Slab-grave culture: Difference between revisions

Thousands of graves can now be seen in the southern Baikal area. In some cases they form a cemetery, with a clear plan and a strict order. For example, at lake Balzino about a hundred graves formed circles and rectangles. They are usually located at higher elevation, and exposed to sun. Monumental burials mark the greatness of the people who once lived there. They became an integral part of the East Baikal steppes cultural and historical landscape. Slab-grave burials frequently reused stone material from nearby [[Deer stones culture]] sites.{{sfn|Fitzhugh|2009b|pp=72-88|loc="In contrast to DSK sites, SB sites have copious artifact and faunal deposits, but like DSK sites their human remains are often poorly preserved. Deer stones scavenged from DSK sites were often used as retaining walls and corner posts in slab burials and were sometimes inserted upside-down, showing little respect for DSK traditions. In many cases slab burials are found on the outer edges of DSK complexes, positioned beyond the last-constructed horse mounds. It appears that the purpose was to both mine DSK sites for building materials as well as to incorporate some element of DSK sacred power and prestige, perhaps to gain favor among a resident local population. (...) In Mongolia square burials begin almost exactly when the use of deer stones and khirigsuurs ceases, about cal. 2700 B.P., and continue well into the Scythian period (Honeychurch, personal communication 2008). In Russian Transbaikal, however, dates for the SB complex begin as early as 3300 B.P. As in Mongolia, many of these burials use re-purposed deer stones (Cybiktarov 2003:90)."}} The replacement of the [[Deer stones culture]] by the Slab-grave culture in central and eastern Mongolia around 700 BCE might mark a replacement of Caucasoid physical types by Mongoloid ones in the region.{{sfn|Fitzhugh|2009b|pp=80-81|loc=Both Russian and Mongolian dates suggest that slab burial appearance is time-transgressive northeast-to-southwest, and Russian scholars believe this shift is accompanied by a replacement of Caucasoid by Mongoloid physical types (Cybiktarov 2003:84).}} To the west, the Deer stone culture was replaced by, or evolved into, the various [[Saka]] cultures, such as the [[Uyuk culture]] and the [[Chandman culture]] and the [[Pazyryk culture]].{{sfn|Fitzhugh|2009b|pp=72-88}}