Neolithic burial of a child at the Ust-Aleyka-5 burial ground (a version of the historico-cultural reconstruction)

The Ust-Aleyka-5 monument was discovered in 1981 in the village of Ust-Aleyka, Kalmansky District, Altai Krai. A pit with a diameter of about 0.3 m and a depth of 0.6-0.7 m in the continent contained a vertically located skeleton of a young child (two years ± 8 months) accompanied by a rich and varied inventory. The unclosed anterior fontanelle on the skull, the very large size of the braincase for this age with normal sizes of the facial region allow us to assume macrocephaly caused by hydrocephalus. Two AMS dates were obtained for teardrop-shaped pendants made of bone or antler: 5,550 ± 25 BP (IGAN-5829) and 5,219 ± 86 BP (NSKA-01941). The burial of a child from the Ust-Aleika-5 burial ground belongs to an extremely rare type of "vertical" burials in Northern Eurasia. V.A. Zakh suggests that such buried people played the role of "guardians" protecting their deceased relatives in the necropolises. The burial site stands out against the background of synchronous monuments of Northern Eurasia by its "adult" component of the accompanying inventory (arrowheads, an axe, etc.). Among the peoples of Siberia, child burials were carried out according to a simplified burial rite. Exceptions are associated with children who were to become shamans or were born with congenital deformities. Four lower jaws of a marmot, 23 bones of a marsh harrier and the crown of a sable tooth were found in the grave. The burial inventory of burial 2 of the Ust-Aleyka-5 ground burial ground embodies the idea of three worlds: upper (heavenly), middle (real), and lower (underground). Four lower jaws of a marmot, pendants made of Unio shells, and an ornament made of the Tritia nitida shell are markers of the "lower" world, the bones of a marsh harrier are the upper world, and pendants made of maral teeth are the middle world. The behavioral features of the marsh harrier are a strong attachment to a specific place and its protection from penetration from the outside. Marmots are very cautious. The marmot "sentinel" usually stands guard on a hill and, in case of danger, warns his relatives (and other animals) with a loud whistle. The child was also placed in the grave vertically. Sable lives in a small area, which it guards and protects. The listed animals are united by territorial conservatism - attachment to a permanent habitat, protective (marsh harrier and sable) or warning (marmot) behavior. The vertical arrangement and the nature of the accompanying inventory allow us to consider the child from the burial of the Ust-Aleika-5 burial ground from the position of his fellow tribesmen as a "future guard", a defender of the ancestral territory. The presence in the grave of the bones of a marsh harrier, marmots and a sable tooth can be interpreted as his accompaniment by assistants - "guards" from the animal world, who were supposed to help the future defender protect the territory entrusted to him. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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