Global Journal of Human Social Science, D: History, Archaeology and Anthroplogy, Volume 23 Issue 2

statistical data, typology and semantic analysis of the rite elements presented in the archaeological remains. III. R esearch R esults a) Dating and cultural affiliation of archaeological sites Twenty-seven AMS dates were obtained from the studied objects at five laboratories – University of Arizona; University of California, Irvine; Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit; Klaus-Tschira-Labor, Curt -Engelhorn-Zentrum Archaeometrie; Collaborative Center "Radiocarbon Dating and Electron Microscopy Laboratory" of the Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences. The analysis of these data allows us to determine the following time intervals of the existence of ancient populations for this area: Sintashta culture - about 1950-1850 BC; Petrovka culture - about 2133-1631 BC; Alakul’ culture - about 1882-1566 BC (Epimahov, Kupriyanova, Hommel, Hanks, 2021). Most likely, the Sintashta and Petrovka cultures partially coexisted in the Stepnoye archaeological area, but their objects were never recorded together within the same mound or burial site. The Alakul’ culture has later dates, but its objects are usually incorporated into the structure of Petrovka complexes. There have been noted cases of multiple reuses of Petrovka sacrificial complexes and burials by the Alakul’ population. The similarities between the burial rites and the complex of artifacts suggest a genetic link between all three cultures. Three DNA samples obtained from the burials of the Stepnoye VII cemetery, which participated in a large-scale study of ancient DNA (Narasimhan et al, 2019), confirm that the Bronze Age populations of the Southern Trans-Urals are directly related to the Eurasian migrations of early Indo- European tribes. b) Structure of burial complexes Basing on the classification by M. Gimbutas, K. Jones-Bley distinguishes 8 positions characterizing the burial rites of ancient Indo-Europeans: 1) individual burials; 2) kurgans; 3) funerary structures in the form of dwellings; 4) division of burials into classes according to the presence/absence of grave goods and architectural complexity; 5) central male burials and subordinate position of women and children burials; 6) human and animal sacrifices, including the traditions of sati ; 7) placing the dead on the floors of burial pits in a crouched position; 8) animal burials in separate graves (Gimbutas, 1974; Jones-Bley, 2002). All these features are noted in varying degrees by K. Jones-Bley on the burial complexes of the Sintashta culture. The burial rites in the investigated cemeteries near the village Stepnoye present new data and correspond to the proposed characteristics, but show variation in the Sintashta, Petrovka and Alakul’ complexes. In the Stepnoye-1 cemetery, there were recorded 65 chaotically arranged kurgans, sometimes forming chains. In the Stepnoye VII cemetery, all the complexes are lined up. Burial complexes comprise structured sites with large pits with individual or collective burials in the center. On the periphery around the central pits there are smaller, most often children's and women's burials, and sacrificial pits. In most cases, the complexes are surrounded by a circular ditch, which may also contain burials and sacrifices. The central burials were covered by domed structures, which, when destroyed, created the impression of a mound. In kurgans with one central pit, there were individual male or female burials in the center. In kurgans with two or three central burials, these pits contained collective graves which included adult individuals of both sexes as well as children and adolescents. c) Age and social classes The age structure of the buried of the Petrovka population is similar in percentage distribution to that of the Sintashta population: the buried between 10 and 25 years of age account for 45% of all age groups, while the number of infant burials - 35.5% - is relatively small. In the Alakul’ series, the vast majority of the buried are children of under 1 year of age (83.2%). The number of the buried of other ages is not large. Buried children between 1 and 4 years of age are almost completely absent in all cultural groups. Basing on the analysis of paleoanthropological definitions, it can be stated that the age composition of the buried is very similar in the Sintashta and Petrovka populations and far from the natural mortality structure due to the predominance of adolescents and individuals of young age, a small number of infants and a near absence of adults and the elderly. The Alakul’ age diagram of the buried is generally close to the usual mortality profile in ancient societies with extremely high infant mortality. From these data, it follows that in the Sintashta and Petrovka societies there was a selection for burial in kurgans. It is possible that this type of rite was practiced for the elite population group, while there were alternative kinds of rituals for the common people. Similar processes can be observed in other ancient societies. For instance, it is noted that in the Aegean Bronze Age necropolis, infant burials disappear from common cemeteries as the social complexity increases and stratification emerges (Dickinson, 1994). The Sintashta society is referred to by researchers as the so- called "complex society" at the stage of formation of chiefdom (Drenan, Hanks, Peterson, 2011). The age structure analysis of the buried in the necropolis near the Stepnoye fortified settlement allows to draw the same conclusion for the Petrovka population. d) Burial rite Large graves had two burial chambers located one over the other. The lower chamber contained bodies of the buried in a crouched position on a side, accompanied by grave goods (Fig. 1). The predominant posture of the buried is on the left side, with knees bent Volume XXIII Issue II Version I 30 Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 © 2023 Global Journals Burial Rite of Early Indo-European Bronze Age Communities in Southern Trans-Urals (Russia): A Mirror of Religion and Society ( )D