Issue 4 (73)
| GROUP BURIAL IN AN ABANDONED WELL ON THE SCYTHIAN-ERA HILLFORT NEAR THE CITY OF ZADONSK | |||
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| Year | 2021 | Number | 4(73) |
| Pages | 41-49 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 903.5(470.322) “638” | BBK | 63.442(235.45) |
| Authors | Razuvayev Yuri D. Reshetova Irina K. |
Topic | SOCIAL BIOARCHAEOLOGY |
| Summary | During the excavations of the hillfort located on the river Don near the village of Verkhneye Kazachye (Lipetsk region) the burial of four people, dating back to the 4th–3th centuries BC, was discovered in a pit left over from an abandoned well of the beginning of the Scythian era. It was done simultaneously, although it included heterogeneous remains. At a depth of about 4 m the full bodies of three men aged more than 50 years were buried. Above, a partially decomposed corpse and individual bones of another man aged more than 60 years were laid. Parts of cow carcasses and fragments of stucco dishes apparently accompanied the burial. The well pit, filled up to the top, was blocked by clay and carbonaceous layers left over from the site where the ritual actions were performed. There were two bone harpoon tips in the backfill. No traces of violent death were found on the remains of people. There was also no evidence of dismemberment of corpses. Markers of physiological stress and pathologies (caries, tartar, periodontal disease, osteophytes, lifetime fractures, etc.) were traced on the bones. The lifetime growth of individuals is determined. A graphic portrait reconstruction is performed for one of them. The studied object is interpreted as a funerary-sacrificial complex. In general, it is similar to the burials of the same time known at another Don hillfort in the city of Semiluki, which contained complete and scattered skeletons, traces of post-burial rituals. | ||
| Keywords | Upper Don, Scythian Epoch, hillfort, well, group burial, anthropological materials | ||
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