The cumans of Southern Urals. A chain of cultural shifts

The paper is devoted to the problem of interpretation of written sources of archaeological materials of the high middle ages. The data discrepancy of numerous written sources on the the Kipchaks (Kimek-Cumans) history confederation had required systematization and comparison in order to identify real information on the early stage of the Cumans (Kipchak) history. New archaeological data regarding location of the Srostky culture sites in the Southern Urals (late 8th - 9th centuries) made it possible to confirm the previously expressed opinion about their correlation with the Kipchak (Cumans) stage. The fact of the appearance of Turkic-cultural nomads of the 8th - 9th centuries in the Ural-Kazakhstan steppes has repeatedly been noted in various studies. In most cases, this information is based on written sources data of the late 9th - 10th centuries. New archaeological materials were obtained in the course of archaeological excavations of the Uelgi burial complex in the South Urals. It was made possible to identify a whole layer of complexes and materials of the Srostky type. They were attributed to the late 8th, 9th and early 10th centuries due to the comparative typological and radiocarbon dating. Thus, we can state the continuous development of the Srostky culture from the early (Inskaya) to the middle stages of this culture within the Southern Urals. The main study methods were comparative analysis of written sources, methods of comparative typological and radiocarbon dating. Thus, the obtained new archaeological materials of the Uyelgi burial complex allow us to assert that the Kipchaks (Cumans) component in the Uyelgi complex appears at the earliest stage of the existence of the Srostky culture (Inskaya) and subsequently is present here as well as in other South Ural sites.