Headdress, Ritual and Gender Symbols (reconstruction based on materials of the bronze age from the Novye Yabalakly 1 burial ground)

Abstract

A bronze jewelry set was found during excavations of a woman’s and a child’s grave at the Novye Yabalakly 1 burial ground (located in the Republic of Bashkortoston on the right bank of the Dema River), attributed to the Srubnaya culture (third quarter of the 2nd Millennium BC). It is consisted of an adornment within braid and plaques, assembled in a chain, which was interpreted as a breast adornment. On the basis of new materials on the Bronze Age female costume of the Ural–Kazakhstani steppes, a reconstruction of the jewelry complex is suggested in the form of facial pendants and a braid adornment of a headdress. Based on the results of a spectral analysis, S.V. Kuzminykh suggests the Andronovo origin of the jewelry set and its import into the Srubnaya culture as a result of barter transactions or matrimonial relationships. Using the ethnographic parallels of the headdress’ status in the wedding rite, the symbolism of the “Yabalakly” headdress is interpreted as a wedding item. The ornamental pattern on the plaques of the face pendant is a variation of a cross and a zigzag. They are universal images in the graphic concepts of the steppe cultures of the period, reflecting the ideas of protective magic.

Keywords

• archaeology
• burial
• braid adornment
• face pendant
• headdress
• srubnaya culture
• andronovo culture
• metallographic analysis
• symbolism of the cross
• protective magic