Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 41 (4) 2013

Annotation:  Acheulean Large Flake Technology in Campo de Calatrava (Ciudad Real, Spain) Alternative Interpretations of the Middle/Upper Paleolithic Interface at Vindija Cave (Northwestern Early Upper Paleolithic Stone Tool Technologies of Northern Mongolia: The Case of Tolbor-4 and Tolb On the Supposedly Young Age of Angara Alluvial Sediments Based on the Findings of Salvage Excavatio The Early Neolithic of the Kama Region On the Function of “Grooved Stones” Middle Neolithic Ceramics from the Tytkesken VI Settlement Site A New Neolithic Ceramic Tradition in the Kama Region Early and Middle Bronze Age Burials at Ordynskoye-1, Western Siberia: A New Cultural Interpretation The Suzukteh Mound 22, Mongolia: The Burial Rite Prestigious Afanasyevo Wooden Metal-Bound Ware from the Sayan-Altai Without a Face: A Silver Plaque from the Eastern Slopes of the Urals New Elements in the Iconography of 9th–10th Century Ural-Siberian Silver A 13th–14th Century AD “Horse Skin Burial” at Basandaika Kurgan 1, Western Siberia Age-Related Skeletal Changes in Adult Populations Under Various Social and Geographical Conditions:   

A 13th–14th Century AD “Horse Skin Burial” at Basandaika Kurgan 1, Western Siberia

A.S. Zinchenko.

Human burials at Basandaika Kurgan 1, Western Siberia, accompanied by bones of dismembered horses, are revisited. A closer examination of the archeological assemblage and archival data has revealed new artifacts, contributing to a reconstruction of the burial rite which included placing parts of the body of a riding horse into the grave. Two versions are discussed, proceeding from the idea that the rite derives from the practice of burying an entire horse. Parallels in other regions are examined, and routes whereby the rite could have been introduced to the southern taiga zone of Western Siberia are traced. Future studies will include taphonomic fi eld analysis along with zoological, pedological, and traceological evidence.

Keywords: Tom, Ob, Middle Ages, burial rite, Basandaika burial ground, horse skin burial, reconstruction.