«No connection»: расстёгнутый пояс в погребальной обрядности населения Верхнего Приобья эпохи раннего железа

Abstract

The article deals with the problem of interpretation of the phenomenon recorded on the materials of the Bolsherechenskaya cultural and historical community — the placement of men’s belts in the unbuttoned state in burials. An overview of the sources on this issue is provided. On the example of the most representative collections, the contexts of the discovery of belt fittings in the studied burial complexes are considered. It is proposed to consider the discovery of accessories in a non — standard context-in the area of the neck and head or feet of the deceased, in cases where the belt was laid along the body of the buried person, as a marker for placing the belt in the burial in the unbuttoned state. When the belt was located in the traditional way, it is suggested to judge its unbuttoning by the absence of buckles and the presence of other components of accessories. The deliberate unbuttoning of the belt within the framework of the funeral rites of the population of the Upper Ob River region of the Early Iron Age is considered as a phenomenon of event sacralization. Unbuttoning the belt i. e. the withdrawal of a thing from a direct functional state is considered as a symbolic act reflecting the concept of an “inverted world”, according to which the damaged thing acquires lost qualities in a new, posthumous life.