FUNERARY MONUMENTS OF THE SARGAT CULTURE OF THE MIDDLE IRTYSH REGION: GENDER ANALYSIS* The article is devoted to poorly studied problems related to the reconstruction of gender relations in ancient societies. The funerary monuments of the Sargat culture of the Middle Irtysh region (VI century BC-Ill/IVe. AD) were analyzed. The application of the previously unused approach, according to which the buried person and the accompanying artifacts are considered as a single "ensemble", allowed us to make assumptions about the gender structure of Sargat society and the gender stereotypes that existed in it. Key words: gender archeology, burial rites, Sargat culture, Early Iron Age," ensemble " of artifacts. Introduction The concept of gender and its relation to biological sex has been widely discussed in sociology and psychology [Bern, 2007]. The main idea here is to distinguish between biological sex and social gender. Gender (male or female) is biologically determined by a set of chromosomes; gender is created within society, is a socio-biological characteristic of the individual, and is "culturally instilled" from early childhood, when children begin to learn gender roles - sets of expected patterns of behavior (norms) for men and women. The gender stereotype reflects a well-established opinion about the personal qualities of a group of people. In essence, these are social norms, i.e. the basic rules that determine a person's behavior in society, regulate what kind of behavior and appearance are considered correct for a representative of a particular gender category [Ibid., pp. 33-34]. Gender stereotypes and patterns undoubtedly played a huge role in the life of ancient collectives. The appearance of an individual (his clothing, weapons, accessories, tattoos, etc.) was determined primarily by his gender, vertical social status**, and probably belonging to an ethnic group. In the absence of centralized governance and written laws, gender stereotypes, including visually fix ... Read more