Early Yakut Funerary Monuments of the Khangalassky District of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (17th Century)
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6119-2026-1-102-114
At the current stage of research on ancient Yakut burial rituals, identifying the earliest monuments from the 15th to 17th centuries remains challenging. Using modern dating methods, archaeologists studying Yakut ground burials have classified them as a distinct group. In the past decade, researchers have uncovered a significant layer of archaeological heritage from the late medieval period that requires scientific attention and initial analysis. This work discusses several monuments identified through exploration by the Srednelensky group of the archaeological expedition of the Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in the Zhersky and Oktemsky naslegs of the Khangalassky district of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). These findings provide new materials and opportunities for reconstructing the worldview of the ancient inhabitants of Central Yakutia. Analysis of existing sources provides new information on the spatial arrangement of archaeological objects. The study reveals a dependence of burial monument placement on the landscape. This research also examines elements that have not previously been documented in ancient Yakut burial rituals. Fieldwork has identified a variety of deviant postures of the deceased, such as lying on the side, semi-side, and semi-sitting with tucked legs. It is suggested that this diversity in corpse positioning may be linked to several factors, including physical characteristics and ancient beliefs about sleeping postures. Thus, the late medieval populations of Central Yakutia sought, within their worldview, to ensure the greatest comfort for the deceased to prevent their return to the world of the living. The analysis of accompanying grave goods, together with other data, provides opportunities to determine the social status of the deceased during their lifetime. Furthermore, the materials reveal the previously undocumented phenomenon of postinhumation intervention – the removal of the skull followed by the ‘tangling’ of the legs to neutralize the deceased. The research employs historical-comparative and historical-systems methods.
Keywords: Yakutia, early Yakut burials, Khangalassky district, Yakuts, Middle Ages
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Issue: 1, 2026
Series of issue: Issue 1
Rubric: ANTHROPOLOGY
Pages: 102 — 114
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