Middle Trans-Urals and Western Siberia: from the Stone Age of to the Metal Age

Abstract

The article deals with the peculiarities of formation processes of the Bronze Age among the population of hunters and fishermen of the mountain-forest Trans-Urals and the West Siberian taiga at the end of III – beginning of II millennium BC. The transition to the Era of Metal in both Trans-Urals and Western Siberia occurred under the direct influence of foreign cultural groups of the population, though under different scenarios. The traditions of bronze metal production, associated with the penetration of the bearers of the Seimа-Turbino traditions deep into the taiga, have not taken root in the taiga of Western Siberia. In the Middle Trans-Urals, which was rich in copper ore deposits, an independent mining center was formed. This phenomenon was caused by close integration of the main actors of the Bronze Age of the Urals and Western Siberia – groups of the Seima-Turbino traditions and pastoralists of the steppe zone, who cultivated a pastoral model of metal production.