On the problem of absolute chronology of Irmen antiquities in the Kuznetsk-Salair mountain region

The article discusses the problems of absolute chronology of Irmen antiquities in local geographic areas, particularly in the Kuznetsk-Salair mountain region, which is an important issue for modern Western Siberian archaeology. This study intends to systematize, analyze, and interpret all available radiocarbon data related to the Final Bronze Age of the Kuznetsk-Salair mountain region, making corrections to the available knowledge on the absolute chronology of the Irmen culture based on archaeological evidence. This research involves 15 dates for the Tanai VII burial ground (Eastern Salair region), Dolgaya-1 and Sinerechka-1 sites (south of the Lower Tom region), and Tambar settlement (Mariinsk forest-steppe) obtained in different years. All data was calibrated in OxCal 4.4 software with 95.4 % probability ranges of the calibrated values. Dates from the Tambar settlement and Tanai VII burial ground were obtained from the samples in closed complexes, and were the most representative for source evaluation. The data from the sites of the Tom region should be used taking into consideration large confidence intervals and their singular nature. Analysis of radiocarbon dates of the Irmen and Irmen-Lugavskoe complexes in the Kuznetsk-Salair mountain region has made it possible to divide them into two groups. The first group with averaged calibrated chronological range of the 13th - 11th centuries BC marks the lower chronological boundary of the Irmen culture in the Kuznetsk-Salair mountain region. The second group with averaged calibrated chronological range of the 10th - late 9 th centuries BC reveals the development of the culture and period of intensive interaction with the Lugavskoe population. A single date of the vessel from Dolgaya-1 with the chronological range of the 9th/8th - 6th centuries BC may indicate long survival of the Irmen culture in the Kuznetsk-Salair mountain region, but needs to be verified. The problem of the upper chronological boundary of the Irmen culture in that area is complicated by the controversial nature of the Late Irmen complexes in the region and insufficient amount of sources on the transitional period from the Final Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age.