Sherubai-1: An Andronovo (Fedorovka) Cemetery in Central Kazakhstan

Abstract

One mound and five stone enclosures were excavated at the Andronovo cemetery of Sherubai-1 in Kazakhstan. Within the enclosures, there were ten graves and burials in cists. Size differences between the funerary structures of low-ranking and highranking persons indicate considerable social stratification. In the center of the kurgan there was a triple burial—two inhumations and a cremation. Certain cultural traits point to contacts between the two Andronovo populations associated with the Fedorovka and Alakul traditions. The radial arrangement of burials, as well as graves dug in the ground, are typical of Alakul. While being rare at Fedorovka cemeteries, triple central burials, such as the one under mound 1, occur in all areas where the tradition is distributed—southern Siberia, Middle Yenisei basins, and eastern and central Kazakhstan. The Sherubai ceramic assemblage includes 14 vessels with typical features, such as round shoulders, oblique hatching, and geometric designs. The vessel shapes belong to the same type, but the paste formation techniques were different, evidencing ethnic heterogeneity. Radiocarbon analysis, conducted at the 14CHRONO laboratory of the Queen’s University Belfast, suggest a date between the early 17th and the early 16th century BC.