Orientational Features of the Buried Persons Among the Representatives of the Mohe Archaeological Culture in the Territory of the Western Amur Region
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2023.1.93.99Keywords:
archaeological culture, Western Amur region, burial rite, Mokhe, secondary burial, primary burial.Abstract
The article deals with orientation in space during the early Middle Ages. The object of study was the funeral rite as a stable sign of archaeological culture. The study of the positions of the buried in the grave within the Troitskaya group of the Mokhe archaeological culture, widespread in the territory of the Western Amur region, showed the existence of different variants. The existence of such variations was considered from the point of view of astronomical and geographical construction of the world picture. The author’s attempt to link orientation with large geographical landmarks did not give a proper explanation for the existence of those variations of giving a body to the earth, provided that a landmark is static in its position. This fact may indicate the dependence of the location of the human body in the grave on the position of astronomical bodies – the Sun. Minor deviations from the prevailing burial tradition are associated with seasonal deviations of the sun's movements in the firmament. The analysis of statistical data obtained from three archaeological sites (Ust-Ivanovsky, Oktyabrsky and Troitsky burial grounds) allows the author to suggest the relationship between the choice of the type of burial and the time of this burial. It is definitely possible to talk about the sacralization of the southern side among representatives of the Mohe archaeological culture. The exception was the Ust-Ivanovsky burial ground, where burials with the eastern and close to it orientation predominate. In addition, the distinctive features in the construction of inter-grave structures, a relatively small amount of ceramic material, the absence of archaeologically intact vessels in the monument and a number of other signs call into question the belonging of the Ust-Ivanovsky burial ground to the Troitskaya mohe group.
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