Types of arrowheads of the advanced bronze age from the Sopka-2/4A archaeological site (the Odino culture)

The structure and various types of bone and stone arrowheads from quiver sets, commonly found at the burial ground Sopka-2/4A of the Odino culture, are analyzed. The study intends to identify the types of arrowheads as indicators of subcultural groups of the Odino culture. The results have been compared with the published data from the archaeological sites of the Odino culture (Abramovo-11) and Krotovo culture (Sopka-2/4Б, 4B). Sets of bone arrowheads of the Odino culture are distinguished by the combination of types 1, 2A, 2B, and 3B. Stone arrowheads were used sporadically, often not as parts of the sets. Two main variants of using arrowheads in ritual practice have been identified: 1) as a part of quiver sets (hunting equipment during the lifetime); 2) tradition ofplacing a piercing object next to the hand of the buried person. The most popular combination at the burial ground of Sopka-2/4Б of the Krotovo culture were types 3A, 5A and 5C of bone arrowheads. Combination of stone arrowheads of groups IA, IB, and bone arrowheads of type 2B was predominant at the burial ground of Sopka-2/4B. Specific features of a quiver set, combining types 1A and 6 of bone arrowheads and stone arrowhead of group II, and its place in grave No. 420 (Sopka-2/4Б) where a double-bladed bronze dagger was discovered, has been established. Bone arrowheads of types 2B and 3B were the most common for the entire population of the Advanced Bronze Age, which left the burial grounds of Sopka-2/4A, 4Б, and 4B. Combinations of arrowhead types at Sopka-2/4A indicate a relatively greater cultural homogeneity of the Odino burial ground compared to the Krotovo burial grounds (Sopka-2/4Б, 4B) which were left by the population which experienced intensive cultural influences in the second half of the third millennium BC.