The tyranny of nomadic ethnography: Re-approaching Late Bronze Age (2100–1300 BCE) mobility in the central Eurasian steppes

For a number of years, researchers have associated Late Bronze Age (LBA) (2100 – 1300 BCE) settlements in the Trans-Ural steppe with nomadic pastoralism. This would have involved entire populations making periodic movements between pastures. To test this claim, I have synthesized eight lines of data from more than 40 archaeological sites. The analysis of settlement architecture, material culture accumulation rates, herd composition, osteological seasonality markers, stable isotopes, the degree of transportability of artifacts, haymaking activities, and symbolic behavior has allowed me to conclude the following. First, the settlements of the Sintashta, Petrovka, Alakul, and Srubnaya-Alakul cultural types were sedentary, i.e., occupied year-round by at least a portion of the population. If herder groups left their respective communities for extended periods of time, these moves were localized (within a 15 km radius). Furthermore, if separate nomadic pastoralist sub-groups were present, they were not numerous (∼10 % of the total population). The long-term tendency to see LBA communities as nomadic is rooted in the strong influence of ethnography on Eurasian steppe scholars. Based on these findings, I argue that LBA societies of the central steppes require no special approaches to account for community-level seasonal mobility in the context of settlement pattern studies. This opens up the possibility of focusing on the previously understudied theme of regional demography. Finally, this paper adds the Trans-Urals to the list of world regions where crop cultivation was not a necessary prerequisite for large-scale sedentism.