INFANT BURIALS IN DWELLINGS AT CHICHA-1, IN THE BARABA FOREST-STEPPE: RESULTS OF DNA ANALYSIS

In the 9th – 7th cent. BC, during the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, a large fortifi ed settlement existed at Chicha, in the Baraba forest-steppe. New features of social organization are evidenced by burials of infants in dwellings. In this article, reasons behind the choice of infants buried are addressed. Results of sex chromosomes DNA analysis indicate that most infants buried in dwellings were boys. The presence of different variants of mtDNA haplotypes within two pairs of infants buried in the same dwellings demonstrates the absence of direct maternal relationship. Some of the identifi ed haplotypes are rare in modern and ancient populations of the region while being rather frequent in areas situated to the south and southwest of Baraba (Western Central Asia, the Near East, and the Caucasus).