Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 43 (1) 2015

Annotation:  The Lower Paleolithic of Iran: Probing New Finds from Mar Gwergalan Cave (Holeylan, Central Zagros) The Mesolithic of the Forest-Steppe Don Area: Retrospective and Prospective Reviews Morphology and Decoration of Ceramics from Novoilyinka III—A Chalcolithic Settlement in Northern Kul Two New Finds of the Chalcolithic–Bronze Age from the Fars River in the Northwestern Caucasus Late Bronze Age Burial Complexes of the Pakhomovskaya Culture, Eastern Variant (Site of Grishkina Za Weaponry, Adornments, and Garment Accessories from the Krasnyi Stroitel Site in the Chuy Valley of K Pendant Cross from Fort Albazin: Problems of Attribution Kholyato-1 Ritual Complex on the Yamal Peninsula The Medieval Metal Face from Novosibirsk Region as an Item of the Transcultural Material Complex in Johann Georg Gmelin and Tomskaya Pisanitsa (to the Three Hundred and Fifth Anniversary of the Resear Vegetation Reconstruction in the Ufa II Fortifi ed Settlement and in Adjacent Landscapes According t Stable-Isotope Analysis as a Method of Taxonomical Identifi cation of Archaeozoological Material Siberian Folklore and the Na-Dené Origins “As the Measure and Beauty Suggest”: Traditional Principles of Geometry in Russian Orthodox Churches The Burial at Ak-Alakha-3 Mound 1, Gorny Altai: New Findings   

Kholyato-1 Ritual Complex on the Yamal Peninsula

O.V. Kardash and A.V. Sokolkov.

The ritual complex of Kholyato-1 was situated at the Yuribei River mouth on the Yamal Peninsula. It was represented by an anthropomorphic fi gurine located in front of a semi-circle of arrowheads, and a concentration of reindeer bones and antlers. The ritual complex was placed over a burial. The site is dated to the turn of the 17th–18th centuries and has been interpreted as a warrior burial containing part of the body or as a cenotaph constructed for a warrior, possibly a chief, that was subsequently used as a ritual place. The ritual site was used for post-funeral ceremonies and then as an assembly place for the local home guard.

Keywords: Northwestern Siberia, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, Yamal Peninsula, Yuribei River, Samoyedic peoples, sanctuary, burial, military rituals.