A Comparative Study of the Layout of Bronze Age Fortifi ed Settlements in the Southern Urals (3rd to 1st Millennia BC)

The earliest (Bronze Age) fortifi ed settlements in the Southern Urals are described with regard to their defensive function, as well as to manufacture and living quarters. Their parallels are discussed. We focus on the architecture of the earliest Indo-European forts and compare it to that of the later Eurasian counterparts. We reveal the relations between the layout of the Sintashta-Petrovka forts and the architecture of Central Asia and of the early Central Eastern states. Bronze Age settlements of Southern Urals, Northern Kazakhstan, and Central Asia are compared on a unifi ed scale with reference to their function. The results can be used in future research on ancient architecture.