Pages: 75-89 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp2357589 

Archaeological sources make it possible to understand exactly how ordinary people lived, what their life consisted of, what they did, what they believed in, what clothes and jewelry they wore. All this applies to a greater extent to adults, and very little is known about children in antiquity. The article deals with archaeological data that contain information about various aspects of the life of children in the Golden Horde. Statistical analysis of burial grounds contains data on child mortality. Calculations of the increase in the size of the couch (sufa), on which the whole family slept, make it possible to approximately calculate the number of children in the family. Baby potties (tuvaks) and urinal tubes (sumaks) make it possible to reconstruct the cradles in which babies lay. Toys made from organic materials are not usually preserved, but during the excavations a number of ceramic toys in the form of whistles, toy dishes and animal figurines were found. Ceramic balls and mutton astragalus were used for various games. In one of the rich manor buildings of Sarai, a “children’s” room was found, with “Babylon” — a game field — painted on it, and the plaster of the walls had scratched drawings, clearly made by a child’s hand.

Keywords: Middle Ages, Golden Horde, fertility, mortality, baby cradle, ceramic toys, astragalus game, mill game

Information about author:

Emma Zilivinskaya (Moscow, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. N. N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Leninsky Ave., 32a, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-3485-0359