Attributes from the chariot complex from the Vladimirovka Bronze Age burial ground (Southern Trans-Urals)

In recent years studies of prehistoric society mobility has been relying, mostly, on multi-disciplinary research. The paper demonstrates the capabilities of archaeological sources in the study of mobility using the example of one archaeological site that contained the attributes of a chariot complex (cheek-pieces and a cross-straps distributer of a horse's headband). Typology of the discovered cheek-pieces suggests that they can be attributed to the Petrovka tradition with some Sintashta traits, while the ceramic assemblage is ascribed entirely to the Petrovka and Alakul cultures. There are no items that would be completely analogous to the strap distributor; however, the decoration tradition is very common for chariot sets found in the Don-Volga region. The finds from the Vladimirovka burial ground is not only a good illustration of people's mobility but also help advance a hypothesis about individual mobility or mobility of small groups directly linked to production and use of the chariot set.