Kotyrtas burial ground, a new monument of the Bronze Age of Central Kazakhstan

Abstract

Archaeological research of a group of monuments located in the valley of the Taldy River (Shetsky district of the Karaganda region) that were conducted in the 2nd decade of the XXI century provided important infor-mation about the chronology and transcultural interaction of the early Alakul population of the Bronze Age of the region. This article proposes to consider the results of work on three structures of the Alakul cultural tradition. The main necrofield-forming position was occupied by structure 1, which was an earth mound with a diameter of 15.5 m, which had a ring fence on the floors of the embankment. During the excavations, it was found that in addition to the central burial, there were numerous children’s burials located along its perimeter, as well as in the mound. In the southwestern part of the excavation, the poorly preserved remains of two horses were unearthed, one of which was initially represented by an anatomically intact skeleton, directed to the south with its vertebrae and the muzzle, and the second one, according to the principle of pars pro toto, with a pair of limbs. A bone psalium was found on the shoulder blade of the animal. The placement of the remains of horses on a burial ground is a characteristic feature of the high-status burial places of the Alakul society, emphasizing the belonging of the deceased to a group of chariot warriors. Summing up, the early Alakul affiliation of the burials of the burial ground Kotyrtas is emphasized by the characteristic cheek-piece, the burial of a horse, ribbed pot-shaped vessels, and a large central burial. Regarding the time of existence of Central Kazakhstan monuments of this type, it seems possible to draw parallels with similarly dated complexes of the region, the age of which is determined within the 19th–17th centuries BC