History of studying the social structure of the population of pit-grave culture

The article deals with the history of studying the social structure of the population of Pit-Grave culture. In the early twentieth century studying of the social structure of Pit-Grave culture was represented by the works of V.A. Gorodtsov, A.P. Kruglov and G.V. Podgaetsky. Based on archaeological material of the time, the researchers suggested that the main types of production in the steppe societies of the Bronze age were gathering, fishing, hunting, and cattle breeding. The accumulation of new sources has led to a number of analytical studies, including studies devoted to the problem of reconstruction of the economy and social relations in the Pit-Grave culture. N.I. Merpert, V.P. Shilov, E.E. Kuzmina, I.B. Vasil’ev, N.L. Morgunova and other scientists reconstructed nomad way of economy and social differentiation of the population based on gender, age and professional principle. The authors of the studies which were published in the last decades confirm the existence of social differentiation in the tribes of the Pit-Grave culture, and attribute their level of development as the early phase of complex societies.