Museum complex

Portrait sculptures of children from paired burial

City Vladimir, Sungir site
Streletskian archaeological culture
Gypsum (reconstruction)
Height 44 cm (each)
From: excavations by Otto Bader
Above Showcase 4

When these reconstructions were made the buried were recognized as a boy and a girl, but their gender features were hardly evident in teen age. Recent DNA analysis of bones showed that both of the buried are boys. One portrait sculpture is of a boy of 12-14 years old in a headwear. That headwear is a wide fillet or a cap with a hole on a sinciput, probably made for a hair lock, and embroidered with a triple ribbon of drilled beads of mammoth tusks, some additional beads were placed on a forehead and temples. Over the ribbon of beads drilled teeth of a polar fox were placed. On a sinciput a lamellar ring was placed, probably used to tie up a tuft of hair. Another portrait sculpture is of a boy of 9-10 years old. His headwear is a cap embroidered with a triple ribbon of drilled beads made of mammoth tusks. Edges of the cap were going down to ears. Double line of beads was sewed on the top of the cap from forehead to the back of the head. On a sinciput was a small slotted disk made of a tusk. Sinciput area was embroidered with beads.

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