Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 41 (1) 2013

Annotation:  Chagyrskaya Cave: A Middle Paleolithic Site in the Altai Large Mammal Fauna from the Pleistocene Deposits of Chagyrskaya Cave, Northwestern Altai (Based on 2 Environmental Conditions During the Early Human Settlement of Chagyrskaya Cave (Altai) Dental Remains from the Middle Paleolithic Layers of Altai Cave Sites An Archaic Human Ulna from Chagyrskaya Cave, Altai: Morphology and Taxonomy The Neanderthals of Okladnikov Cave, Altai: Environment and Diet Based on Isotopic Analysis The Sibiryachikha Facies of the Middle Paleolithic of the Altai The Burial Rite of the Early Scythian Nomads of Tuva (Based on the Bai-Dag I Cemetery) The Oxus Temple: Localization of the Avestan Vahvi Daitya Sacred Space in the Worldview and Art of the Tungus-Manchu Ethnic Minority, Sakhalin Island Interethnic Dynamics among the Indigenous Peoples of Southern Siberia (Demographic Aspect)   

The Burial Rite of the Early Scythian Nomads of Tuva (Based on the Bai-Dag I Cemetery)

Y.S. Hudiakov, S.G. Skobelev, O.A. Mitko, A.Y. Borisenko, and Zh. Orozbekova.

Excavations at the Bai-Dag I cemetery, the Eerbek River valley, Tuva, have revealed a burial rite typical of the Aldy-Bel culture, Early Scythian period. Above-ground and underground structures, principal features of the burial rite, and burial goods are described with regard to sex and age. Basic trends in the evolution of early nomadic funerary ritualism in Tuva are reconstructed.

Keywords: Tuva, Early Scythian period, early nomads, burial rite, Aldy-Bel culture.