Bronze casting of the Andronovo (Fedorovo) culture in the Ob-Irtysh forest-steppe

This article analyzes bronze casting of the Andronovo (Fedorovo) culture in the Ob-Irtysh forest-steppe using the sources such as production areas in the settlements and burials with foundry inventory. Currently, only three sites - the Omsk site, and settlements of Kudelka-1 and Kudelka-2 - with traces of bronze casting have been discovered. The richest traces offoundry production have survived at the Kudelka-1 site. Correlation ofplaces with heat generating devices and utility pits with finds of waste from bronze casting has made it possible to identify two production areas at the site. One of them was located in the central part of dwelling No. 1 and consisted of hearth, utility pits, and ritual burial of an animal. The second production area was located in an open space next to the dwelling pit, and included a smelting hearth, and accumulation of calcined soil and ash from cleaning the hearth. The production area was surrounded by a system of pits from posts, which suggests the presence of a light frame-and-post structure in this location. The second most important source on metalworking of the Andronovo (Fedorovo) culture in the Ob-Irtysh forest-steppe is burials with foundry equipment. By now, such burials have been found only at the Tartas-1 burial ground. The analysis of the sources has led to conclusion that arrival of the Andronovo (Fedorovo) population to the Ob-Irtysh forest-steppe resulted in significant changes in metal production throughout the region. New population brought different technology; new types of crucibles and hearths appeared along with organization of foundry areas typical of the cultures of the Srubna-Andronovo circle, combining smelting furnace with the well.