Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 48 (3) 2020   DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2020.48.3.070-079

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Rich Burials of Children at Zeleny Yar, Northwestern Siberia

Al.V. Gusev

Arctic Research Center of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, Respubliki 20, Salekhard, 629008, Russia

This article introduces high-ranking burials of children excavated in 2015 and 2018 at a medieval cemetery Zeleny Yar on the lower Ob. A detailed description of the burial rite is provided, with special reference to the shape and construction of the burials and the position of the bodies. Burial goods include a hatchet, a scabbard, bracelets, and temple rings. The high social status of the children is discussed. The finds are compared with those relating to medieval children’s burials in adjacent territories—the Surgut, Novosibirsk, and Tomsk regions of the Ob. Also, ethnographic evidence concerning the social status of 6-7-year-old boys among the indigenous northern minorities are discussed. Archaeological and ethnographic sources suggest that high-ranking burials of children (boys) appear in northwestern Siberia no later than the Middle Ages.

Keywords: Burial rite, Zeleny Yar cemetery, mummified remains, indigenous peoples, North, Siberia, Middle Ages