A Neolithic Burial in the Northern Upper Ob Basin

The study describes new materials from Neolithic burial 33 at Krokhalevka-5 in the Kudryashovsky archaeological micro-region (Novosibirsk Region). The burial was single and had been disturbed. Details of funerary rite and descriptions of lithics are provided. The outlines of the lower part of the pit and the infill with remains of wood suggest that part of a wooden boat had been placed in the grave, possibly as a symbol of passage in space. Similar religious beliefs are evidenced by practices of the Neolithic Lower Ob people, who made tiny boats of clay. The custom of using boats or their copies in the funerary rite has survived until recently among the West Siberian natives, primarily those of the Ob basin. Results of radiocarbon analysis corrected for freshwater reservoir effect suggest that the burial dates to the mid-5th millennium BC (late 6th millennium BC without correction). Closest parallels to the lithics found there are those relating to the Zavyalovo stage of the Upper Ob culture and to certain Neolithic burials of the Barnaul-Biysk area and the Altai Mountains. Broader parallels include those from the Neolithic cultures of the Baraba forest-steppe and the Lower Ob. Craniometrically, the individual from Krokhalevka-5 burial 33 reveals eastern features. The graphic reconstruction of his appearance demonstrates that he differed from people of the Baraba forest-steppe.