A History Not to be Forgotten: Mass Burials in Mongolia

Abstract

˜ ˜ ˜ ® n the summer of 2003, while Smithsonian physical anthropologist Bruno Frohlich was surveying burial mounds in the Hovsgol aimag (province), he was informed by Naran Bazarsad of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences that mass burials had been discovered earlier that year at Hambiin Ovoo outside Ulaanbaatar. The mass burials had been excavated by monks, but there were many concerns that the mass graves had not been documented adequately for historic and forensic purposes. A few miles outside the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, construction workers removing fill for housing construction had found the remains of many individuals with Buddhist monks’ clothing and religious objects. They notified the lamas at Ulaanbaatar’s Gandan Monastery, whose leader Lama Purevbat decided to have the monastery lamas retrieve as many bodies as possible and render Buddhist ceremonies and burial practices for the dead. The number of crania and femora (thigh bones) uncovered in their work suggested that the grave site contained more than 600 individuals. Following the removal of the bodies with large construction equipment, the lamas performed rituals for the dead and cremated the remains at the mass grave site. Subsequent negotiations between the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and Lama Purevbat and his associates from the Gandan Monastary resulted in a plan for continued excavation of the burial site at a later time through the application of modern forensic techniques and evidence collection. As part of this negotiation, Bruno Frohlich visited the Gandan Monastery where Lama Purevbat gave him a fascinating introduction to Buddhist mortuary practices, Buddhist anatomical learning, and the traditional treatment of human remains. The Mongolian Academy of Sciences agreed to coordinate with the Gandan Monastery and notify the Smithsonian Institution when the scientists could proceed with further study. A few months later, the Mongolian Academy of Sciences approved the continued documentation and investigation. Frohlich and Naran were to organize survey and excavation at the Hambiin Ovoo site with the assistance of Smithsonian physical anthropologist David Hunt and Erdene Batshatar, Tsend Amgalantugs, Enkhtur Altangerel, Batsukh Dunburee, and Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan from the Institute of Archeology and the National Museum of Mongolian History.