Metal offerings from the sanctuary of the eastern version of the Pakhomovo culture

This article presents a comparative analysis of the collection of metal (bronze) objects and relatedfinds associated with bronze casting. The material evidence under study was obtained from the ritual complexes of the eastern variant of the Pakhomovo culture, discovered at the Tartas-1 site (Vengerovsky District of Novosibirsk Region). Two celts, two spears, and distinctive arrowhead were found in the sacred zone of the site. Archaeological context of the finds makes it possible to identify them as offerings brought as a sacrifice during the ritual activities at the sanctuary. The artifacts were found in the several ritual structures in different parts of the sacred zone; they testify to specific ritual production and use. Thus, either the casting gate is preserved on the artifacts, or they do not have traces of use, or they were intentionally made unusable. In addition, a clear connection can be seen between the bronze items found in religious buildings and tools associated with their production, as well as devices for metal smelting, including fragments of casting molds and crucibles, lumps of scorified clay, fragments of smelting hearth roof, and heat producing structures. Placement of bronze items in the religious buildings as sacrificial offerings testifies to generally ambiguous attitude to the process of metal casting on the part of the carriers of the Pakhomovo culture. Wide range ofparallels to both bronze artifacts and ritual of their sacrificial offering may indicate the spread of similar aspects of the worldview in Siberia in wide chronological range, stability of basic ritual elements, and possible continuity of individual beliefs in the process of ethnic and cultural interaction.