Kurgan Cemetery Research Articles

Burial of a Golden Horde Nomad from the Kovalevka Kurgan Cemetery

Introduction. The article introduces into scientific circulation the archaeological and anthropological materials from the Golden Horde burial of the Kovalevka Kurgan Cemetery. Kurgan No. 35 dating back to the early Iron Age was studied in the course of the fieldwork carried out by the Volgograd State University expedition in the Oktyabrsky district of the Volgograd region in 2021. The Kurgan is located in the southern part of the cemetery on the upper terrace of the right bank of the river Aksai Esaulovsky in an arable field. Methods and materials. Two burials were examined because of the archaeological excavations. The main burial No. 2 dates back to the late Sarmatian period, while the intake burial No. 1 dates back to the middle age period. Analysis and results. New anthropological materials were obtained in the course of the excavations, which complement our understanding of the nomadic population from the Lower Volga region. The bone remains belonged to a male individual of mesomorphic build of about 164.5 cm tall with a long and narrow skull. A set of pathological conditions were recorded on his bones, appearing because of an active lifestyle and professional activity. The outcomes of the archaeological study of the Kurgan No. 35 from the Kovalevka Kurgan cemetery as of 2021 can be used in the museum and local history work, as well as in studies of the Lower Volga regional ancient history. Authors’ contributions. In this study, V.I. Moiseev and V.Yu. Moiseeva prepared a descriptive part of the archaeological material, carried out the funeral rites and grave goods analyses, and prepared conclusions based on the results of the research. E.V. Pererva conducted a study of anthropological material and defined the craniological, osteological, and pathological features of the individual from burial 1 of the Kurgan No. 35.

Kurgans of Gazanbulag

This article presents the results of rescue archaeological excavations carried out in November 2015 — January 2016 (following the program of archaeological research in new building sites, within the framework of the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion project) near the Gazanbulag River, in the Borsunli kurgan cemetery, and the samples of material culture of the ancient Azerbaijan population identified within the site. The surveyed area is located about one kilometer north from the village of Veyisli, on the right side of the highway leading to the district center — the city of Goranboy (Goranboy district, the Republic of Azerbaijan), at an altitude of 219 m.a.s.l. During the archaeological exploration work carried out in 2013, about 30 burial mounds were discovered on the territory of the Borsunlu “Camp” and near the Gazanbulag River. In 2015–2016, nine burial mounds were excavated at the “Camp” site. All these mounds had a covering consisting of medium and large stones. The space between the stone rows of mounds was filled with earth. Burial chambers were found in all of them except for kurgans 3 and 8. Despite the fact that mounds 7 and 9 had chambers and equipment, they did not contain human remains. In some mounds (Nos. 6, 7, 9) the burial chambers were located in the center of the mound covering, while in others (Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 5) on its slopes. In the burials, representative archaeological materials were revealed, which shed light on the study of religious beliefs, social status and life of ancient inhabitants of the analysed area of Azerbaijan. Samples of ceramic vessels found in the mounds are characteristic to the Khojaly-Gadabay archaeological culture in their shape and content. Apart from pottery, numerous bronze items of jewellery were found in the graves: bracelets, rings, earrings, diadems, flat buttons, headbands, beads. The discovered iron products are represented by knife blades and iron rod. It can be assumed that persons with a special high social status were interred in the Gazanbulag kurgan cemetery. Based on the type, structure, grave goods recovered, as well as the results of the radiocarbon analysis, the analysed burial mounds are mainly dated to the end of the Bronze Age and the begin-ning of the Early Iron Age, precisely to the 10th–9th c. BC.

Новые погребальные комплексы сарматского времени из кургана на Кавказских Минеральных Водах

In 2010, the expedition of the Nasledie State Unitary Enterprise (Stavropol) conducted archaeological excavations on the territory of the Caucasian Mineral Waters and excavated the kurgan 1 of the Voniuchka-1 kurgan cemetery near the city of Pyatigorsk. The kurgan originated in the Eneolithic era; its construction and use as a cemetery continued up to the Early and Middle Bronze Ages. The most extensive changes in the kurgan are associated with the North Caucasian archaeological culture. The Sarmatian burials of the early Iron Age became the final ones in the kurgan; this study is devoted to their material publication and analysis. Single burials and grave goods (probably the remains of a funeral feast) were compactly located in the central part of the kurgan. The burial rite and the inventory are described in detail and examined in the system of both chronologically close Sarmatian newcomers and Pre-Caucasus aboriginal monuments. In general, the funeral rite of the published burials is quite uniform and corresponds to the canons of the pre-Caucasian Sarmatian kurgans. The burials and the cluster are chronologically close to each other, and the inventory found in them has numerous analogies among the synchronous sites of the Pre-Caucasus. At the same time, some details of the funeral rite, in particular the discovery of three left front legs of sheep in two burials, together with a number of other facts, indicate a kinship relationship between the buried. The Sarmatian burials in kurgan 1 of the Voniuchka-1 cemetery can be considered a small ancestral cemetery created, most likely, during the lifetime of one generation. The general dating of the burials and the accompanying funeral feast fits into the framework of the 3rd (possibly 2nd) – 1st centuries BC. There is a high probability of their connection with the Sirak tribal union, and this cemetery is located on the southern border of the territory occupied by it.

Bronze age paleosols in the steppe area of the southern Cis-Urals in solving the problems of paleopedology and archaeology (a case-study of the Tashla IV site in the Orenburg region)

The aim of the study. To study the Bronze Age paleosols (Yamnaya and Srubnaya cultures), perform paleoclimatic reconstructions and comparison with previously studied synchronous paleosols in the Cis-Urals steppe. Location and time of the study. The studied site is located in the Orenburg region in the steppe area of the Southern Cis-Urals. In July 2019 and 2021 together with researchers from the archaeological laboratory of the Orenburg Pedagogical University, rescue excavations were carried out at the Tashla IV kurgan cemetery, located near the Tashla village. Kurgans 1 (Yamnaya culture) and 2 (Srubnaya culture) were studied. Methods. A comprehensive morphogenetic analysis of the soils buried beneath the kurgans and surface soils of the studied site was carried out; the soils were described in detail and classified in the field. Soil samples were analyzed for particle size distribution, loss of ignition, pH of the water extraction, content of organic and carbonate carbon, exchangeable bases and magnetic susceptibility. To carry out the paleoclimatic reconstructions, the chronosequence and comparative geographic methods were used. Results. It was established that the studied soils were buried under the kurgans at the beginning of the development of both cultures, when the stages of climatic aridization were close to their ending or ended in the first half of the 4th millennium BC (Yamnaya culture) and at the turn of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC (Srubnaya culture). The climatic aridization during the Early stage of the Srubnaya culture was more significant than in the Early (Repinsky) stage of the Yamnaya culture, and this conclusion was made for the first time for the studied region. Conclusions. The studied soils properties could be grouped according to the characteristic times of their response to changes in external conditions: magnetic susceptibility, associated with microbiological activity, refers to rapidly changing properties, i.e. in the first decades, whereas changes in other studied properties require from several decades to hundreds of years. Comparison of the Srubnaya paleosol buried under kurgan 2 in the studied site with other soils of the same culture in the region made it possible to place it more accurately on the time scale, attributing to the very beginning of the 18th century BC, and additionally to characterize in detail the climate change within the time span of the Srubnaya culture of the Cis-Urals steppe.

Earliest burial complexes of the Kubey cemetery

The article presents materials of the Kubey kurgan cemetery in the North-West Black Sea region which is dated to the late Eneolithic. The most ancient graves of the cemetery stratigraphically and chronologically can be divided in three successive horizons. According to kurgan architecture, burial rite and inventory primary burials can be attributed to the Cernavoda I culture of the late Eneolithic. Secondary graves in the kurgans can be assigned to the Zhivotilovka type and to the group of graves with extended skeletons. The most ancient graves of the Kubey cemetery obviously support an idea that the territory of the North-West Black Sea region can be included in the area of the Cernavoda I culture.

Reconstruction of Original Content of the Kurgan Funeral Vessels Based on Microbial and Enzymatic Parameters

The original content of ritual vessels from the burials of the two kurgan cemeteries was reconstructed using the multisubstrate testing system of microbial respiration and enzymatic activity of the soil from the pots. For this purpose, a laboratory model experiment was conducted and the decomposition of protein, lipid and polysaccharide organic materials was studied. Basing on the results of the model experiment, most indicative enzymes produced by soil microbial community under decomposition of each type of organic materials were found. They were nonanoate esterase, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, and leucine-aminopeptidase. The results of the assessment of enzymatic activity made it possible to reconstruct the original contents of burial vessels from two burial mounds “Beysuzhek-35” (Bronze Age) and “Spokoynyy” (Bronze Age and Early Iron Age). We found that most of the pots contained plant food. Animal proteins and fats were in three out of nine pots. One pot was empty or had water in it. In the male burials of the Yamnaya culture, ritual food in pots was more nutritious and included animal fats and proteins, while in the female burial in pots there was a plant starch and protein food. Multisubstrate testing of the respiratory responses of the soil microbial community and determination of the activities of the enzymes nonanoate esterase, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, and leucine-aminopeptidase are promising approaches to study the type of ritual food in the pots from ancient burials.

КОСТЯНЫЕ НАКОНЕЧНИКИ СТРЕЛ ИЗ РАННЕТАГАРСКИХ (БИДЖИНСКИХ) КОМПЛЕКСОВ КУРГАННОГО МОГИЛЬНИКА САГАЙСКАЯ ПРОТОКА-4

The article deals with the results of an instrumental and contextual study of the bone arrowheads found during urgent excavations on the Sagayskaya Protoka-4 kurgan cemetery (Khakassia, the Askiz district). The morphological characteristics of the artifacts and the results of their traceology study are presented as well as the circumstances in which the arrow points were found in burial assemblages. The material for studied in the present article artifacts were long bone walls of big animals. The study of changes on the points’ surface allowed us to determine the main peculiarities of their production technology. All studied artifacts were shaped with a metallic knife. In one case, polishing was used. The obtained data allow us to continue the database of technologies of production not only of bone arrow points but also Tagar bone objects in general. The materials of an assemblage (tomb 2 in kurgan 3) with a dead body with tools in situ pushed us to turn to the bone arrowheads in Tagar burials. It is noted, that the consistent presence of this category of tools in burial practice is connected to the Bidzha group of the Early Tagar burial assemblages (the 8th –6th centuries BC). Based on analogies, it was stated that the arrow points sets were always put on the left of the body. Compact arrangement and the same orientation of the points indicate that they were in a quiver (wrappage). The found regularities are specific to Bidzhin assemblages of the whole Tagar culture area.

Патологические изменения на скелетах из Неплюевского могильника эпохи поздней бронзы (курган 1)

Introduction. Currently, the picture characterizing the health status of the population, inhabiting the Southern Urals during the Bronze Age, is fragmentary due to the unsystematic nature of paleopathological studies and the often small sizes or poor preservation of the analyzed skeletal samples. This paper contributes new data to the overall discussion of the topic by presenting the results of a paleopathological study of materials from the Neplyuevsky kurgan cemetery, kurgan 1, located in the southern Chelyabinsk region and excavated between 2016 and 2017. The sample includes the remains of 14 adults (aged 18 and older) and 23 subadults (<18 years old). Methods. The skeletons were assessed for macroscopically detectable pathologies and markers of physiological stress. Pathological lesions were scored base on the recommendations given in specialized literature. Analysis. Cribra orbitalia, dental enamel hypoplasia and various traumatic injuries were common in the sample. As in other Srubnaya and Srubnaya-Alakul series of the region, the skeletons from kurgan 1 show no changes consistent with specific infections, though incidences of nonspecific infections are not excluded. Results. In general, the sample from kurgan 1 of the Neplyuevsky kurgan cemetery demonstrates similarity with materials from other synchronous sites of the Southern Urals and the Samara valley region. A distinguishing feature of the Neplyuevsky series is the relatively high frequency of bone fractures and their predominance in women.

Paleoecology During the Creation of a Large Boldyrevo Kurgan of the Yamnaya Culture in the Southern Cis-Urals, Russia

This study focuses on a short-term pedochronosequence of Kurgan № 1 at the Boldyrevo IV kurgan cemetery in the Orenburg Region of the Southern Cis-Urals. According to archaeological findings, the kurgan was built over several decades by people of the Yamnaya (Pit-Grave) culture of the Early Bronze Age (around 5500 BP), with the exact time of its building to be confirmed by radiocarbon dating and further archaeological information. A comparative analysis of the four earthen constructions of the kurgan and the paleosols buried under those constructions was conducted. Results suggest that the kurgan building period was accompanied by the following changes in paleosol morphology and physicochemical properties: the humus horizon acquired a tonguing-like lower boundary, decreased organic carbon content and magnetic susceptibility, while the whole profile was characterized by increasing degree of zooturbation; the impregnation by carbonates in the middle part of the profile and the contents of carbonate carbon, gypsum, and exchangeable sodium increased. Similar trends of morphological and physicochemical changes were observed in the materials of the kurgan constructions. Based on these findings it can conclude that the climate went through aridization rise during the period of the kurgan building. The paleobotanical data from palynological and microbiomorphic analyses indicate that there was a tendency for paleoclimate aridization and, possibly a cooling trend during the studied period of the Yamnaya culture, which was probably more arid than the modern climate.

Раннесарматские погребения могильника Верхний Балыклей I из Заволжья

The paper introduces into scientific discourse the materials of the early Sarmatian burials from the Verkhniy Balykley I kurgan cemetery from the area of the Volgograd Trans-Volga region. This monument was studied in the course of the 1978–1979 expedition organized by the Volgograd State Pedagogical Institute under the leadership of A.S. Skripkin. Materials. The burial includes four mounds located compactly on the banks of the reservoir and one single mound setting far away in the steppe. Eighteen inlet burials of the early Sarmatian time were found in three Bronze Age kurgans. Some burials contained no burial inventory; others did include a variety of grave goods. The funeral rites present a wide range of grave structures: pits with side chambers, simple rectangular pits and catacombs. The southern body orientation of the buried individuals was dominating. In kurgans 5 and 6, a circular arrangement of graves is traced, which is typical for early Sarmatian mounds-cemeteries. Material analysis. An analysis of the grave goods indicates 3rd – 1st centuries BC is the time of construction of most burials in these kurgans, which does not contradict the funeral rite traditions and reveals a range of features characteristic of the nomads of that period. A military burial with a long sword and arrows is one of the most distinguished in its kind. Ceramic material is represented by various stucco forms of pots, an incense burner and a jug. Fragments of mirrors with rollers along the edge and beads were discovered in several burials. Several stone “miniature hammers”, typical for the South Ural grave materials of this period, is also an interesting find. Conclusions. In general, the studied monuments illustrate the burial traditions of the early Sarmatian population of the Ural-Volga steppes of the early Sarmatian time. The finds of pottery samples, previously unknown stone “miniature hammers” in the west of the Volga, allow us to conclude on the cultural proximity of the nomads who left the mounds near the village Verhniy Balykley with the South Ural nomads. Authors’ contribution. In this paper, Anatoly S. Skripkin prepared a descriptive part of the archaeological material; Vladimir I. Moiseev analyzed the funeral rite and the inventory. Mikhail V. Krivosheev drew and presented conclusions on the analysis of the material.

Нестандартные погребения ранней бронзы Есауловского Аксая. Некоторые вопросы культурогенеза

The article dwells upon publication and analysis of materials from two unusual Early Bronze Age burials, dating back to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, investigated by the Volgograd State University expedition in the southern part of the Volga-Don interfluve. The published archaeological complexes were discovered in the kurgan cemeteries located on the bank terraces of the steppe river called Yesaulovsky Aksay. A number of distinctive features made it possible to attribute these complexes to the late period of the Lower Volga Yamnaya culture. These kurgan burials stand out on the overall background of the Yamna culture burials due to the grave structure features, details of the burial rite and positions of the buried individuals. The bodies positions in the investigated burials are unusual. In one case, the dead body was arranged into a sitting position with the head turned towards the south. In another one, the dead body was segmented and then put into the typical crouched position on the side with the head turned towards the east. Both rites had come from another culture associated with the North Caucasus region which had a significant impact on the economy, social and ideological structure, burial practices of the population of the Lower Volga region and the adjacent territories of Russias southern steppes throughout the Early and Middle Bronze Ages.

Krasnoyarsky-IV kurgan cemetery of the Great Migration Period

The paper presents the materials of the Great Migration Period from the Omsk Irtysh region, obtained during the excavations of the Krasnoyarsky-IV burial ground. In total, eight burial mounds with 13 burials were examined in 2009 by the expedition of the Omsk State Pedagogical University led by M.A. Grachev. The aim of this work is to determine regional features and chronology of the Krasnoyarsky-IV burial complexes , as well as some details of the historical and cultural development of the local population in the transitional period from the Iron Age to the early Middle Ages. The research methodology is based on comparative and typological analyses of the material complexes, morphological and constructional specifics of the burials, and on anthropological studies, including methods of odontology. According to the results of the study, the chronological interval of the functioning of the necropolis spans the end of the 4th — first decades of the 6th centuries A.D., which corresponds with the appea-rance of the Karym type monuments in the territory of the southern taiga of Western Siberia. The signs of artificial skull deformation, erection of small embankments, cremations, and Eastern-European and Central Asian imports suggest involvement of the Karym population in the epochal historical and cultural processes, as well as contacts with neighboring forest-steppe and southern taiga cultures of the Ural-Siberian region. Characteristics associated with the heritage of the cultures of the Early Iron Age, particularly, the Sargatka and Kulayka Cultures, were noted: orientation of the buried; location of the goods in the grave; ornamental and morphological features of the ware; and specific types of bronze decorations. The symbiosis of innovations and traditions of the previous epoch is partly confirmed by the anthropological characteristics in the ratio of the longitudinal and transverse diameters of the crowns of the permanent lower first molars.

The Ceramics Production of the Cis-Ural Srubnaya Culture: A Case Study of the Kurgan Cemetery I Near Tverdilovo Village

The article analyzes the ceramics of the Timber culture, recovered from a kurgan cemetery near the village of Tverdilovo (excavated in 2017 in the Western Orenburg region). Under embankment of kurgan 1, 30 vessels were found in 21 burials, made in a narrow chronological interval. When considering these vessels according to one methodological system, which includes morphological and technical and technological analysis, the peculiarities of the production of pottery were highlighted both for a single group of the population and for the region as a whole. The analysis of the technological traditions of ceramics production from the Tverditovo kurgan cemetery shows that the population that left these ceramics was not homogeneous. There are two different traditions even at the stage of selection of plastic soft raw materials: one of them used silty clay for making dishes, the other applied natural clay. So, it is difficult to explain an isolated case of using sludge and low-grade ferrum clay. Using comparative analysis we can assume that the nearest burial monument according to its ceramics products is the Bogolubovskiy kurgan cemetery where we also can find silty and natural clay and the receipt of molding mass as “clay+ chamotte+ organic materials”. Pottery traditions of the population that left the presented vessels were heterogeneous, which is recorded both in terms of morphological and technological characteristics. A similar picture is typical for other settlement and burial sites in the Orenburg Cis-Urals. The monument was dominated by the pottery traditions of the Timber culture with a slight influence of the Alakul elements.

Craniophenetic Features of Cis-Kuban Population of the Early Iron Age (Preliminary Data)

This study was based on the material of two anthropological series originating from the territory of the kurgan cemetery sites at Volna 1 and the Starokorsunskaya settlement 2. Volna 1 is located 10 km from the village of Taman, and according to archaeologists, it could have been a previously unknown Greek Apoykia. To this date, the excavations of the monument have been fully completed, which gives us the opportunity to speak with confidence that 6th–2nd centuries BC is the period it dates back to. The second kurgan cemetery we examined belongs to Starokorsunskaya settlement No. 2 located 6 km from the village. The settlement and the adjacent necropolis have been studied by the Krasnodar archaeological expedition for almost 35 years, as a result we have an extensive anthropological collection, and a part of it became the subject of our study. The monument dates back to the period of 6th century BC – 3rd century AD and is considered to be a reference one of the largest Meotian settlements in the Kuban region. Both sites are characterized by poor preservation of bone tissue and strong skeletons fragmentation. In spite of that, we used the craniophenetic program and studied 81 skulls obtained during excavations of Volna 1 and 60 skulls from the Starokorsunskaya settlement. As a result of pairwise intragroup comparison using the chi-square of the two population groups of Volna 1 6th–4th centuries BC and 4th–2nd centuries BC we cannot speak of a statistically significant difference. When comparing the two sample population groups from Volna 1 and the Meots from the Starokorsunskaya settlement No. 2, a high similarity of the inhabitants of the Black Sea territories with the Meotes from the Kuban region was noted. Probably, this allows us to assume predominance of Meotian groups in Volna 1 population.

Typology and Chronology of Akanthian Amphorae

The amphora stamps of the Chalcidian city-state Akanthos were localized a little over 30 years ago due to discovering of ceramic workshops remains, where defective stamped fragments were found. The complete amphorae forms have come to be known quite recently, with a significant part of the findings being attributed to the Black Sea region. Taking into account materials from the Akanthos amphora workshops and numerous findings of vessels in the Akanthian necropolis, it became possible to develop a container typology used in this center and provide a detailed chronology of ceramic containers of this city-state. However, the findings from the Northern Black Sea region are of special significance. They were recovered in well-dated burial and settlement complexes: the Prikubanskiy necropolis, in Olbia, Phanagoria, Gorgippia, Chersonesos, Luzanovka, a kurgan cemetery near the village settlement Bogachevka, etc. While we only know one Akanthian amphora belonging to the 5th century BC, then, for the following 4th century BC within the first – third quarters, at least 4 types of containers are identified within several variants: I-A, I-B, II, III-A, III-B, IV. There are reasons for considering that some samples of amphorae on a “shot glass-shaped” toe (“Mendean”) dating back to the 5th and 4th centuries BC are qualified as Akanthian products. They were manufactured outside of Mende in a number of other centers of Chalkidiki: Scione, Aphytis and Thoron.

Kurgan-Cemeteries of Central and Eastern Regions of North Caucasus 3rd Century BC – Early 2nd Century AD (Monuments Chegem-Manaskent Type)

The article is devoted to analysis of materials from kurgan-cemeteries of the foothill zone of Central and Eastern North Caucasus regions (from Kabardino-Balkaria to Caspian Dagestan) dating back to the 3rd century BC – early (first half) 2nd century AD. These sites were earlier referred to as the Chegem-Manaskent type. Main diagnostic features of these sites are similar traditions of the funeral rite and the ceramic complex. The formation of the Chegem-Manaskent cultural monuments includes the material culture, determined by traditions of the North Caucasian sedentary population, and the funeral rite based on customs of the nomadic population of the North Caucasian steppes of the early Sarmatian period. The original territory of Chegem-Manaskent culture of monuments formation was the area from the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic to the western part of the Chechen Republic. The kurgan cemeteries of the Caspian Dagestan were the result of the migration of Chegem-Manaskent culture carriers in this direction. The cultural traditions of the population formed a specific basis of the early Alanian culture of the North Caucasus (2nd–4th AD); their genetic connection is witnessed by similar funeral rite (burial in type I catacombs) and in the ceramic complex. So, the monuments of the Chegem-Manasket type underlie the formation of the monuments of the Podkumok-Khumara type, with which they are connected by the use of a catacomb burial rite with the repeated use of chamber for new graves and a ceramic complex. In addition, the ceramic complex of monuments of the circle of the Andreiauli settlement largely goes back to the ceramic tradition of antiquities Chegem-Manasket circle, complicated by the morphological influences of the tradition of Caucasian Albania including the use of the transformed catacomb burial rite with multiple use of chamber graves and the ceramic complex.

Children's burial of the 7th century from Beslan kurgan cemetery in the focus of complex interdisciplinary research

The comprehensive study of children's burials has become one of the most topical areas of archaeological research in recent decades. Peculiarities of the burial rites of juvenile individuals, their diseases and physical development parameters serve as an important indicator of the social status, reflecting as in a mirror the historical moment and specific cultural traditions. Our article presents the results of a study of an unusual child burial in archaeological context and anthropological data. It was carried out in a suburb on the periphery of barrow 876 in podpoi burial 2 of the Beslan kurgan catacomb cemetery (RNO-Alania), dating to the middle of the 7th century AD. Multidisciplinary analysis of the bone remains suggests that this 4-5 year old individual, with a bronze chain around his neck, at the time of burial had experienced repeated physiological stresses and significant physical exertion during his short life and was almost two times behind modern standards in terms of growth rate. But this child's head was intentionally deformed, and his frontal bone shows traces of extensive trepanation with no signs of healing, which does not rule out the high lifetime social status of this buried child and/or his parents.

Chronological relationship between the fortified settlement of Kamennyi Ambar and the Kamennyi Ambar-5 cemetery in the Southern Trans-Urals: capabilities of the Bayesian statistics

By means of the Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates, a comparison of chronologies of the Kamennyi Ambar settlement and the cemetery of Kamennyi Ambar-5 of the Late Bronze Age Syntashta-Petrovka period has been carried out. Both sites are situated in the valley of the Karagaily-Ayat River in Kartalinsky district of Chelyab-insk Region (Russia). Comparison of the pottery assemblages of the settlement and the cemetery demonstrates their similarity, which suggests existence of a genetic link between the sites. The purpose of this work is devel-opment of a generalized chronological model of the two monuments. This is achieved by comparison of uncali-brated intervals of radiocarbon dates and calculation of chronological boundaries of the existence of the settle-ment and cemetery by means of Bayesian modeling of the calibrated dates. The method consists in that, in the beginning, the stratigraphic position of each date is determined, and then the dates suitable for the analysis are arranged in the chronological order and calibrated, while the algorithm of the OxCal 4.4 calibration program is queried for calculation of the boundaries of the given periods and their duration. Also, the paper reports complete sets of the radiocarbon dates: 61 dates have been obtained from the materials of the settlement of Kamennyi Ambar, while 19 measurements originate from the Kamennyi Ambar-5 cemetery. Correlation of the radiocarbon dates and development of the Bayesian chronological models have demonstrated contemporaneousness of the settlement and the cemetery with slightly later beginning of the activity at the latter. This observation is in agree-ment with the concept of the genetic link between the sites and, arguably, can be extended onto other pairs of fortified settlement — kurgan cemetery attributed to the Sintashta-Petrovka period. Our conclusion is also consis-tent with the concept of building the complex of monuments by a newly-arrived population, who founded a settle-ment, occupied the new territory for some time, while the first deaths occurred some time afterwards. That said, the settlement of Kamennyi Ambar existed for no longer than a century in the 1950s — 1860s BC, while the cemetery of Kamennyi Ambar-5 was used for 70–80 years within the same chronological interval.

Exploring dietary practices in non‐adults of the Late Bronze Age Southern Urals: A perspective from dental attributes

AbstractThe article provides a bioarchaeological perspective on the dietary practices of the Late Bronze Age Southern Ural communities, which once inhabited the steppe and forest‐steppe zones of modern Bashkiria (Russia), via studying the pathological dental conditions and aspects of dental tooth use in skeletal remains from four kurgan cemeteries. As children and adolescents constitute the majority of the skeletal remains, the focus is on non‐adult dentition. The cemeteries were used by Srubnaya and Srubnaya‐Alakul communities that are believed to have been settled pastoralists. Despite the absence of convincing archaeological evidence, the existence of secondary‐role agriculture in these communities has not been ruled out. The studied sample includes 38 non‐adults (<18 years of age). The dental attributes studied were linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH), caries, dental calculus, dental wear, and antemortem enamel chipping. In total, the sample showed no cases of caries, a very high frequency of dental calculus, and a frequency of enamel chips that increased with age. The rate of dental wear seems to be mild, though there is a need for comparative data on non‐adults. The frequency of LEH was relatively low and the defects peaked at about 2–4 years of age. Basically, the Bashkirian Late Bronze Age (LBA) non‐adult sample fits well into the larger picture of the Bronze Age pastoralists from the Volga‐Ural and Trans‐Ural steppes. Given the archaeological evidence and the prevalence of the studied dental characteristics, the data are consistent with a society primarily reliant on meat and milk products.

О предметах женской одежды с декорированными рукавами из могильника Филипповка I

During the archaeological study of the Filippovka I kurgan cemetery, several burial complexes were revealed containing items related to women’s clothing. The article analyzes the burials where these items were found intact – burial 2 of kurgan 1 and burial 4 of kurgan 4. As a result of comparing the types of sewn-on elements and their positioning in the burial, a certain similarity between the complexes was found, so it’s possible to draw a conclusion about the general appearance of the female clothing from the kurgan cemetery. In addition to the gold stripes made in the animal style, fragments of beaded embroidery decorating the sleeves of one of the clothing elements were found in burial 2 of kurgan 1. Protomes of deer marching in a row were depicted using regular and small beads of different materials on the sleeves. The article contains a description of the best preserved figures. Also, the first explorer of the cemetery A. Kh. Pshenichnyuk discovered in kurgan 1 a cache with a large number of gold patches on clothes as well as other items made of precious metals. Typological and stylistic similarity with patches from the burials examined allowed the authors of the article to make an assumption about the similarity between clothing from the cache and the burials. Specific features of the early Sarmatian animal style appear in the gold patches of clothing and the lining of wooden bowls from the Filippovka I kurgan cemetery. This allows us to assume that the entire set of implements with the Philippian animal style was made by order and matching the taste of the early nomads.