Slepchenko SM, Gusev AV, Svyatova EO, Hong JH, Lee H, Shin DH. Anthropological report of arctic people's mummy found at a medieval grave of West Siberia.
Anat Cell Biol 2023;
56:404-408. [PMID:
37258423 PMCID:
PMC10520856 DOI:
10.5115/acb.23.051]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
In arctic zone of West Siberia, native people's bodies were sometimes mummified inside the medieval graves. In 2013 to 2017, we conducted the excavations of medieval graves at Zeleny Yar cemetery in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Among the burials, current report deals with the mummy grave #79. During the investigation, bronze plate and strips, woven or fur clothing, leather strap, beads, bronze bracelets, and iron knife etc. were collected. Anatomical and radiological research showed that the mummy was found intact with hair, skin, and skeletons, but the preservation status of soft tissue differed greatly depending on the area. The brain and eyes were well preserved, but the chest and abdominal organs almost disappeared. The arms were preserved to some extent, but only the bones remained in the legs. The West Siberian mummy could be a great resource for anthropologists to reveal the biological aspects of arctic indigenous people.
Collapse