Specific architectural features of kurgan Usatovo I-4

The paper considers architectural structure of kurgan Usatovo I-4, with regard to different interpretations of its semantics (Fig. 1, I-III). The author draws ar- chaeoastronomic data, which disagrees with the reconstruction of the mound and stone constructions as a stylized image of a frog (Fig. 1, I, II). The author proves that the architecture of the stone circle corresponds to the basic moments of the solar and lunar cycles. The structure includes six solar and six lunar directions, orientations pointing North and South marking daily and seasonal changes in the celestial bodies (Fig. 2, I). These data suggest that the Usatovo population practiced solar and lunar cults. Certain cosmogonic ideas are also evidenced by painted decoration of a bowl interpreted as lunar monthly calendar (Fig. 2, II, 4). Accordingly, the architectural structure of kurgan Usatovo I-4 mirrors burial and ritual practices, and calendar traditions of the Early Bronze Age population of the North Pontic zone.