Archaeologists from the Novosibirsk Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology (Siberia, Russia) are trying to unravel the meaning behind a recent mysterious find at the Ust-Tartas archaeological site in Western Siberia. When investigating two burials at the site last year they found, in the first burial, what appears at first sight to be a form of ritual clothing made entirely from the beaks and skulls of birds.
     When questioned on why or what this was for, Lilia Kobeleva, a researcher for the team, is quoted as saying "Why do we think this was part of clothing? The beaks were assembled at the back of the skull, along the neck, as if it was a collar that protected the owner hen he lived here".
     Whilst this is the first find of this type from the Early Bronze Age Odinov Culture that inhabited this area, similar types of shaman ritualistic costume can be found across many ancient and not so ancient cultures.
     Another recent burial excavation revealed several crescent shaped stone pendants, presumably also used to adorn a priest or shaman and used during rituals. The Odinov Culture takes its name from a settlement in the Ishim river area and flourished between 1,800 and 1,600 BCE.

Edited from The Siberian Times (29 May 2019)