Children’s Graves from catacombs of Verchne-saltovskyi (Upper saltovskyi) Archaeological complex (an Attempt of Age-sex and social Interpretation)

Abstract

In this paper we analyzed the materials of 85 children’s graves from 61 catacomb ground burials, which belong to Verchne-Saltovskyi (Upper Saltovskyi) archaeological complex (Rubezhanskyi, Staro- Saltovskyi (Old Saltovskyi) burials and three participants of necropolis near the village Verchnii Saltov (Upper Saltov). These materials have shown the existence of a population of Alani of Verchnii Saltov (Upper Saltov), likewise most nations of the world have division of children into three groups: 3–4 years (young children), 4–8/ 10 years (older children) and 10–14 years (teenagers). This is reflected in the composition of the inventory of children’s graves of different age groups, which depended on the degree of the social, public and industrial involvement of the children. All children’s graves are characterized by the presence of things, which served as talismans, amulets. Different number of amulets in the children’s graves of the same age group depended on the health of the child and the number of children in his family. The composition of the inventory of children’s graves suggests the presence of two population groups in the Verchne-Saltovskyi (Upper Saltovskyi) community: commune and insignificant number of social and property top of society.