Burial Of Woman Research Articles

«Sacrificial» cups in burials of Bronze Age and Early Iron Age

It was established that in exploring the spiritual culture of ancient societies, an important place is occupied by the study of funeral rites, in particular special funeral ceramics, its functions in funeral rituals, and its symbolic meaning. It was found that in the ceramic complexes of several cultures of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in Europe (Urnfield culture of the North Alpine and Middle Danube regions, Lusatian culture, culture of the Hallstatt period of the Northeast Alpine and Middle Danube regions, Villanova, Golasecca and Este in the Central and North Apennines, Bilozerska culture of the North-Western Black Sea region, Ulvivok-Rovantsi group) there was such a form of tableware as a cup (bowl, vase) on a leg. Cups on legs were discovered mainly in cemeteries, inhumation, and cremation burials. Taking into account the context in the burial objects and their unusual shape, they are interpreted as a special kind of funerary ceramics. It was observed that in many cases the bowls were placed in the burials of little girls or young women, less often – in the pair burials of an adult person and a child or a man and a woman. This feature was found in almost all the cultures mentioned in this work, which existed from the XII century BC till VII century BC, and therefore we can talk about stable religious traditions and social rules common to these cultures, which existed in a large area of Europe for about six centuries. It was established that the bowls in burials served as symbolic sacrificial gifts, connected possibly with the cult of «sacred fire». The sacral meaning of such a shape of a vessel as a cup on a leg is also traced in later times, for example, a chalice, which is the main attribute of the Eucharistic liturgical Christian service and a symbol of the Eucharist – an acceptance of the divine sacrifice. It is noted that protrusions on the rims of cups, which occur most often in the burials of women, may be related to astronomy. It is assumed that the cup from the Rovantsi cemetery, where the protrusions on the rims schematically, but quite accurately reflect the directions of the sunrise and sunset during the summer and winter solstices and the autumn equinox and the north-south direction, could serve as a primitive miniature observatory and be the subject of the paraphernalia of the solar cult. Key words: Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, funeral vessels, cup on the leg, sacrificial gift, Rovantsi cemetery.

Chinese Coins from the Early Medieval Cemetery Gorny-10, Northern Altai

We describe a representative series of Chinese coins found during the excavations at Gorny-10, carried out by expeditions from Altai State University in 2000–2003. The coins were found in eight burials (No. 6, 18, 44–46, 48, 62, 66). Because of its composition and diversity, the sample is unusual for North and Inner Asia. It includes 29 specimens, relating to various groups. Apart from coins of the Wǔ-zhū and Kāi-yuán Tōng-bǎo types, which are rather common outside China, there are very rare ones belonging to the Cháng-píng Wǔ-zhū and Wǔ-xíng Dà-bù categories. A numismatic analysis allowed us to date separate burials and the entire cemetery. The lower date of most burials (No. 6, 45, 46, 48, 62, 66) cannot be earlier than AD 581, as evidenced by Sui coins of the Wǔ-zhū type. Burials 18 and 41, where Kāi-yuán Tōng-bǎo coins were found, are later than the 630s. In view of additional data (absence of late issues of Kāi-yuán Tōng-bǎo coins, and results of radiocarbon analysis), burials at Gorny-10 date to late 6th and 7th centuries. Notably, coins were found only in burials of women and children. Their locations suggest that they had been used as head ornaments and parts of belt sets, as well as pendants and amulets.

Review: Women and Weapons in the Viking World: Amazons of the North, by Leszek Gardeła

Review: <i>Women and Weapons in the Viking World: Amazons of the North</i>, by Leszek Gardeła

The Glass Beaker With Eclectic Features From Burial No. 112 of the Shyshaky Cemetery

In 2014 the burial No. 112 was excavated on the territory of the Shyshaky cemetery of Scythian period and Cherniakhiv culture. A woman aged about 18—20 was buried there. The interesting fact is that this woman had 34 teeth (18 on the upper jaw and 16 on the lower jaw). Near the right hand of the woman a conical glass cup with a capacity of 0,6 liters was found. The item is decorated with glass drops of different colours: amber, light-blue and deep blue. Polychromy of coloured drops is common for wares of the west Roman workshops. The scheme of ornaments and the quality of this item indicate that it was made in the later period. There are no analogies and that’s why here we can mention a new type of glass cups with coloured drops the «Shyshaky-112 type». Obviously, the burial No. 112 belongs to the group of the latest burials of the Shyshaky cemetery. It is difficult to date this burial correctly because there are no analogies of such items. However, it is reasonable to assume that this complex belongs to the Nuns time (the end of the 4th — first part of the 5th centuries) The rite of placing glass and clay cups into the hands of dead people was stated only at the Shyshaky cemetery and is not common for other sites of Cherniakhiv culture. It is also interesting that such cups were found only in the burials of women (112, 39, 60). Maybe such a rite is connected with representation of local people about the dead women taking part in ritual feasts. The presence of this glass cup of provincial-Roman production in the burial No. 112 proves that there were military and trading relations between provinces of Roman Empire and barbarians. It also should be mentioned here that local people stayed on the same territory and they didn’t have significant decline after the arrival of the Huns. It is possible that the presence of items of provincial-Roman production (glass cups) indicates that local people took part in campaigns of the Huns to the provinces of the Roman Empire.

Výzbroj bojovníků na koních na základě výzkumů przeworských pohřebišť z doby římské

The known burials of the deceased equipped with spurs from the heavily militarised Przeworsk culture are interpreted as burials of horse warriors. This theory is partially contradicted by the fact that there are no weapons in the inventory of some of them and the frequently performed anthropological analyses often prove that they are burials of women or children. Nonetheless, most graves with spurs contain more or less complex sets of weapons, which allows us to assume that they are indeed burials of deceased warriors. The subject of this article is the variety of weapon sets in graves containing spurs. The author inquires how the equipment of a horse warrior differs from that of a foot soldier, and how diverse is the armament within the layer of the horse warriors. The research was carried out taking into account several variables, such as time, the size and the number of “riders’ burials” discovered in the cemetery and space, which is understood here as the distinctiveness of each community depending on the site investigated.

ПТАШИНІ ЯЙЦЯ З ПОХОВАНЬ КУЛЬТУРИ ЧЕРНЯХІВ − СИНТАНА-ДЕ-МУРЕШ

У роботі проаналізовано дані по одній із груп зооархеологічного матеріалу, а саме − щодо яєць птахів, із поховань культури Черняхів − Синтана-де-Муреш. Пташині яйця трапляються в 111 поховальних комплексах, що становить 2 % загальної кількості введених у науковий обіг поховань культури. У похованнях представлені яйця різних видів птахів, однак переважають курячі. Кількість їх у похованнях коливається від одного до 12, місце розміщення у просторі могили не уніфіковано. Яйця знайдено у похованнях жінок і чоловіків різних вікових груп, але найбільше – у дитячих похованнях. Звичай класти яйця до поховань був поширений у всьому культурному ареалі, однак найбільше їх виявлено в Північному Причорномор’ї. Очевидно, із цим регіоном пов’язано виникнення цієї традиції у черняхівському середовищі. Яйця зафіксовано в могилах від другого етапу існування культури. Найменша їх кількість – у похованнях із західним орієнтуванням, які вважають більш пізніми. У більшості випадків (97 %) яйця знаходять у похованнях із північним орієнтуванням, тому їх не розглядають як частину християнської атрибутики. Традиція класти яйця до поховань, найімовірніше, прийшла з античного середовища, де їх здавна залишали на некрополях. Найбільше яєць у могилах черняхівської культури знайдено саме в регіонах, що межують з античним світом, і там, де у складі населення культури були елліни. Можливо, яйця були не лише напутньою їжею, а й мали певне змістове навантаження (для очищення і як апотропей). Яйце в античному світі було пов’язане з ідеями відродження, безсмертя та воскресіння (через культи Діоніса та Асклепія), які, вочевидь, були затребувані в суспільстві того часу.

Погребения восточно-манычской катакомбной культуры из курганной группы Малые Дербеты-II (анализ половозрастного состава)

Introduction. The article focuses on the gender-age composition of the burials of the East-Manych Catacomb culture from the two mounds of the Malye-Derbety II mound group located in the northern part of the Ergeninskiy heights (Maloderbetovskiy region of the Republic of Kalmykia). The mounds were built on the Yamna-catacomb burials of a woman (mound No. 1) and a man (mound No. 2). Around the main burial there were inlet burials of the Catacomb culture. The publication of the materials of the Malye Derbety mound group in the monograph “The Ancient Necropolises of the Ergeninskiy Heights” is supplemented by the author’s appendices with the analysis of the anthropological materials (M. A. Balabanova) and the analysis of the pathological changes (E. V. Pererva). Due to the great number of burials belonging to the same archaeological culture and located in the certain order under the same mound, the additional more detailed examination of the peculiarities of their gender-age composition and the position on the mound plan is of great interest. Results. The archaeologists found the bones of three men, seven women and eight children in the Bronze Age burials. Both mounds each had one burial of a middle-age man: the main burial in mound 2 (40-50 years old) and inlet burial in mound 1 (35–45 years old), located to the south of the center of the mound. To the group of the men burials belongs the burial of a teenager (14–16 years old) from the group of inlet burials (mound 1, burial 7). To the group of women burials belong the burials of two elderly women: from the main burial of the mound 1 (40–50 years old) and the inlet burial 6 of the mound 1 (50 years old). The latter was located in the eastern part of the mound and was next to an 18-months old child. The other women of the inlet burials were younger (from 17 up to 30 years old). One of them was in the last months of pregnancy (mound 2 burial 5). It should be noted that all the burials of the young women were located in the western part of the mound. There were eight children and half of them were buried together with women.

Sarmatian Graves with Hiding-Holes in the Bottom of Pits in Kurgan Cemeteries of the Lower Volga Region

Introduction. The article discusses one of the types of hiding-holes that were made in Sarmatian graves of the Lower Volga region. Hiding-holes as a substantial element of a graves structure are typical for Sarmatian burials of the last century BC and the first centuries AD. They were built in the burial pit, as well as near it, as a rule, in the west soil. In the burial pit, these were usually made as niches in the bottom parts of the walls, though hiding-holes in the bottom of the graves are characteristic only for the Lower Volga region. Methods and materials. There are not very many graves with hiding-holes in the Volga Region – eight in total, and none of them have been found in the neighboring regions, or only single cases are known. Archive data on excavations of the kurgans in the region allows the author to specify some essential construction details of the graves with hidingholes. These holes were dug out in the bottom of the grave pits; they are round in shape, 0.3–0.5 m in diameter and 0.3–0.6 m in depth. A deceased was placed over the holes. A principal item always placed in all hiding-holes is a bronze cauldron, which in some cases is accompanied by other types of metal and ceramic vessels. The author comprehensively applies several scholarly methods of archaeological research. The first stage of collecting and initial processing of material included methods of external and internal analysis of sources taking into account professional characteristics of researchers. The primary classification method based on the similarity of objects, as well as the traditional method of comparative typology, was used at the interpretation stage. The interpretation of materials also required the use of the classical method of extensive parallels including ethnological examples. Results. Among the burials with hiding-holes in the bottom of the pits, the majority were burials of women. Considering not only the ordinary but also the sacred meaning that was attached to the cauldrons by the nomads of Eurasia, the author concludes that the hiding-holes in the bottom of Sarmatian graves blocked out by the body of the deceased, served not only as a secret place for treasures but had some others cult significance.

Female Burials with Weapons: Realities of Life or a Reflections of Social Identity? (Based on Materials of the Sargat Culture)

ABSTRACT Burials of women with objects of weaponry are a pan-cultural phenomenon for the societies of the steppe and forest-steppe zone of Early Iron Age Eurasia. This article is dedicated to a systematization and interpretation of female burials with weapons of the Sargat culture of Trans-Urals and Western Siberia. The inclusion of Sargat data in the general context of the development of the livestock-breeding societies of Eurasia allows us to expand our knowledge of ancient social structures and of women’s positions in those societies.

THE ANDRONOVO AGE WOMEN’S COSTUME, BASED ON FINDS FROM MAYTAN, CENTRAL KAZAKHSTAN

This article describes burials of women at a Middle Bronze Age cemetery of Maytan—the only completely excavated Andronovo burial ground in the steppes of central Kazakhstan. On the basis of the location of ornaments in burials, an attempt is made to reconstruct details of costume with regard to age groups. The composition and arrangement of the individual elements of the costume indicate several decoration areas such as head; neck and chest; hands and feet. Exceptional areas are accessories (bags and boxes), belt, and lap of dress. Most ornaments mark the age category of women. There are two age groups: girls and adult women. Though many graves have been looted, a tentative reconstruction of the costume with regard to these groups is possible. Such a reconstruction is relevant to cultural tradition, ideas of beauty, and social status.

AMAZONS IN VIKING AGE

Amazons are usually associated with the period of the early Iron Age. However, a large number of graves of armed women of the early Middle Ages are known in the territory of Eurasia. In the Scandinavian countries, the period of the 9th — the first half of the 11th centuries was called the «Viking Age». This period is related to the military, commercial and demographic expansion of the Scandinavians. During the archaeological researches, burials of women with weapons were recorded in the cemeteries of Denmark, Norway and Southern Sweden. They constitute a small series of 16 funerary complexes.&#x0D; Typically, the female warriors were buried in individual graves, and only occasionally they were accompanied by a woman or a child. Only in two cases armed man and woman of equal social level were placed in one grave. In the necropolis, the graves of the Amazons are usually localized among the military graves. On the territory of Western Europe, both rites of burial of warriors — inhumation and cremation are registered.&#x0D; The age range of female warriors is quite wide — from 10 to 50—60 years, with the domination of young women. The material complex showed that women’s weapons were intended for both remote (bows and arrows, spears) and close combat (swords, knives, axes). And in this period preference was given to axes. Several graves of female warriors were accompanied by a horse or a set of horse ammunition. This means that women could also fight in the equestrian battles.&#x0D; Based on the range and the number of weapons, the Amazons of the Viking Age mainly were part of the lightly armed units. These women took up arms on a par with men in moments of acute necessity — periods of seizing of new territories or defending their lands from an external enemy.

Серьги в виде двойной спирали из погребений Алтая гунно-сарматского времени

The eleven examples of a special type of jewelry – flat, double spiralled, bronze wire ear-rings have been recorded in Altai sites dated to the Xiongnu-Sarmatian period. This paper analyses the main characteristics of the jewelry and their area of dissemination and also the probable sources of their appearance in the culture of the population in the region. It also focuses on a likely source of origin of these earrings within the culture of the Altai people. It is noted that in the Altai sites of the previous Scythian period and the subsequent medieval period, no prototypes or similar products were found. Analogues were not found in the adjacent regions of South Siberia and Central Asia. Nonetheless, a detailed study of the criteria of discovery and characteristics of the earring type throws light on their date and likely origin: the products date back to the second half of the 3rd century and the beginning of the 5th century AD based on the chronology of funerary complexes; their origin was related to the infiltration of the samples of the Xianby material culture to Altai through Mongolia from North China, which became the basis for the appearance of a new type of earrings. All earrings in question were found in burials of women, they were a paired or a single jewelry. Due to their unique nature, flat, double spiralled earrings could be a diagnostic attribute of the Altai archaeological culture on the late stage of the Bulan-Koba archeological culture of Altai.

SACRED AREAS OF SOUTHEAST OF KYIV-PODIL (XI–XIII CENTURIES)

The article is devoted to sacred areas located in the south-eastern part of Old-Rus Podil district. This area has remained poorly investigated for a long time compared to other areas of this OldKyiv region. Archaeological researches of period 2007–2015 greatly expanded our understanding of the south-eastern part of old Podil. In this paper, we tried to reconstruct the sacred loci of this territory.In the tenth century, Kyiv consisted of a populated town – a large coastal area – Podil and of small sacral-administrative part – Detinets on Zamkova Hill and the necropolis on the Old Kyiv Hill. Due to active development of a new city in the days of the reign of Vladimir son of Svyatoslav and his son Yaroslav the Wise, inhabitants of Podil, now Christians, have had to look for another place to bury their dead. They were forced to look for areas in the territory without mass urban development.Henceforth cemeteries are beginning to play a significant role in shaping the structure of the medieval town of Kyiv-Podil. Several cemeteries were located at the extreme points of the settlement area, which, due to waterlogging and flood threats were unsuitable for life. It was proposed to use the term to define such cemeteries in the structure of ancient Podil – “outlying cemeteries”. Three of these cemeteries and one single burial excavated in the south-eastern part of ancient Podil. Cemeteries found on the Naberezhno-Khreschatytska, 1-а str. and Naberezhno-Khreschatytska, 9 str. belong to the earliest Podol burial grounds, their active functioning on the XI century.The cemetery opened in 2015 at the Postal Square and burial of women (Petra Sagaydachnogo str., 6-в ) belong to another chronological period. They date back to the XII – the first half of the XIII century. Recent studies have shown that a sufficiently large area in the south-eastern outskirts of Old-Rus Podil were unsuitable for settlement and so they are often used for a cemetery.

The studies on the measuring devices of the Han Dynasty and the relevant issues

AbstractGreat progress has been made in the study of the measurement of the Han Dynasty by the efforts of scholars of several generations. Increasing new discoveries have refreshed our understandings as well. The discoveries and analyses of rulers of the Han Dynasty indicate that the commonly used rulers at that time were made of bronze, bone and wood. Their materials and decorations varied in terms of date and region, and were often found as grave goods in the burials of women. The actual length of the unit “chi” was generally 23cm during the Western Han and Xin (Wang Mang Interregnum) Dynasties and was usually 23.4cm in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It could be seen as the standard measurement during that time. Archaeological research should calculate and understand the size of objects and architecture of the Han Dynasty based on this scale, but had better not be restricted by it. Therefore, an archaeological study with scientific perspective of measurement should adopt measurement concepts in historical context to investigate and analyze cultural remains and features, rather than deal with it stereotypically.

Un mormânt cu podoabe de aur din epoca sarmatică timpurie descoperit la Sânnicolau Mare – Seliște (jud. Timiș) / A Sarmatian Grave with Gold Adornments Found at Sânnicolau Mare – Seliște (jud. Timiș)

The present study is aimed at bringing to the public and specialists’ attention an archaeological discovery madein 2005, which is of great importance to the complex issue of Sarmatian settlement on the lower course of theMureş river.The archaeological location is well known by the townspeople as a place of provenance for many artefacts.Even so, in modern times it has created confusion in regards to the „Roman Age” settlement at Sânnicolau Mare,which has been perpetuated even in archaeological studies, thus giving rise to a great historiographic debate in thelast century and a half. The discussion of a Roman presence in the western Banat area has its starting point in theXIXth century, based on information that is both very old and ambiguous, regarding accidental discoveries madeby non-specialists. This information was then passed down as certainties in modern historiography.Systematic research on the archaeological site was carried out for 12 years, (1995-2007), by a team lead byProfessor Adrian Bejan, Universitatea de Vest, Timişoara. The research has revealed a very complex archaeologicalsite, with a median thickness of the archaeological deposit of about 2 m (and thicker than 3 m in some areas),containing numerous archaeological complexes which can be dated as early as the Bronze Age and as late as theLate Dark Ages (above ground houses, hovels, a well, workshops etc.). The archaeological artefacts accumulatedfrom the successive years of research are impressive, being mostly composed of ceramic shards, some of which canbe restored, but also metal artefacts (bronze, iron) and even stone (grinding stones made of tufa or andesite, largemica-schist fragments etc.) of diverse in type and usage.Apart from all stand the Sarmatian Age and Dark Age (both Early and Late) burial sites, which containnumerous graves. Many of these graves lack artefacts, but in one, the subject of the present study, gold pendants,a medallion and beads were discovered.The S-N orientation of the grave is typical the Iazig Sarmatians in the Carpathian Basin. It is worth mentioningthat the right forearm and arm bones are missing. Two human bone fragments (possibly forearm) were found inthe head region, accompanied by a bronze bracelet (Fig. 8-9). The grave contained, besides clay pots, adornmentsof gold and glass (a necklace of gold beads and pendants horseshoe and tear shaped, as well as blue and navycolored glass, limestone and glass beads) and a spindle whorl.In our opinion the grave discovered at Sânnicolau Mare-Selişte is proof that Metanast Iazigs had entered to asmall degree the north western corner of the Banat. Other Early Sarmatian Age burials have not been unearthedas of yet in this region; the Sarmatians having settled on the Banat plains during the last third of the 2nd centuryA.D. The grave at Sânnicolau Mare-Selişte dates during the 1st century A.D., based on these gold jewelries beingthe earliest Sarmatian artefacts.Although we do not have an anthropological assessment of the skeleton, based on the grave inventory andanalogies with other burials of women containing jewelry, in the Carpathian Basin, we believe the individualburied at Sânnicolau Mare-Selişte was a woman. She had been buried with all due respect, as a high social statusdemanded, as indicated by the jeweler and food offerings. Questions remain regarding the missing right forearm,which may be related to the fragments in the head area, perhaps as some sort of magic ritual.

Burial of women dying in childbed

Burial of women dying in childbed