Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 44 (2) 2016 document link DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2016.44.2.137-147

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A Medieval Yakut Burial Near Lake Atlasovskoye
of the 14th–15th Centuries: An Anthropological Study

A.N. Bagashev¹, D.I. Razhev¹, A.V. Zubova², R.I. Bravina³, V.M. Dyakonov³, A.D. Stepanov⁴, Y.V. Kuzmin⁵,
and G.W.L. Hodgins⁶

¹Institute of Northern Development, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Malygina 86, Tyumen, 625026, Russia

²Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

³Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrovskogo 1, Yakutsk, 677027, Russia

⁴M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, Kulakovskogo 48, Yakutsk, 677000, Russia

⁵Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Akademika Koptyuga 3, Novosibirsk, 630090, Россия

⁶Arizona AMS Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0081, USA

The burial near Lake Atlasovskoye, Yakutia, is one of the earliest Yakut burials, dating back to the 14th or 15th centuries AD and associated with the medieval Kulun-Atakh culture. Initially, its age was assessed by the comparative typological method based on artifacts; and later radiocarbon dates were generated, suggesting that the burial can be attributed to the early stage of the Kulun-Atakh culture. Its highly unusual feature is that the individual was buried in a seated position, an exceptional case in Yakut funerary practice. The cranium was completely wrapped in a bandage sewn from birchbark sheets, under which lethal injuries were found. Our comprehensive study was aimed at assessing the individual’s lifestyle and cause of death. Postcranial bones revealed pathological symptoms unusual for an early age (20–25 years) and caused by excessive physical strain, suggesting that the man was either a slave or a warrior. The complex birchbark bandage may indicate high status. Together with the seated position of the body, this makes the military status even more likely. Multiple traumatic lesions infl icted with a cutting weapon indicate the violent nature of confl icts at the early stage of the Yakut culture. Craniometric analysis reveals Buryat and Mongol affi nities, supporting evidence from epic literature relating to Yakut origins, in which Buryat or Mongol immigrants had taken part.

Keywords: Yakuts, Atlasovskoye burial, Kulun-Atakh culture, craniometry, physical type, paleopathology.

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