Pottery of the transitional stage from the advanced bronze age to late bronze age (evidence from the Kalinovka II settlement)

This article discusses the vessels from the Kalinovka II settlement, which show a combination of the Andronovo and Late Bronze Age features. After analyzing shapes, ornamentation techniques, compositional patterns, raw materials, and clay fabrics, three subgroups of vessels were distinguished. Pottery of subgroup 1 was closer in shape and decoration to the Andronovo pottery from the site, although its ornamentation was simpler. The similarity with the Sargara-Alekseevka group was manifested by a number of ornamentation techniques and frequency of using individual motifs. Raw materials and share of vessels made according to mixed recipes indicate similarity to the Sargara-Alekseevka pottery from the settlement, although similar raw materials have been identified in the Andronovo pottery from other sites of the region. Shapes and ornamentation ofpottery from subgroup 2 were similar to both Andronovo and Sargara-Alekseevka vessels from the site. The similarity with the Andronovo pottery was manifested by predominance ofjars, spread of decoration over the vessel surface, techniques, and ornamental motifs, while patterns made by fingers make it similar to the Sargara-Alekseevka pottery. The raw material was closer to the Andronovo vessels from the site. Composition offabrics differed both from the Andronovo and Sargara-Alekseevka series by the sole use of grog. Pottery from subgroup 3 was similar in shape and ornamentation both to the Andronovo and Sargara-Alekseevka groups. Shapes of vessels, methods and motifs of ornamentation were reminiscent of the Andronovo pottery, while a number of decoration features were closer to the Sargara-Alekseevka pottery from the settlement. Raw materials and fabrics were similar to the samples from subgroup 1 and the Sargara-Alekseevka group. However, there were some differences in raw materials and fabric composition. The study has identified common features for the subgroups which existed in the same time and had a transitional nature between the Andronovo and Late Bronze pottery from the site. The results of research testify to complexity of ethnic and cultural processes at the turn of the Advanced and Late Bronze Age in the region.