Animal style of arzhan-5(an integrated approach employed in the studies of items decorated in the animal style)

This paper compares ornamented items from Arzhan-5, which is a site underinvestigation, and a unique assemblage of ancient architecture known as Arzhan-1, whichwas studied by M. P. Gryaznov in the 1970s. The excavation of the destroyed stone kurganrevealed that the time of its construction, the type of design, and the burial rite werelargely in line with monumental Arzhan-1. Arzhan-5 is located 2,5 km north-east of theArzhan-1 kurgan and contains a wooden radial construction placed under the mound.Calibrated 14C dates obtained for this construction are similar to the dates from Arzhan-1.Recent excavations have yielded a sample of archaic bronze parts of bridles, includingthose featuring images made in the animal style. One of the images is a coiled pantherstylistically similar to a famous Arzhan find. Images from these sites have been analyzedwithin the overall system of studies dedicated to the animal style. The author has cometo the conclusion that all studied images form part of the same group of an early archaicvariant of the animal style identified in the Arzhan horizon.