“Sacrificial complexes” of the Pyany Bor culture burial grounds in the Vyatka river basin

A clearly defined element inherent in funeral traditions of the Finno-Ugric cultures in the period of the Early Iron Age to the Middle Ages, which was specified by V.F. Gening as a “sacrififcial complex”, is considered in the study. The main features of the “sacrificial complexes” fixed in the Pyanoborye burial grounds in the Vyatka River basin and dated by the 1st to 5th centuries AD are characterized. A comparative analysis with synchronous monuments of the Kama-Vyatka-Volga interfluve area is conducted. The “sacrificial complex” word combination is used in the article as a descriptive term. The diversity of the concept' semantics as applied to the materials from the Vyatka River region is pointed out by the author.