Dyachenko A.N. Non-Standard Early Bronze Burials Near the Yesaulovsky Aksay River. Some Issues of Cultural Genesis
Alexander N. Dyachenko, Researcher, Laboratory of Archaeological Research, Volgograd State University, Prosp. Universitetsky, 100, 400062 Volgograd, Russian Federation
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Abstract. The article dwells upon publication and analysis of materials from two unusual Early Bronze Age burials, dating back to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, investigated by the Volgograd State University expedition in the southern part of the Volga-Don interfluve. The published archaeological complexes were discovered in the kurgan cemeteries located on the bank terraces of the steppe river called Yesaulovsky Aksay. A number of distinctive features made it possible to attribute these complexes to the late period of the Lower Volga Yamnaya culture. These kurgan burials stand out on the overall background of the Yamna culture burials due to the grave structure features, details of the burial rite and positions of the buried individuals. The bodies positions in the investigated burials are unusual. In one case, the dead body was arranged into a sitting position with the head turned towards the south. In another one, the dead body was segmented and then put into the typical crouched position on the side with the head turned towards the east. Both rites had come from another culture associated with the North Caucasus region which had a significant impact on the economy, social and ideological structure, burial practices of the population of the Lower Volga region and the adjacent territories of Russian southern steppes throughout the Early and Middle Bronze Ages.
Key words: Volga-Don interfluve, cultural genesis, Bronze Age, Yamnaya culture, Catacomb culture, burial rite.
Citation. Dyachenko A.N., 2022. Nestandartnye pogrebeniya ranney bronzy Esaulovskogo Aksaya. Nekotorye voprosy kul’turogeneza [Non-Standard Early Bronze Burials Near the Yesaulovsky Aksay River. Some Issues of Cultural Genesis]. Nizhnevolzhskiy Arkheologicheskiy Vestnik [The Lower Volga Archaeological Bulletin], vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 255-266. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/nav.jvolsu.2022.1.13
Non-Standard Early Bronze Burials Near the Yesaulovsky Aksay River. Some Issues of Cultural Genesis by Dyachenko A.N. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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