نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسنده
R. G. Kuzeev Institute of Ethnological Studies of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences
چکیده
This article analyzes the symbolic role of stones as substitutes for the deceased body within Srubnaya-Andronovo funerary practices during the Late Bronze Age in the Southern Urals. The research centers on materials from the Kashkarovsky kurgan burial ground (Bashkir Trans-Urals), specifically Burial 3 of Kurgan 5. Here, an anthropomorphic stone stele was discovered, interpreted as the central element of a cenotaph (an empty grave). The stone fulfilled a sacred function, acting as a substitute for the absent body.
The study presents a typology of similar complexes, distinguishing four groups based on intentional stone placement in burial pits:
Group A: Stele-like stones in pits.
Group B: Individual stones deliberately laid at the pit bottom, sometimes mimicking a flexed body position.
Groups C & D: Cenotaphs featuring several stones or single slabs at the grave bottom.
The Kashkarovsky pit with the stone stele is identified as a unique funerary cenotaph complex. The deliberate placement of the stone confidently signifies a ritual substitution for the deceased's body. However, the limited number of analogies highlights the atypical nature of this rite within Srubnaya-Andronovo funerary practice in the Southern Ural forest-steppe.
The tradition's origin remains unclear, though a connection to Alakul-Fedorovo funerary traditions from sites in the Southern Urals and Kazakhstan has been identified. Confirming this hypothesis requires expanding the archaeological source base.
کلیدواژهها
عنوان مقاله [English]
STONE AS SYMBOL IN THE FUNERARY PRACTICE OF THE SRUBNAYA–ANDRONOVO CULTURAL CIRCLE
نویسنده [English]
- ILSHAT BAKHSHIEV
R. G. Kuzeev Institute of Ethnological Studies of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences
چکیده [English]
This article analyzes the symbolic role of stones as substitutes for the deceased body within Srubnaya-Andronovo funerary practices during the Late Bronze Age in the Southern Urals. The research centers on materials from the Kashkarovsky kurgan burial ground (Bashkir Trans-Urals), specifically Burial 3 of Kurgan 5. Here, an anthropomorphic stone stele was discovered, interpreted as the central element of a cenotaph (an empty grave). The stone fulfilled a sacred function, acting as a substitute for the absent body.
The study presents a typology of similar complexes, distinguishing four groups based on intentional stone placement in burial pits:
Group A: Stele-like stones in pits.
Group B: Individual stones deliberately laid at the pit bottom, sometimes mimicking a flexed body position.
Groups C & D: Cenotaphs featuring several stones or single slabs at the grave bottom.
The Kashkarovsky pit with the stone stele is identified as a unique funerary cenotaph complex. The deliberate placement of the stone confidently signifies a ritual substitution for the deceased's body. However, the limited number of analogies highlights the atypical nature of this rite within Srubnaya-Andronovo funerary practice in the Southern Ural forest-steppe.
The tradition's origin remains unclear, though a connection to Alakul-Fedorovo funerary traditions from sites in the Southern Urals and Kazakhstan has been identified. Confirming this hypothesis requires expanding the archaeological source base.
کلیدواژهها [English]
- Late Bronze Age
- South Ural
- Bashkir Trans–Ural region
- funeral rite
- stone stele
- cenotaphs
)