Life-Sized Mortuary Doll from Siberia, c.250 CE: a small pouch filled with cremated human remains was tucked into the body of this mannequin, which was then stuffed with grass, dressed in furs, and buried
The mannequin measures about 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) tall, and it was crafted out of leather, fur, woollen fabric, tendon thread, silk, and grass. This is one of several mortuary dolls that have been found at the burial complex known as Oglakhty cemetery, which is located in the Oglakhty mountains of southern Siberia.
The mannequin's face was created from a patch of red woollen fabric; a rolled-up piece of leather was tucked beneath that patch in order to create the shape of the nose, while leather flaps were used to form the ears. Several black lines were also drawn across the face using charcoal.
The mannequin was positioned with its head resting atop a leather cushion filled with grass and reindeer fur.
Oglakhty cemetery is associated with the Tashtyk culture of southern Siberia. This article describes their unique burial practices, which often included a mix of mummification and cremation rituals:
The communities belonging to this group left numerous burial sites with an expressive funeral rite famous for its tradition of funeral masks and ‘dummies’: leather-made models of human bodies up to 1.5m in length, stuffed with grass, and containing charred human bones.
Of special interest is the fact that different rites were used to bury individuals in the same grave: the mummies and dummies both contained human bones. Remains of the mummies, i.e. dry bodies with trepanned skulls and faces covered with gypsum masks were lying side by side with the dummies.
And as this article notes:
These mannequins or so-called ‘dolls’ are the only surviving examples of burials of this type.
It's believed that the mannequins are dressed in clothing that was originally worn by the dead people they represent. Some of the mannequins also have plaits of human hair that were likely taken from the dead just prior to cremation; the hair was then used to form neatly-braided hairpieces that were typically placed upon the mannequins' heads.
Many of the graves at Oglakhty cemetery exhibit a peculiar mix of both inhumation and cremation. That blend of rituals is often attributed to the arrival of peoples/traditions from other regions, and the cultural diffusion that gradually occurred as a result:
Different ways of burying people in the same graves in the early Tashtyk cemeteries may reflect their different origins: descendants of local population and immigrants living and buried alongside each other.
Sources & More Info:
Antiquity: Pastoralists and Mobility in the Oglakhty Cemetery of Southern Siberia
Masters of the Steppe: Mummies and Mannequins from the Oglakhty Cemetery in Southern Siberia
Quarternary International: New Results of Radiocarbon Dating from the Oglakhty Cemetery
Research Square: First Ancient DNA Analysis of Mummies from the Post-Scythian Oglakhty Cemetery
Archeotravelers: The Face Hidden Behind the Mask
Great Sites of the Ancient World: Siberia's Oglakhty Mountains
