Degtyareva A.D.

Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age metals of the Trans-Urals and Middle Tobol River region: raw material sources

This article discusses the results of an analytical study of non-ferrous metals from the Shapkul, Lipchinka, and Yamnaya Cultures, using atomic emission spectrometric, spectral X-ray fluorescence (XRF),and metallographic analyses. The overall assemblage is small; comprising 20 specimens in total, which include artefacts published by E.N. Chernykh (8 specimens). Statistical analysis of the obtained data has revealed marked heterogeneity in the elemental composition of the artefacts, both within the cultural groups and at individual sites. Overall, the Eneolithic sites of the Trans-Urals are synchronous to those of the early Garino Culture of the Kama region, and those from the late period are contemporaneous with sites of the early Yamnaya and Afanasievo Cultures. A small number of the Lipchinka Culture metalwork is made of native and oxidised copper, sourced from the Yamnaya cultural and historical community and Garino Culture hearths. Metal production among the Eneolithic tribes was primitive; the population mastered metal smelting methods and techniques at the level of home production, evidenced by small amount of slag and traces of slag on pottery fragments. Some of the studied artifacts were made of low-alloy Sn-bronze. Tin bronzes presumably came from the Afanasievo tribes of northeastern and eastern Kazakhstan (Rudny Altay) through the mediation of the Botai-Tersek tribes. The Yamnaya tribes of the Southern Trans-Urals and Middle Tobol regions made some limited use of pure copper of the Ural copper sandstones group. However, as the elemental composition data shows, they exploited Ural raw material sources (the EU group according to E.N. Chernykh) for tool production, associated with the Yelenovka-Ushkatty and other northern deposition groups found in the Southern and Middle Trans-Urals.

Keywords: Eneolithic, Early Bronze Age, Southern Trans-Urals, Western Siberia, Lipchinka Culture, Yamnaya Culture, elemental composition, geochemical groups.

 

Kostomarova Yu.V., Davydov R.V., Bukacheva A.O., Vinogradov N.B., Novoselov A.A.

Metalworking tools from the Late Bronze Age sites of the Southern Trans-Urals (based on materials from the fortified settlement of Ustye I and the settlement of Kulevchi III)

The paper observes the results of an experimental trace evidence study of metalworking tools from the sites of Ustye I (Sintashta, Petrovka Cultures) and Kulevchi III (Petrovka, Alakul Cultures). The study included running experiments on cold and hot forg of copper and bronze castings with stone tools, followed by the study of reference materials and archaeological data. Analysis of the working surfaces of the experimental tools revealed signs of wear and their dependence on the physical properties of the rock, the operation performed, and the kinematics. The analysis of ancient metalworking tools established a unified manufacturing technology, including chipping and abrasive machining. Functional groups of tools were identified, including a blacksmith's tools for cold forging and forging heated metal, and abrasive tools. A comparison of the analysed materials with data from other Bronze Age sites in the studied and adjacent territories revealed that the range of metalworking tools and the sequence of their manufacture were largely standardised. This reflects similar production processes; not only in metalworking, but in the selection of raw stone materials and stone-working techniques. However, differences have been observed in the quantitative ratio of objects, representing various stages of metal production, both among the sites under consideration and in comparison with other assemblages.

Keywords: Southern Trans-Urals, Bronze Age, metalworking, use-wear analysis, blacksmith, abrasive tools.

 

Degtyareva A.D., Kuzminykh S.V., Orlovskaya L.B., Blinov I.A., Chemyakin Yu.P., Pilkina A.A.

Metal of the Alakul Culture of the Southern Trans-Urals: morphological and chemical-metallurgical characteristics

This paper characterises the main categories of the metal products of the Alakul Culture of the Southern Trans-Urals including the elemental composition of the metal and the identification of alloy recipes using several analytical methods (spectral and X ray fluorescence). The main metallurgical groups identified are dominated by alloyed bronzes with the leading impurity of Sn, accounting for two-thirds of the sample (61.6 %). Whereas the group of pure copper is insignificant and forms 38.4 %. In the Alakul Сulture, a certain standardisation is observed in the manufacture of nonferrous metal products with their functional purpose corresponding to the alloy recipe. Thus, weapons and tools (spearheads and arrowheads, shaft-butted axes, chisels, a number of punches), as well as jewellery (bracelets, rings), were cast from medium- and high-tin alloys (8–23 %). In contrast, the same objects found in the Petrovka Culture were typically cast from low alloys (up to 10 %). The share of arsenic and lead bronzes in the metal production of the Alakul Сulture is minor. Most of the ore sources identified through trace impurities in the copper were of hydrothermal origin, while the workings associated with ultrabasites were possibly used, but were of subordinate importance. The studies of ancient mines of the Southern Trans-Urals, being conducted in recent decades by researchers of the SUFC MG UB RAS, radiocarbon dating of artifacts from the workings, and findings of pottery made it possible to link the beginning of the development of the Novotemirsky mine, Vorovskaya Yama, and possibly Starodubtseva Yama, Kichigino, with the activities of miners and metallurgists of the Alakul Culture. The predominance of Sn-bronzes in the composition of metal complexes in the 18th/17th — 16th/15th centuries BC characterises the increase in trade and exchange relations between metallurgists of the Alakul Сulture of the Urals with mining and metallurgical centers of Kazakhstan and Altai for the supply of ingots or finished alloyed products.

Keywords: Southern Trans-Urals, Alakul Culture, Petrovka Culture, geochemical composition, ore sources, metallurgical contacts.

 

Chemyakin Yu.P., Kosinskaya L.L., Bich E.Yu.

The Barsov Gorodok I/1 hillfort of the Early Iron Age — а new perspective on old excavations

This is the first publication of the materials recovered during the 1972 excavations at the Barsov Gorodok I/1 hillfort. The site is multi-component, and it includes complexes of the Kulyegan type of the Bronze Age, the Atlym type of the final Bronze Age, and the Beloyarsk Culture of the Early Iron Age. A few stone tools recovered from the excavations probably date to the Neolithic and Eneolithic period. The Kulyegan and Atlymsky complexes are represented by single dwellings damaged during the construction of the fort. The defensive structures of the hillfort overlay two small pottery complexes of the early and middle periods of the Beloyarsk Culture. The hillfort belongs to the late period of the culture, and is distinguished by its small size, with four overground sub rectangular dwellings inside and a utility building with a shallow ditch. The fortification includes a rampart and a trench; the exit from the hillfort is on the plain side. The artefact assemblage is represented by pottery, decorated with combed and figured (snake, diamonds, triangles, crosses) stamps, fragments of boat-shaped crucibles, and a fragment of a bronze single-blade knife. From the standpoint of modern knowledge and accumulated experience in the research into northern settlements on sandy podzols, the analysis of field materials and the collection of finds from 1972 allowed revising the original interpretation of the settlement as a hillfort with a bastion. The latter turned out to be the remains of a Culiegan-type dwelling.

Keywords: Surgut Ob region, Barsova Gora, hillfort, dwellings, Kulyegan Type, Atlym Culture, Beloyarsk Culture, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age.

 

Kostomarova Yu.V., Skochina S.N.

Bone arrowheads from the Bronze to Iron Age Transition Period at the Mergen 6 settlement (experimental and use-wear analysis)

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive study of bone arrowheads from the Bronze to Iron Age Transition Period discovered at the Mergen 6 settlement (8th — 7th centuries BC). The morphology of the objects was studied, and their technological and use-wear analysis was conducted. The results revealed that the sample does not exhibit typological diversity. All arrowheads are tanged, with the most variable dimensions, proportions, and cross-section of the blade, which can be explained by the type of blank used to produce the arrowheads. The main techniques of secondary bone processing have been identified, including chopping, cutting, planing, scraping, and, less commonly, abrasive processing. It has been established that the artisans primarily used metal chopping and cutting tools, but occasional use of stone tools has also been noted. A sequence in the design of the arrowhead's structural components has been identified, expressed in the prioritization of the blade or the parallel design of the blade and the pommel. These observations are consistent with materials from contemporaneous sites of the Bronze to Iron Age transition and Early Iron Age complexes, constituting a unified territorial and chronological tradition. Furthermore, the redesign of one arrowhead and its secondary use, possibly as an ornamental element, has been documented.

Keywords: Western Siberia, Ishim region, Bronze to Iron Age Transition, Krasnoozerka, Itkul, Gamayun Cultures, bone arrowheads, technology, traceology.

 

Poshekhonova O.E.

The Pur River basin (North of Western Siberia) in the Early Iron Age

The paper examines a few artefacts of Early Iron Age date of the Beloyarsk and Kulayka Cultures from the Kharampur River basin, largely represented mainly by ceramic vessels. The results of the analysis and radiocarbon dating allowed for several preliminary conclusions to be drawn regarding the cultural and genetic processes that occurred in the region during this period. In the Early Iron Age, the population of the eastern part of the north of Western Siberia increased due to the influx of groups from the Surgut Ob region. The migrations were potentially facilitated by end of the 9th — beginning of the 8th century BC (or later) were the tribes of the Beloyarsk Culture; however, their settlements have so far been identified only in the Kharampur River basin. Based on the available data, it can be assumed that they lived in isolation in the new territory, having lost contact with the Surgut Ob region. Later, in the 4th century BC, the region, including basins of rivers Pur, Taz and Nadym, was populated by the Kulayka tribes, who were in constant contact with the inhabitants of the Surgut Ob region. However, the presence of indigenous cultures in the region — such as those represented by the settlements at the Voento site — cannot be ruled out. It is possible that the Kulayka tribes moved into the northern forest tundra from another region — the lower Ob River, which would explain the similarities between pottery from the Nadym River basin sites and the Ust Poluy assemblage.

Keywords: north of Western Siberia, Early Iron Age, Beloyarsk culture, Surgut variation of the Kulayka Culture, ceramics.

 

Zimina O.Yu.

Itkul Culture in the Trans-Urals and Tobol region (Eastern Variant): on the issue of revision of the materials

The article discusses a new concept of the development of cultures at the turn of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Trans-Ural and Tobol regions during the period the 10th to 4th (3rd) centuries BC, proposed by V.A. Borzu nov. The concept implies the division of the Itkul Culture into the Itkul and Iset Cultures and defining of the eastern local variant of the Itkul Culture as the Yurtobor Culture. The reasoning for the division of the first two cultures lies in the two types of pottery (I and II), combined in the 1970s by G.V. Bel'tikova within the framework of the Itkul Culture of the Trans-Urals. The eastern local variant of the 8th–6th centuries BC was identified in the Tobol region based on materials from weakly fortified settlements with a circular layout and Itkul pottery of type II. Its dynamics was expressed in the assimilation of incoming Uralic groups, development of a new pottery type (Vak-Kur), and the emergence of fortified settlements with unfortified sections. The article argues that identifying the Iset Culture is currently impossible, since the key characteristics, except for ceramics, including territory, typology of settlement and dwellings, tool assemblage, and main economic activities — remain undetermined. Separation of the Eastern Variant of the Itkul Culture as a distinct Yurtobor Culture, despite its well-defined range of characteristics, is also premature, as the main culture-defining feature — Itkul pottery of type II — connects it to Uralic materials. Renaming the “Eastern Variant of the Itkul Culture” into the “Eastern Variant of the Iset Culture” will become possible once the “Iset Culture” itself is identified based on certain characteristics. This paper also presents new statistical data on the number of sites of the Eastern Variant of the Itkul Culture identified in the Tobol region.

Keywords: Trans-Urals, Tobol region, Transition Period from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age, Itkul Culture, Gamayun Culture, Eastern Variant of the Itkul Culture.

 

Anoshko O.M.

The Chukman excavation in Tobolsk

This publication continues a series of articles introducing into scientific circulation findings of the archaeological research into the cultural layer of the first Russian provincial town of Tobolsk in Siberia. In the area of the Chukman excavation, laid in the southeastern part of Cape Chukman, in addition to fortifications of different periods, a section of the upper trading quarter with housing and economic development was studied. A comprehensive analysis of archaeological, historical and cartographic sources made it possible to identify features of the planning structure of this territory during the 17th–18th centuries. This includes its gradual transformation into a recreational zone in the 19th century, (which still exists). The characteristics of the findings allow us to conclude that the inhabitants of the cape had a fairly high level of material well-being; i.e. some houses even had expensive tiled stoves.

Keywords: Tobolsk, upper settlement, 17th–19th centuries, residential and utility buildings, recreational area, artifacts.

 

Tkachev A.A., Tkachev Al.Al.

Kipchak kurgans of the Menovnoe VII necropolis (Eastern Kazakhstan)

The article concludes the series of publication of materials obtained during the study of the Kipchak kurgans in the Menovnoye VII multi-period necropolis, located on the territory of the Upper Irtysh region. The burial structures form two groups: the first consists of three mounds located closely to each other in the western part of the site; the second comprises two kurgans positioned in a distance from each other in the eastern part of the cemetery. The planigraphy of the site suggests a certain chronological isolation of the analysed structures within the framework of the development of the Kipchak cultural traditions during the end of the 10th–12th centuries. The analysis of the funeral rites and the remains of the accompanying grave goods found during the study of the burial mounds of the second group make it possible to date them to the pre-Mongolian time within the 12th century AD. The composition of the material complex of the analysed kurgans, despite their robbery, demonstrates the high social status of the deceased.

Keywords: Upper Irtysh region, the Middle Ages, Kipchaks, burial mound, funeral rite, burials, inventory.

 

Zinyakov N.M.

The state of the ironworking industry in the cities of Western Siberia in the 17th–18th centuries (according to metallographic data)

The article examines iron-working production in the 17th–18th centuries in four cities of Western Siberia, each of which held a different legal status. Tobolsk functioned as the main city and administrative centre of Siberia, Tomsk was a regional centre, whereas Tara and Kuznetsk were district towns. Metallographic analysis of 85 blacksmithing products allowed us to conclude, that the blacksmith craft in the cities of Western Siberia acquired technical and technological skills of iron and steel processing inherent in the master craftsmen in the European part of Russia. Urban ironworking was comprised of eleven technological schemes, which can be broken up of two main technological categories. The first group is formed by all-metal products, the second are byproducts of welded construction. Their proportions vary among the studied craft centres. Tobolsk occupies the leading position: within the city, 58 % of the finds belong to the first technological group, and 42 % to the second, more complex, group. These results correspond closely to indicators from several European cities. Tomsk shows a similar pattern, with 59 % of finds belonging to the first group and 41 % to the second category. In contrast, the technological patterns observed in Tara and Kuznetsk differ distinctly from those described above. In these towns, the share of products belonging to the second technological group is substantially smaller — 28 % and 29 % respectively — and that of forgings of the first group is much higher (72 % and 71 %). This assymmetry suggests that the craft environments of Tara and Kuznetsk were dominated by craftspeople with lower levels of technical qualification.

Keywords: Siberian cities, blacksmith products, metallographic analysis, production technology.