Mongolian Women’s Gugu Headdress from the Peschany I Burial Ground in Rostov Oblast: Reconstruction and Chronology

• Published in: Nanobiotechnology Reports (Online) 2023-10, Vol.18 (5), p.746-757
• Main Authors: Leonova, N. V., Pilipenko, S. A., Ivanov, V. A., Kotenkov, S. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemistry and Materials Science; Industrial and Production Engineering; Machines; Manufacturing; Materials Science; Methods of Natural Sciences in the Study of Cultural Heritage Objects; Nanotechnology; Outerwear; Processes; Red pigments; Structural members
• ISSN: 2635-1676; 1995-0780; 2635-1684; 1995-0799
• DOI: 10.1134/S2635167623600402

Technological analysis of the preserved structural elements of a gugu headdress (also known as boqta or bocca) from burial 2, kurgan 8, at the Peschany I burial ground in Rostov region makes it possible to reconstruct a female headdress made up of a low column-shaped cylindrical frame with a bootlike capital. Additional studies suggest that the outer surface of the headdress elements made of birch bark was painted with red pigment and that the headdress was covered with a twill-weave cloth. The comparative analysis with Mongolian headdresses from Orenburg, Astrakhan, and Volgograd regions provide an opportunity to discuss general stylistic and technological methods of making gugu hats as well as distinctive stylistic solutions. The radiocarbon date obtained for this assemblage from the Peschany I burial ground places the discovered headdress between the end of the 13th century and the early 14th century, it can be considered to be the first radiocarbon date that provides an estimate of the period when such items were in use in the Lower Don and Volga regions.