Metal vessels of the Bronze Age in Kazakhstan

Degtyareva, A.D.; Kuzminykh, Sergei; Loman, Valeriy; Kukushkin, I. A.; Kukushkin, Alexey; Dmitriev, Evgeniy

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102024

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Местные мастера использовали традиционные технологии обработки меди и бронз, присущие очагам металлопроизводства всего ареала АСК, но с креном в сторону специфики производства низколегированных оловом бронз. Олово в виде слитков и готовых изделий, как и в предшествующие эпохи, но в значительно меньшем количестве, доставляли из Центрального Казахстана и Алтая [Агапов и др., 2012;Degtyareva et al, 2019]. В целом малочисленность находок металлических изделий, остатков материальной культуры АСК Южного Зауралья, особенно в сравнении с мощными уральскими металлопроизводящими центрами петровской и алакульской культур, по всей вероятности обусловлена миграцией населения на восток и юго-восток азиатской степной и предгорной зоны, вплоть до районов Синьцзяна.…”

Section: заключениеunclassified

Metal Products of the Alekseyevka-Sargary Culture From the Middle and Upper Tobol Areas

Degtyareva

Виноградов

Kuzminykh³

et al. 2019

VAAE

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The article describes morphological and typological characteristics of non-ferrous metal, determines the for-mulae of alloys, as well as identifies techniques used for the production of tools by the Alekseyevka-Sargary cul-ture from the South Trans-Urals (15th/14th and 12th/11th BC). We carried out the morphological and typological study of the non-ferrous metal along with the X-ray fluorescence (Institute of Archaeology RAS, Institute of Mine-ralogy UB RAS; X-MET3000TX analysers from Oxford Instruments Analytical, M1 Mistral from Bruker Nano GmbH) and metallographic (Tyumen Scientific Centre SB RAS; Zeiss Axio Observer D1m microscope) analyses. A total of 19 tools exhibiting morphology inherent to the tool collections of the Alekseyevka-Sargary culture were selected for the study. These tools comprised random finds and items from the settlements of the Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions of Russia, as well as from the Kostanay Region of Kazakhstan: daggers, а spearhead, sick-les, socketed chisels, a spear end cap and single-blade knives. A group of tools and weapons characteristic of all Eurasian cordoned-ware cultures was distinguished — daggers with handguards and socketed grooved chisels. In addition, weapons characteristic of the sites attributed to the Alekseyevka-Sargary culture (Saryarka, Altai, and Semirechye) were identified within the weapon complex of the South Trans-Urals. These weapons included bush hooks of the Sosnovaya Maza type, knives having marked handles, spearheads with holes and socketed straight-blade chisels. The metal of the South Trans-Urals is distinguished by the marked heterogeneity of its chemical composition with the predominance of low-alloyed bronzes Cu–Sn, Cu–Sn–As and Cu–As (66.7 %). There are 4 pure copper items, as well as products from the complex alloy Cu–Sn–As–Ni–Co and products with elevated iron concentrations (up to 2.68 %). These data indicate that the population experimented in the course of metal-lurgical processing of raw materials; they transitioned to smelting metal from sulphide ores or to the smelting of copper with sulphide or silicate nickel ores of the Ufaley Massif (deposits in the Chelyabinsk Region). South Ural craftsmen produced bronze and copper primarily using technologies for casting tools in one-sided (with flat cov-ers) and two-sided moulds. The casting was followed by refining operations using the cold forming technology with the intervals of low-temperature forging modes. This choice of temperature is justified in the procession of low-alloyed bronze. Clearly, the centre for metal production of the Alekseyevka-Sargary culture in the South Trans-Urals was a metallurgical one, with the development of both oxidised and sulphide deposits in the South Urals. Innovative technologies of smelting copper with chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, and nickel-containing ores were introduced. The complex of tools attributed to the Alekseyevka-Sargary tribes from the Tobol area is generally identical to the bronze inventory from Saryarka, Altai and Kyrgyzstan. Local craftsmen employed the traditional technologies of processing copper and bronze commonly used in the centres for metal production throughout the area of the Alekseyevka-Sargary culture, working primarily with bronzes low-alloyed by tin. As in previous eras, tin ingots and products were delivered from Central Kazakhstan and Ore Altai, but in much smaller quantities. The small number of products and the data of an analytical study indicate the relocation of the main centres for metal production of the Alekseyevka-Sargary culture from the Urals region (as compared to the big centres of Petrovka and Alakul cultures) to Central and Eastern Kazakhstan, up to Xinjiang in China.

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Section: заключениеunclassified

Metal Products of the Alekseyevka-Sargary Culture From the Middle and Upper Tobol Areas

Degtyareva

Виноградов

Kuzminykh³

et al. 2019

VAAE

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“…Versions of large bellied cauldrons with a single foot first emerged in the Late Bronze Age (second millennium BCE) in Sintashta cultural contexts of north-central Kazakhstan, and the style then spread mostly across northern areas spanning steppe and forest zones 12 . Cauldrons of the specific type addressed here—of round belly, flanged foot, and two loop handles—occurred throughout northern Eurasia during the Early Iron Age (ca.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cauldrons of Bronze Age nomads reveals 2700 year old yak milk and the deep antiquity of food preparation techniques

Wilkin,

Bayarsaikhan,

Ganbold

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Cauldrons, vessels that are simultaneously common and enigmatic, offer insights into past cultural and social traditions. While assumed to possess a special function, what these cauldrons contained is still largely mysterious. These vessels, such as those made from bronze or copper alloys, function as reservoirs for ancient organics through the antibacterial qualities provided by the metal surfaces. Here we show, through protein analysis, that cauldrons from the Final Bronze Age (ca. 2700 BP) were primarily used to collect blood from ruminants, primarily caprines, likely for the production of sausages in a manner similar to contemporary practices in Mongolia’s rural countryside. Our findings present a different function from the recent findings of cooked meat in copper-alloy vessels from the northern Caucasus 2000 years earlier, exposing the diversity in food preparation techniques. Our secondary findings of bovine milk within the cauldron, including peptides specific to Bos mutus, pushes back their regional domestication into the Bronze Age.

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