Grigoriev S.A.

PROBLEM OF CHRONOLOGY AND ORIGIN OF THE ALAKUL CULTURE IN LIGHT OF NEW EXCAVATIONS IN THE SOUTHERN URALS

The article deals with chronology and origin of the Alakul culture of the Bronze Age in the Trans-Urals and with searching for its early sites. One of the problems of the Bronze Age in the Trans-Urals is that there are no sites of the Sintashta and Petrovka periods in forest-steppe areas. Basing on analysis of stratigraphic situations and typological characteristics, relations of the Alakul culture with other cultural complexes of the region and adjacent territories, such as Petrovka, Tashkovo, Koptyaki, Elunino, Seyma-Turbino, were identified. A conclusion was made about synchronization of the early Alakul sites with the Sintashta culture. The same possibility is testified by Poltavka inclusions in Alakul ceramics. It is also confirmed by the results of radiocarbon dating. And this dating completely corresponds to the early dates obtained from analyses of materials of the Chistolebyazhsky and Hripunovsky cemeteries. Today the number of such early dates increased and is already 43 % of all the Alakul dates, so it can't be considered as an accidental result. Respectively, formation of the Alakul culture began in the forest-steppe soon after the Sintashta people had appeared in the steppe Trans-Urals, due to isolation of populations, bearers of the Sintashta and Poltavka traditions. Similar processes in Kazakhstan led to the origin of the Petrovka culture.

Key words: Alakul culture, Bronze Age, Trans-Urals, dating and origins.

Vinogradov N.B.

CHRONOLOGY AND ORIGIN OF «THE ALAKUL CULTURE» IN THE TRANS-URALS. REFLECTIONS ON THE STANISLAV A. GRIGORIEV CONCEPT

The paper is devoted to criticism of the concept of Alakul culture origin and history proposed by Stanislav Grigoriev. The author casts doubt on Stanislav Grigoriev opinion about the dating Alakul sites in the Trans-Urals within two separate time periods and about a direct genetic link of Alakul population and inhabitants of Sintashta sites.

Key words: the forest-steppe Trans-Urals, the Late Bronze age, the Alakul culture, the Sintashta sites, the Petrovka sites.

Epimakhov A.V.

REVISITING RADIOCARBON ARGUMENTATION OF EARLY DATING OF ALAKUL’ ANTIQUITIES

The main aim of the article is the publication of the full catalog of Alakul’ radiocarbon dates. Analysis of the sequences has shown a very contradictory picture. On the one hand, the statistical tests for the same complexes (combine radiocarbon dates) indicated that more than half of them should not be used. The sum of the probabilities did not show a normal distribution. On the other hand, the reference series of Lisakovsky cemeteries (and other AMS dates) clearly corresponded to the scheme of periodization of the Late Bronze Age in Eastern Europe and Western Siberia. In this regard, the Alakul’ culture is to be attributed to the first half of the II millennium BC with a probable reduction of this interval in future.

Key words: Late Bronze Age, Trans-Urals, relative and absolute chronology, radiocarbon dating.

Tkachev V.V.

RADIOCARBON CHRONOLOGY OF KOZHUMBERDY CULTURAL GROUP ON THE WESTERN PERIPHERY OF THE ALAKUL AREA

The article discusses the problem of chronology of the Kozhumberdy cultural group from the Ural-Mugodzhary region, which is the local variant of the Alakul culture. It introduces into scientific use a new series of radiocarbon dates from settlements and burial grounds of the Late Bronze Age, located in the southern spurs of the Ural Mountains. The analysis of the raw data allowed us to determine the chronological interval of existence of monuments of the Kozhumberdy cultural groups within the second half of the XVIII century BC — XII century BC with possible division of this period into two successive phases, the boundary between them is approximately 1400 BC. Radiocarbon dating allows us to make a conclusion about the relative synchrony of the Alakul and the Fedorovo cultures. Only monuments of the Late Alakul (Petrovka) stage have chronological priority, while the appearance of Fedorovo component refers to an advanced stage of the Alakul culture. The late phase of the existence of monuments of the Kozhumberdy cultural groups is linked in time with the horizon of Valikovaya pottery cultures of the end of the Bronze Age which makes their genetic continuity possible.

Key words: Late Bronze Age, Alakul culture, Kozhumberdy cultural group, Ural-Mugodzhary region, radiocarbon dating.

Alaeva I.P.

THE EARLY SITES OF THE ALAKUL CULTURE IN THE URAL-KAZAKHSTAN REGION

The paper was written as part of the discussions about the S.A. Grigoriev view on particular origins of the Alakul culture in the forest-steppe Trans-Urals. S.A. Grigoriev identified categories early Alakul sites, which are not related to Petrovka culture and synchronized them with Sintashta period. The author of this paper raises the problem of similarity and diversity of early stage of the Alakul culture in different regions of the Ural-Kazakhstan region. In the main part of the article it shows a ceramic typology of early Alakul sites. The comparison shows that the early Alakul vessels associated with Petrovka type of ceramics, which is presented on all local variants of the Ural-Kazakhstan region. Sintashta signs fixed only at the earliest types in conjunction with the features of the Petrovka culture. At the same time the specificity of ceramic complexes allows to distinguish two different variants of the Alakul culture in different territories. The first variant — «classic» or Eastern which is situated in forest-steppe of the Trans-Urals, Tobol river region, North and Central Kazakhstan. The second variant is «non-classical» or Western occupies the steppe areas of the Southern Urals and West Kazakhstan (Aktobe-Orsk region).

Key words: the Late Bronze Age, ceramic complexes, the Alakul culture, the Petrovka type, the early Alakul type.