A multidisciplinary approach to the study of archaeological complexes with mummified objects

Abstract

Frozen graves of representatives of the Pazyryk culture, one of the most interesting Scythian cultures (the 6th–3rd centuries BC), undisturbed by ancient robbers, were found and investigated on the Ukok Plateau, one of the highest regions of the Altai Mountains with registered archaeological artifacts. It is an unprecedented occurrence in the more than century-old history of the study of this culture: all the known burial places had been robbed. The frozen graves contained numerous almost pristine items of the accompanying inventory, primarily made of organic materials, which do not survive under other conditions. In two cases, mummified bodies, male and female, were found. All these materials have been studied for more than 20 years by representatives of different sciences, which has ensured significant progress in studying not only the Pazyryk culture but also the epoch as a whole.