Belt Sets of the Population of the Northern Altai in the Great Migration Period (on the Materials of the Karban-I Complex)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of belt sets found in the burials of the Xianbei period of the Karban-I necropolis located in the Chemal region of the Altai Republic. In 1989-1990 expedition of the Barnaul Pedagogical Institute (now Altai State Pedagogical University) found sixteen belts in eleven burials. It was presented by 15 buckles, 38 plaques, eight „blocks“ and two „pendant tips“. The typological analysis of the majority of classified items indicates their dating within the 2nd — 3rd centuries AD. The considered sets demonstrate the variability in the design of the belts of the population of the Northern Altai in the early Xianbei period. The authors have identified common, special and single elements of the belt design. It has been established that the variety of sets of belt accessories from the burials reflects the individual preferences of the deceased people, as well as the peculiarities of their status in the social stratification of the population of the Northern Altai at the initial stage of the Great Migration period.