Pre-Turkic Burial in the Northern Altai: Cultural and Chronological Interpretation

Abstract

Purpose. One of the problems in the archeology of Altai of the Great Migration period remains the chronology of funerary sites. The article concerns the materials of one of representative burials of the Choburak-I necropolis in the Northern Altai, demonstrating the wide possibilities of research in this direction.Methods and Results. A man of 25–30 years old was buried in the grave of barrow № 38. The key features of the object are a small mound with a crepe, the western orientation of the deceased person, as well as the burial of a horse «at the feet» of the man. The accompanying inventory included numerous weapons, tools, equipment for a man and a horse. The analysis of the finds testifies to the period of the construction of mound № 38 not earlier than the middle of the 4th century AD. The results of radiocarbon dating were obtained, which supplement this information and indicate the upper chronological boundary no later than the beginning of the 5th century AD.Conclusion. The correlation of the available data makes it possible to determine the chronology of mound no. 38 with-in the middle – second half of the 4th century AD. The recorded characteristics of the funeral rite indicate that this object belongs to the Dialyan tradition of ritual practice of the Bulan-Koby culture. The set of items found with the de-ceased man testifies to his high status in the nomadic society during his lifetime.