Funerary Rites and Christianization Issues of the Indigenous Population in the Taz Arctic

The article addresses the burial complex Num-hibya-siheri VIa, located on the territory of the Taz district, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Russia), studied in 2016—2018. The novelty and originality of the study lies in the comprehensive approach to the analysis of Christian burials of Selkup children in the Arctic region of Western Siberia with further interpretation of the funerary rites. The diversity of funerary constructions made it possible to distinguish five different variants of burial structures. The archaeological site under study, located in the Arctic region, is unique because it reflects the Christianization process of the indigenous populations. This is confirmed by elements of funerary rites and structures, as well as pectoral crosses and an icon found among the accompanying grave goods, indicating the penetration of the Christian faith into the culture of the indigenous people of the region. At the same time, the funerary site also demonstrates some elements that indicate the nascent practice of using Christian symbols. In one case only, a cross on a chain was placed around the neck of the buried person; in other cases, Christian attributes were located in other parts of the graves. The presence of a large number of wooden burial structures and their good preservation made it possible to select a series of archaeological wood samples for the dendrochronological analysis and date the excavated necropolis within the second quarter of the 19th — early 20th centuries.