Kurgan rites in the Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age Podolia in light of materials from the funeraryceremonial centre at Yampil

Abstract

Abstract The paper discusses the kurgan burial rites observed by communities inhabiting the eastern part of the Podolie Region in the second half of the 4th and first half of the 3rd millennia BC. The presented data concern finds from four areas: Yampil, Kamienka, Mocra, and Tymkove. The research made it possible to distinguish among the examined material assemblages linked with Late Eneolithic communities. They included graves of the Zhivolitovka-Volchansk type, burials in the extended position, as well as burials representing other cultural traditions (Nizhnaya Mikhailovka, Post-Stog). Materials attributed to the Yamnaya culture prevailed, and their analysis allowed us to trace changes in funeral rituals, reflected in the architecture of graves, arrangement of burials, and grave goods. Materials linked with the late phase of this cultural unit have not been recorded.