page 38–50 RUS
https://doi.org/10.20874/2071-0437-2026-74-3-3
ÓÄÊ 903.5 EDN: https://elibrary.ru/GPNJWM
Labour costs of construction operations for the burial mounds of the Fedorovo Ñulture at the Zvyagino-1 cemetery in the Southern Trans-Urals
Valavin, Nikolay A., junior researcher, South Ural State Humanitarian Pedagogical University, Chelyabinsk, Russia, nikolai.valavin@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0167-6518
Alaeva, Irina P., PhD, Leading Researcher, South Ural State Humanitarian Pedagogical University; Senior Researcher, Institute of History and Archeology UB RAS, Yekaterinburg, Russia, alaevaira@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8322-5835
Summary
This paper presents the first application of the architectural energetics method to the materials from the burial grounds of the Fedorovo culture in the Southern Trans-Urals. The study focuses on the materials recovered from the Zvyagino-1 cemetery, which dates to the 18th–16th centuries BC. The research aims to estimate the labour costs associated with the construction of the burial mounds at Zvyagino-1. In the course of the analysis, five stages of mound construction were identified, and the total volumes of resources employed in the process were determined. The results reveal an uneven distribution of resources among the burial mounds. Variations in the volume of resources used amount to more than a 20-fold difference, while disparities in labour costs reach approximately 9-fold. Based on the level of construction complexity, 3 groups of burial mounds were distinguished: low complexity (requiring 3–6 man-days), medium complexity (10–17 man-days), and high complexity (23–27 man-days). These distinct groups represent different levels of population involvement in the construction process.
Keywords: Bronze Age, Andronovo community, social complexity, burial rite, Architectural Energetics.
© Valavin, N.A., Alaeva, I.P., 2026
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Received 29.01.2026
Accepted 04.06.2026
Article is published: 15.09.2026
Funding.
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