The man, the woman and the hyoid bone: from archaeology to the burial practices of the Xiongnu people (Egyin Go1 valley, Mongolia)

P. Murail (1) , Eric Crubézy (2) , H. Martin (3) , L. Haye , Jaroslav Brůžek. (1) , P.H. Giscard (4) , T. Turbat (5) , D. Erdenebaatar (5)

1 PACEA - De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie
2 LA - Laboratoire d'Anthropobiologie
3 TRACES - Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés
4 MAFM - Mission Archéologique Française en Mongolie
5 Department of Archaeology of the Institute of History

A man and a woman were found in a double burial dating from the 1st century BC and located in a Xiongnu burial site in northern Mongolia. An offering box at the head of the man's coffin contained both remains of domestic animals and a human hyoid bone. The skeleton of the man was complete whereas the woman's hyoid bone was missing. The isolated hyoid bone could belong to the buried woman, which suggests the removal of her tongue and probably her sacrifice.

Mots clés: Burial practices; Xiongnu; osteoarchaeology; sacrifice; Mongolia

Domaines: Anthropologie biologique

P. Murail, Eric Crubézy, H. Martin, L. Haye, Jaroslav Brůžek., et al.. The man, the woman and the hyoid bone: from archaeology to the burial practices of the Xiongnu people (Egyin Go1 valley, Mongolia). Antiquity, 2000, 74, pp.531-536. ⟨halshs-00433415⟩