Burial Mounds Research Articles

마한의 시작과 만경강, 그리고 금마

In the Mangyeong River basin, one can observe the establishment, development, integration, and disappearance of the early Iron Age culture from the 4th to 3rd centuries BC to the turn of the era. Representative material cultures of this period include clay pottery, long bronze swords, and iron products found nationwide. The region, especially the Mangyeong River basin, was at the core of the early Iron Age culture, where bronze production technology rapidly advanced, and primitive iron culture coexisted. Notably, the areas with the highest density of relics are in present-day Iksan, Wanju, and Jeonju. A significant shift occurred in the 2nd century BC. In the first half of this century, based on the technology exemplified by bell-shaped vessels, bronze-making technology peaked, establishing the area as a center of importance. In the latter half, the size of relics grew, social stratification accelerated, and bronze burial mounds with vast artifacts disappeared, replaced by the appearance of iron artifacts. Thus, the symbols of power for the top ruling class, represented by long bronze swords, shifted to iron, reflecting a change in the societal structure. The most pivotal point in the early Iron Age can be pegged to the 2nd century BC, which is directly linked to the arrival of King Jun.
 Relics related to the time of King Jun's arrival are most densely distributed in Iksan, Wanju, and Jeonju. If we categorize based on the distribution pattern of the relics, rather than the current administrative districts, the areas can be divided into: the western region of Miruksan centered on Hamyeol, Hwangdeung, and Osan; the western region of Hwangbangsan and southern region of Miruksan centered on Geumma, Wanggung, and the western Wanju; and the area covering Jeonju and the eastern Hwangbangsan, including Jeonjucheon and Gosancheon streams. The central points of these regions can be redefined as Iksan, Geumma, and Jeonju. While many tasks remain to be addressed, based on currently available literary records and archaeological investigations, the area with the highest concentration of relics from the 2nd century BC related to King Jun's arrival can be identified as the Geumma.

안라국 국읍과 함안지역 내 정치체 변화

Tr surrounding small and medium-sized burial mound groups.

Barrow Cemetery in Zbudza in the Eastern Slovak Lowland

The barrow site in Zbudza is located in the East Slovak Lowland. In 1980, Elena Miroššayová carried out excavations on the burial mound (no. 1) located behind th old Jewish cemetery. The central burial pit and clusters of pottery and traces of hearths were discovered. Some potsherds the possess ornamentation typical for the Corded Ware culture. The charcoal found near the burial pit were radiocarbon dated to 4140±35 BP (Poz-151727), which can be correlated to the years 2866–2632 BC. At the site in Zbudza and the neighbouring Trnava pri Laborci, thanks to the LIDAR data, about 20 burial mounds in various states of preservation and different chronological positions were registered. Some of them should be associated with the presence of the Corded Ware and Yamna cultures from the 3rd millennium BC. Geophysical prospection of burial no. 2 located in the part of the village called “Imrička” was conducted in 2021.

Антропологический анализ костных останков из курганного могильника Зунда-Толга-6

Introduction. This work is devoted to the anthropological analysis of bone remains using craniological and osteometric techniques. The object of the study is anthropological material from the burial mound of Zunda-Tolga-6 3/2. The purpose of the research is to study the bone remains of the buried from the burial mound of Zunda-Tolga-6 3/2 using anthropological analysis. Materials and methods. The material for the study was bone remains from the burial ground of Zunda-Tolga-6 3/2, stored in the funds of the Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS. Classical anthropological techniques were used in the study. Results and conclusions. Anthropological analysis revealed that the buried man had limited physical capabilities of the body and was not particularly active. The inventory found in the burial indicates that the individual belongs to the military class, but anthropological analysis, due to the identified features, indicates the uncharacteristic nature of this skeleton as a skeleton of a warrior.

GEOINFORMATION SYSTEMS IN THE STUDY OF MUSLIM HOLY SITES IN THE SOUTHERN URALS

In the recent decade, there has been a tendency in the Southern Urals to reconstruct old holy places and to form new ones revered by the Muslims. To date, more than 115 such objects have been recorded. Most of them are revered only by residents of small villages, but some have become important for the Muslims throughout the region.
 
 The purpose of the study is to determine the most popular places of worship for the Muslims in the Southern Urals. Considering that some of the objects of regional importance have been revered by the Muslims since the XIV century, and others, having appeared relatively recently, quickly became one of the most visited places, it is necessary to determine the factors influencing the growth of this popularity.
 
 Historiographical base of the study. The research team analyzed the works of domestic and foreign authors, which mainly describe the conditions of the studied objects, religious rituals, organized events, etc. In addition, it was possible to attract the experience of researchers in implementing projects in geoinformation systems in religious studies.
 
 Materials and methods of the study. Geoinformation methods were used for the study. Based on archival materials, developments of archaeologists, ethnographers, theologians, culture experts, materials of Internet communities and other open sources, as well as the free cross-platform geoinformation system Quantum GIS, we have created the following layers: 1) mausoleums; 2) places of worship according to the data given by Russia’s Central Spiritual Governance for the Muslims; 3) places of worship according to the Internet community in the social network VKontakte Sufi RB; 4) religious tourist routes.
 
 Study results. Thanks to the use of geoinformation systems, it was possible to identify the most popular holy places among the Muslims of the Southern Urals. It is established that the most actively visited objects are the mausoleum of Hussein Bey in Chishminsky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Ilchigulovo-IV burial mound (the sacred mountain Narystau) in Miyakinsky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
 
 Conclusions. The results of the study indicate that the popularity of objects is influenced by a number of factors, among which the presence of a monumental structure, representation of the object in the media space and the Internet, as well as availability of objective scientific data about it are of key importance.

APPLICATION OF NETNOGRAPHY METHODS IN THE STUDY OF MUSLIM PILGRIMS AND VISITORS TO THE HOLY PLACES OF THE REPUBLIC OF BASHKORTOSTAN

The number of pilgrims and visitors to the holy places of the Republic of Bashkortostan increases every year. New objects of worship are being built in the region every year and old ones are being improved. This article is devoted to the study of pilgrimage in Bashkiria at the present stage.
 
 The purpose of the article is to analyze the reasons for the increase in the number of pilgrims and the existing trends of religious tourism in Bashkiria.
 
 Materials and methods. Within the framework of the study, the materials of the field expedition were used, which were achieved through such methods as questionnaire, survey and overt observation. The methods of cyberethnography were also applied: the analysis of the Internet community, whose actors participate in events organized at the holy sites of the Southern Urals, was carried out.
 
 Scientific novelty. This work is the first to study a sharp increase in pilgrimage in Bashkiria after 2019. In addition, the author applied overt observation in the expedition, which was last carried out by ethnographers on these monuments in 2010. Currently, foreign and domestic scientists are actively implementing the method of cyberethnography in the study of modern trends, the author of the article for the first time uses the method of cyberethnography in the study of religious pilgrimage in the Republic of Bashkortostan.
 
 Study results. During the expedition, a survey of tourists, guides and pilgrims was conducted at the mausoleum of Kuseynbek and Tura Khan in Chishminsky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan, and at the Ilchigulovo-IV burial mound (sacred mountain Narystau) in Miyakinsky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan, a questionnaire was also compiled for a group of tourists from Ufa and an analysis of pilgrims by gender and age using cyberethnography methods was carried out. As a result of the conducted research, it was found that the flow of pilgrims and tourists to the holy places of the region increases annually.
 
 Conclusions. The most active visitors to the holy places are the Muslims associated with Sufi brotherhoods. Most of the Muslims’ holy places are organized on the site of archaeological sites of the XIV–XV centuries. According to demographic characteristics, tourists are mostly middle-aged and elderly women, which shows the need to improve the infrastructure for leisure and walking.

Население Кумо-Манычской впадины эпохи средней бронзы: палеодемографический анализ (по материалам археологических раскопок на территории Республики Калмыкия 1965–2001 гг.)

Introduction. This work is devoted to research of the population living on the territory of the Republic of Kalmykia during the Middle Bronze Age. The object of the study was anthropological material from burials of the Catacomb culture excavated in the area of the Kuma-Manych depression, one of the landscape-geographical zones on the territory of the republic. The purpose of the study is a paleodemographic analysis of anthropological materials from four burial mounds: Eastern Manych, Chograisky, Ostrovnoy and Zunda Tolga. Materials and methods. The materials for the study were bone remains from the burial grounds of the Kuma-Manych depression, stored in the collections of the Kalmyk Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as data from a craniological series from the Vostochny Manych burial ground, stored in the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of St. Petersburg. The study used traditional anthropological methods, as well as programs developed for constructing mortality tables and assessing pathological conditions on bone remains. Results and conclusions. Research has shown that the population of the Kuma-Manych depression is similar in some paleodemographic indicators to synchronous groups living on the territory of the republic, which is expressed in the average age of death of the adult population and the sex ratio in the group. But it is distinguished by high rates of the final age cohort, a small difference in the average age of death in the male and female groups, which is not traditional for societies of that period. This work contributes to the introduction of new anthropological data into scientific circulation.

Hallstatt period hoard from Somló Hill

In January 2023, the National Institute of Archaeology of the Hungarian National Museum launched a new research programme, the aim of which has been to explore the Somló Hill (Somló-hegy) (Veszprém County), a site neglected by systematic field research focusing on Late Bronze Age (LBA) and Early Iron Age (EIA) inhabitation. Somló Hill was often considered one of the most important EIA power centres in the western part of the Carpathian Basin. However, this notion was based mainly on funerary evidence partially unearthed from nearby burial mounds. Beyond doubt, these burials are associated with a prominent elite in the Ha C Period that maintained long-ranging contacts with communities in the (north)west and south. By contrast, virtually nothing is known about either the extent of the EIA settlement both in geographical and chronological terms, its inner structure, or the activity of the community associated with it. In this paper, we aim to show some of the first results of the field research conducted in the last months on the hill and to introduce the first documented EIA hoard of Somló Hill. The typo-chronological evaluation of the hoard suggests that it was deposited in the Late Hallstatt Period, i.e. the Ha D2–D3 phases.

Traditions of creating the form and ornamentation of the pottery vessels of the Alakul Culture in the Alakul burial ground (a case study for the burial mounds 1 and 14)

This paper reports on the results of the analysis of the form and ornamentation of the pottery vessels of the Late Bronze Age Alakul Culture from the burial mounds 1 and 14 of the Alakul burial ground (the Trans-Urals). The study was carried out within the framework of the historical-cultural approach developed by A.A. Bobrinsky. The work is aimed at the identification of pottery-making traditions of creating the form and ornamentation of pottery vessels amongst the population who built the burial mounds 1 and 14. In the result of the analysis, there has been identified the cultural core of the traditions of the form-making of the pottery vessels in the population who built the burial mounds 1 and 14. The vessels are primarily of medium proportions and quinquepartite structure — ‘lip + neck + brachium + body + base’. Also, the dominant parameters of the functional parts ap-peared to be similar amongst the vessels from the different burial mounds. These data indicate relatively high uniformity of the composition of the consumers of the ware. The study of the ornamentation revealed that smooth stamp, which was used in the techniques of stamping and drawing, served as a traditional tool for the application of ornament. Toothed stamp was less fre-quently used in the techniques of stamping and drawing. The main ornamental elements were a ‘short straight line’ and a ‘long straight line’. Twenty two ornamental patterns have been identified; the widespread ones were the ‘horizontal zigzag, ‘horizontal straight line’, ‘cross-hatched isosceles triangle with point upwards’, and ‘cross-hatched isosceles triangle with point downwards’. Most of the identified leading and infrequent ornamental patterns functioned as a main motif. In the complementary motif, the widespread one was the pattern ‘horizontal straight line’. In the composition of the ornament, traditional was the placement of the ornamental motifs in the upper part of the neck and on the upper and lower parts of the body, with the allocation of a “free band” in the lower part of the neck and brachium. In the result of the correlation of the obtained data on the pottery vessels from the burial mounds 1 and 14, certain dissimilarities have been noted. In the burial mound 14, a large quantity of the vessels have a relatively higher neck; the vessels with the lowest index of the proportionality and the slope angle of the body are also present; in the ornamentation, toothed stamp was employed more frequently in the technique of drawing, which was used to apply only ‘horizontal zigzag’ and ‘horizontal straight lines’ patterns. The correlation of the data on the form and ornamentation of the ves-sels for the burial mounds 1 and 14 revealed that toothed stamp in the technique of drawing was used to apply ornaments mainly to the vessels with lower indices of proportionality and angel of the body. A hypothesis has been put forward on the in-creasing complexity of the composition of the studied group of the Alakul Culture population during the period of construction of the burial mound 14, which may explain the noted nonuniformity of the pottery-making skills.

Interpretation of georadar data to search for hidden isolated objects

This article considered the possibilities of using a radar device in archeology. A geophysical method has been chosen that makes it possible to find underground archaeological sites without excavations. GPR signals are recorded as a radargram. Interpretation of radargrams makes it possible to make a predictive image of underground objects. However, the interpretation of radargrams is of a commercial nature. Therefore, the task of developing its own methods for interpreting radargrams is relevant. With the help of a geophysical GPR instrument, mounds, located far from settlements in the Kyzylorda region, were investigated. Three objects were chosen for the study: two barrows and a strip of land between the barrows. The latter has been investigated to determine if there is a connection between the two burial mounds. A marking scheme for the study area has been created. The problem under study requires the use of a non-destructive method. In order to significantly save time and money compared to existing methods of visual inspection of these objects with subsequent archaeological excavations, experimental studies were carried out with a step of 0.2 m using a geophysical instrument with 0.15 m antennas. Continuous areal surveys of three squares were made. Tests, monitoring, and scientific measurements were carried out. GPR data for predicting hidden isolated objects were processed using special built-in software. Recommendations to archaeologists are given.

Inside and outside a burial mound: when, how and in what environment were the kurgans built by Late Neolithic communities on the Subcarpathian loess plateau (SE Poland)?

Inside and outside a burial mound: when, how and in what environment were the kurgans built by Late Neolithic communities on the Subcarpathian loess plateau (SE Poland)?

Historical ecological research of the kurgans of Hajdúnánás–Zagolya-dűlő

Kurgans are human-made geomorphological elements of the Eurasian steppe zone. In the Carpathian Basin, their construction is connected to the burial customs of Bronze Age societies. Their importance is multifold and it is not limited to their archaeological significance only. These monuments are also bearers of significant botanical, zoological, pedological and geomorphological values. Furthermore, they are key elements of the cultural heritage, representing unique aesthetical and cultural historical significance within the landscapes of the Great Hungarian Plain. In the close vicinity of Hajdúnánás, the so called Zagolya-dűlő gives home to multiple burial mounds. The history of this territory arches over – at least – five millennia, starting with the construction of these burial mounds. The current study focuses on the historical ecology of Zagolya-dűlő by integrating various environmental and historical sources. The environmental history of Zagolya-dűlő was researched through the paleoecological assessment of an excavated kurgan and through historical maps. Results of the land use history revealed that ploughing avoided the core territory of Zagolya-dűlő. The higher part of the area was used for grazing, while the depressions in the landscape were occupied by reed and marshy areas. The soilscape of Zagolya-dűlő is characterised by alkaline and chernozem soils today. Similar soil conditions are reflected by the buried soil found under kurgan ETA-01. In addition, the botanical survey of the kurgans revealed regionally significant natural value. The identified plant species indicate moderate human disturbance, which supports the results of the land use historical reconstruction. .

Analysis of the ivory remains from the Etruscan tumulus of Carmignano (Central Italy) using 3D digital microscopy

The Tumulus of Montefortini is an Etruscan tomb located in Carmignano (Central Italy), which is believed to date from the 7th century BC. The tumulus is an oval burial mound 80 metres long and 11 metres high, which houses two tombs. More than 10,000 ivory fragments, that were likely part of a rich grave good, were recovered from this site. The main raw material exploited was probably the proboscidean dentine given the presence of the "Schreger lines" on the surfaces of many specimens. In this work we analyzed a sample of this archaeological assemblage using a 3D digital microscope. This noninvasive procedure allowed to investigate the main micromorphological and micromorphometrical features of the proboscidean dentine in a relatively brief time, preserving the integrity of the archaeological finds. Unexpected results regarding to the Schreger structure were obtained from this analysis. Data collected in the present work will be useful to evaluate, through further analysis of the examined sample, the accuracy and reliability of the 3D digital microscopy in the characterization of the proboscidean taxa exploited in the past.

Earthmoving for the extraterrestrial

The United States spaceport, and more importantly, its technical landscape, operate in the background for the technological and political progress in pursuit of the extraterrestrial. Throughout the construction of the launch complexes on the Florida coastline, earthmoving became standard practice to elevate rocket pads above sea level and protect against rocket blasts. However, a more extended history of earthmoving at Cape Canaveral is necessary. From Earth’s early geological formations and indigenous burial mounds to the modernization of rockets, Cape Canaveral presents itself as an evolution of terrestrial form. And still, earthmoving continues today. In 2016, an article advised the greatest threats to NASA's landscape are rising sea levels and hurricanes, causing substantial erosion to the beach, leaving active and historically significant launch facilities at risk. Cape Canaveral beaches are now preparing for additional dredging, importing new soil, and raising beach and dune elevations. This article reveals a critical history of place-based science on Cape Canaveral through an evolution of earthmoving practices, from cultural commemoration, extraterrestrial imagination, and contemporary environmental crises.

Correction to: Naamyam, Creative Music, and Immigrant Act: Meditations on Jon Jang’s Musical Setting of Genny Lim’s “Burial Mound”

Correction to: Naamyam, Creative Music, and Immigrant Act: Meditations on Jon Jang’s Musical Setting of Genny Lim’s “Burial Mound”

Geophysical investigation of Gnezdilovo-12 burial mound necropolis (Suzdal Opolie)

We present the results of geophysical survey of the burial mound necropolis Gnezdilovo-12, which has been completely destroyed by ploughing. The results of geophysical data interpretation are compared with the results of archaeological excavations, XIX c. maps and surface artefacts distribution, showing good correlation between the datasets. For the European part of Russia the investigation of Gnezdilovo-12 is one of the first examples of full-scaled geophysical survey of the destroyed burial site, which enabled the confident interpretation of the site structure and 3D reconstruction of the burial mound landscape.

Investigation of the burial mounds of early nomads of the Irtysh river region of Semey

The article introduces materials of monuments studied in the Semeytau and Kokentau mountain ranges. During the period 2014–2018, the research team has unearthed 13 burial mounds, distributed across six burial grounds and groups of burial mounds. The accompanying artifacts comprise iron rods (pins?) and the tail vertebrae of a ram. In three cases (Karatobe burial ground, mounds no. 2 and 3; Karasu-Ushtobe burial ground, mound 1), necklaces crafted from semiprecious stones have been discovered. Armament items are represented by a set of bone and one bronze arrowheads. In general, the ground and inside burial mounds find analogies in the materials of the Kulazhorga type (3rd century BC – 1st century AD) within the Upper Irtysh region, as well as in burial mounds from the early stage (3rd–2nd centuries BC) of the Wusun archaeological culture in the Ile River valley. It is worth noting the proximity of the design features of the burial structures and the subject complex of most of the described mounds with the monuments of Saryarka, first of all, the greatest parallels can be traced among the materials of the monuments of the Karamola type. According to the results of radiocarbon analysis, the objects studied date back to the 5th–3rd centuries BC.

Archaeological Research of the Southern Slopes of Karatau (Shimayla Complex)

The authors analyze the results of the study of the archaeological complex of Shimaila. The complex includes rock carvings and a burial mound. These objects were investigated by the Karatau archaeological expedition of Ahmed Yasawi University under the leadership of S.S. Murgabayev. The research materials are being introduced into scientific discourse for the first time. The chronological framework of petroglyphs dates from the Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages. During the excavations, three mounds were uncovered, the peculiarity of their structures was recorded, as well as the analysis of the accompanying inventory became the basis for the conclusion about the dating of burial structures within the middle of the IV century BC – II century BC. As part of the accompanying inventory, a two-edged sword, arrowheads, an earring and a pendant, a bronze mirror with a handle, a stone altar and beads. These objects, as well as the locations of petroglyphs, demonstrate the prospects for further field studies of Karatau monuments for the reconstruction of complex processes of cultural genesis in the Central Asian region from the Bronze Age to the turn of our era.

Naamyam, Creative Music, and Immigrant Act: Meditations on Jon Jang’s Musical Setting of Genny Lim’s “Burial Mound”

Abstract Jon Jang, an American composer, bandleader, and activist of Chinese descent, begins his five-movement Island: The Immigrant Suite No. 1 (1995) with a musical setting that is sonically and stylistically unconventional. He introduces a curious adaptation of naamyam (“southern tones”)—a Cantonese genre of narrative singing that originated in the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong—into this musical setting of Genny Lim’s Chinglish poem “Burial Mound” so as to make audible the politics of representation concerning Sinophone Americans of particular ancestries, generations, and immigration histories. Not only does he associate this setting with Chinese laborers of the transcontinental railroad and naamyam in American Chinatowns, he also demonstrates in this setting his embrace of “creative music” as an American framework of cultural performance.

PREREQUISITES FOR THE CREATION OF ETHNOGRAPHIC PARK "SHKODOVA MOUNTAIN" IN ODESSA

The article examines ethnographic parks, open-air museums and cave settlements of Ukraine for the relevance of creating an ethnographic park in Odessa.
 Tourist centers of territorial tourism systems are, as a rule, historical settlements that have valuable objects of cultural heritage and are determined according to the List of Historical Settlements of Ukraine. The role of tourist centers, in addition to historical settlements, is played by almost all regional cities, which, in addition to monuments, also have notable objects of modern architecture. Most ethnographic parks and open-air museums are located in the northwestern part of Ukraine. One of the most famous open-air museums of our country is the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine, better known as the Pirogov Museum, which is located in the village of Pirogov, Kyiv region. The open-air Ethnographic Museum "Frumushyka-Nova Bessarabian Village" (2008) has only recently appeared in Odessa region. Another interesting type of settlement found on the territory of our country is Cave settlements (fortresses, cities and monasteries), the most famous "Cave Cities" are located in Crimea. On the mainland of Ukraine, cave settlements are mainly represented by "Cave monasteries". Odessa "Shkodova Mountain" is the center of Usativ culture, on the top of the mountain there is the Usativ cemetery and the Usativ burial mound, at the foot of it – another Cossack cemetery and the famous "Cave Houses" – unique historical monuments of the end of the 18th century, which need to be preserved as a unique cultural heritage of the Cossack era in Odessa. This territory, with appropriate natural and landscape resources within the settlement, which has a natural landscape, historical monuments, a beach and bathing area (a good location on the shore of the Khadzhibey estuary) and the presence of recreational facilities (Sanatorium "Kuyalnik"), can become a wonderful a short-term recreation area for tourists and residents of Odessa.
 All this indicates the urgency of creating an ethnographic museum in the city of Odessa called "Shkodova Mountain", taking into account the historical and archaeological value of this territory.