VERTICAL BURIALS OF NORTHERN EURASIA

Abstract

At this point, eight burials with vertically positioned bodies in the burial chamber are known in Northern Eurasia from Central Europe to the eastern border of Western Siberia. There is one “stand up” burial at each of the following sites: near the village of Zarechnoe on the Ina River in the Ob River area, in the Tobol River area near the village of Pegan, at Ust-Aleika 5 burial ground on the Upper Ob River, and Central Europe, 80 km north of Berlin. The remains of four burials are known at Oleniy Ostrov burial ground on Lake Onega. Vertical burial grounds are characterized by some significant peculiarities. Bones of a child from Ust-Aleika 5 necropolis, female bones from Zarechnoe 1 burial ground, and, probably, from the burial near the village of Pegan were found in anatomical order. Female burial № 68 at Oleniy Ostrov burial ground can be considered vertical, too. The deceased was buried standing up there. A burial of a man in an upright position was found at a burial ground in Groß Fredenwalde. Biting marks and mixed condition of the bones reliably indicate that the upper part of the grave pit was open for some time. Accordingly, we can assume a similar rite (with the upper part of the grave opened) at burial № 68 and diagonal burials № 100, 123, and 125 at Oleniy Ostrov burial ground. Considering relatively sparse funerary equipment in vertical burials, an almost total absence of sculptural images, which, in our opinion, are more typical of shaman burials, and, probably, the practice of building half-open graves, we can assume that the deceased buried in “stand up” burials were not shamans. They were apparently revered according to the religious code in a special way due to certain mental or physical abilities or shortcomings, which is indicated by the example of a child with hydrocephalus from Ust-Aleika 5 burial ground. The vertically buried bodies were likely to serve as a kind of “guardians” at the necropolises, as evidenced by the burial at Groß Fredenwalde that was half-opened for some time, and, possibly, by the burials on Oleniy Ostrov.