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The settlements of the Iron Age in the territory of the Volga Region have always been particularly interesting in terms of historical science. This is justified not only by the uniqueness of this territory, but also by the formation of a substantial collection of archaeological materials. A significant number of archaeological sites of the early Iron Age have been discovered and investigated over more than half a century of archaeological research and scientific studies in the territory of the Mari Volga region. This paper introduces the main types of settlements widely spread across the territory of the Mari Volga region during the Early Iron Age. The authors discuss the causes for such innovations as the appearance of settlements in the territory of the Mari Volga region. They provide characteristics of the settlement fortifications of the Mari Volga region population of the early Iron Age. The paper addresses the issues of space organization of both fortified and unfortified settlements of the Mari Volga Region in the early Iron Age. The authors suggest that the causes for the appearance of fortified settlements are associated with both internal and external factors. This in turn influenced the construction innovations of the settlements belonging to the population of the Mari Volga region.

В статье проанализирован один из предметов археологической культуры — пряслица эпохи раннего железа из поселений и городищ Томского Приобья шеломокской и кулайской культур. В могильниках они пока не найдены. Их делали из камня, кости, глины. Большинство пряслиц из Томского Приобья каменные, что выделяет Томское Приобье среди соседних культур: лесостепного Алтая, Притоболья. По размерам наибольший диаметр имеют также каменные, и почти все они дисковидные. Из кости их делали редко. Глиняные пряслица в большинстве дисковидные, есть одно биконическое. Орнаментация каменных и глиняных пряслиц различается, но в обеих группах преобладают радиально расходящиеся прямые или волнообразные линии, иногда разделяющие поверхность на четыре (крест) части и более. На кулайских пряслицах есть символ этой культуры — «уточки». Меньшая часть пряслиц украшена ямками, значительная часть их без орнамента. Автор статьи разделяет мнение исследователей об утилитарной и сакральной функциях пряслиц, так как каждый предмет в археологической и традиционной культурах имеет эти функции. Судя по семантике орнамента (треугольники, лучи солнца, прямые и волнистые линии, крест), пряслица связаны с плодородием и благополучием.DOI 10.14258/izvasu(2015)4.2-25, The paper analyzes an artifact of the archaeological culture — the spindle whorls of the Early Iron Age from the settlements and hill forts of the Tomsk Ob Region belonging to the Shelomok and Kulay cultures. They have not been found yet in the grave fields. They were made of stone, bone, and clay. Most of the spindle whorls from the Tomsk Ob Region are made of stone, and this fact makes it stand out among other cultures, including forest-steppe Altai and Pritobolye. Stone spindle whorls have the largest diameter, and almost all of them are disk-shaped. Bone spindle whorls were very rare. Clay spindle whorls are mostly disc-shaped. One of them is biconical. Stone and clay spindle whorls have different ornaments, but there are dominant patterns in both groups: radially diverging or undulating lines which sometimes divide the surface into four (cross) and more parts. The Kulay spindle whorls of the Kulay are marked with the symbol of this culture — the so called «duck» (S-shaped curve). A minority of the spindle whorls are decorated with recesses. Many of them are not ornamented. The author of the paper shares the opinion of researchers that spindle whorls have utilitarian and sacral functions since each artifact in archeological and traditional cultures has these functions. Judging by the semantics of the ornaments (triangles, sunbeams, direct and wavy lines, cross), spindle whorls are associated with fertility and well-being.DOI 10.14258/izvasu(2015)4.2-25

The paper concerns the ornithomorphic images found at the Pinchuga VI burial ground. The site is located in the lower course of the river Angara (Middle Siberia). The chronological boundaries of the study span the second quarter of the 1st millennium AD (end of the Early Iron Age). All burials at the burial ground were performed ac-cording to the rite of cremation outside the cemetery. Two intact objects and fragments of the third image of a bird were found at the necropolis. Figures were found in different contexts. One of them was found in the filling of a grave pit, the second item within an assemblage of various articles in the inter-grave space. The third item was broken and lost as the result of illegal excavations. All articles share similar characteristics. These are realistic images of diurnal birds of prey “frozen” in a diving flight; the images are shown en face, with a high-relief head, with the tucked wings and feet pulled up with talons. A geometric decor conveys their feather, and a stylized mask is present on the chest of one item. The images are slightly convex, their front side is polished. The closest analogies to the Angara images of birds are known in Western Siberia, including the Tomsk burial ground, the Kholmogory treasure, the Ishim collection, and materials from the Parabel cult place. All this makes it possible to attribute the analyzed items to the Kholmogory stylistic group of the Kulai cult casting. Products of this group be-came widespread in Western Siberia in the second quarter of the 1st millennium AD. The ornithomorphic images found at the Pinchuga VI cemetery extend the geographical range of the items of this style to the territory of Mid-dle Siberia. Apart from the figurines of birds, the necropolis also yields other items of the Western Siberian cult casting, including disks with concentric ornaments, a hollow image of a fish head, and a bird-head belt applique. Bronze items were imported, and in the course of exchange they were spreading over considerable distances. This proves the existence of established cultural ties between the populations of the Lower Angara region and Western Siberia at the End of the Early Iron Age.

The paper reports the results of the studies of the fortification system of the Early Iron Age Dikaya Yama hill-fort situated in the Middle Tobol River region of the Western Siberian forest-steppe zone. The hillfort was built by the population of the Sargatka Culture, and it is dated to the 3rd c. BC — 1st c. AD. The defence lines at the junc-tion of two adjacent fortified platforms have been studied. It has been determined that the earthwork of the first platform was built up from turfen blocks; the presence of traces of postholes suggests that the earthwork was reinforced with a wooden-frame wall — a wattle fence. The ditch between the platforms had a trapezoidal shape with the size of 3.2–4 m of the upper part and 1.2–1.6 m of the lower part. The soil from the ditch was placed into the mound of the rampart of the second platform. The mathematical analysis of the volume of earth making the mound of the rampart allowed establishing its height of 2.0 m. Analysis of the stratigraphy and planigraphy re-vealed the remains of a frame structure set on the rampart. The wattle fence on top of the rampart and the para-pet along it have been reconstructed. Moreover, there have been identified the remains of a frame-and-pillar structure installed into the body of the rampart, which was aimed to strengthen the mound and prevent untimely slipping. A graphic reconstruction of the appearance of the fortifications existed on the studied site has been cre-ated. Carcass fortifications of the wattle fence type, a wall constructed in “zaplot” technique, set on the rampart, have analogies in the Early Iron Age hillforts of the Tobol-Irtysh interfluve: Kolovskoe, Rafailovskoe, Ak-Tau, and Pavlinovo. There existed a tradition of mounting a palisade into a ditch-trench — such structures have been re-corded at the hillforts of Borovushka, Likhachevskoe, Bochanetskoe, Inberen 4 and Rozanovo, Mar'ino Ushchel'ye 4 and Malo-Kazakbaevskoe. The fortification system of the hillfort of Dikaya Yama, which, structurally, is represented by the earthwork ramparts on top of which there were mounted wooden walls in the technique of the wattle fence, is consistent with the traditional scheme of the fortifications of the Early Iron Age population. The question of simultaneous or sequential building of the platforms of the hillfort will be addressed in future work. However, the unified planning solution in organizing forms of the fortification structures implies, in our opinion, preliminary design of the whole settlement and its construction at one time.

Для некоторых времен и регионов у археологов не так много возможностей по изучению костюма древних эпох. Костюм – это мощный инструмент общения, регулирования или формирования социальной практики. Кремация как погребальная традиция эпохи поздней бронзы сопряжена с отсутствием прямых источников для реконструкции одежды. Ситуация меняется во время раннего железного века с появлением новой погребальной традиции (лицевых урн) с представлением фигуры человека. Основной целью исследования является сбор опубликованных и рассеянных в литературе данных для реконструкции текстильной продукции и некоторых элементов одежды позднего бронзового и начала железного века из со­временной Польши., For some times and regions, archaeologists have little chance of studying the costumes of past societies. The costume is a powerful tool for communication, regulation or formation of social practices. Cremation as a main funeral tradition of the Late Bronze Age destroyed all direct sources for clothes reconstruction. The situation changed a little during the transition to the Iron Age with the advent of the new funeral tradition (facial urns) and the representation of a human figure. The main purpose of this paper is to collect the published data of the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age of the southern Baltic Seabasin for reconstruction of textile production and identification some gender-related elements of costume., Краткие сообщения Института археологии (КСИА), Выпуск 260 2020

В статье публикуются материалы эпохи бронзы и раннего железного века из курганных могильников Успенский I и Успенский II (Новоалександровский район Ставропольского края). Из них два относятся к раннекатакомбному времени (втор. четв. III тыс. до н. э.), пять – к позднекатакомбному (третья четв. III тыс. до н. э.), одно – к сарматской культуре (II–I вв. до н. э.), достоверная датировка еще двух погребений невозможна. Из погребений эпохи средней бронзы наибольший интерес представляет серия позднекатакомбных комплексов, соединяющая в себе элементы восточноманычской, батуринской и суворовской традиций, что связано с местоположением изученных могильников в контактной зоне трех указанных культурных феноменов. Сарматское погребение, являясь довольно типичным для своего культурного круга, выделяется наличием редкой разновидности культового сосуда – курильницы., The paper publishes materials of the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age from two burial grounds, namely, Uspenskiy I and Uspenskiy II (Novoaleksandrovsk district of the Stavropol region). Two assemblages are dated to the Early Catacomb period (the second quarter of 3rd mill. BC) whereas five assemblages are dated to the Late Catacomb period (third quarter of 3rd mill. BC), one assemblage is attributed to the Sarmatian culture (2nd – 1st century BC). Reliable dating of two more burials is not possible. A series of Late Catacomb assemblages that combine elements of the Eastern Manych, Baturin and Suvorovskaya traditions explained by the location of the excavated cemeteries in the contact zone between these three cultures is of the greatest interest. While being rather typical for its cultural circle, the Sarmatian grave is notable for presence of a rare type of a ritual vessel – incense-burner., Краткие сообщения Института археологии (КСИА), Выпуск 258 2020

This paper presents the results of a study of bone remains of impuberal individuals from the Early Sarmatian burial mounds located in the Lower Volga region. When working with bone remains, we analyzed frequency of occurrence of various stress indicators and other abnormalities, taking into account biological age of the individuals buried there. The comparison of paleopathology results with the data from archaeological and ethnographic written sources made it possible to assess some aspects of the life of the early Sarmatian population. Thus, the number of children and adolescents in the early Sarmatian burials corresponds to the established paleodemographic standards proving the normal demographic situation in the paleopopulation. Reconstruction of nutrition patterns allows us to assert that breastfeeding in early Sarmatians was long. Meat and dairy products were the basis of the diet of both older children and adults. In the life of the population, there must have been occasional famine periods, for instance, due to livestock loss. The nomads’ diet was limited to meat and milk products, did not provide proper nutrition and caused numerous diseases such as scurvy and porosis. Paleopathology data demonstrate the spread of helminthiases and various infections in the Sarmatians.

The work is aimed at summarizing studies of the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age on the territory of the Ishim river basin. We address this subject for several reasons. Firstly, this period is characterized by increased migration activity of the population, which is reflected in the multicomponent archaeological material and ambiguity in interpretation. Secondly, in archaeological terms, the Ishim river basin has long remained poorly understood, but recent works have significantly changed this situation. There is a need to summarize all available information on the topic under consideration. Therefore, the data on the study of monuments were collected in chronological order; existing points of view on their origin, chronology, and cultural attribution are systematized. The history of the study on the topic is divided into two stages. The first one covers the 60s — the early 80-s of the XX century. In this period, there were occasional studies of the monuments we are interested in, the first publications of their materials and diagrams of historical and cultural development. The lower chronological limit of the second stage can be considered the beginning of 80-s of the last century. Since that time, the field work has been activated, research has acquired a systematic and focused character, there have been debates on the cultural background of the monuments, their history and origin. These trends are ongoing. The paper points out the key challenges and suggests areas for further research.

The paper is an attempt to study the deformed skulls, representatives of the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age from the territory of Armenia. The results of this study allow to assume, tump-line deformation may result from activities, such as carrying loads with a band across the parietal bones. Structural changes appearing in human bones during physical activity people were investigated in populations. The proposed method makes it possible to classify the occipital suprastructures. The occurrence of superstructures in the occipital bone has been attributed to physical activity and habitual motion such as lifting and transporting heavy loads. Used singly, loads were slung from the ends and the poles were balanced on the head or across both shoulders or on the one shoulder in the fore and aft position. Structural rearrangements skull bones and unintentional artificial deformation can be considered as a unique phenomenon, allowing to reconstruct some aspects of economic life of ancient people.