The Neolithic period in the Lower Ishim Basin (Western Siberia) is represented by several cultures and pottery groups (Boborykino, Koshkino, the group of the cordoned ware, Kozlovo, Mahanjar, comb ceramics with the features of the Sosnovoostrovskaya Culture, Kokuy, and Ekaterininsk). The reference territory for the study of the period comprises the north-eastern shore of Lake Mergen. Basen on the study of the settlements of Mergen 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 the vectors and nature of the relations between the Lower Ishim Basin population and that of the adjoining territories have been identified. The aim was set by the need for tracking their dynamics in retrospective — from Neolithisation of the region to the final stage of the period, and in the context of the extant V.S. Mosin’s hypothesis of the sociocultural space of the Trans-Urals. As the basic markers of these processes, the following have been considered: raw material preferences within the lithic industries; morphological, ornamental, and technological specifics of the featured ceramic complexes; and specifics of economic adaptation. The data analysis has revealed that in the early and middle Neolithic (7th — mid to the third quarter of the 5th mil. BC) the dominant direction of contacts was south-south-western, western, and, probably, north-western (the Upper Ishim River and the Turgay Depression, the Tobol-Iset and Upper Miass River regions, the Lower Tobol River Basin, left bank of the Irtysh River, and, probably, the Konda lowland). The population of the Ishim River valley during this period constituted an integral part of the sociocultural space of the Trans-Urals. At the end of the Neolithic (the third quarter of the 5th — first quarter of the 4th mil. BC), the principal vector of the relations of the population of the Lower Ishim Basin shifts to the east, which resulted in the formation of the syncretic Kokuy complexes (on the basis of the Artyn Culture of the right-bank Irtysh Basin and Baraba and in the penetration into the river valley of the bearers of the comb-pit (Ekaterininsk) tradition of the Middle Irtysh River Basin.

In 2020, the expedition of Poengurr and the Institute of History and Archaeology of the Ural Branch of RAS investigated the settlement of Tolum-1, which functioned during the Neolithic, Eneolithic, Bronze and Early Iron Ages. The site is located in the north of Western Siberia, in Kondinsky District of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Yugra. Structure (dwelling) No. 3 containing a complex of stone tools and pottery of the Enyi type, as well as the adjoint area, were investigated by an excavation trench of an area of 499 m2. On the settlement, 108 stone items were found, the large part of which concentrates within the boundaries of dwelling No. 3. The research is based upon the method of technical and typological analysis of stone-tool assemblage, implying the development of a typology of stone tools and the study of their production technology taking into account the quality of the ornamental raw materials used by the ancient population. According to the raw-material composition of the stonetool assemblage, mainly represented by soft rocks (grey-green slate, burgundy schist, etc.) and, to a lesser extent, by flint of various colors, quartz and quartzite, the ancient population of this region did not have continuous sources of high-quality ornamental raw materials. Prevailing on the settlement are the tools for woodworking (drillbit-shaped tools, adzes, chisels), and also found were knives and a representative collection of arrowheads. Items for stone processing are few: a hammer-stone, a retoucher, and two cores. There is a higher presence of unprocessed pebbles and tiles, and chips and fragments of polished products. The main technological chain on the site was production of polished tools from local gray-green slate by chipping off and subsequent grinding. The production of flint tools by splitting and retouching was insignificant. The stone assemblage of the Tolum-1 settlement finds analogies in the complexes of the Enyi type of the north of Western Siberia. Certain categories and types of products are more widespread — double-sided retouched fish-shaped arrowheads are found in quantity in the Trans-Urals, polished leaf-shaped arrowheads with a groove — in the Eneolithic sites of the north of Western Siberia, while polished arrowheads with a tapered truncated base were found among the Eneolithic materials of the Surgut Ob Basin and on the sites with the Ushya ceramics of the Neolithic Period of the Konda lowland. Polished rounded and teardrop-shaped pendants are found in the funerary and, to a lesser extent, settlement complexes of the Trans-Urals and Western Siberia in the Late Neolithic — Eneolithic. A series of radiocarbon dates obtained for the settlement of Tolum-1 and other sites of the Enyi type in the north of Western Siberia, as well as the technical and technological characteristics and morphology of the stone inventory of the settlement under consideration, and a wide range of analogies leave open the possibility of attributing the structure No. 3 to the Eneolithic Period, within the span of the calibrated dates in the interval of 3600–2600 BC.

The practice of archaeological research often illustrates situations where the sum of facts does not correspond to the cultural-historical approach; it is impossible to squeeze this sum into the framework of the term “archaeological culture”. Deviations from his canonical understanding of the term may relate to the duration of the phenomenon, its spatial distribution or the degree of stereotyping of material culture and rituals. The frontier can be one of the options for interpreting such non-standard groups of archaeological objects. The purpose of the study is to test the possibilities of using the concept for the interpretation of the Sintashta sites of the Bronze Age of the Southern Urals (the turn of 3rd — 2nd millennium cal BC) in the light of new data from a comprehensive study (paleogenetics, chronology, etc.). Sintashta settlements and cemeteries are located on the compact territory of the northern steppe: settlements in the Trans-Urals, the burial ground — on both sides of the Ural Mountains. Previous studies have accumulated a huge amount of data on all major aspects, but the general concept remains debatable. The new data comes from mass radiocarbon dating, which allowed to use Bayesian modeling. New data of mass radiocarbon dating confirm the brevity of the functioning of the Sintashta settlements and burial grounds, as well as the possibility of partial synchronization of this tradition with others. Paleogenetic analyzes (more than 50 samples) have shown the heterogeneity of the Sintashta population. Peleogenetic data made it possible to diagnose traces of a subtratian population absorbed by the main migratory group. In material culture, The evidences in material culture are not traced. The same data confirmed a special scenario for the formation of necropolises, weakly associated with the consanguinity of the buried individuals. Only 1/5 of the deceased turned out to be relatives of the first and second degree. The new data significantly complement the previously formulated criteria, which allow us to consider the group of Sintashta sites as a reflection of the situation of the frontier. The Sintashta society in the frontier was formed as complex society. But it did not have the prospect of forming statehood.

In the paper, the burials of the Post-Catacomb period (2200–1800 cal BC), whose inventory included large bone tools for leather processing, are analysed. Most of them are represented in the Lola Culture circle (Ciscaucasia and the Volga-Urals), and only in few instances they have been found in the burials of the Babino Culture circle (the Lower Volga and the Lower Don regions). The mapping indicates that in the latter case we are dealing with the evidence of intercultural contacts between the representatives of the Lola and Babino traditions. The analysis of the materials shows that the tradition of using large tools for skin processing in the funeral rite developed at the end of the Middle Bronze Age in Ciscaucasia within the Lola Culture circle. The Lola Culture was the main generator here. Its materials contain the largest number of such tools and their greatest variety. To such an extent, it is not represented within the materials of any other cultural formation of the Post-Catacomb period and in any of the cultures of the Late Bronze Age, where this tradition was inherited and rooted itself. It is noteworthy that in the Post-Catacomb burials, large leather-processing tools in most cases were present in the toolsets alongside other production implements, most often with stone tools. Besides, the functional relation between the bone and stone components of such toolsets is either not obvious or completely absent. It is possible that the interred with the attributes of different crafts might have been associated with the variants of the well-known Cult of Demiurge, well represented in archaic societies. The analysis of some features of the rite and combinations with other categories of the inventory in the burials of the Lola Culture circle shows that there is a correlation between the types of the large leather-processing tools and particular specific features of the ritual practice. Thus, the tools made from the lower jaws and pelvic bones of large ungulate animals clearly correlate with the southward orientation of the skeletons in the burials. The leather-processing tools made from the ribs of the large ungulate animals were seen predominantly in the burials with northward orientations. It is still difficult to say what lies behind such steady correlations, but it should be noted that in a reduced form they recur in the subsequent Late Bronze Age. The answer to the last question requires further expansion of the source base.

The paper provides brief information about crescent-shaped or moon-shaped stone pendants from the Bronze Age sites of Southern and Western Siberia. These artifacts belong to the category of rather rare finds. Across the vast territory from Cisbaikalia in the east to the Middle Irtysh Basin in the west only about 50 such items are known from the complexes of Glazkovo, Okunevo, Elunino, Odino, Krotovo, and Stepanovo archaeological cultures. In most cases, lunula pendants originate from the burial complexes. Particular attention is paid to the items associated with the archaeological cultures of the taiga zone of Western Siberia (Kulyegan, Polymyat, and Vary-Khadyta). The context of 13 finds, their raw material and shape has been characterized in detail. The items of the forest series feature small dimensions: a length from 4.7–5 to 8.5 cm and a thickness from 0.17 to 0.45 cm. In comparison with the larger artefacts of the Glazkovo, Krotovo, and Odino Cultures, the taiga pendants look like their miniature imitations. Most of the items were found in the settlements. The Eneolithic — Early Bronze Age archaeological sites of the taiga Ob Basin, whose materials contain lunula pendants, belong to the 3rd — early 2nd mil. BC. This chronological range coincides with the presence of such artifacts in the forest-steppe zone. The peculiar stone pendants are interpreted as an attribute of a new symbolism in the cultures of the forest communities, introduced by the Seima-Turbino groups of the population. Migrations of the Seima-Turbino populations along the Ob and Irtysh Rivers were accompanied by the mass distribution in the taiga zone of large fortified dwellings, new types of metal tools and weapons, advanced metal production technologies, and the widespread use of tin bronzes. They explain the similarity of the pottery materials and stone inventory of the taiga and the forest-steppe sites. The discovery of stone pendants in various forest zone regions, including its Arctic outskirts, allows one to interpret them as a characteristic Siberian symbolic attribute of the Palaeometal Period.

Gonur-depe is a Bronze-Age archaeological site in Turkmenistan, the presumable center of Ancient Margiana (the Bactrian-Margiana archaeological complex), located in the South-Eastern Karakum. The proto-urban center was functioning from 2500 to 1500 BC. The basis of the economy of the ancient population was mixed farming, including irrigated agriculture and livestock. Cattle was used as the source of meat, milk, skins, as well as draft animals and in rituals. In terms of the number of bones from the excavations, cattle is inferior to small cattle. However, in terms of the meat production, the contributions of bovine cattle and small cattle to the diet of the inhabitants of Gonur-depe were commensurable. Bones of older individuals predominate amongst the animals slaughtered for meat. Bones of bovine cattle are found in all excavation trenches of the site in garbage layers and ritual structures. At the same time, information on the morphological features of the cattle has been extremely limited until recently. Therefore, this study was aimed at the analysis of the morphometric characteristics of the skeletal remains of cattle from the excavations of Gonur. These data give an idea of the size of the cattle bred by the ancient population. Complete skeletons are of particular interest for the morphological study. We have studied the skeletons from burial No. 3895 of Northern Gonur, tomb No. 12 of Gonur-21, and remains of a dismembered carcass from burial No. 3890. The first skeleton belongs to an adult bull, the second to a calf, and the dismembered carcass belongs to a young cow. The size of the bull, measured by the skeleton, is quite large. It reached a height of at least 136 cm. Comparison of the measurements of disparate cattle bones from Gonur and other sites of the Bronze Age shows that they are on average larger than those of cattle of the Late Bronze Age of Eastern Europe, close in size to the bones of cattle from the Trans-Urals, and slightly smaller than the Eneolithic cattle of Southern Turkmenistan. The sizes of the metapodia, talus bones and first phalanges were used to calculate the height at the withers by disparate bones. The average height at the withers of the cattle from Gonur, reconstructed on the basis of the measurements of the skeletons and scattered bones, was at least 120 cm for cows, at least 130 cm for bulls, and 132 cm or more for oxen. Therefore, the size of the cattle bred by the inhabitants of Gonur in arid conditions was not smaller, and in some cases even larger than that of cattle of some other cultures of the Late Bronze Age and differed insignificantly from the Eneolithic cattle of Southern Turkmenistan.

The problem of the beginning of iron production in the Late Bronze Age of the Ural-Kazakhstan region is discussed. For this, 13 iron-bearing artefacts from nine settlements that functioned in the 2nd mil. BC were studied using the SEM-EDS and LA-ICP-MS methods: metal objects, metallurgical slags, and a bimetallic droplet. Most of the studied artefacts are not related to the iron metallurgy. High ferric impurities in copper metal products of the Late Bronze Age on the territory of the Southern Trans-Urals are caused by the use of iron-rich ore concentrates. The raw materials for these products were represented by mixed oxidized-sulphide ores from the cementation subzone of the volcanogenic massive sulphide and skarn copper deposits. Iron droplets, frequently found in the Late Bronze Age copper slag in the Ural-Kazakhstan region, are not directly related to iron metallurgy. They are by-products of the copper metallurgy formed in the process of copper extraction from the iron-rich components of the furnace charge or fluxes (brown iron ore, iron sulphides). The only artefacts that indicate direct smelting of metal from iron ore are the slag fragments from the Kent settlement. Presumably, oxidized martitized ore of the Kentobe skarn deposit or its nearby analogues was used to extract iron at the Kent settlement. Rare finds of iron slags from the Late Bronze Age, known only in the territory of Central Kazakhstan, confirm an extremely small scale of iron production. Iron ore had been already deliberately used for these experiments. However, iron metallurgy in the Ural-Kazakhstan region developed into a mature industry much later. The discovery of iron metallurgy based on the smelting of copper-sulphide ores in the Ural-Kazakhstan steppes is doubtful. The use of sulphide ores here is known from the 20th c. BC, and it was widespread. In the meantime, the first iron slags and products appear much later, and their finds are sporadic. The development of iron metallurgy on the basis of experiments with iron ores seems more likely.

At the end of the Late Bronze Age, there were events taking place in the history of the Eurasian steppes that manifested the beginning of the formation of cultures of the Scythian type. These processes, in many aspects triggered by the climate changes, spread into both southern taiga and forest-steppe territories of Western Siberia. In understanding the processes of the transitional period from the Bronze to Early Iron Age and beginning of the Early Iron Age in the southern taiga and forest-steppe Ishim River Basin, a major role pertains to the materials of the multi-layered hillfort of Borki 1, in the study of which, as well as of the cultures of the concerned period in general, a significant contribution was made by E.M. Danchenko (1991, 1996). The site is located nearby the village of Borki of Vikulovo District, Tyumen Oblast. This paper aims at the analysis and introduction into the scientific discourse of the materials of the Zhuravlevo type from the excavation trench of 2014 with the clean archaeological layer of the beginning of the Early Iron Age. During this period, the fortified platform of the hillfort was overbuilt with dwellings of the above-ground type, probably timber crib. The Zhuravlevo ware of the settlement finds its closest similarities in the materials of the sites of the Lower Ishim Basin: the settlement of Borovlyanka 2, hillfort of Lastochkino Gnezdo 1, fortified settlement of Maray 4, as well as the sites of Yamsysa 7, Kip 3, Novonikolskoe 3 and others in the southern-taiga Ishim-Irtysh area. Differences in the pottery and material culture assemblages even within a range of the Zhuravlevo complexes, not to mention the later ones of the Bogochanovo type, which have certain continuity with the aforementioned complexes, help to reveal evolutionary development of the culture of the transitional period in the Lower Ishim Basin and to raise the issue of the revision of its chronology and periodization. Giving the studies of E.M. Danchenko credit for unification of the Zhuravlevo and Bogochanovo types within the framework of the Bogochanovo Culture of the Early Iron Age, we believe that it would be more logical to consider earlier, Zhuravlevo, materials as a stage in the development of the Krasnoozerka Culture. The existence of the latter we tend to define from the mergence of the Suzgun and Atlym complexes to the formation of the steady Sargatka Culture. In spite of certain dissimilarities in the ware originating from the forest-steppe territories of the Lower Tobol River Basin, Ishim-Irtysh interfluve, Baraba and the Ob River Basin, it still seems that the processes of the development of the cultures of the concerned period in these regions have similarity in many aspects. There is a notable uniformity in the bronze assemblages of the sites of these and much wider territories. Products, similar to those found at the hillfort of Borki 1, are present in the complexes of the steppe belt of Eurasia from Tuva to the Circumpontic area and date to, most likely, the period within the 8th–6th cc. BC.

In this paper, the materials of one of the burial mounds of the Early Kipchak cemetery of Menovnoe VII dated to the turn of the 1st–2nd mil. AD are introduced into the scientific discourse. It was the time of transition in the steppes of the Upper Irtysh River Basin of the hegemony from the Kimaks to Kipchaks; it is scantily addressed in the scientific literature, although, according to the written sources, it was specifically in the steppes of Eastern Kazakhstan where the Kipchaks started dominating; the vector of power changed, and the genesis of the Kipchak Khanate took place. There was the beginning of the Kipchak migration into the bordering regions of Kazakhstan, Central Asia, steppes of the Volga region, and Northern Circumpontic region, where they became known in history as Polovtsy, according to the Russian chronicles, or Cumans in the Byzantine sources. Materials from the burial mounds of the Menovnoe VII cemetery are indicative of the earliest period of the emergence of the Kipchak traditions, which further developed already outside the region of their formation.

The cave of Shulgan-Tash (Kapova) with wall drawings of the Upper Paleolithic is located in the mountain course of the River Belaya in the Southern Urals, nearby the village of Gadelgareevo, Burzyansky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan. In the process of more than 50 years of studying the cave sanctuary, the search for engraved images has been carried out. Two compositions with engraved images were discovered in 2008. Composition No. 1 is located in the Main Gallery, 100 m from the entrance, in a niche on the western wall at a height of about 2 m above the floor level. It consists of the elements located on two levels. At the lower level, a number of elements are confined to the natural fracture and a chain of caverns. Parallel to the horizontal crack, five lines were drawn. The lines connect to a quadrangular shape filled with vertical and horizontal lines. Behind it, the crack merges into a chain of caverns. The upper tier consists of four oval artificial recesses. The fourth groove is located under the engraved anthropomorphic figure, between the legs. This indicates that this is a vulva-shaped symbol. The grooves are connected by deeply incised lines to the quadrangular figure and caverns of the lower tier. Lines also run from the chain of the caverns downwards. Thus, these groups of artificial and natural elements were combined into a single composition. Composition No. 2 is located in the Dome Hall, 150 m from the entrance, above the Chapel of Skulls in the western wall, nearby the colorful wall images in the shape of splashes. It was made on a 16 cm × 14 cm rock surface leveled and cleaned of calcite deposits. The composition consists of three pictorial elements made in three different ways. The first element is represented by two parallel arcuate bands of comb lines of 4 cm wide and about 30 cm long made with a serrated stone tool of 4 cm wide in the soft mondmilch. Under them, with finger impressions in the mondmilch, a circle of about 6 cm in diameter was made of round dimples; rows of engraved straight lines and zigzags were applied to the right of the circle. At present, the composition is held together by calcite incrustation and has completely hardened. The use of stone tools to create the engravings and grooves, the calcite crust inside the engraved lines, the use of the natural forms of the wall relief in the pictorial ensemble, the similarity of the quadrangular figure with the quadrangular symbols painted with ochre in the same cave, and the presence of a vulva-shaped symbol — all this indicates the Upper Paleolithic Age of these compositions.

The problems of development of the early Neolithic and Early Metal Age complexes in the Tobol-Ishim interfluve are still insufficiently studied. A certain understanding of the cultural and historical processes that took place during these periods can be based on the materials of the multi-layered settlement of Chepkul 5, located on the territory of the Andreevskaya lake system near the city of Tyumen. The purpose of this work is to introduce into scientific discourse the research materials of the early Neolithic and Bayryk Culture complexes. Within the Neolithic pottery complex of Chepkul 5, it is possible to conditionally distinguish groups of vessels comparable to the ware of the Boborykino, Koshkino, Basyanovo and comb types, which find similarities in the vast territory from the eastern slopes of the Urals to the Baraba forest-steppe, and from the Lower Ob River to the steppes of Kazakhstan. Stone tools of such complexes, including Chepkul 5, contain points with high steep retouch, oblique points on blades, and geometric microliths. The presence of lips (overhangs) on the rims on the inside of the vessels, and certain other characteristics of ceramics, bring the analysed complex closer to the ware of the Boborykino Culture of the Yurtobor 3 settlement [Zakh, 1995]. Considering the date from charcoal from the settlement of Yurtobor 3 — 6591–6478 cal BC (UPI-559) [Zakh, 1995, 2009] — the time of existence of the settlement Chepkul 5 in the early Neolithic can be correlated with the end of the humid stage and the beginning of the dry period (8.2–5.5 cal ka BP) [Zach, 2021]. According to the location of the pits in the trench of the Early Metal Period dwelling 2 of Chepkul 5, which contained pottery with comb-pit and large-stroke ornamentation, the building can be reconstructed as a semi-dugout with a pillar-frame structure, with an area of about 40 m2. Similar structures, ware, stone and clay sinkers and other items belong to the Bayryk Culture, are dated to the 3rd mil. BC and can be considered together with the Ishim complexes of the Alexandrovo stage of the Ekaterinino Cultures within the comb-pit community of the 3rd mil. BC. However, the complexes of the Tobol and Ishim regions belong to different cultures, as evidenced by the complete absence of clay sinkers in the Ishim region and in the territories to the east. The presence of the latter, as well as drawings on dishes and petroglyphs in the Early Metal Period cultures of Trans-Urals, suggests that the population of the Tobol region was engaged in drive hunting for waterfowl during molting [Zakh, 2022], which could not but affect its cultural specificity.

The sites of the Sintashta and Petrovka archaeological cultures of the Bronze Age of the Southern Trans-Urals (Russia) have been traditionally considered as part of the realm of chariot cultures of early Indo-European communities. The analysis of the finds demonstrates that the phenomenon of charioteering carried an important symbolic role in the paradigm of the steppe communities of the Bronze Age. Numerous finds of chariot fragments, elk antler cheekpieces, paired horse sacrifices, remote combat weapons in cemeteries of Stepnoye I, Stepnoye VII, and Krivoe Ozero have been repeatedly subjected to scientific investigation. Collective burials have been discovered, in which even women and young children are accompanied by weapons, cheekpieces, fragments of chariots and sacrificial horses. Based on this, we have concluded that the community of “charioteers” included members of a certain clan, possibly related to the production and use of chariots, horse training, etc. At the same time, however, individual burials of adult men with elements of a chariot complex have also been found, which occupied central positions in kurgans; those men could have been actual chariot warriors. Recent findings provide a vivid evidence for this. In the field season of 2021, the Sintashta burial complex (kurgan 33) was investigated in the Stepnoye I cemetery, the central burial of which contained a skeleton of a 35–50 year old man who had a round healed hole in his skull. Theoretically, such an injury could have been caused by a battle axe, similar to ones found at the sites of the Sintashta and Petrovka Cultures. Furthermore, abnormal osteophytosis growths have been recorded on all areas of the man's spine, which could have resulted from both injury and high pressure on spine caused by driving a chariot. One elk antler cheekpiece (an element of horse bridle) was found in the burial, along with numerous bones of sacrificial animals. All details of the burial rite indicate that the buried man was a significant person for the community, probably a charioteer warrior. Previously obtained AMS dates attribute the Sintashta complexes of the Stepnoye I cemetery to the range of about 1950–1850 BC. Thus, the newly investigated kurgan 33 of the Stepnoye I cemetery respresents another piece of evidence indicating the existence of chariot culture among the steppe communities of the Bronze Age in the Southern Trans-Urals.

The article presents the analysis of the current stage of the history of study of the Late Bronze Age Cherkaskul Culture, mostly distributed in the forest, forest-steppe and steppe areas of the Trans-Urals, including the Tobol region. The source base of the study is a critical analysis of scientific publications concerning the problems of the culture. Five stages in the history of the study of the Cherkaskul Culture were identified, but the achievements of the first four are presented only briefly, as these have been previously published. At the fifth stage (the end of the past — first two decades of the present century), new knowledge on various problems of the culture, as can be seen from the bibliography, was formed primarily by the efforts of scientific centers of Yekaterinburg, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk. These publications provide various concepts for the genesis of the culture, new calibrated radiocarbon dates are analyzed, which determine the age of the Cherkaskul Culture within the middle — beginning of the third quarter of the 2nd mil. BC. These also demonstrate the intense spread of the sites of this culture to adjacent regions to the west, east and south. Yet, a reasonable point has been raised regarding apparently not so significant influence of the Cherkaskul migrants on the archaeological sites of the eastern regions of Tataria (in particular, the Taktalachuk burial ground), and the Middle Volga region — the Suskan Culture. At the same time, the first publications have appeared on the technical and typological analysis of the Cherkaskul ceramics, the specifics of its metal complex and other categories of the grave goods. The research continues on different aspects of the diversified economy of the Cherkaskul communities in various natural and climatic zones of their habitat; the first data about possible acquaintance of some communities of the forest-steppe Tobol region with the basics of cereal cultivation have been introduced into scientific circulation. However, not all the issues are close to their final solution, which is in particular due to the specifics of the archaeological sites of the region, multi-layered and nonstratified nature of the majority of the settlements, small number of semi-closed housing complexes within them, as well as small number of identified and analysed closed burial sites.

In 2016, in the area of Dianovo village of the Belozersk district of the Kurgan region (West Siberia), a hoard of the Early Iron Age artifacts was found. While examining the area for the identification of structures of the Civil War period, a round-bottomed vessel was accidentally discovered. Inside the container, there was a massive rectangular bronze plate, glass beads, and fragments of jewelry, including bronze strings, bronze plaques in the shape of fish and four-petal plaques strung on leather cords, all wrapped in organic material (felt?). In total, the Dianovo treasure contains 370 objects made of bronze and glass, assembled within a single set, classified as women’s. At present, this is one of very few elements of the women’s costume of the Early Iron Age that have been best preserved in the Southern Trans-Urals. These finds were transferred to the archaeological laboratory of the Kurgan State University, and later the archaeological survey was carried out at the discovery location by I.A. Spiridonov. The purpose of this research is a typological description of the contents of the hoard, its chronological analysis, and a possible reconstruction of the bronze ornament. The main research materials are the container in which the treasure was found — a ceramic round-bottomed vessel, a set of bronze objects that piece together a female (breast?) adornment, a set of glass beads of three types (rounded blue, black (square and rounded) with festoon-like white and yellow pattern), and a massive bronze plate with traces of manufacturing, which probably had the purpose of an ingot. Based on the analysis of the materials, it has been established that the hoard was most likely left by the population of the Gorokhovskaya Culture. This conclusion was made on the basis of the shape and features of the ceramic vessel. This is also supported by the location of the treasure and the general dating of individual items: glass beads of the Black Sea origin have numerous similarities in the sites and are quite clearly dated by these analogues to the 4th–3rd c. BC. The dating of other items of the hoard — elements of the bronze ornament and a bronze ingot-plate is complicated due to the lack of clearly dated analogues or chronological duration of their use. Judging by the composition and carefulness of packing of the items, this hoard apparently was of a situational (possibly in the event of an attack) and returnable character.

The article provides a brief description of the history of the study and characteristics of six large assemblages with petroglyphs of the Karakiyasay complex, located on the southern slopes of the Karzhantau mountain ridge (North-Eastern Uzbekistan). Currently, about 600 stones and rock outcrops with more than 3700 images have been identified within the site. The most interesting is the organization of the pictorial series of one of the assemblages — Karakiyasay II, on the materials of which, using cluster, planigraphic and stratigraphic analyses, it was possible to carry out the chronological attribution of almost all images of this section of the complex. For this, the semantic units of the organization of the visual series of the assemblage were initially designated, including single and paired images, multi-figure “scenes” and plot compositions. Then, for the most numerous images — 169 figures of the Siberian mountain goat, by the means of measuring the figures and calculating the ratios of a various quantities characterizing the proportions of the design of body parts of the animals — the ratio of the body height, length of the legs, neck and head to the length of the body, as well as by introducing quantities containing numerical indicators of the way animals are depicted (number of horns, number of legs, turn of the figure, angle of the legs, angle of the neck) — nine quantitative characters were determined. The next stage is the cluster analysis, which allowed us to identify three clusters (groups) of similar figures of mountain goats. Since the data obtained in the first two clusters turned out to be heterogeneous, they were also subjected to cluster analysis, as a result of which it was possible to identify nine types of figures characterized by a number of similar features. Later, using the analysis of planigraphy and stratigraphy, the accuracy of the identified types was verified, their chronological sequence was determined, and, based on the analogies with the manner of completion of figures in these types, the chronological attribution of the entire pictorial series of the site was carried out. The results of the study indicate that the petroglyphs in the Karakiyasay II assemblage were created mainly in the Late Bronze Age (the second half of the 2nd mil. BC — beginning of the 1st mil. BC) — Early Iron Age (7th c. BC — 4th c. AD).

The article introduces into scientific discourse cultural, chronological and social interpretation of the warrior burial, investigated during the excavations of the necropolis of the Bulan-Koby Culture of the Choburak-I funerary and ritual complex. The site is located on the right bank of the Katun River, to the south from the Elanda village of Chemal district, Altai Republic. During the research, a burial of a man with a horse and accompanying equipment, including a representative set of weapons (bow, a large number of arrows with iron tips, a sword, two combat knives), a belt decorated with numerous belt fittings, horse equipment, and other items were studied. A detailed description of the finds, including both widespread and very rare types of items, has been carried out. The indicated circle of analogies from the sites of the Bulan-Koby Culture of Altai, as well as complexes excavated in adjacent territories, allows us to determine the date of burial mound №30 to the 4th c. AD. This conclusion is confirmed by the results of radiocarbon dating of a series of objects from the Choburak-I necropolis. The complex of elements of ritual practice indicates that the burial mound belongs to the previously identified Dialyan burial tradition of the Altai population of the end of the 1st mil. BC — first half of the 1st mil. AD. This is suggested by the combination of the following features: an oval mound with a crepidoma, inhumation burial rite, northwest orientation of the deceased, accompanying of the deceased by a horse laid “at the feet” of the person and its orientation with its head in the same direction as the deceased, inner grave construction in the form of a deck. The composition of the grave goods allows us to conclude that the buried man was of a high social status, possibly a warrior who commanded a large unit of professional warriors, and also, possibly, the leader of a local group of pastoralists who left the Choburak-I necropolis. Some peculiar features of the analysed complex reflect the ideological paradigm of the Bulan-Koby population, such as placement into the grave of a broken (disassembled?) bow and a large number of arrows, covering the person’s body at the time of the burial.

Questions concerning the effect of environment on appearance, development and disappearance of archaeological cultures in the territory of southern Primorye have been addressed in the article. The chronological framework of the research is from the Late Palaeolithic through to the Middle Ages. Thirty three natural sections of different genesis have been examined for reconstruction of the Late Pleistocene — Holocene environment. Palynological, diatomic and radiocarbon methods have been used for their examination. The data on archaeological periods and cultures have been provided based on the analysis of materials of Primorye archaeological sites (including 14 Palaeolithic, 33 Neolithic, 30 Paleometal, and 15 Medieval). Climatic changes have been discussed in terms of their effect on the resource base of people. The earliest Palaeolithic sites, which 14C date approximately 16,000 years BP, were found in Eastern part of Primorye. Climate warming and rise of sea level in the Early Neolithic (ca. 8,000 years 14C BP) facilitated the growth of resource base and expansion of the Neolithic people with sustainable adaptation models in Primorye. This manifested in the appearance of long-term settlements and differentiation of the tool sets. The beginning of the sea regression around 6,000 14С years BP resulted in the extinction of the Boysman Culture. Slight cooling and aridization of the climate 5,600–5,400 14C years BP contributed to the appearance of a new cultural tradition involved with agriculture. The long existence of cultures in the Late Neolithic and Paleometal periods, with significant climatic shifts, can be explained by introducing mixed economy model with increased role of the economy of producing type. In the Late Paleometal and Medieval periods, economic, political and military factors had a great impact on communities, along with environment and climatic factors. Correlation of palaeogeographical and archaeological data demonstrated a certain synchronicity of environmental changes and cultural events. Climatic fluctuations led to migrations, variations in local population density, changes in adaptation strategies of the people, and changes of direction of economic activities.

The article proposes a new biochemical approach for the reconstruction of the initial presence of fatcontaining products in different archaeological contexts (ceramic vessels from burials, soil samples in different parts of the skeleton and cultural layers of archaeological sites) based on the study of qualitative and quantitative changes in the parameters of the soil microbial community, namely, specific groups of microorganisms (lipolytics), a number of lipolytic enzymes, as well as the utilization spectrum of readily available low molecular weight substrates. Ground samples of the studied objects were collected in the following regions: ceramic vessels — the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania and the Chechen Republic; burials — Krasnodar Krai; the cultural layer of the settlement — Lipetsk region. The number of lipolytic microorganisms and the level of enzymatic activity in the soil directly depend on the amount of the incoming substrate, in the decomposition of which they participate. After the decomposition of organic residues in the soil, a microbial and enzyme pools are formed, which can persist for a long period. The obtained preliminary data on the study of the decomposition dynamics of fatty substrates give us possibility for the reconstruction of the initial presence of fat in different archaeological contexts using the methods of soil microbiology and biochemistry. But, for a more accurate extrapolation of the results of a model experiment to archaeological objects, more points of observation in time are needed, since the introduction of substrates with different properties and composition can provoke microbial community succession in different ways. Hence, the equilibrium state of the microbial community in each variant of the experiment will be reached at different times. However, the results of the study of soils and cultural layers of archaeological sites of Bronze Age and early medieval time have convincingly shown the possibility of applying our approach. As we assumed, the maximum lipase activity was found in the soil samples under the skull, chest and pelvis, i.e. in areas of human body with the highest content of fat tissues. This showed the possibility for reconstruction the original contents of the vessels from burials using the methods of soil microbiology and biochemistry. A high number of lipolytic microorganisms and lipase activity were detected only in 15–20 % of the vessels. We suggest that fat food may not have been as widely used in the funeral rite as ritual food. The study of lipase activity made it possible to clarify the features of the economic usage of the territory of archaeological site, to identify possible places for cooking.

As of today, very few Upper Paleolithic sites are known on both the southern and the northern slopes of the Caucasus. Their materials allow tracing settlement dynamics in the region from 40/39 to 20 cal ka BP. The change of the research methodology, which today is focused on thorough excavations involving a range of natural science disciplines for complex investigation of the materials, including complete water sieving of the cultural deposits, enables obtaining many new, often unique data on human occupation, life-support strategies, and adaptations of humans in different periods of the Upper Paleolithic in the Caucasus. In our paper, a wide range of issues is discussed, concerned with the cultural affinity, diversity, and interaction of the Upper Paleolithic population of the Caucasus. The earliest Upper Paleolithic industries (40–35 cal ka BP) of the southern as well as the northern slopes of the Caucasus show the closest affinity. Studies of the raw-material strategies indicate the presence of contacts between populations of the northwestern and South Caucasus throughout the entire Upper Paleolithic and the development of extensive social networks. During the Late Upper Paleolithic period, the materials of the North and South Caucasus acquire certain features of distinctiveness, as in the stone industry and in bone tools and decorations. The appearance of geometric microliths in the South Caucasus contemporaneously with the Near East attests to the contacts between these regions. The delivery of seashells from the Caspian Sea coast to the Lesser Caucasus also indicates the southeastern direction of the contacts. The import of seashells from the Black Sea coast to the northwestern Caucasus indicates the southwestern direction of contacts. The unique finds that have analogies in the Upper Paleolithic of the Russian Plain indicate contacts between populations of the northwestern Caucasus and the Russian Plain that belong to different cultural areas. The current data demonstrate formation of local differences in the culture of the Upper Paleolithic populations in both the South and the North Caucasus, including under the influence of the neighboring regions.

The results of the studies of the Muchkas settlement in 2020 are reported. The site is located on the right bank of the Mezen’ River in Udorsky District of the Komi Republic (northeast of the East European Plain). The exploitation of an unpaved motor road endangered the preservation of dwelling No. 1, which necessitated extensive excavation of an area of 82.5 m2. On the basis of the analysis of the complex of traces and remains, it has been determined that the studied structure is of a rectangular shape in plane, measuring 3.8m×5.5m with the area of 20 m2. Within the building, two hearths were used sequentially or concurrently. Related to them are two external horizontal heatingand-ventilating chimneys. Some information is preserved about the underground part of the structure. This was a frame strengthened at corners by bundles of thinner trunks of trees, possibly, pointed and stuck into the ground. Pine and to a lesser extent spruce, juniper, and birch were used to build the dwelling. The collection of Muchkas-1 contains 3819 objects, including 30 identifiable flint implements, a flint pendant, 21 implements made from non-siliceous rocks, fragments of three ceramic vessels, and debris of calcinated bones. Scrapers predominate in the flint toolset, while knives, awls, and arrowheads are represented to a lesser extent. As the result of the traceological analysis, it has been determined that the arrowhead and the pendant bear traces of long-term carrying in a container, or wearing on the clothing or on the body. Tools made of non-isotropic rock include mostly grinding stones. A hammer stone and an adze are represented by single specimens. Among the faunal remains, bones of reindeer, beaver, marten, wolverine, squirrel, black grouse, goose, and pike have been identified. This attests to the dominant role of hunting in the appropriating economy of the inhabitants of Muchkas-1 settlement. The specifics of the building structure and technical-and-typological parameters of the pottery and stone tools allow attributing Muchkas-1 complex to the Chuzh’yael’ Culture of the final Neolithic period — the Chalcolithic. By virtue of 10 radiocarbon dates, the time of its construction is determined by the end of the 4th — first half of the 3rd mil. BC. The published data advance our understanding of the traditions of housebuilding, stone-working, and pottery-making of the prehistoric population of North-Eastern Europe and permit considering Muchkas-1 complex as a source of reference for the study of the Chuzh’yael’ Culture of the 4th — first half of the 3rd mil. BC.

The shapes of 32 vessels from the burials of Chekanovsky Log-2 cemetery were examined by a technique applied within the historical-and-cultural approach to study pottery shapes. The analysis was carried out at the levels of general proportionality of the shape, its natural structure, and the formedness of the functional parts. The aim of the study was to characterize the pottery traditions of the Andronovo population in terms of pottery shaping and to clarify their cultural dynamics. As the result, two mass traditions were identified, manifested by vessels of similar overall proportionality (35–36 degrees) but of two different structural types: ‘Lip+Neck+Pre-Shoulder+Body+Body Base’ (5 parts) and ‘Lip+Pre-Shoulder+Body+Body Base’ (4 parts). Comparative analysis of the vessels from two excavated sections of the burial ground (northern and southern), making use of the information about other morphological features of the vessels (decoration and surface treatment), as well as about the specifics of the burial ritual, enabled revealing the dynamics in the development of the considered pottery traditions and the cultural composition of the population that used the burial ground. It appears that the vessels of 5-part shapes with a fully formed body and a more pronounced neck tend to the classical Andronovo (Fedorovo) period. They are characterized by burnished surface and ornamentation with fine-toothed stamps in a variety of geometric motifs. The vessels of these shapes prevail in the burials of the northern dig, which demonstrated considerable cultural homogeneity. The vessels of 5-part shapes with a partly-formed body and a lower neck, along with 4-part shapes, probably became more widespread in the Late Fedorovo period. These items were less thoroughly burnished, but, more often, smoothed, with simplified ornamentation applied with a coarse-toothed or smooth stamp. These traditions are represented to a greater extent in the southern dig, which, in addition, appeared to be not so homogeneous due to the distribution of squater pots of various structures. This peculiarity may attest to the increasing complexity of the cultural composition of the population and intensification of cultural contacts at the late stage of the burial ground.

The paper is concerned with the results of the study of a hoard of bronze sickles discovered in 1970 in Baimaksky District of Bashkortostan. Originally, it comprised 13 items, but as of today three of them have got lost, and the collection numbers to only 10 sickles reposited in the National Museum of the Republic of Bashkortostan. It stands out that the items are lacking clear traces of use. Over the past 50 years, materials of the complex have not received sufficient coverage in the scientific literature, despite the rarity of this category of finds for the South Urals region in general, and for the territory of Bashkortostan in particular. This paper constitutes the first publication which combines and refines information about the hoard available in the scientific literature; it also provides a description of each item with updated and further detailed data on their parameters (length, width, thickness, bending height, etc.). In addition, the paper introduces in the scientific discourse photographic images of the bronze objects of the complex, which have been absent until now, instead of rather schematic drawings. Revisiting the materials of the hoard allowed it to observe that the data which was available in the literature had some inaccuracies, associated primarily with the parameters of the objects, the study of which helped clarify and extend the information on the description of the sickles remaining to date. The analysis of the material shows that the considered set of reaping tools has some analogies originating from the Bronze Age sites of the Trans-Urals, both from similar hoards and from settlements, cultural identity of which is determined quite clearly and is attributed by researchers to the Alakul antiquities. For this reason, the origins of the Abzakovo hoard are also associated with the representatives of traditions of the Alakul archaeological culture.

The paper concerns the stone altars, clay dishes, and censers from the sites of the Sargatka Culture of the Early Iron Age. Analysis of their morphological features is carried out, as well as of the dynamics of changes in the forms, the context of their deposition in burials, and specifics of their use. As the result, the reasons for the appearance of these products in the forest-steppe zone of the Tobol-Irtysh and Baraba areas (Western Siberia) are clarified and their subsequent distribution in the given region is traced. Stone altars of types I, II, and IV started appearing in the 5th–4th cc. BC in the Irtysh Basin and Baraba regions as a consequence of the Saka migration. Transformation of the religious and mythological views of the Sargatka population, as a result of the interactions of the Tobol-Irtysh communities with the nomads of the Ural-Kazakhstan steppes, led to the appearance of new rituals requiring small stone altars for their performance, due to which there was a growing demand for these products among local communities. However, by the 4th c. BC the production of altars in the Kazakhstan center ceased due to the decline of the Early Saka Culture. From this time, the population of the Sargatka Culture began making local copies of small type I altars from stone, although their production in the Sargatka area was difficult due to the lack of sandstone outcrops, which facilitated the use of more accessible material — clay, as reflected in the appearance of clay dishes of types III–V in the territory of the Baraba and Irtysh Basin. Connection between the local and imported products is indicated by the traces of their similar use. From the 3rd c. BC, scarce altars of type I could make their way into the Sargatka context as a result of close contacts with the population of the Upper Ob Basin, among whom these objects were widespread up until the 3rd–2nd cc. BC. The appearance of type III stone altars and type VI clay dishes in the complexes of the Sargatka Culture of the Tobol and Irtysh Basins in the 5th–4th and 4th–3rd cc. BC might have been caused by the migration of a small group of nomads of the Southern Urals, or by close contacts with the population of the Gorokhovo Culture. Type V altars also were borrowed from the bearers of the Gorokhovo Culture. Their appearance may indicate the process of assimilation of the newly arrived Sargatka population in the Tobol Basin. In the 4th c. BC, clay dishes of type I appeared in the Irtysh Basin. From the 3rd c. BC, as a result of the intensification of contacts between the local population and nomads of the Sarmatian origin, these products became more widespread, while ceramic censers and clay dishes of type II also appeared.

The paper is aimed at introducing into the scientific discourse and complex interpretation of the weapon items discovered during excavations of the sites of the Bulan-Koby archaeological culture of the Karban-I necropolis. This site, which comprises a series of burial mounds of the Great Migration Period, was partially investigated by the expedition of Barnaul State Pedagogical Institute in 1989–1990. The complex is located on the left bank of the Katun River, 1.7 km north-west of Kuyus village, in Chemalsky District of the Altai Republic. Weapons were found in five undisturbed male burials of the Xianbei period (mounds № 9, 11, 14, 33, 39). The finds analyzed include long-range and close-range weapons: five compound bows; 14 iron arrowheads; four iron combat knives; and one dagger. Morphological analysis and classification of the objects, as well as their comparison with known artefacts of the last quarter of the 1st mil. BC — the first half of the 1st mil. AD from the sites of Central, Inner, and North Asia became the basis for conclusions concerning the determination of the dating of the products. It has been found that the complex of weapons of the nomads who built the necropolis of the Bulan-Koby Culture at the mouth of the Karban River, was aimed at efficient countering of a lightly protected enemy and was appropriate for light cavalry and infantry. It includes both the already well-known (Xiungny) and new (local) modifications of the offensive weapons. In terms of its diversity and level of development, this set of weaponry was significantly inferior to the military arsenals of the Xiongnu and Xianbei periods, as well as that of the population of the Bulan-Koby Culture of the late 3rd — 5th c. AD. The body of the conclusions made permits it to assume that the considered corpus of weapons reflects the initial stage of the evolution of the armament of the Altai population in the first half of the 1st mil. AD. The published materials expand the source base for the study of warfare of the population of Northern Altai in the Xianbei period. The obtained results of the chronological interpretation of different categories of weapons can be used to refine the periodization of the sites of the Belo-Bom stage (2nd — 1st half of the 4th c. AD) of the Bulan-Koby Culture.

The paper is aimed at the analysis of the ‘old wood’ effect in radiocarbon chronology of iron smelting complexes of South Siberia. The production sites are here set outside the settlements, and radiocarbon dating remains the only means of their chronological attribution. With the example of Kuyahtanar metallurgical site in the Mountain Altai, we show that the range of a series of radiocarbon dates obtained for the same iron-smelting furnaces can span a thousand years. It has been established that such a chronological range can be explained by the use of wood from long-lived tree species for charcoal production and the resulting significant apparent age due to the ‘old wood’ effect. The essence of the effect consists in that as a tree grows, its inner annual rings die out and stop exchanging carbon with the environment, while the tree is still alive. Therefore, the pith of a longlived tree is much older than its outer rings, and radiocarbon analysis determines not the age of the archaeological object, or time when the tree was cut, but the date of the death of that part of the tree which was sampled for the dating. Methodological recommendations have been drawn up capable of minimizing the impact of the ‘old wood’ effect in the dating of iron metallurgy sites. During the sampling, it is recommended to collect fragments of charcoal from the tree outer rings. In a case, where this is not possible, it is necessary to obtain a series of at least three dates for one site. In such a series, the latest of the three dates will be the closest to the age of the archaeological object. It is also necessary to determine the tree species used for burning the charcoal for smelting. After the tree species is identified, it becomes possible to infer its average and maximum life expectancy in the specific natural and climatic conditions, and, consequently, possible average and maximum impact of the ‘old wood’ effect. Since in the case of dating metallurgical sites the impact of the ‘old wood’ effect is virtually unavoidable, it is suggested that, in the future, the chronology of the complexes radiocarbon dated with a single sample of charcoal is revisited.

The article reports on a new interpretation of the inscriptions on two personalized knives found on the coast of Sims Bay in the Laptev Sea. This interpretation differs from the readings published previously by paleographers and source-study experts due to the fact that it has been possible to devise correct transcription of these inscriptions with the aid of the method of non-contact 3D modeling of epigraphic records developed by the RSSDA Laboratory and used in the Code of Russian Inscriptions (CIR). The reading of the inscriptions on the signature knives proposed by the authors of this paper has enabled establishing their ownership to Gurii (baptismal name) — Akakii (prayer? name) Ivanov son of Karzyaev’s, likely the head of the commercial and industrial expedition of the 1620s. The site of the polar mariners of the 17th century in Sims Bay is located 70 km west of the island of Thaddeus Severny, where in 1940 members of the hydrographic detachment of the East Taimyr hydrographic expedition found similar articles, including 8 other knives. Unfortunately, these knives have only partially preserved handles, and most of them turned out to be represented only by the blades. Inscriptions made in the Slavic ligature could be found only on two knives from a hut in Sims Bay. According to the official version, both sites belong to the members of the Russian trade and industrial expedition of the 17th century. The rich composition of the collection of archaeological artifacts assembled at the locations of these two sites makes this monument unique for the Russian culture of the 17th century.

Over the past thirty-five years, a series of archaeological sites of the period of the Russian colonization of Siberia have been investigated in the territory of the Siberian macroregion, which made it possible to identify regional features and to trace evolution of the socio-cultural identity of the Russian Siberian in the 17th–19th cc. A topical issue is the in-depth study of the processes of ethno-cultural adaptation in microregions. In this work, as one of the aspects of adaptation, changes in the house exterior in the Omsk Irtysh region are considered. This work is aimed to consider main types of the residential buildings of the Russian population in the Omsk Irtysh region in the 17th — early 20th c. in order to determine their specifics and development trends. The work is carried by a complex approach, involving the use of different types of sources, such as archaeological, written, and ethnographic. To compare the buildings studied in the Omsk Irtysh region with houses in other regions, a comparative historical method was used. Analysis of the archaeological materials on the architecture and layout of urban dwellings of the 17th–18th cc. showed specifics of the housing in different parts of the town. The houses of the representatives of the tsarist administration, senior clergy, and military commanders with multi-chambered buildings were located in the territory of the kremlin — the central part of the town. In the walled part of Western Siberian towns, where representatives of other social groups lived, both single-chambered and multi-chambered houses were built, although so far only few of them have been identified archaeologically. Stoves with chimneys and mica windows, as socially significant structural elements of the house, were gradually becoming attributes of the dwellings not only of the representatives of the tsarist administration, but also of the middle strata of the townspeople. In the rural areas, Russian immigrants in the 17th — first half of the 18th c. were erecting multi-chambered buildings of a large area. The set of socially-marking structural elements was the same as in the town. The archaeological material obtained during the study of residential buildings of the rural sites of the Irtysh Basin is generally of the same type and is equally characteristic of village and town alike. Based on the results of the author’s own ethnographic observations, a characteristics of individual residential buildings of the 19th — beginning of the 20th c. is given. There has been noted the prevalence of two-chambered dwellings by the end of the 19th century in the Russian village, which required less building material, as compared with multi-chambered counterparts, and were easier to heat. Multi-chambered buildings and carved platbands constituted socially marking traits of dwellings of the wealthy strata of the rural population. The field observations warranted further archaeological and ethnographic studies of the rural and urban wooden architecture to gain a deeper insight on the evolution of the housebuilding that combined traditional elements of the 17th–18th cc. with innovations, simplification, and standardization of the 19th–20th cc.