An experience of social interpretation of the materials from the pre-Turkic necropolis of Choburak-I (Northern Altai)

Abstract

The paper concerns the main aspects of social interpretation of a series of burials excavated as part of the pre-Turkic period necropolis at the site of Choburak-I. This complex, investigated by the expedition of the Altai State University, is located in Chemalsky District of the Altai Republic. The burial ground of the Bulan-Koba Culture comprises 12 burial mounds arranged in a compact group. Each of these contained an undisturbed human burial with or without a horse. The analysis of the retrieved accompanying inventory, involving the results of radiocarbon dating, allowed it to determine the chronology of the necropolis within the middle — second half of the 4th century CE. The excavation materials turned out to be highly informative for the study of various aspects of the social history of the population of Northern Altai in the pre-Turkic period. It has been established that the accompanying grave goods was the main marker of the social stratification of the ‘Bulan-Kobins’. A ‘special’ social status of a 13- to 15-year-old adolescent from mound No. 29a was revealed, which was indicated by the completed formal transition of this individual to an adulthood with retention of certain restrictions due to the lag in physical development. Based on the sets of jewellery and horse equipment, all women had an above-average social status. Meanwhile, the deceased female buried in barrow No. 34 occupied a highest possible position and, probably, was a member of a local nomadic elite. The social stratification of men was reflected in the qualitative and quantitative composition of weapons and personal and horse equipment. The analysis of mutual occurrence of various categories of goods allowed the identification of three social groups: (i) warrior leaders or highly-distinguished professional warriors (mounds Nos. 30, 30a and 38); (ii) a professional warrior with a high material wealth (mound No. 32); and (iii) members of the prosperous stratum of the civil population (mounds Nos. 31, 31a and 34a). The data obtained support a conclusion that the necropolis of the Bulan-Koba Culture at the site of Choburak-I was left behind by members of local nomadic elite of Northern Altai of the pre-Turkic period. The performed study refines the conventional views on the nature of social processes that were taking place in the territory of Altai at the turn of the late antiquity and Early Middle Ages, as well as demonstrates further prospects for complex reconstructions involving a wide range of specialists.

Keywords

• altay
• bulan-koba culture
• pre-turkic times
• social interpretation
• demographic structure
• necropolis