - has been discovered. The accompanying inventory included elements of horse harness, knife, beads, plaques, and fragment of a round mirror made of white bronze. Several objects with traces of ritual (?) feasts, large vessel containing food remains, and the buried severed head and neck of a dog, which the authors interpret as signs of animal sacrifice, have been discovered under the mound of large ritual complex. All adult burials had been destroyed, most likely for ritual purposes. The analysis of the collection and elements of the funeral rite made it possible to date this site to the 14th-15th centuries and connect it with the nomadic Turkic-speaking population of the Irtysh forest steppe, closely related to the Turks of the Baraba forest steppe. The Mogilno-Starozhilskoe V burial ground represents a rich source of information for studying sophisticated ethnic and cultural processes in the forest steppe in the Late Middle Ages. The research data will be used for further study of ethnographic archaeological complexes expanding our knowledge of ethnic history and culture of the indigenous population which lived in Western Siberia.