Golden images of mountain goats on the headdresses of population of Upper Ob region in Early Iron Age

The article is devoted to the interpretation of Golden images of mountain goats from the burial monuments of the Upper Ob region population of the Early Iron Age. Stylistically, images of mountain goats belong to the tradition of decorating the tops of various household items, including headdresses, which is widespread in the Eastern part of the Scythian-Siberian world. Golden images of mountain goats from the burial monuments of the Upper Ob region differ somewhat from each other in the way of their external representation: images from Ob’ezdnoe-1 and Milovanovo-8 are profiled and flat, while images from Novotroitskoe-2 are volumetric and sculptural. The article offers options for reconstructing the spatial location of Golden images of mountain goats from the Ob’ezdnoe-1 and Novotroitskoe-2 burial grounds on headdresses of various styles. The semantic load of images of mountain goats is often considered by researchers as a marker of the sacred «tops». In this regard, one of the most developed interpretations is the associative identification of the headdress with the «world mountain», and the Golden images of mountain goats with animals in typical postures on its slopes (in profile) and on the top (in volume). However, such a mythological interpretation can be applied to describe the image of not only a mountain goat, but also, for example, a Griffin. After analyzing the range of possible semantic interpretations of the Golden images of mountain goats, the author comes to the conclusion about the phenomenon of situational sacralization of this image in the context of the funeral rite of the population of the bolsherechenskaya cultural and historical community. In favor of this interpretation, there are evidence: semantic load of gold as a metal associated with the idea of immortality; choosing the animal image itself; its use in the design of clothing made from wool. Covering the everyday headdress with gold products situationally gave it an ideological status associated with the upcoming funeral or other rite. The funeral rite is characterized by publicity and makes special demands on the attributes present during its conduct. In this context, the golden images of mountain goats with headdresses from Milovanovo-8, Ob’ezdnoe-1 and Novotroitskoe-2 can be considered signs of high social status of the families of the deceased. The status of the clan had to be constantly confirmed by the presence in the subject complex of clothing of its representatives bearing an ideological load of symbols, necessary for decorating a noble nomad with things, among which were the headdresses with Golden images of mountain goats. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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