page 51–64                                                                                                                                                                                        RUS

https://doi.org/10.20874/2071-0437-2026-74-3-4

УДК 902.01   EDN: https://elibrary.ru/HGGKTB

  http://www.ipdn.ru/_private/a74/51-64.pdf

Features of the transformation of Late Bronze Age complexes and the problems of transition to the traditions of the Early Iron Age in the Upper Irtysh region

Tkacheva, Nina A., Doctor of Sociology, Professor, Tyumen Industrial University, Tyumen, Russia, tkachevana@tyuiu.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7545-6358

Tkachev, Alexander A., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Leading Researcher, Tyumen Scientific Centre SB RAS, Tyumen, Russia, sever626@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4072-2724

The study of Bronze Age and Early Iron Age antiquities in the Upper Irtysh region — specifically within the mountain-steppe zone of Eastern Kazakhstan — spans more than a century. However, archaeological sites that can be classified as “transitional”, marking the boundary between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, remain rare. Currently, only a few burial grounds in the region can be regarded as independent complexes representative of the transitional period: Kurt, Zevakino, Menovnoye VIII, and Izmailovsky. Despite the proximity of their chronological frames, each site shows a distinct character in terms of burial structure design, layout, funeral rites, and associated findings, reflecting the heterogeneity of cultural processes at the turn of the era. The article places particular emphasis on a comparative analysis of enclosure and mound structures, the typology of burial pits and ceilings, the orientation and position of the buried, as well as indicators of ideological transformations. The analysis reveals that, in certain cases, canonical elements of the final Bronze Age persist — crouched burials and individual stable orientations. Concurrently, traits characteristic of the early nomads of the Altai begin to emerge: increased complexity of burial structures, greater variability in ritual practices, and the appearance of artifacts associated with horse equipment and sacrificial practices. Overall, the complexes of the Upper Irtysh region illustrate the intricate and multilinear nature of cultural evolution. They allow us to refine the models of transition from the Late Bronze Age traditions to the early nomadic culture in the mountain-steppe zone of Altai.

Keywords:  Upper Irtysh region, late Bronze Age, transition period from the Bronze Age to the early Iron Age, burial grounds, burial rite.

© Tkacheva N.A., Tkachev A.A., 2026

Funding. The work was carried out as part of the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation № 126022618029-1.

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