The Dolmen Kolikho, Western Caucasus: Isotopic Investigation of Funeral Practice and Human Mobility

Trifonov, Viktor; Зайцева, Г.И.; Plicht, Johannes van der; Burova, Natalia; Богомолов, Е. С.; Sementsov, A.A.; Lokhova, O.

doi:10.1017/s003382220004741x

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The people of the Dolmen Culture used the dolmen as collective graves. Sites like Degugak-Dachovsk, a settlement found in the western piedmont region, suggest a sedentary lifestyle of the related societies during the second half of the 3 rd mil BCE (Reinhold 2011a;Trifonov et al 2012;Trifonov 2013;Markovin 1997). 5 Modern-day Krasnodar and Stavropol Kray as well as the northern periphery of Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria and North-Ossetia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interdisciplinary analysis of the cemetery 'Kudachurt 14'. Evaluating indicators of social inequality, demography, oral health and diet during the Bronze Age key period 2200-1650 BCE in the Northern Caucasus

Fuchs¹

2020

Scales of Transformation

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Representing both a barrier and a corridor between the Eurasian and Asian continents, the Caucasus has constituted the setting for various socio-economic transformations throughout prehistory. The transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age in the Northern Caucasus is a period characterised by a shift from pastoral lifeways in the steppe to sedentary lifestyles in the high mountains, and the change from hierarchical to egalitarian societies. In this context, this book provides basic scientific research on social inequality, demography, oral health, and diet of humans that lived between 2200-1650 BCE in the central North Caucasian foothills. Due to the outstanding preservation of its archaeological and human remains, the cemetery Kudachurt 14 represents a hitherto missing link for a transformative period in this region. Archaeologically, the heterogeneity of the burial remains appears as a melting pot of different cultural phenomena, but showing strong typological affiliation to the so-called North Caucasian culture of the high mountain area. Furthermore, biological and ritual evidence confirms often-stated gender concepts and expression of differences in social status. Individuals suffered from poor oral health due to the occupational use of their teeth and high caries prevalence occurred among both adolescents and adults. Together with information from C and N stable isotopes, the data provide evidence for early agricultural practices in a mixed subsistence economy. While social inequality is prominent in the burial context, it is not displayed in oral health and dietary trends. This indicates rather similar living conditions for individuals from different socio-ritual statuses. The presented doctoral research delivers the first comprehensive data collection and investigation that combines burial, osteological, palaeopathological, and stable isotope information, and achieves a connection between the living and the dead in this time and place.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interdisciplinary analysis of the cemetery 'Kudachurt 14'. Evaluating indicators of social inequality, demography, oral health and diet during the Bronze Age key period 2200-1650 BCE in the Northern Caucasus

Fuchs¹

2020

Scales of Transformation

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“…There were several different types of burials, but in all cases the bodies or defleshed bones of the dead were placed in the dolmen through the aperture in its stone front. The number of burials per dolmen varies from 1-2 to about 80 (Trifonov et al 2012). In some cases, one could determine the type of burial as contracted on its side.…”

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confidence: 99%

Shepsi, the Oldest Dolmen with Port-Hole Slab in the Western Caucasus

et al. 2014

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The dolmen known as Shepsi was accidentally discovered on the Black Sea coast (Tuapse region, Russia). Radiocarbon dates show that the classic trapezoidal construction of the Caucasian dolmens with a port-hole appeared in the region as early as 3250 BC. The distinctive structural characteristic for dolmens of that time was a floor slab laid between the side slabs, which were embedded in the ground. The material complex and 14 C dates show that this type of dolmen coexisted with the Novosvobodnaya-type of the Maikop culture, located on the northern slope of the main Caucasus ridge. This leads to a new hypothesis concerning the regional origin and further development of the megalithic structures in the western Caucasus.

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Animals, metal and isotopes: Mikhailo-Ovsyanka I, the Late Bronze Age mining site of the steppe Volga region

Shishlina

Roslyakova

Kolev³

et al. 2020

Archaeological Research in Asia

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The Dolmen Kolikho, Western Caucasus: Isotopic Investigation of Funeral Practice and Human Mobility

Cited by 3 publications

References 6 publications

Interdisciplinary analysis of the cemetery 'Kudachurt 14'. Evaluating indicators of social inequality, demography, oral health and diet during the Bronze Age key period 2200-1650 BCE in the Northern Caucasus

Interdisciplinary analysis of the cemetery 'Kudachurt 14'. Evaluating indicators of social inequality, demography, oral health and diet during the Bronze Age key period 2200-1650 BCE in the Northern Caucasus

Shepsi, the Oldest Dolmen with Port-Hole Slab in the Western Caucasus

Animals, metal and isotopes: Mikhailo-Ovsyanka I, the Late Bronze Age mining site of the steppe Volga region

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