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

and hands joined at the face. There are also a few recorded secondary burials, where the body of the deceased was originally in another place, and after clearing from the flesh, the bones were collected and placed in the grave (Fig. 4.2). In some cases, those bones were in a disorderly assemblage, while in others they were given an anatomically correct placement imitating a crouched position. Numerous burials were robbed in antiquity. The study of the taphonomy of burials suggests that robberies were carried within a short period, most likely by the same population. In many cases, only the upper part of the skeleton of the buried person was disturbed, while the legs and grave goods remained in situ (Fig. 2). Most likely, grave robberies were not mercenary in nature, but part of rituals that reflected fear of death and the dead. The overlay between the upper and lower burial chambers contained animal sacrifices. Those were also located in separate pits and on the platform of the mound (Fig. 3). The sacrificed animals were always domestic - horse, cow, small cattle, and dogs. In adult and collective Sintashta burials, the sacrificial altars consisted, as a rule, of several (up to 12) animal individuals, represented partially – by heads and limbs. In large Petrovka burials, sacrificial animals are most often represented by complete skeletons. Only occasional sacrifices of 1-2 individuals of small cattle were noted in children's burials. The grave goods of the necropolis are extensive and diverse. Children's individual burials of all three archaeological cultures were accompanied only by ceramic vessels, sometimes sets of dice and small decorations. However, the skeletons of children from collective burials may have been accompanied by items of a prestigious nature. For example, in burial 2 of kurgan 1 of Stepnoye-1 cemetery, a quiver of arrows and two cheek-pieces (elements of horse harness) were found with a child of 1.5-2 years old (Fig. 4.1). Such facts testify to the "elite" origin of children from collective burials. Besides ceramic vessels with remains of burial food, adult individuals had weapons (axes, daggers, arrowheads and remains of bows) (Fig. 5. 1-8, 10), tools (pestles, needles, awls, knives, spindles, chisels, etc.), elements of horse harness (Fig. 5.9), ornaments (Fig. 6), ritual objects (bone spatulas, sets of fortune-telling bones - astragali). The metal objects are made with great skill and indicate a high level of development of metallurgy among the Bronze Age communities. Decorations on ceramic vessels are based on the core Indo-European symbolic elements - swastika and meander (Fig. 7), which brightly manifested later in the great civilizations of antiquity. e) Mythological themes A separate issue is the two "themes" reflected in the burial rites - burials with evidence of charioteering and burials "in the position of embrace". These types of burials occupy central positions in the kurgans and have the richest grave goods. In the Stepnoye-1 and Stepnoye VII cemeteries, there were examined 4 burials "in the embrace pose" and 7 burials with elements of the chariot complex. In the "embrace position" burials, two individuals lie face to face on their left and right sides, embracing each other. Usually there is a male on the left side and a female in a richly decorated costume on the right one. However, the DNA analysis in burial 17 of the Stepnoye VII cemetery has shown that both of the buried were females. The woman aged between 15 and 17, buried on her right side, was accompanied by numerous decorations. Her arms embraced the second buried woman and held over her head from behind a ritual axe in the shape of the head of a bird of prey (Fig. 8). The second buried woman had no decorations and played the role of a "male" character. Often in such burials, a couple of people in the ritual embrace position is accompanied by other individuals of different sex and age. The sex, age and the special position of the buried leave no doubt that they were not real spouses during their lifetime, but represented in the ritual the symbolism of a "sacred marriage", being a reflection of the cults of the Great Goddess, Magna Mater. The chariot complex, which is the hallmark of the Sintashta and Petrovka cultural traditions, is very clearly manifested in the studied necropolis. The chariot complex includes burials accompanied by paired horse sacrifices (Fig. 4. 3, 4), wheel pits, or traces of a chariot placed in the grave, cheek-pieces, and weapons of distant combat. In the Sintashta burials, paired horse sacrifices were located on the slabs of large central collective graves and are represented by "partial" animals (head + legs). In such burials, sets of cheek- pieces accompany not only men but also women and children of all ages, indicating that the buried were not charioteers in reality, but played this role in the ritual. In the Petrovka complexes, the individual central burials of mature men were accompanied by whole carcasses of two horses located outside the burials, on sub-mound grounds or in separate pits. These observations show that the symbolism of charioteering in the Sintashta society extended to a particular social group, while in the Petrovka society it was an attribute of a particular individual. Horse sacrifices in the studied sites accompany not only burials with chariot combat symbolism but also burials "in the embrace position" with clearly expressed fertility symbology. The number of horses in such complexes always equals two or multiples of two. In some cases, the horses in the sacrifices imitate an embrace position, lying on their left and right sides with Volume XXIII Issue II Version I 31 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 D © 2023 Global Journals Burial Rite of Early Indo-European Bronze Age Communities in Southern Trans-Urals (Russia): A Mirror of Religion and Society