The metal ages and medieval period. Рубрика в журнале - Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia
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A Bronze Age shaft-hole axe from the northwestern Baraba forest-steppe
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This study introduces a crested shaft-hole axe found on the southern shore of Lake Maidan, Vengerovsky District, Novosibirsk Region. Such random finds are regarded as markers of Bronze Age landscape zones and transportation routes in southwestern Siberia. Shaft-hole axes with slight crests occurred on this territory from the mid to late 2nd millennium BC. In addition to such axes, several casting molds made of clay, stone or metal have been found, possibly suggesting that axes were not only imported but also manufactured locally. These random finds of shaft hole axes can be considered markers of the complex, mirroring not only Middle and Late Bronze Age distribution areas, but also a considerable northward shift of landscape borders during an episode of climatic change, as well as indicating key routes for the migration of people associated with various traditions and objects. The mapping of various subtypes of shaft-hole axes from the Baraba forest-steppe revealed one such route, leading northward from southwestern Siberia to the Vasyugan Swamp. Apart from the series of axes from Baraba, certain cemeteries, such as Stary Tartas-4, yielded miniature replicas used as personal adornments. This feature links the north of the western part of the axes' distribution area (the forest-steppe zone of the Ob-Irtysh watershed) with its eastern part – the Minusinsk Basin.
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A Bronze Age site on the northern coast of West Java
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This study describes an early site on the northern coast of West Java, affected by the Austronesian culture—Subanglarang near Binong in the Subang Regency. Geologically, during the 2000–1000 BP interval, it was part of the coastline of the northern coast of West Java, situated more than 5 m asl. During the 2013 surveys and excavations in 2016 and 2018, five burials were revealed. On the basis of the fragments of red-slipped pottery, pickaxes, beads of various shape and size, and metal weapons, the site is dated to the Bronze Age. Artifacts similar to those of early Austronesians were discovered. The analysis of various beads from Subanglarang attests to trade relations with other areas. Further excavations on the northern coast of West Java will hopefully shed more light on the life of the Bronze Age people of that area.
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A Group of Large Kurgans in the Suusamyr Valley, Kyrgyzstan
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We introduce recently discovered large kurgans of the Saka period in the Suusamyr valley, northern Kyrgyzstan. There are two cemeteries with large mounds, each of which is surrounded by ditches, stone enclosures, and ramparts. Apparently, each kurgan and the constructions around it form a whole burial complex. The kurgans are rounded in plan view, 30–73 m in diameter. Some were possibly square in plan view. West of them, there is a line of enclosures, most of which consist of eight boulders. In terms of nature and form of the constructions around kurgans, the burial complexes fall into six types, each of which is described in detail. Parallels are found among Early Iron Age cemeteries in the Tian Shan, Semirechye, central and eastern Kazakhstan. Common and distinctive features of the Suusamyr group are listed. On the basis of the comparative analysis, the group dates to 800/700–200 BC. We conclude that the kurgans were destined for the Saka elite, and were constructed over several generations. The materials of the study allow us to state that the alpine Suusamyr valley, which is hard to access, was a key political and/or cult center of the Tian Shan in the Saka period.
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A New Andronovo (Fedorovka) Cemetery in the Eastern Irtysh Basin
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We present the results of a multidisciplinary study of an Andronovo (Fedorovka) cemetery, Pogorelka-2, situated east of the Irtysh. Three burial mounds are described in detail, and elements of the funerary rite are outlined. All the mounds were constructed according to a single plan, characterized by a spatial separation of the burial platform, whereby one or several burials are surrounded by depressions in the ground. In two kurgans, these are four ditches with slightly sloping outer walls and steep inner ones. These ditches surround subsquare platforms with burials in the center. In the third kurgan, instead of ditches, there are small elongated pits. All the burials at Pogorelka-2 are cremations, as is typical of the Andronovo (Fedorovka) cemeteries in Baraba. On each burial platform, 1–3 burials were situated. Ceramics and other grave goods are described. Despite some specific features, they are typical of the Andronovo tradition. The cemetery belongs to the eastern part of the Andronovo (Fedorovka) distribution area. The analysis of funerary practices and goods reveals no contacts with the aboriginal Late Krotovo population.
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A Set of Clothing Items from the Iyus Hoard
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This stud y focuses on details of clothing, belonging to the Iyus hoard, incidentally found in Khakassia in the 1970s. As in most other hoards from southwestern Siberia, this one includes elements of belt sets—buckles, plaques, pendants, and rings, paralleled by similar artifacts associated with the Tes culture of the 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD. The context of the ornaments is described, and the assembly and ritual use of belt sets are reconstructed. The composition of the Iyus hoard mirrors the process of a new Xiongnu clothing tradition being adopted by native south Siberians in their ritual and everyday practices. The “Scythian” component of the Iyus hoard is represented by rarities—ancient artifacts worn by natives in later times, and by replicas of ancient ornaments, whereas the “Xiongnu” component was more adaptive and includes items commonly used in everyday life. The co-occurrence of “Scythian” and “Xiongnu” artifacts within the same ritual assemblage testifies to the symbolic use of belt sets, evidenced by mid-1st millennium BC sites in southern Siberia.
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A Study of Seima-Turbino Bronze Artifacts Discovered in China
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We describe Seima-Turbino artifacts from museum collections and sites in China—two spearheads from the Gansu Provincial Museum and two daggers from the Tianshui Museum. The composition of metal was analyzed. Spearheads are made of copper with minor additions, and daggers are made of bronze. The shape of the latter is identical to that of the specimens from Sopka-2/4B. Their type and technology suggests that they were not made by people of the Qijia culture, but were imported by the Seima-Turbino people. Typology and chronology of daggers and spearheads from China are examined. Parallels with those from Western Siberia are listed. We conclude that ties between the cultures of Qijia and Seima-Turbino date to 2200–2000 BC, and the origin of metallurgy in China was intrinsically linked to that phenomenon.
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A Tes Stage Mound-Vault at Skalnaya-5, Khakassia
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This article introduces the findings relating to the construction of a mound-vault Skalnaya-5 in Khakassia—the only virtually completely preserved Tes funerary structure. On the basis of these data and using the Blender 4 software, we carried out a visual reconstruction of the vault. This collective tomb was a cabin, whose walls were built of nine layers of logs and covered with a multi-layered timber ceiling. Functionally, such a construction ensured a maximal influx of air. The entrance, which had two steps at the inner end, was arranged as a special opening in the wall and was used for a considerable time. Inside the vault, there was a two-level construction with upper shelves made of three log-spacers opposite the entrance and the lower ones made of wide planks, placed along two walls. The bodies and/or their effigies with clay-plaster masks were laid on the shelves and on the log floor. The analysis revealed the secondary use of wooden details of dwellings or household buildings, which had been trimmed in situ before being joined. We were able to record construction techniques used during the Tes and earlier stages. These could be related to winter huts or utility buildings dug into the ground, or wooden structures strengthening the walls of mining shafts. The closest constructive parallels are found in the Pazyryk culture, possibly evidencing the conservatism of housebuilding in the Altai-Sayan highland during the Early Iron Age.
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A dugout from the Don river exhibited at the State historical museum, Moscow: discovery and dating
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A functional analysis of lithics of the Early Iron Age Yankovsky culture: new findings
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We present the results of a functional analysis of lithics of the Yankovsky culture (800 BC to the turn of the millennium) from two sites–Cherepakha-7 and Solontsovaya-2, excavated over large areas during salvage works in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Such tools are traditionally described as axes, adzes, chisels, knives, spearheads, and projectile points. Certain findings of the functional analysis disagree with this classification. The question arises of the correspondence between formal typological and traceological criteria. For functional analysis, the so-called Keeley method, or High Power Approach, was used, along with the classification of polishing types, elaborated at Tohoku University (Japan). Functions of 28 of the 62 tools selected for high-precision functional analysis were assessed. The existing nomenclature of woodworking tool types is clarified, information on the technique of harvesting herbaceous plants and on leatherworking tools is significantly specified. More details are provided on tools involved in bone carving, as well as those used to open shells of bivalve mollusks. The High Power Approach has enhanced our understanding of the functions of stone tools, which, despite the use of metals, were basic in Yankovsky technologies. Further directions of traceological studies are suggested.
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A half of a metal bipartite mold of the Seima-Turbino period from the Upper Irtysh region
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A house model from Popudnya, Cucuteni-Tripolye culture, Ukraine: a new interpretation
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A late 16th to early 17th century Mongolian ceremonial helmet from the Moscow Kremlin Armoury
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