The Maksimovka I Ground Cemetery and Open Settlement on the Samara River (Results of the 2021 Excavations)

The Maksimovka I ground cemetery is located in the forest-steppe Volga region in the Samara river basin. The excavations of the burial ground have been under way since 2017. In 2021 a total of ten burials were studied (No. 36–45 in the numbering scheme). Five graves were dated to the Eneolithic, two graves with the skeletons in an extended supine position were dated to the Early Eneolithic whereas the other three graves with the skeletons in sitting and semi-sitting positions were dated to the Late Eneolithic. New data on the use of fire in the funerary rite and burial offerings were obtained. One grave was dated to the Late Bronze Age, another grave was dated to the medieval period; the cultural and chronological attribution of three more graves is difficult. The settlement materials are represented by ceramics, and items made of stone and bone. The aim of this publication is to introduce the new data into scientific discourse.