Syncretic burial complex of Komsomolsky II (Late Bronze age in the Southern Trans-Urals)

The Andronovo family of archaeological cultures is one of the largest phenomena of the Late Bronze Age (second millennium cal BC) in Northern Eurasia. Identification of local variants and cultural traditions within this family of cultures remains a problem which makes it difficult to understand the mechanism behind the emergence and functioning of the entire Andronovo family. The main obstacle is interpreting syncretic sites which combine features of different cultural traditions. This article presents the results of excavations at the Komsomolsky II burial ground (Southern Trans-Urals). It is a part of the complex with the Levoberezhnoe settlement and can be synchronized with one of its stages. Kurgan 5 well illustrates specific features of funeral rituals and pottery complex which combines the features of the Alakul and Srubnaya cultures. Inhumation of the deceased in the crouched position on the left side combined with orientation of the head to the north can be interpreted as a feature of the Srubnaya culture. A significant part of the pottery complex also shows signs ofthat tradition. Along with this, the collection manifests some typical features of the Alakul dishware, some Alakul vessels, faience beads, and astragali which are almost never found in the Srubnaya graves. The Srubnaya burial mounds have been discovered in the Trans-Urals along with syncretic burial mounds. First results of dating indicate a long-term coexistence of both traditions in the same territory. Marked progress in understanding the processes requires significant expansion of sources and spatial analysis of the entire set of data. The lack of information is especially noticeable for the sites to the east and southeast of the Komsomolsky II burial ground.