Archaeology of conflicts. On the problem of warfare in Sintashta and Petrovka cultures

Sintashta and Petrovka cultures archaeological sites of the Southern Urals and Northern Kazakhstan are the subject of increased interest and in-depth study in recent decades. Conclusions about advanced warfare in the population of these archaeological cultures strengthened in historiography. Numerous finds of war attributes (specialized weapons, fortresses, chariots) point to the key role of warfare in the life of ancient population. However, until now not been analyzed specific facts to talk about the role of the military factor in the cultural genesis. This article examines the theoretical approaches in study of war phenomenon among the population of Southern Urals and Northern Kazakhstan in Bronze Age. The analysis used «organizational-structural», «military-technical» and «cause-target» approaches in the identification of war. This analysis allow us to consider factors of territorial development, intercultural contacts, migration, but not military expansion. Impossible to identify the phenomenon of war in the study context. Proof of the potential for conflict is that people invest in the maintenance of the military model, which was supposed to be necessary in the public consciousness. Based on the analysis of archaeological material, offers a new terminology for the issue under consideration. In the study of warfare of Sintashta and Petrovka cultures, we believe a more productive use of the term “archeology of conflict”, because it has a wider scope of application than the «war».