Part II Archaeological Excavations - Center for the Study of Eurasian ...

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Kurgans, Ritual Sites, and Settlements: Eurasian Bronze and Iron Age Figure 15. Kurgan 9: 1–8 bone rings (bracelet?), Bronze Age Early Pit Burial 9; 2- worked sheep bone fragment, Burial 9; 3- handmade gray clay vessel, Burial 6; 4–5- large handmade gray clay vessels from Late Bronze Age Timber-Frame Burial 7; 6- small broken cup from Bronze Age Early Pit Burial 8; 7- dark gray shingle, Burial 8; 8- gray clay handmade vessel, Burial 11; 9- single-edged iron knife, Burial 11; 10- 2 bronze arrowheads, Burial 12; 11- fragments of bronze ring, Burial 12. 62
Burials and Settlements at the Eurasian Crossroads: Joint Franco-Russian Project Ludmila Koryakova (Russia) 1 , Marie-Yvane Daire (France) 2 With assistance of Patrice Courtaud3 , Esther Gonzalez2 , Andrew Kovrigin1, Luic Languet2 , Dominique Marguerie2 , Dmitry Razhev2 , Svetlana Sharapova, 2 and Marie-Celine Uge2 Abstract This paper presents a general outline of the Russian-French collaborative project undertaken in the Ural and Transural region. The objects of the research comprised the local cultures of nomads, semi-nomadic herders, and metallurgical specialists in the steppes, forest-steppes, and foothill landscapes. Throughout a period of six years, joint excavations and multidisciplinary investigations were accomplished in three settlements and five cemeteries which contained the remains of both aristocratic and ordinary burials. Chronologically, the monuments covered the continuous time frame from the 7th century BC to the 3rd century AD. The sites provided abundant materials which were characteristic of the economic bases, environments, mortuary practices, architecture, and stylistic traditions of pottery making used by these populations. In the area under study, the interactive contacts were primarily between steppe and forest-steppe inhabitants from the Bronze Age period; the contacts continued and became symbiotic during the succeeding Iron Age. Keywords Urals, western Siberia, settlements, kurgans, Sargat Culture, Gorokhovo Culture, Iron Age Introduction This paper aims to briefly present some general outlines and results of the Russian-French collaborative project, which was undertaken in the Ural and Transural regions by the French teams of CNRS (Unité Mixte de Recherche 6566, Rennes; and Unité Mixte de Recherche 5809, Bordeaux) and the Russian Academy of Science (Institute of History and Archaeology, and the Ural State University - Ekaterinburg). This collaborative effort has been in progress since 1993 when it was first directed by Dr. Jean-Pierre Pautreau and Dr. Ludmila Koryakova, and subsequently since 1995, with the French direction of Dr. Marie-Yvane Daire. The project comprises (1) common fieldwork in Russia, (2) analytical work in Russia and France and, (3) collaborative publications. Throughout the process of data accumulation and achieving a better understanding of our material, the general interpretation of cultural development has gradually changed. We have noted 63 the evolution of these societies from initially being primitive and poor to an advanced phase, quite in keeping with the conditions that were characteristic for the beginning of the Iron Age. Basic objectives and area of research The project pursues several objectives, of which the primary one is to explore the cultural systems of the Ural and Transural region within the context of internal and external relationships and connections. The secondary purpose is to study the forms of adaptation to marginal lands, and cultural contacts and geographic environments that were open to various influences. The objects of study are the indigenous populations that include nomads, semi-nomadic herders, and specialized metallurgists connected with steppes, forest-steppes, and foothill landscapes, specifically in the Kurgan and Chelyabinsk districts (Fig. 1). The Ural-Siberian forest-steppe landscapes are characterized by geographic zonality. Western Siberian is an almost flat plain with a small northward incline and it maintains a smooth transition to other geographic zones. The river network is not of great density, and the large transit rivers–the Ob, Irtysh, Ishim, and Tobol are of the Kazakhstan type. The climate is continental, and during the warm season the air currents come to the forest-steppe chiefly from Kazakhstan and Central Asia, with resulting droughts and arid conditions. Cold air which comes from the Arctic during the winter, and in some cases during the summer, creates a very unstable and severe climate. Additionally, the Ural Mountains retain moisture which originates from the Atlantic. As it passes through Europe the warm Atlantic air mass loses some of its moisture, causing cooling during winter and warming during the summer, resulting in some of the characteristics of a continental climate. The low Ural Mountains do not stop the western air streams, and only weaken them to a certain extent. The eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains drop towards the Transural Plateau. The general characteristics of Transural climate comprise rather limited winter precipitation, very cold winters, a quick transition to spring, hot summers, constant winds both summer and winter, and reoccurring droughts every 8-12 years. The Trans-Ural steppes lie further to the north than the European steppes. In the former zone, the forest-steppe extends
Page 1 and 2: Part II Archaeological Excavations
Page 3 and 4: Ancient Sanctuaries of the Aral and
Page 5 and 6: A dagger for both hunting and battl
Page 7 and 8: the powerful influence of the Helle
Page 9 and 10: Fig. 1. Map of the Aral-Caspian Reg
Page 11 and 12: Fig. 3. Konai Sanctuary. An example
Page 13 and 14: Excavations of the Aksai Kurgans in
Page 15 and 16: thetically described. The undisturb
Page 17 and 18: here from the Early through Middle
Page 19 and 20: 49 Excavations of the Aksai Kurgans
Page 21 and 22: 51 Excavations of the Aksai Kurgans
Page 23 and 24: Figure 6. Kurgan 6 with 3 burials:
Page 25 and 26: Figure 8. Kurgan 8: 1- Plan of Kurg
Page 27 and 28: Figure 10. Figures 1-8- Middle Sarm
Page 29 and 30: Figure 12. Early Catacomb Burial 16
Page 31: Figure 14. Kurgan 9: 1- burial 5 (u
Page 35 and 36: Prygovsky Archaeological Complex Th
Page 37 and 38: Clay vessels from the excavations n
Page 39 and 40: cultural sequences that were brough
Page 41 and 42: Fig. 1. Location of the sites that
Page 43 and 44: Fig. 6. Prygovo settlement.some art
Page 45 and 46: The Environment of Iron Age Burials
Page 47 and 48: Malakazakhbaievo site during the Ir
Page 53 and 54: The Kazakh-American TalgarProject A
Page 55 and 56: aerial photographs reveal that ther
Page 57 and 58: Table 2. Counts of kurgan locations
Page 59 and 60: The Beiram Mound A Nomadic Cultic S
Page 61 and 62: kilometers adjacent to the high roa
Page 63 and 64: in the region. The thousands of oth
Page 65 and 66: Tatar, M. 1992. Through the Sayan M
Page 67 and 68: Table 5. Central Pit, Levels 7 to 1
Page 69 and 70: Fig. 3. Beiram Mound in the foregro
Page 71 and 72: 101 The Beiram Mound: A Nomadic Cul
Page 73 and 74: Fig. 10 (opposite page). Artifacts
Page 75 and 76: Fig. 17. Two iron slag deposits wer

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