Prestigious Afanasyevo Wooden Metal-bound Ware from the Sayan-altai

Abstract

Metal plates, which probably decorated wooden vessels from Afanasyevo burials, are described. The plates bear punched designs and were clearly related to female symbolism, implying that they were probably used for ritual purposes. Their expansive distribution area from the lower Katun in Gorny Altai to the middle Yenisei in Khakassia points to the similarity between the two local variants of the Afanasyevo culture across the Altai-Sayan region. These vessels might have marked the high social status of the women in whose graves they were placed.