Early Horizon Research Articles

Chronology of an Elite Mound of the Yamnaya Culture Boldyrevo IV Burial Ground in the Orenburg Region According to Stratigraphy, Burial Rite and Radiocarbon Dating

The aim of this paper is to publish new radiocarbon dating data for three complexes stratified under one mound (mound No. 1 in the Boldyrevo IV burial ground in the Western Orenburg region), which are distinguished by the unusual nature of the burial in comparison with the known, reference necropolises of the Yamnaya culture. Kurgan 1, one of the largest in the Volga region and the Southern Urals, was investigated in 2019–2020. The early horizon was represented by two small mounds above the burials of children, surrounded by ditches consisting of separate pits. Later, between the mounds for children, a collective burial of five adults took place in a huge burial chamber with a complex design, over which a large mound was built, which also covered both children’s mounds. All the main burials under the early mounds and burial 5 under the large mound represent a single cultural and epochal complex and belong to the Yamnaya culture. According to archaeological and paleo-soil data, the construction of mound 1 occurred systematically over a time interval that is approximately 200 years. Radiocarbon dating showed that the construction of the mound occurred within the calibrated interval of 3200–2600 BC years. The site, apparently, before and during the creation of the mound, was the site of sacred ceremonies and public meetings of many clans of the Yamnaya culture. The induction burial of two women took place at the top of the mound at the end of the Bronze Age.

On the status and selectivity of the infant burials of the Yamnaya Archaeological Culture of the Southern Urals (based on the excavation materials of the burial mound No. 1 of the Boldyrevo-4 group)

Bioarchaeology is an important field of interdisciplinary research based upon the contextual study of anthro-pological materials. In particular, bioarchaeology of childhood appears to be the most specialised area of re-search, addressing quality of life and social patterns of ancient groups. In this paper, we continue the study of the infant remains from the burial mound No. 1 of the Boldyrevo-4 burial ground — one of the elite and largest burial mounds of the Yamnaya (Pit Grave) Culture in the northern part of the Volga-Urals. It was located on the left bank of the Irtek River, a tributary of the Ural, and had a diameter of 62 m and a reconstructed height of 8 m. The earli-est horizon was represented by mounds Nos. 1 and 2 with close parameters. They contained one burial each (burials Nos. 3 and 4, respectively), located in the centers of the mound platforms, which belonged to children. Based on the results of our preliminary study, the child from burial No. 3 died of metastatic cancer (the most probable diagnosis is lymphocytic leukaemia). Burial No. 4 contained remains of two children. Child No. 1 from burial No. 4, represented only by the cranium, had possibly suffered from scurvy. Here we publish the results of the analysis of ancient DNA aimed at identifying the sex of the interred, as well as the results of the Sr isotope analysis, which allows determination of their ‘local’ or ‘distant’ origin. The quality of the ancient DNA was evaluated by targeted sequencing carried out using a specially designed panel of probes that allowed the selection of target sections of the genome for subsequent enrichment using the method of hybridisation, followed by the target NGS. The genetic data confirm that all three individuals belonged to the female sex. On the basis of Sr isotope ratios, the girls from burials Nos. 3 and 4 (No. 2) were born in the territories with different geochemical signals. Unfortunately, for the child No. 1 from burial No. 4 such observations could not be obtained. The biological age (around 6 years old), female sex attributes, and the presence of serious health conditions allows one to pose the question on the selective nature of the children burials in this mound of the Yamnaya Culture. Moreover, they could have received a special hereditary social status, which influenced the further erection of the burial mound for members of the elite.

Bioarchaeology of Childhood in the Yamnaya Culture, Based on Kurgan 1 at Boldyrevo-4, the Southern Urals

Archaeological and anthropological data concerning two children’s burials representing the early horizon at Boldyrevo-4 kurgan 1, Orenburg Region, excavated in 2019–2020, are presented. Early mounds were covered by a huge kurgan above another, later burial of adults. The entire complex was built by the Yamnaya people at the turn of the early and middle stages of this culture, about 3300–3100 cal BC. Remains of three children, aged about 6, from two graves, were examined. Severe pathological conditions were discovered. The child from burial 3 died of metastatic cancer. Child 1 from burial 4, represented only by a cranium, possibly suffered from scurvy. The oncological condition may have been triggered by a long stay at a smoky hearth or proximity to a metalworking site, since the Yamnaya population of the Southern Urals was engaged in an intense exploitation of copper deposits. In both children’s burials, common elements of the Yamnaya funerary rite were accompanied by certain unusual features. Vessels were similar in form and decoration, but different in manufacturing technique. The organic substances of which the mats under the skeletons were made display certain differences. These features suggest that children belonged to related but separate groups. Children buried under early mounds apparently had a special inherited social status that had an effect on the further construction of the kurgan for members of the elite.

Contextualizing the influence of climate and culture on bivalve populations: Donax obesulus malacology from the north coast of Peru

Climate (in)stability can manifest in the size of mollusks attesting to variable impacts on growth, seasonal exploitation, and cultural persistence. We present population statistics of the height of a bivalve species (Donax obesulus) collected from sites dating to the Early Horizon (EH, 900–200 BCE) in the Nepeña Valley and the Middle Horizon (MH, 600–1000 CE) in the Jequetepeque Valley of northern coastal Peru and compare them with a paleoclimate record and a sample of modern shells (collected in 2012, 2014, and 2016) from the Nepeña Valley. We observe diachronic variation in the size of D. obesulus with larger bivalves during the EH and smaller shells during the MH and in the modern sample. D. obesulus size remains relatively static during the MH at one site through two sub-phases. These bivalve populations were likely impacted by both climate and cultural circumstances. A proxy for runoff from El Niño related rainfall (%lithic flux) from a previously published nearby marine sediment core is elevated during the EH and Late Moche phase of the MH and correlates with shell height. During the Transitional phase of the MH and the modern interval, however, there are periods of comparatively reduced El Niño activity and shell height compared to the EH.

THE EARLY HORIZON OF THE KUSHMANSKOE (UCHKAKAR) FORTIFIED SETTLEMENT, IX-XII CENTURIES

The article considers the early chronological horizon of one of the key archaeological sites of the Chepetskaya archaeological culture - the Kushmanskoe (Uchkakar) fortified settlement. The paper highlights the issues of the features of the occupation layer of the early settlement, its dating, the characteristics of the identified structures and the material culture are given. The early medieval settlement on the territory of the Kushmanskoe (Uchkakar) fortified settlement was limited by defensive structures consisting of a wood-earth bank and a ditch. They defended a settlement with an area of 6-10 thousand sq. m. The occupation layer of the early settlement had a small thickness of 0.2 m. Several structures were identified in it and investigated by excavation, two of which are the remains of ground buildings, another is a stone laying of an unclear purpose. The material culture of the early horizon allows us to determine the time of the existence of an early settlement within the IX-X centuries. It ceased to exist after the destruction of defensive structures, the ruins of which partially blocked the occupation layer of the early settlement. The cultural layer of the late chronological horizon on this site of the settlement was formed already on the surface of the ruins of defensive structures of the early period. A small area of the early settlement, defensive structures, features of its occupation layer allow us to hypothesize: it was a refuge for people of another nearby fortified settlement - Kushmanskoe III settlement.

Herded and hunted goat genomes from the dawn of domestication in the Zagros Mountains

The Aceramic Neolithic (∼9600 to 7000 cal BC) period in the Zagros Mountains, western Iran, provides some of the earliest archaeological evidence of goat (Capra hircus) management and husbandry by circa 8200 cal BC, with detectable morphological change appearing ∼1,000 y later. To examine the genomic imprint of initial management and its implications for the goat domestication process, we analyzed 14 novel nuclear genomes (mean coverage 1.13X) and 32 mitochondrial (mtDNA) genomes (mean coverage 143X) from two such sites, Ganj Dareh and Tepe Abdul Hosein. These genomes show two distinct clusters: those with domestic affinity and a minority group with stronger wild affinity, indicating that managed goats were genetically distinct from wild goats at this early horizon. This genetic duality, the presence of long runs of homozygosity, shared ancestry with later Neolithic populations, a sex bias in archaeozoological remains, and demographic profiles from across all layers of Ganj Dareh support management of genetically domestic goat by circa 8200 cal BC, and represent the oldest to-this-date reported livestock genomes. In these sites a combination of high autosomal and mtDNA diversity, contrasting limited Y chromosomal lineage diversity, an absence of reported selection signatures for pigmentation, and the wild morphology of bone remains illustrates domestication as an extended process lacking a strong initial bottleneck, beginning with spatial control, demographic manipulation via biased male culling, captive breeding, and subsequently phenotypic and genomic selection.

Mangrove Archives: Unravelling Human-environment Interactions from Deeply Buried Deposits at the Site Anse Trabaud, Martinique, Lesser Antilles (1290–780 cal BP)

ABSTRACT The site of Anse Trabaud on Martinique in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles has yielded valuable information about human occupation from deep beneath its surface. The site is located in the southeastern part of the island, an area vulnerable to extreme wave events. The archaeological deposits are dated to 1290–780 cal BP (2σ). The earliest horizon is buried under thick layers of mangrove sediments. The deeply buried deposits have allowed excellent preservation of inorganic and organic remains providing an unexpected opportunity to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions of past human settlement, and to study human-environment interactions and social adaptation to climate challenges in this part of the Caribbean archipelago. The cultural remains provide invaluable information into the exploitation of the surroundings of the site as well as into the subsistence patterns, material culture repertoires, procurement strategies and use and exchange of raw materials and tools. Additionally, the excellent preservation of organic materials offers new insights into food plants grown and harvested on-site, and then processed and consumed. The environmental challenges incited the Anse Trabaud community to adapt their settlement organisation and procurement strategies over time and underscore the importance of their participation in a regional and social network of mobility and exchange.

Singa Transitional: Rock-artSaywasMarking Boundaries of Identity and Socializing Landscape in Huánuco, Peru

This paper introduces a new art style, Singa Transitional, found painted onto a mountainside near the modern town of Singa in the north of Huánuco, Peru. This style was discovered during a recent regional survey of rock art in the Huánuco region that resulted in the documentation of paintings at more than 20 sites, the identification of their chronological contexts and an analysis of the resulting data for trends in changing social practices over nine millennia. I explore how the style emerged from both regional artistic trends in the medium and broader patterns evident in Andean material culture from multiple media at the time of its creation. I argue that the presence of Singa Transitional demonstrates that local peoples were engaged in broader social trends unfolding during the transition between the Early Horizon (800–200bc) and the Early Intermediate Period (ad0–800) in Peru. I propose that rock art placed in prominent places was consideredsaywa, a type of landscape feature that marked boundaries in and movement through landscapes. Singa Transitionalsaywasserved to advertise the connection between local Andean people and their land and was a medium through which social changes were contested in the Andes.

Siliceous microfossils as a potential age marker for the early Hirnantian Mass Extinction horizon in South China

Abundant cone-shaped siliceous microfossils have been recovered from Upper Ordovician black shales of the Wufeng Formation in South China. They occur in the Hirnantian Metabolograptus extraordinarius Biozone. An investigation of their internal structure conducted using focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) and transmitted light microscope shows that the specimens are possibly composed of three parts: cephalis, thorax and foot. Robust, longitudinal costae are developed, sometimes branching at the thorax. The geological distribution of these microfossils in South China indicates that they occurred in a restricted epicontinental sea on the Upper Yangtze Platform, which was connected to the open ocean in the north. It seems likely that these microfossils have a limited temporal range relative to the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction (LOME) in the early Hirnantian. In the absence of coeval graptolites or other index fossils, their occurrence therefore provides an age marker for the LOME, and has utility for future shale gas exploration in the Wufeng Formation. Xuejin Wu [xjwu@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, PR China; *Hui Luo* [huiluo@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China; *Yuandong Zhang [ydzhang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; Chao Li [chaoli@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China.

Urban property “Д-2” at the Nerevsky Excavation site of the 10th century

This work is an interdisciplinary analysis of the urban property “Д-2” at the Nerevsky excavation site of the second half of the 10th century in mediaeval Novgorod. Here, the history of its investigations is considered, the layout of the area is characterized, a detailed study of the complex of artefacts from the earliest horizon is presented and the spatial distribution of particular categories of finds is analysed. In the article’s conclusion, the time of the occupation of the property is grounded and its possible character in the second half of the 10th century is described

Early-Middle Jurassic stepwise deepening in the transitional facies belt between the Adriatic Carbonte Platform Basement and Neo-Tethys open shelf in northeastern Montenegro evidenced by new ammonoid data from the early Late Pliensbachian (Lavinianum Zone)

New ammonoid data prove an early Late Pliensbachian deepening event above the ?Late Hettangian-Sinemurian shallow-subtidal gray-reddish micro-oncoidal-foraminifera grainstone facies and the ?early Pliensbachian deeper-marine micro-oncoidal-crinoidal-ammonoid wacke- to packstone facies. Based on the presence of Fuciniceras lavinianum (Fucini), Lytoceras ovimontanum Geyer and Arieticeratinae gen. indet. from a hardground above the deeper-water micro-oncoidal limestones in the Mihajlovici section (north - eastern Montenegro) a Late Pliensbachian to early Toarcian condensation horizon is proven. The Middle Toarcian ammonoid-bearing horizon also yielded species not known from previous studies: Calliphylloceras capitanii (cATuLLo), Harpoceras subplanatum (oPPeL) and Furloceras aff. chelussii (PAriScH & ViALe), also described in the present paper. These new data prove a stepwise deepening of the depositional area during the early and the Middle Jurassic reflected in detail in four sedimentary members: 1) ?Late Hettangian to Sine - murian/?earliest Pliensbachian open-marine shallow subtital micro-oncoidal limestones; 2) ?early to Late Pliensbachian open-marine condensed limestones with few micro-oncoids and more open-marine influence; 3) Toarcian open-marine condensed red limestones with hardgrounds; and 4) condensed red nodular Bositra Limestone. These four members are separated by hard - rounds representing stratigraphic gaps in deposition. The stepwise deepening during the early-Middle Jurassic follows the general trend of deposition as known in the whole Western Tethys realm above the Late Triassic Dachstein carbonate Platform.

Микропластинчатое расщепление в верхнем палеолите Монголии: к вопросу о происхождении и распространении в Центральной Азии и на Дальнем Востоке

The focus of this investigation is on the technology of micro-percussion in the Upper Paleolithic of Mongolia. Micro-percussion is defined as the entire assemblage of lithic artifacts associated with the production of microblades. The complexes analyzed here include microcores and microblades, but not tools made of them. Until recently, microblade percussion has never been considered a distinct trend emergent in the lithic technology of the Early Upper Paleolithic of Mongolia. In this paper, based upon lithic materials from northern Mongolia and the Gobi Altai, we prove the existence of microblade percussion at the early stages of the Upper Paleolithic (37–26 000 BP) and persisting until the very beginning of the Holocene (11–10 500 BP). In other words, this is crosscutting technology for the region. We conclude that in the Early Upper Paleolithic complexes of northern Mongolia, preferential reduction initially emphasized narrow-front and, later, wedgeshaped microcore production. Analysis of materials from the Final Paleolithic and the Early Holocene horizons at the Tolbor-15 site, along with representative surface collections and GIS modeling of site location patterns along tributaries of the Selenga River, allow us to formulate a series of hypotheses regarding the origin of the wedge-shaped flaking technique in northern Mongolia and the dynamics and directionality of its diffusion. The microblade technique observable in the Final Paleolithic of northern Mongolia exhibits more similarities with lithic complexes known archaeologically to the south (Inner Mongolia) and east (Russian Far East, Korean Peninsula, and Japanese Archipelago), not with the Russian Trans-Baikal region. Keywords: Mongolia, Central Asia, Far East, Upper Paleolithic, microblade percussion

Ранние комплексы поселения Айлинка VIII

The article discusses the results of a reconnaissance study of the Aylinka VIII site, located on the right-bank terrace of the Shish River, the right tributary of the Irtysh River, in the territory of the village of Aylinka. During the work, materials from several cultural and chronological periods were revealed. The earliest complex is represented by fragments from thick-walled, flat-bottomed profiled dishes, ornamented mainly with shallow rounded indentations forming multidirectional straight lines. The section of the corolla is beveled inwards and slightly bent. The profile of the bottom part is concave, with a protrusion along the edge of the bottom, ornamented with indentations. Such ceramics have parallels in the materials of the sites from the Baraba forest-steppe, which were attributed by V.V. Bobrov to the Boborykino culture, and later by V.I. Molodin to the Baraba Early Neolithic culture (the 7th millennium BC). Another ceramic complex from the site is represented by fragments of vessels of the Ekaterininskaya culture, ornamented mainly by horizontal rows of oblique combed and smooth stamps and pits. The last of the early ceramics complexes contains flat-bottomed dishes of the Early Bronze Age, ornamented with a comb stamp. During the excavations, a collection of stone products was also obtained, which was represented mainly by the products made of quartzite (plates, scrapers), and a microplate made of jasper. The multilayered nature of the site and the priority choice of the studied habitat by the population during the Neolithic-Early Bronze Age were established. Probable pits of dwellings associated with early horizons of habitation have been identified. The Early Neolithic ceramic complex presented in the publication not only closes the gap between the Mesolithic and the Late Neolithic in the Middle Irtysh region, but also expands the area of distribution of the sites with flat-bottomed Neolithic ceramics in the southwestern Siberia. Its correlation with any archaeological culture is currently within the framework of the discussion that has unfolded in the recent years about the cultural affiliation of the complexes with flat-bottomed profiled Neolithic ceramics in the territory.

Revelations of ancient head shape: Cranial modification in the Cuzco region of Peru, Early Horizon to Inca Imperial Period.

Cranial vault modification (CVM), the intentional reshaping of the head, indicated group affiliation in prehistoric Andean South America. This study aims to analyze CVM data from the Cuzco region of Peru to illuminate patterns of early migration and settlement along with the later impact of the Inca Empire (AD 1438-1532) on the ethnic landscape. 419 individuals from 10 archaeological sites spanning over 2300 years were assessed for CVM using morphological analysis. CVM patterns show distinct temporal attributes: the tabular type of modification appeared first and dominated the early sample (900 BC-AD 600), followed by an influx of unmodified crania during the Middle Horizon (AD 600-1000). The annular type appeared later during the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1438). In the subsequent period of Inca imperialism, modification rates were higher at sites in the Cuzco countryside than in Cuzco city sites. The study results, combined with archaeological and ethnohistoric data, reveal the sociopolitical transformations that occurred prior to and during the rise of the Inca Empire. The influx of unmodified crania during the Middle Horizon resulted at least partly from Wari occupation, while the appearance of the annular type during the LIP points to migration into the area, possibly from the Lake Titicaca region. In the Inca Imperial Period, Inca individuals at Cuzco city sites refrained from modification as a sign of their ethnic identity, while modification patterns in the Cuzco countryside likely reflect state-coerced resettlement of different ethnic groups.

PXRF Sourcing of Obsidian from Pallaucha, Vilcashuaman: Insights into Exchange Patterns in South-Central Peru during the Early Horizon

Recent archaeological research demonstrates that the south-central highlands was a region of important sociocultural developments during the Early Horizon (ca. 800-200 BC). One reason for the prominence of this region was the local availability of obsidian, a widely exchanged lithic material. In this paper, we discuss the results of a portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) sourcing study of a sample of 26 obsidian artifacts from the site of Pallaucha, an Early Horizon civic ceremonial center located near Vilcashuaman in the Department of Ayacucho, Peru. PXRF analysis demonstrates that the Quispisisa source was the most commonly exploited locality to acquire obsidian at Pallaucha even though other sources were in closer proximity. Our results complement the results of a study of a large sample of obsidian from the nearby, and partially contemporary, civic-ceremonial center of Campanayuq Rumi.

Max Uhle’s Field Notes and Textile Collections from Chimu Capac, Supe Valley, Peru; Style and Cultural Affiliation During the Early and Late Middle Horizon

In 1904 Max Uhle excavated Chimu Capac in the Supe Valley, Peru. He sent the collections with a catalog and report to Phoebe Apperson Hearst and the University of California, Berkeley, but he did not include his Supe field Notebook 67. The catalog listed six partial tomb lots. This article presents an English translation of Uhle’s field notebook that lists 320 objects found in 28 graves. The article focuses on the 87 textiles from the first graves and compares a portion to the larger collection of over 253 ceramics, sculpted and painted wood, and 287 textiles. The collection includes ceramics and textiles from Late Moche, Wari, and Wari-associated styles. The Casma style is represented in local, plain-woven cloth and the group of 155 painted textiles. This analysis identifies Middle Horizon textiles from different regions and different periods and indicates a strong stylistic connection between Casma and Chimu Capac in the representation of the celestial god.

Presencing the divine: religion and technology in the Latin West

ABSTRACT For over a millennium, Catholic and Protestant traditions have deployed technologies to address the central paradox of the Christian faith: God’s absence after Easter. The following essay brings together scholarship on religious technics in the Christian Latin West during the medieval and early modern periods with a focus on the performance of presence. Medieval actors utilized an array of techniques, instruments, and contraptions to manifest the divine power present in holy matter. The movement of artifacts and people across medieval and early modern horizons mobilized and multiplied the effects of sacred proximity. The Society of Jesus’ emphasis on sensuality in worship and spectacle linked older forms of ritual piety with routinized religion. The shift from a predominantly Christian to modern culture in the West did not terminate organized religion’s close association with technology, but extended the experience of spiritual presence in the West through industrial and post-industrial, digital means.

Pots Speak Volumes: Commensal Politics and Kitchenwares in Early Horizon Nepeña, Peru

This contribution examines feasting strategies in Early Horizon Nepeña (800–200 BC), coastal Ancash, north-central Peru. Through the analysis of volumetric capacities of vessels, we estimate scales of food and drink production at three coeval sites of Caylán, Huambacho, and Samanco. Production scales at those communities are used as proxies for domestic economies, their prosperity and ability to sponsor feasts. We compare and analyze scales of domestic production in light of the complex relationships between the different settlements, including variations in their overall functions and place within regional geopolitics. Results shed light on variations in scales of potential commensal hospitality, size of feasting events, and amplitude of commensal communities. The study informs on foodways in incipient urban contexts and suggests economic asymmetries between households from different settlements. We hypothesize that differences between the three sites shaped local politics and played significant roles in the trajectory of the Early Horizon system.

A Pyro-Engraved Gourd from Cahuachi: An Iconographic and Technical Analysis of a Nasca Masterpiece

This article addresses a complex pyro-engraved gourd of Nasca culture, with unusual dimensions and decorative treatment. The gourd was discovered as an offering associated with ceramics from the last phases of the Early Horizon (Ocucaje 8–10) and the beginning of the Early Intermediate Period (Nasca 1–4) during the 1994 Nasca Project’s excavations (CISRAP) in Cahuachi, a ceremonial center located in the basin of the Río Grande de Nazca. We study this particular artifact from a comparative perspective, based on its archaeological context, technical characteristics, and imagery, in order to explore Early Nasca production practices, iconographic repertoire, and worldview.

Mirrors of the Early Sarmatian Culture of the Lower Don Region

The article discusses the classification and chronology of mirrors of the Lower Don Early Sarmatian culture of the 2nd – 1st centuries BC. In the Early Sarmatian culture of the Lower Don region of the 2nd – 1st centuries BC, large mirrors with a roller along the edge of the disk and a wedge-shaped handle-pin (department 2) and small mirrors in the form of a flat disk without a handle (department 1, type 2) are prevailing. Large mirrors with a roller along the edge of the disk and a wedge-shaped handle-pin (44.7%) gravitate towards monuments of the early stage, most of which are located in the eastern regions of the left bank. Mirrors in the form of a small flat disk without a handle (41.5%) are already known in the complexes of the early horizon of the Lower Don Early Sarmatian culture, but they become widespread later. At the final stage of the Early Sarmatian culture and in the Middle Sarmatian time, such mirrors completely prevail over mirrors of other forms. Other varieties of mirrors are represented by a small number of copies. Many mirrors were accompanied by the remnants of cases, one mirror had a stand. Most of the mirrors are found in female burials, much less – in male ones; with child’s bones, fragments of mirrors were found only twice. Most often, the mirrors were located close to the body of the buried, most often near the skull, shoulders, chest of the buried, sometimes on the body or under it. Most of the finds are fragments of mirrors, whole specimens are relatively few (only about 20%). Large fragments could be used for their intended purpose; small fragments probably served as amulets. Many mirrors are damaged – chopped, bent, broken, have traces of shock. It is believed to be the traces of some actions of a ritual-magical nature in order to free the soul of a thing or render the harmless of the deceased. It should be noted that in the funeral rites of the early Sarmatians, not only mirrors but also other categories of equipment – swords, knives, boilers, vessels, were subjected to mass ritual damage.