Ancient Ritual Objects of the Oka Plateau (Eastern Sayan)

DOI_disc_logo https://doi.org/10.14258/tpai(2021)33(4).-08
Keywords: ancient ritual objects, burial grounds, Eastern Sayan, Oka plateau, khirgisuur, cenotaph, khan tabilga rite, “host of the local landscape”, “Milan” rite

Abstract

Sacral beliefs took one of the most important spheres in the life of ancient societies. The evidence of such beliefs can be recognized in stone constructions used for various ritual activities and differentiated by architectonic features depending on their functionality. Some of such constructions were found on the territory of the Oka region (Buryat Republic). One part of them has a four-angled, circular, or ring-shaped form and a diameter up to 2 m; the other had circular burial mound-like or flat configuration with a diameter of 3–6 m. The first excavations of the large stone mounds of the circular form were carried out in 1870 P.A. Rovinskiy near the Oka guard fort (archeological site Oka, locality 1 and 2). The researcher characterized excavated constructions as cenotaphs or sacrificial places. In 2020 A.V. Kharinskiy excavated other two large stone mounds at the Shasnur-3 archeological site. Based on materials from excavations reinforced with ethnographical data, we can regard circular mounds with the 3–6 m diameter in the Mountain Oka region as cenotaphs. One of the small ring-shaped stone settings was investigated by V.I. Tashak at the Zun Nomto-Gol-1 archeological site. Taking into consideration the ethnographical data, the setting from Nomto-Gol-1 as other stone settings with a diameter up to 2 m can be characterized as ancient sacrificial places devoted to the spirits — hosts of the local landscapes. Key words: ancient ritual objects, burial grounds, Eastern Sayan, Oka plateau,

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Author Biographies

V.I. Tashak, Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Associate Professort, Leading Researcher, Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

A.V. Kharinskii, Irkutsk National Research Technical University; Irkutsk State University

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Director of the Laboratory of Archaeology, Palaeoecology and Subsistence of People of the Northern Asia, Irkutsk National Research Technical University, Irkutsk State University

M.A. Portniagin, Irkutsk National Research Technical University

Laboratory Assistant Researcher of the Laboratory of Archaeology, Paleoecology and Subsistence of Peoples of the Northern Asia, Irkutsk National Research Technical University

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Published
2021-12-18
How to Cite
Tashak V., Kharinskii A., Portniagin M. Ancient Ritual Objects of the Oka Plateau (Eastern Sayan) // THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2021. Vol. 33, № 4. P. 132-156 DOI: 10.14258/tpai(2021)33(4).-08. URL: http://journal.asu.ru/tpai/article/view/10755.
Issue
Vol 33 No 4 (2021)
Section
MATERIAL ANALYSIS IN ARCHAEOLOGY

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