Chalcolithic and Bronze Age (4th to 3rd Millennia BC) Burials with Gold Ornaments in the Caucasian Mineral Waters Area

Abstract

This article presents a brief overview of Maikop-Novosvobodnaya assemblages with gold ornaments. Special attention is paid to symbolism. Gold ring pendants were found in four Middle Bronze Age burials near Meneralnye Vody, central north Caucasus. One of them (burial 4 under kurgan 3 at Lysogorsky-6) is very unusual. It was arranged under a seven-meter-high mound and contained a set of weapons and implements placed on wooden dishes. Among the stones heaped on the burial, an offering was found — two crania of bulls. Burials of warriors with bronze and stone axes, excavated in central Caucasus, are discussed. The Maikop-Novosvobodnaya people (4th millennium BC) and those of the North Caucasian culture (3rd millennium BC) differed with regard to social structure mirrored by the burials. While both those societies were on the early pre-state stage, the social models were different. The Chalcolithic society was marked by the military and production symbolism, specifi cally that related to carpentry, and the ranking was super-elitary, with abundant gold placed in burials. In the Middle Bronze Age society, symbols related to carpentry were still used, but along with bronze axes of the Transcaucasian (Nacherkezevi) type. Stone axes were associated with smithcraft. The higher degree of military elite stratifi cation at that stage is revealed by assemblages with impact weapons and golden pendants attached to the headgear.