Pages: 241-254 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp255241254

The article addresses the materials from one of the original objects of the Gorny-10 necropolis. This complex, currently the largest of the studied sites from the early Middle Ages in southern Western Siberia, is located in the Krasnogorsk district of the Altai Territory. The published object is a single burial of a skull with numerous grave goods, including weapons, tools, jewelry, and elements of costume. Analysis of the finds made it possible to determine the dating of the burial within a wide span of the late 6th to the early 8th centuries AD. It was established that the deceased man had a relatively high social status during his lifetime and likely specialized professionally in metalworking. An assumption was formulated that the skull was separately buried due to the loss of the torso and limbs in a temporary burial.

Keywords: Altai, skull burial, early Middle Ages, chronology, ritual practice, finds, social history

Information about authors:

Nikolai Seregin (Barnaul, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Altai State University. Lenin Ave., 61, Barnaul, 656049, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-8051-7127
Sergei Matrenin (Barnaul, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Altai State University. Lenin Ave., 61, Barnaul, 656049, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-7752-2470
Nadezhda Stepanova (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0003-4017-5641