A Mortuary Complex with Animal Skulls at Khankarinsky Dol, a Scythian Age Cemetery in the Northwestern Altai

Abstract

This article presents a description of Khankarinsky Dol mound 34 on the left bank of the Inya River, 1–1.5 km southeast of Chineta, Krasnoshchekovsky District, Altai Territory. Excavations revealed a cist with a supine burial of a male, whose head was oriented to the east. Beyond the eastern wall of the cist, a horse cranium and three crania of sheep were placed. Features of the burial rite suggest that the burial belongs to the Korgantass type, which is distributed over the Altai-Sayan and Kazakhstan, with certain parallels in northern China. Principal categories of offerings are analyzed, including those associated with the horse. On their basis, the horse harness is reconstructed. On the basis of the typology of artifacts and radiocarbon analysis, the burial was dated to the 5th to 4th centuries BC (possibly late 5th to early 4th centuries BC). The Korgantass burials at Khankarinsky Dol and elsewhere in the Altai Mountains indicate a migration from the eastern part of the nomadic world, apparently from northern China or the Trans-Baikal region.