Features of funeral practice of the Andronovo (Fedorovo) culture in the northwestern part of the Tartas-1 burial ground

In 2020, the main fieldwork on the Tartas-1 site took place at the northwestern part of the necropolis. Here, among the burials, the items of the Andronovo (Fedorovo) culture prevail. They are distinguished by the specific earthen structures associated with burials. The structures are characterized by the edge roughness, the alternation of segmental ditches and pits, or just the pits localizing a burial range. The depth of the structures is different. Most often, these structures, qualified as fences, did not contain any archaeological material. Only as an exception, the broken vessels, separate ceramic fragments, and remains of the meat food were found in them. The northwestern part of the Tartas-1 site is identified by a separate burial ground of the Andronovo (Fedorovo) culture, in the formation of which the immigrants from the western and northwestern regions of Baraba played a significant role. The northern migrations is also marked by innovations in the funeral rite and grave goods, i.e. the secondary burials; an unusual way of positioning bones in the grave relative to each other; atypical orientation of the graves; burial within the ditch that limits the main burial. The ceramics are characterized by the ornamental motifs, which are non-typical of the Andronovo (Fedorovo) tradition, i.e. the rows of round pits applied along the entire surface of the vessel's body according to a ready-made ornamental pattern. The ceramics with the similar ornamental pattern was typical of the dishware of the Odino culture, which preceded the Andronovo (Fedorovo) culture in this area. A non-typical burial inventory was revealed, such as bone arrowheads and a sculpture of a bronze bird.