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Inhumation and cremation in medieval Mongolia: Analysis and

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Article in Antiquity · December 2006

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Inhumation and cremation in medieval
Mongolia: analysis and analogy
E. Crubézy1 , F.X. Ricaut2 , H. Martin3 , S. Erdenebaatar4 ,
H. Coqueugnot5 , B. Maureille5 & P.H. Giscard6

The authors study burials of the medieval period in western Mongolia shortly before the emergence
of Genghis Khan. They find that both inhumation and cremation are practised, with a variety
of accompanying rituals. Systematic micro-analysis of bone fragments on the one hand, and the
accounts of early travellers on the other, allow these researchers to propose detailed explanations
of mortuary practice in thirteenth century Altai that will be highly suggestive to prehistorians
working elsewhere.
Keywords: Mongolia, Egyin Gol, Genghis Khan period, funeral practices, cremation, burial

Introduction
The sites presented in this paper are located in northern Mongolia, and specifically in
the Egyin Gol valley near the Egyin Gol river, (Figure 1), some 20km upstream from its
confluence with the Selenge, which flows into Lake Baı̈kal. The valley has a continental
climate with an average annual temperature of −1◦ C. Precipitations are light (300 to
400mm a year). Because of its relatively high altitude (885m), the valley is snow-capped
from mid-November to April and ice thickness on the Selenge reaches 1.8m during this
period. However, the valley, being relatively narrow and oriented west–east, is well protected
from northerly winds and can offer abundant summer grazing to a significant population
of nomads.
During the Xiongnu period (fourth century BC – second century AD), the influences in
northern Mongolia clearly came from the south (Rudenko 1970). For the period from the
third century AD to the unification of the Mongolian tribes under the rule of Genghis Khan
in 1206, it was more complex. At this time the area was occupied by Turko-Mongolian

1
Departement d’Anthropologie, Université Paul Sabatier, CNRS UMR 8555, 39 Allées Jules Guesde, 31000
Toulouse, France
2
Leverhulme Centre of Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge
CB2 3DZ, UK (Email: fx.ricaut@infonie.fr)
3
UTAH, Unité Toulousaine d’Archéologie et d’Histoire, CNRS UMR 5608, Université de Toulouse-le-Mirail,
5 Allées Antonio-Machado, F-31058 Toulouse, France
4
Institut d’Histoire de l’Académie des Sciences de Mongolie, Département d’Archéologie, Zhuliov Street 77, Ulan
Bator 54, Mongolie
5
PACEA, Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Populations du Passé, Université de Bordeaux I, Avenue des Facultés,
33405 Talence, France
6
Institut des Déserts, 76 rue d’Assas, 75006 Paris, France
Received: 29 November 2005; Accepted: 24 February 2006; Revised: 2 March 2006
antiquity 80 (2006): 894–905
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 E. Crubézy et al.

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Figure 1. Location of the excavation sites in the Egyin Gol valley.

tribes, which would later either become the Turks who moved to the west, or stay and unite
under the rule of Genghis Khan (Schiltz 1994; Bourgeois et al. 2000).
Until recently, the funerary practices of Eurasian nomads in this historical period were
mainly known through written documents (Roux 1963) and accounts from travellers (Schiltz
1994) or ethnologists (Harva 1959), while archaeological studies focused essentially on older
periods, principally the Stone and Bronze Ages. In recent times, with the opening of the
Chinese and Mongolian borders, archaeological studies are reviving in the Altai region
(Bourgeois et al. 2000; Francfort 1996; Polosmak & Van Noten 1995; Shamashev 2000).
However the early written accounts remain of great value for interpretation, particularly
of burial practice (Crubézy et al. 1996a; 1996b; Murail et al. 2000). In the present study
we make extensive use of the major study by J.P. Roux (1963) of the burial customs of
prehistoric and medieval Altai.
Written documents report four types of funerary practice for the early historic period:
bodies could be buried, cremated, left exposed to wild beasts or in trees (Roux 1963). Burial
rites could also extend over some considerable time. Exposure could be followed by the
collection of bones and their subsequent burial. In the case of cremation, if some sources
explain that bones were collected from the pyres, others imply that the bones may have been
left in situ. For example, the Chinese source of Pien-yi-t’ien, dating to AD 552-556 (Pelliot
1929) reports that for Mongolian populations: ‘the horse ridden by the deceased, as well as his
clothes and everyday objects, are cremated at the same time as his body; ashes are collected and

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 Inhumation and cremation in medieval Mongolia

the body is buried during particular periods’. By contrast, the Soue Annals (AD 582) simply
state that ‘the dead are cremated on the battle fields’ (Julien 1877).
From these sources, it emerges that a tomb containing unburned remains could result
from a primary or secondary burial, and a tomb containing burned remains could result
either from a primary burial where bones are left in place (a practice known as bustum) or
from a secondary burial where burned bones are moved a distance from the pyre (known
as ustrinum). The factors influencing these various practices are largely unknown. From
travellers’ accounts it seems that practical constraints, notably the hardness of the ground in
winter, could have inhibited the digging of graves, and some archaeological studies seem to
confirm this theory (Schiltz 1994). However, we have now shown that during the Uighur
period, burial could be practised during the winter season (Crubézy et al. 1996a). It is
thus clear that other factors, cultural and religious in particular, also played a part. Indeed,
cremation was the dominant practice in the Khirghiz culture while in some other cultures
burial and cremation seem to have coexisted.
A detailed reconstruction of funeral practices (Duday et al. 1990; Roberts 1989; Crubézy
et al. 2000) can be more effective when the archaeology is informed by ethno-historical data
(Crubézy et al. 1996a; 1996b). In this study, we give an example of this approach using
funerary sites dated to the transitional Turkish/Genghiskhanid period and located in the
peri-Baı̈kal region in the border region between ancient Turkish and Mongolian tribes.

Investigations in the Egyin Gol valley

A recent review describes Mongol burial grounds as occurring in groups of two to twenty
tombs dug into valley sides (Tseveendorj 1992). The funerary sites in the Egyin Gol valley,
a priori attributed to the historical Mongol period (thirteenth to fifteenth century), are
clusters of two to three tombs separated by a few metres and with the same orientation,
situated on the lower slopes of the valley. Only a dozen are visible on the surface, despite
eight centuries of occupation and minimal recent erosion in this geographic region. Those
sites visible on the surface are formed of small stones laid side-by-side, perpendicular to the
main slope. They are situated above a pit, between 0.5 and 1m deep, containing bones of
caprine species alongside human skeletons.
Four clusters of tombs were examined. Two at site EG II (49◦ 28 N, 103◦ 22 E, alt 860m)
had two clusters of tombs, of three and two tombs respectively. A third at site E IV (49◦ 31 N,
103◦ 19 E, alt 920m) had three tombs. Six of these eight tombs were excavated (EG II/5, 9
and 10 and EG IV/1, 3 and 10). The three clusters had dates between the thirteenth and
fifteenth century (Table 1) and exhibit similar funerary practices (Table 2). The bodies were
extended on their back, and were accompanied by portions of one to three caprines. Larch
coffins were employed for two of the men and a birch box was placed at the head or feet
of two women. These discoveries are in accordance with numerous documents that show
that inhumation was the prevalent funerary practice during the Genghis Khan period in
Mongolia.
A fourth cluster was excavated at site EG IV. This group was located on a hilltop
overlooking the river, at the northern edge of a 200m-wide valley at the centre of which
lies an Uighur tomb (Crubézy et al. 1996a). To the north of the Uighur tomb, three very

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 E. Crubézy et al.

Table 1. Dating of the pre-Genghis Khan tombs

Tomb No. Lab. code Age BP Age AD Maximum probability, AD

EG II/5 Ly 6858 595 +

− 40 1306-1416 1330-1397

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EGII/9 Pa 1444 435 +
− 40 1421-1619 1415-1519
EG II/10 Pa 1442 400 +
− 30 1440-1627 1440-1521
EGIV/1 Ly 6859 700 +
− 45 1255-1388 1292-1370
EGIV/10 Pa 1441 670 +
− 630 1284-1394 1284-1394
EGIV/8 Pa 1443 815 +
− 40 1166-1286 1166-1286
EGIV/5 Pa 1440 645 +
− 35 1288-1402 1294-1397

Table 2. Funerary practice and looting in the pre-Genghis Khan period: characteristics of the
different tombs
Presence of
a child
Tomb No. Sex Age or foetus Coffin Grave goods Looting

EG II/5 Female Old adult no no Birch box next to the head no

EGII/9 Female Adult no no Button?: made from yes
pierced femoral
head of horse
EGII/10 — Adolescent no no — yes
EGIV/1 Female Adult no no Birch box next to the feet no
EGIV/3 Male Adult no yes Three bone loops no
(part of jacket?)
EGIV/10 Male Adult no yes 5 cauris (shells) no
EGIV/8 Male Adult yes yes Knife, point no
EGIV/5 Female Adult yes yes Gold earrings no

similar stone structures (EG IV/9, EG IV/5 and EG IV/8) were found. Two of these, EG
IV/8 and 9, dated to the twelfth/thirteenth century, included spreads of cremated bone.
Tomb EG IV/8 (Figure 2) was a large sub-oval structure oriented east–west, with the tops
of stones showing through the grass of the steppe. One of these stones, located in the long
axis of the structure and close to its western edge, rose slightly higher than the others. Upon
excavation, it appeared that this stone (about 600mm long) was a ‘stele’ planted vertically,
while the others were laid flat to form a platform. Just under the grass, some long bones of
a horse were discovered. To the east of the stele, the stones had been laid over the remains
of a large pyre consisting of a vast charred zone a dozen centimetres deep, comprising large
blocks of charcoal. To the west, the stones rest on the palaeo-soil, not charred in this spot.
Between and underneath the stones, pottery fragments were found, apparently belonging
to a single vessel.
Dispersed over the charred zone were some charred fragments of pottery, some cracked
river pebbles and some rare human bone splinters. To the west, increasing in density closer
to the stele, were some human bone fragments, with two very eroded iron arrowheads,
less than 20cm from the stele. The human bones are very fragmented and the diaphysal
bone fragments show crosswise cracks with marked colour variations, from grey–white to

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 Inhumation and cremation in medieval Mongolia

Figure 2. Tomb EG IV/8: map of the first two layers. The dotted area indicates the zone where burned bones were found.
The hatched areas indicate the position of animal bones in the north, and the position of the foetus in the south.

Table 3. Tomb EG IV/8: weight fraction of each anatomical group; comparison with theoretical
values (from Krogman & Iscar 1986)
Tomb EG IV/8 Weight (g) % Observed % Theoretical

Head 6.6 8.1 20.4

Trunk 10.9 13.4 17
Arm 11.5 14.1 17.6
Leg 36.2 44.3 45
Indeterminate 16.5 20.1 0
Total 81.7 100 100

brown–black, suggesting cremation of a corpse between 300◦ C and 450◦ C. The absence of
immature elements and the relative unity of format suggest that these remains correspond
to a single adult individual, over 20/25 years old, because the fusion of the iliac crest visible
on one fragment is complete. The total weight of these bones is low (81.7g). However, the
absence of sieving and the circumstances of the find suggest that this weight is under-
estimated. Analysis of the weight fractions of each anatomical group was undertaken
(Table 3). It shows that the head is under-represented, while the trunk and limbs could
be consistent with theoretical values.

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 E. Crubézy et al.

Showing in the charred zone was a pit 15cm deep, in which the complete unburnt
skeleton of a human foetus seven to eight months old had been laid on its left side. Two
burned human splinters, probably moved during the digging of the pit, were found under
the foetus. The stones of the platform were missing at the top of this pit, indicating that

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the digging of the pit post-dated the stone platform. Symmetrically at the other side of the
platform, a fragment of the right orbit of a caprine was found, as well as a portion of the
right occipital bone of a deer, with three grooves resulting probably from dismembering.
Underneath the charred zone, totally invisible before excavation, was a grave
220 × 60 × 70cm deep, with an extended supine skeleton of an adult male (young but
over 30 years old, very well preserved) at the bottom
(Figure 3). A dagger made of deer antler was found
under the skull, its point facing the right scapula
(Figure 4). A knife was found above the right
shoulder blade, separated from the shoulder by 2cm
of sediment. The 50cm deep infill material was
very particular, with alternating layers of charcoal,
charred earth, non-charred earth and ashes. In
certain places, particularly in the first 30cm, the
edges of the pit showed signs of intense charring.
Traces of planks, 29-35cm wide, and implying a
coffin or chamber, were found under the skeleton
and against the edges of the pit, and between the
knife and the top of the skull. Thus, either the
knife was initially on top of the coffin lid, or it
was moved from the belt (probably at the left of the
subject) as far as the position where it was found.
This might be due to burrowing animals. Traces
of burrows were found at each level of infill, with
signs of bones displaced from the cremation and
the inhumation. The base of the stele, which is not
marked by burning, is planted at the western edge
of the pit, in the upper third of its infill.
From the previous description, we determine that
the funerary sequence was probably as follows: 1.
The site was chosen and the grave dug. 2. A dagger
of deer antler is thrown or deposited in the pit. A
coffin or wooden chamber was emplaced in the pit
and the body placed inside it, feet to east. At this
stage, the knife of the deceased could have been put
at the top of the coffin or chamber. 3. The grave
Figure 3. Tomb EG IV/8: the human skeleton. was filled in with sediment, some of which comes
from a fire. The stele was then erected at the west
(head) end of the grave. 4. The funerary pyre of an adult was then lit over the grave. The
pyre includes pebbles from the river, a kilometre away. The corpse is cremated with at least

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 Inhumation and cremation in medieval Mongolia

Figure 4. Funerary practices in the Genghis Khan period: items associated with the tombs.

two arrowheads and a piece of pottery. The smashed pottery vessel to the west of the stele
was probably also associated with this phase. 5. After combustion, the bones are collected
non-randomly on the west side, the head being favoured. 6. Two portions of wild animals
are thrown or deposited on the burnt-out remains of the pyre, one of which is from a deer
showing traces of having been butchered. At the same time or a little later, stones from the
surrounding area (and similar to the stele) are thrown and/or laid in a platform over the
entire charred zone, smashing the pot. The top of the stele is still visible, but is not clearly
distinguished from the other stones. 7. Some stones at the periphery of the platform are
removed, and the body of a premature baby buried in a small pit. From the situation of the
burial and its exceptional character (no other tomb of a premature or newborn has been
found in Mongolia to date), it is probable that those who buried the foetus knew how the
previous structure was organised and what it contained. 8. We are unable to determine the
date of the horse bones found just under the surface. They could have been put there just
some days after the inhumation or several years later.

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 E. Crubézy et al.

Three main phases are thus distinguished: the burial of the adult, the cremation, and the
burial of the premature baby. Whether the cremation and the inhumations were parts of a
single ceremony or whether some time elapsed between these three events is uncertain. But
since the top of the grave was scorched, it seems likely that the cremation occurred in situ –

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a bustum. Since the stele was visible to those that built the pyre, and the stone platform was
visible to those that buried the foetus, it is likely that, even though the rites were markedly
different, all three burials were closely connected.
The excavation of Tomb EG IV/9 confirmed that cremation was certainly practised
in this period. EG IV/9 was a sub-circular platform of stones approximately 30cm high,
emerging from the grass of the steppe, with stones laid flat in the centre (Figure 5). Some
of the stones were charred and one of the
central stones seems to have been cracked by
the fire. Small burned splinters of bone were
found directly under these flat stones, encased
in earth that had visibly migrated downwards.
The bone was located at the centre of the
structure, contained in a circular spread 30cm
across. Five 5cm-deep layers were successively
excavated, containing a total of 250.9g of burnt
bones. The lowest layer contained the highest
proportion of bones (95.2g), while the second
contained the least at 5.4g. Despite the care
Figure 5. Cremation: plan elevation of the structure
(Tomb EG IV/ 9). taken during excavation and sieving, no trace
of charcoal was found. We conclude that this
tomb corresponds to an ustrinum, where burned bones and, in this case, charred stones had
been brought in from elsewhere. The circular spread was noted in the same place in each
excavated layer, suggesting that initially the bone fragments had been contained within a
circular box or bag.
The dominant colour of the cremated bone was grey–white, while some fragments were
black and others chalk white. The fragments of long bones present cracks lengthwise and
crosswise, as well as missing chips. These are characteristic of cremation at temperatures
above 700◦ C. The sex was not determined but it is probable that the remains correspond
to a single adult or sub-adult individual. Using the weight fraction method, we investigated
whether the bone fragments resulted from a selective collection favouring certain parts of
the skeleton, or whether the collection had been systematic, particularly by collecting the
skull or the rest of the skeleton first. Because of the low fraction of splinters (56.7 per
cent), interpretation of Table 4 suggests that the weight fractions of the different anatomical
parts could correspond to the expected amounts. The weight fraction of the limbs plus
indeterminate groups (including a lot of long bone splinters) is 67.5 per cent, against a
theoretical value of 62.6 per cent. The low value for the trunk could indicate that its bone
pieces had been collected less carefully than the rest. Analysis of bone content layer by layer
(Figure 6) shows that the head, representing nearly 50 per cent in surface (layer 1), decreases
by increments to 14 per cent in the deepest layer (layer 5), while the other anatomical parts
increase from 42.9 per cent in layer 1 to 93.9 per cent (layer 4) and 80.9 per cent (layer 5).

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 Inhumation and cremation in medieval Mongolia

Table 4. Tomb EG IV/9: weight fractions of bones by anatomical group and by layer; comparison
with theoretical values (from Krogman & Iscar 1986)
Layer No. % Head % Trunk % Arm % Leg % Indeterminate

LN 1 49.3 7.8 0.4 13.1 29.4

LN 2 46.2 1.9 1.9 5.5 44.5
LN 3 39.8 0.9 0.1 28.9 30.3
LN 4 25 1 2.6 22.5 48
LN 5 14.2 4.9 6.3 17.5 57.1
Total LN 29.8 2.7 2.6 21.6 43.3
% Theoretical 20.4 17 17.6 45 0

Figure 6. Tomb EG IV/9: weight fractions of bones by layer: head versus rest of body.

This means that the bones had been deposited in the decomposable box or bag following a
precise sequence: first the body and then the head.

Discussion
Field and laboratory studies have allowed us to show that both inhumation and cremations
were practised during or just before the Genghis Khan period, in some cases at the same
place. Documents listing cremation as one of the rites practised during the Genghis Khan
period (Roux 1963) were thus endorsed. The two case studies may be interpreted further
in the light of ethno-historical studies. EG IV/9, seems to have been a case of ustrinum,
where the burnt bones are brought in from a pyre of unknown location. We note however
that some of the charred stones associated with the structure are of local origin, so that if
they originate from the pyre where the cremation took place, the distance between pyre and
grave had to be small. Special care had been taken with the collection of the skull and the
limb bones, which were removed in two stages and deposited in an organic container before
being buried. The motivation for the cremation could be similar to the case described by
Vincent de Beauvais (Roux 1963), who noted that Mongols carry out burials except in the
case of the father, where ‘they burn the corpse and collect the ashes, that they keep preciously’.
EG IV/8 was a burial place where an inhumation marked by a stele was succeeded by
the deposit of cremated bone, covered by a stone platform, and then the burial of a foetus.
Ethnological data can shed some light on these rites. The charcoal infill of the inhumation
burial derived from a fire and recalled an example where burial took place during the cold
season and had necessitated lighting a fire before the grave could be dug (Crubézy et al.

902
 E. Crubézy et al.

1996a). The horn dagger could derive from a custom still practised by the Mongols,
whereby the family of the deceased uses a dagger to mark the outline of the grave in the
ground. Whereas nowadays the contours are sometimes marked with the spade used by the
gravediggers, in the past the symbolism of this act would have been stronger and the tool

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used for the tracing thrown into the pit. The type of dagger that was unearthed was made
of deer antler of low value and very common, which was ordinarily worn on the belt, seems
particularly suited to this purpose. The presence of the knife, in an unusual position on the
shoulder, could be explained by its original location on top of the coffin, a custom common
in oriental Siberia (e.g. Yakoutia) in historical times.
The erection of an uncut stone is said to symbolise a slain enemy. Guillaume de Rubrouck
still witnessed this practice in the thirteenth century (Rockhill 1900) and it was known from
other observations in the period before Genghis Khan (Roux 1963). The terms ‘at the head’
and ‘at the beginning’ (of the ceremony) occur often in these sources. Our findings suggest
that these terms can be interpreted literally to mean that the stone was placed at the head
of the subject, at the beginning of the ceremony. The presence of the horse bones could be
related to a tradition of central Asia, Mongolia and Siberia, in which the whole cadaver of
a horse, or only part of it (e.g. head, skin), is left exposed on a wood pile near the grave, or
the living horse of the deceased is abandoned tied up to the stele. In all cases, the cadaver
will be very quickly dismembered by wild fauna and only a few bones remain on the surface
in the locality.
Some sources suggest that where individuals were considered to be warrior chiefs,
inhumation and cremation were performed during a single ceremony (Roux 1963). In
his biography of a sultan, Muhamad En Nesawi writes that enemy chiefs had to be totally
cremated (Houdas 1895). Following such a death, the Khirghiz executed slaves or servants,
and Gmelin (1751-2) reports that ‘when one of the masters died, one of his favourite servants
would happily sacrifice himself on the pyre in order to serve his master in the after-life’, even
more so if captured enemies were put to death. These practices were still reported in the
middle of the nineteenth century, during the funerals of Mongol princes (Huc 1987).
These observations might suggest that the inhumation at EG IV/8 was a slain enemy, with
a cremated enemy chief scattered above; or alternatively, that the inhumation of a warrior
chief was accompanied by the sacrifice by cremation of a servant or an enemy. The burial
of a newborn or premature child is not mentioned in any document, and in most cultures
around the world these are generally abandoned or hastily buried. If the burial appears to
be significant in our study, it is possible that observers have never mentioned it because
the burial only necessitated the removal of a few stones and thus was rapidly conducted,
some time after a more important ceremony. On the other hand the foetus may have been
another, slightly later, consequence of the events that had left two men dead.

Conclusion
The people of the Egyin Gol Valley in northern Mongolia were practising both cremation
and inhumation in the period leading up the emergence of Genghis Khan. The tombs are
found in small clusters and show considerable variation in burial rite. The application of
precise excavation techniques and retrieval strategies showed up lines of a coffin, the presence

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 Inhumation and cremation in medieval Mongolia

of fragments of bones of sheep or goat, and the shadow of a vanished circular container for
cremated bone. The micro-analysis of the cremated human bone and its three-dimensional
mapping, helped to establish how the bodies had been burnt, collected and then deposited.
These mortuary activities were enlivened by the use of analogies drawn from historical
and ethnological observation. These showed that the choice of burial rite was neither ethnic
nor cultural, nor even a question of rank or social identity, but may have reflected the
circumstances of death. Such thoughts suggest that even more detailed understanding of
mortuary behaviour may be possible from these relatively recent cultures that were still
untouched by world religion.

Acknowledgements
This study is part of an international research project on the origins of the Mongolian people undertaken by
UNESCO at the request of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. Prospections, soundings and excavation of
the different funerary sites of the Egyin Gol river valley were developed from 1993 to 1999 by the French
archaeological mission in Mongolia.

Technical note to Tables 3 and 4

Particular care was taken to map burned and unburned human remains before they were
lifted (Grévin 1990; Hummel et al. 1988). The burned human remains were assessed by
anatomical group in the laboratory (Duday 1994). We first determined the anatomical group
of each fragment (head, trunk, arm, leg) and distinguished between several indeterminate
categories (short bone, flat bone, indeterminate diaphysal bone fragments and bone
splinters). We then weighed these fragment groups, and the percentages were compared
with theoretical fractions for each anatomical group (Krogman & Iscar 1986) to determine
whether each group was over- or under-represented, indicating possible preferential removal
from the pyre. To determine whether fresh bones, therefore corpses, were cremated, we used
the recommendations of Ubelaker (1978) and Guillon (1987). We determined the pyre
temperature after Susini (1988). The age of the foetus (see above) was determined from the
size of its skeleton (Fazekas & Kosa 1978), its gender from the hip joint (Bruzek 2002).

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