Sacrificial complex of the Early Iron Age in the Tartas-2 burial ground (Baraba forest-steppe): radiocarbon chronology and isotopic analysis data

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Abstract

The article presents the results of radiocarbon dating and isotope analysis of objects of the sacrificial complex from the Early Iron Age burial mound in the Baraba forest-steppe. An altar was found in the earthwork of mound 7 at the Tartas-2 burial ground. It is represented by the remains of six people, the skulls of 33 horses, three sheep, and two cows. The bones of humans and animals are associated with an earthen structure – an embankment; they were found at the level of excavation horizons 2 and 3. The bones were located near the inner perimeter of the ditch, within the mound at its edge, their position repeating its slope line. The final layer of earth covered the bones. Radiocarbon analysis suggests that the event occurred simultaneously between 650–550 BC (p=0.0009). Collagen samples from the bones of buried humans and animals have average values of isotopic shifts, δ13C and δ15N, characteristic of mammals with predominantly terrestrial food. Such an altar is the first one recorded for the burial rite of the population in the eastern region of presumably the Sargat culture area.

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About the authors

L. N. Mylnikova

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of SB RAS

Author for correspondence.
Email: L.mylnikova@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Novosibirsk

V. I. Molodin

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of SB RAS

Email: Molodin@archaeology.nsc.ru
Russian Federation, Novosibirsk

E. V. Parkhomchuk

Novosibirsk State University

Email: evparkhom@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Novosibirsk

P. N. Menshanov

Novosibirsk State University

Email: menshanov@nsu.ru
Russian Federation, Novosibirsk

D. A. Nenakhov

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of SB RAS

Email: nenaxoffsurgut@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Novosibirsk

K. A. Babina

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of SB RAS

Email: sashkina_kseniya@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Novosibirsk

O. V. Ershova

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of SB RAS

Email: ersholesya198q@gmail.com
Russian Federation, Novosibirsk

References

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Supplementary files

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2. Fig. 1. A plan of excavation site. The location of altar within the sacred space

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3. Fig. 2. Areas of animal bone accumulation, sq. K-M/32-36: 1 – plan; 2, 3 – photos of micro-units

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4. Fig. 3. Areas of animal bone accumulation, sq. H-C/29-32: 1 – plan; 2, 3 – photos of micro-units

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5. Fig. 4. The burial: 1 – plan; 2 – skeletons 1 and 5; 3 – a bronze knife near the pelvis of skeleton 1; 4 – skeleton 2; 5 – skeleton 3; a – the handle of bronze knife; б – a bear fang

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6. Fig. 5. Isotope ratios of δ13CVPDB and δ15NAir for the studied samples. The comparison of average values for groups was performed by variance analysis (* – p<0.05, *** – p<0.001 compared to sheep remains)

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7. Fig. 6. A Bayesian KDE modeling of the complex chronology after (Ramsey, 2017)

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8. Fig. 7. A Bayesian MCMC modeling of the complex chronology after (Ramsey, 2009) with an initial uniform and a final tau boundary

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