VESTNIK ARHEOLOGII ANTROPOLOGII I ETNOGRAFII ¹ 2 (49) (2020)
Àrchaeology
Cave burial of Urd Ulaan Uneet (Mongolian Altai): ðotential of cultural-chronological interpretation
Seregin N.N., Matrenin S.S.
(Barnaul, Russian Federation), Iderkhangai T.-O. (Ulan-Bator, Mongolia)
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The article considers
the materials of the Urd Ulaan Uneet cave burial, investigated in 2015. This
complex is located in the Tsagaanbulag Myangad Somon of Kobdo Aimak of Mongolia,
at the altitude of 1327 m a.s.l. Presented is the description of the
circumstances of discovery of this important site, as well as the existing
experience of studying and publishing
of the materials.
The main objective of the study is the detailed analysis of the main categories
of finds from the cave burial, the most informative of which include wooden
saddle, iron bits with horn psalia, compound bow, arrowheads, leather quiver
with iron hook, and wooden vessel. For the interpretation of these items,
extensive archaeological sources of the Syanby-Rouran and medieval time,
assembled during the excavations in various parts of the Central Asian region,
were involved. Based on the results obtained, a number of conclusions have been
made regarding the cultural and chronological interpretation of the site. It has
been established that the Urd Ulaan Uneet complex is one of the rare objects of
the Rouran time in Mongolia, and the only known cave burial of this
chronological period. The monument can be confidently dated to the middle of the
4th –5th c. AD with the possible extension of the upper
chronological boundary to the beginning of the 6th c. AD. This
conclusion is generally supported by the results of radiocarbon analysis
presented in the publications of Mongolian archaeologists. An indicative
characteristic of the cave site,
not revealed during
the excavations of other objects of the Rouran period in
Mongolia, is the accompanying burial of a horse. Obviously, this feature of the
funeral rite is explained by contacts with the population of the Bulan-Koby
Culture. The weighty
argument in favor of the proposed possible interactions between the Altai cattle
breeders and nomads of Western Mongolia in the Rouran period could be found
among the investigated burials of the Bulan-Koby Culture in the Bayan-Ulgiy
Aimag. The material complex found during the excavation of the Urd Ulaan Uneet
cave burial reflects the very wide contacts of the population of Mongolia in
various directions (Altai-Sayan Region, Trans-Baikal Region, Manchuria, East
Turkestan, Central Asia) in the middle of the 1st mil. AD. In
addition, the «western» relations are clearly distinguishable; these obviously
demonstrate the complex migration processes of the Great Migration
Period.
Key words: rock burial, Rouran period, Mongolian Altai, finds, chronology, interpretation.
https://doi.org/10.20874/2071-0437-2020-49-2-4
Funding. The reported study was funded by RFBR and MCESSM according to the research project ¹ 19-59-44013.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Accepted: 02.03.2020
Article is published: 05.06.2020
Seregin N.N.
Altai State University, prosp. Lenina, 61, Barnaul, 656049, Russian Federation
E-mail: nikolay-seregin@mail.ru
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8051-7127
Matrenin S.S.
Altai State University, prosp. Lenina, 61, Barnaul, 656049, Russian Federation
Barnaul Law Institute, Chkalova st., 49, Barnaul, 656038, Russian Federation
E-mail: matrenins@mail.ru
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7752-2470
Iderkhangai T.-O.
Ulaanbaatar State University, prosp. Dorzha, 5, Ulan-Bator, 210351, Mongolia
E-mail: iderkhangai2007@yahoo.com