Interpreting the archaeological record is problematic if no additional information exists from written sources. In this case, archaeological typology and scientific analysis are often the main tools for gaining insights into prehistoric life, even though they may be rather abstract.
In the centre of the Eurasian Steppe-belt, which stretches from Eastern Europe to Mongolia, the South Ural Mountains occupy a key position, as they form a threshold between the European and Central Asian steppes. The surrounding areas not only form a unique geographical and ecological region, but also, in prehistoric times, an interconnected cultural area called the "Great Urals".[i]
During the Bronze Age, the steppes of the South Urals were inhabited by groups of pastoralists who mainly raised cattle, sheep and horses. The population was mostly sedentary and engaged in copper production. The Bronze Age in Middle Eurasia is a special period because it differs greatly in subsistence strategies and material culture from the preceding Neolithic/ Aeneolithic hunter-gatherers and the later highly mobile horse pastoralists.
A number of fortified settlements have been recorded in the Middle Bronze Age. The finds have been termed the Sintashta culture. Internationally, the Sintashta culture is known for burials with very early chariots in the burial chambers.[ii] In general, burials of the Sintashta culture are unusually sumptuous compared to contemporary cultures in the wider area. In many cases, a wooden burial chamber was constructed. A chamber could contain up to eight individual corpses. A large number of different weapons, tools, ceramic vessels and sanctified animals were placed around the deceased. Many individuals wore jewellery. Flat kurgans (tumuli) were constructed over the graves, which may cover a large number of individual graves.
In comparison, the subsequent Late Bronze Age settlements are much smaller and unfortified. The burial sites are much larger than before, but the individual graves are very simple and uniform, consisting of small burial pits for (mostly) single individuals. Pottery was very common in the graves, and jewellery was also worn on the body, while weapons and tools occur only sporadically. The Late Bronze Age finds are part of a litter complex of several related cultures, commonly summarised as the "Andronovo family of cultures ". Numerous studies have attempted to define this cultural complex and describe their cultural affiliations and chrono-spatial placements. Nevertheless, the burial customs are predominantly comparable to each other.
This general dichotomy of Middle and Late Bronze Age cultures is well known. In recent years, many scholars have argued that a continuous cultural development led from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age in the Southern Urals,[iii] but the highly fragmented cultural record makes the analysis of cultural development en gros difficult.
As an approach to facilitate a general comparison, a chronological typology of funerary pottery was conducted. Pottery is the most common object in graves. Also, the vessels provide many features, namely shape and ornamentation for a general typology. Furthermore, the Middle and Late Bronze Age pottery, although different, lies on a spectrum and is therefore largely comparable. Since the pottery was produced locally and had to be reproduced regularly, vessels are more chronologically and regionally specific compared to more valuable objects.
[i] For a general overview on the Bronze Age in the Southern Urals see L. N. Koryakova/A. V. Epimakhov, The Urals and Western Siberia in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Cambridge world archaeology (Cambridge, New York 2007); R. Krause/L. N. Koryakova (ed.), Multidisciplinary investigations of the Bronze Age settlements in the Southern Trans-Urals (Russia). Frankfurter archäologische Schriften 23 (Bonn 2013).
[ii] For the discussion on chariot from the Southern Urals see the most recent study by Lindner: St. Lindner, Die technische und symbolische Bedeutung eurasischer Streitwagen für Europa und die Nachbarräume im 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr. Berliner Archäologische Forschungen 20 (Rahden/Westf. 2021).
[iii] See for example: I. V. Chechushkov/A. V. Epimakhov, Eurasian Steppe Chariots and Social Complexity During the Bronze Age. Journal of World Prehistory 31, 4, 2018, 441.