Facial Covers of the Ancient Population 1st–5th Centuries from the Burial Grounds in the Tulva River Basin

Abstract

The rare objects of material culture of the population of the middle of I Millennium A.D. of the Middle Kama region – metal facial covers are considered. The aim of the study is to analyze the objects made from gold foil, located in the face of ancient man: nose and mouth (teeth). The subject of the study was the fragments of facial coverings from 5 graves of the Kudash I and the Krasny Yar I burial grounds which located in Bardymsky district of Perm Krai. The morphology of facial covers and their sizes, the features of the objects are presented. The role of facial covers in the funeral rite of the ancient population is shown. As a result, the metal covers are a unique find in the graves as a symbol of the social status of the man (military leader, shaman). Objects were used both during life (as distinctions and as decoration or completion of the costume the person) and after life. Ancient population in order to save metal, used metal fragments to refer the most important channels of human interaction with the outside world (mouth). It seems that the facial covers of parts of the human face are the prototype of the masks and demonstrates a certain stage of formation the ideas an ancient population about masks made from a single sheet of metal.

Keywords

• archaeology
• Middle Kama region
• 1st –5th centuries
• burial grounds
• funeral rite
• fragments of metal masks