New features of the funeral rite of the medieval population of the north of Western Siberia (based on the interdisciplinary research materials of the Nyurymposllor 2 burial ground)

Abstract

This article publishes for the first time the first results of interdisciplinary research of the archaeological monument of the Late Middle Ages – the New Age of the Nyrymposlor 2 burial ground, conducted in 2020–2021. As a result of comprehensive studies of the monument, it was possible to trace the funeral rite of the aborigines of the North, namely the position of the buried, the location of the accompanying inventory, the attire of the buried. In addition to archaeological and anthropological approaches in the study of the ancient burial ground, the specialists applied the method of paleosurface science. In particular, special attention was paid by scientists to a local elevation (hereinafter referred to as mounds) of a secondary nature, on which ancient grave depressions visible in modern relief were located. On the basis of morphological and physico-chemical indicators, the diagnosis of the burial mound was carried out, which subsequently allowed us to obtain confirmation in favor of the artificial, rather than the natural (natural) origin of the burial site, on which the ancient population of the north of Western Siberia was compactly buried, starting at least from the XVI century AD. From the point of view of the practical approach of artificial embankment formation, the researchers hypothesize that river sand could be used as the only material for the embankment in the immediate vicinity of the watercourse, which was previously manually «dragged and poured» onto the future site of the burial ground by ancient people. As a result of interdisciplinary research, an assumption is put forward about the allocation of a special type of monument – the Nyrymposlor 2 burial ground, which have no analogues and have been identified in the modern territory of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.