Ulakhan Aryy: a burial site of the medieval population of the Vilyuy River basin (West Yakutia)

The article discusses the medieval burial site discovered in 2019 by the Vilyuy archeological expedition team from the Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, SB RAS, during exploration in Kyukyaisky Nasleg of the Suntarsky district, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The burial was found within the boundaries of an ancient site near Lake Kyukey. Radiocarbon dating of human bones revealed that the site dates back to the 15th-17th centuries. The burial rite is not typical for the Yakuts and Tungus. The skeleton, not arranged in anatomical order, was placed in a small pit and covered with a flooring of larch poles. The lower limbs and a significant part of the arm bones were absent. According to the anatomical-morphological and osteometric signs, as well as the degree of abrasion on chewing surfaces of the upper jaw teeth, the remains belong to a man of the Mongoloid race, whose estimated bone age is 40.5 ± 45 years (36-45 years). A forensic medical examination of the remains revealed four injuries on the left shoulder blade and both humerus, probably caused by arrows. The depression at the place of attachment of the costoclavicular ligament were revealed, which may indicate a constant overstrain of the connective tissue in this section. This circumstance suggests that the person could be an archer or a rower during his lifetime. It is assumed that the buried person was executed or sacrificed. There is also a suggestion put forward that the Ulakhan Aryy site may be associated with the ancient population of the Vilyuy River basin, known from legends of the Vilyuy Yakuts.

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