Andronovo antiquities of the Bronze Age in near Chelyabinsk. New materials and old problems

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of identification of the Bronze Age Andronovo settlements in of Miass River basin (near Chelyabinsk, Russia). The new materials of the Trubnyi settlement are presented. It was discovered and investigated in 2013 field season. The Alakul’ culture features dominate in the complex of ceramics of the site, there are some pottery fragments of the Cherkaskul’ and Fedorovka cultures too. This situation is typical for most of the settlements in the region, it puts the question of the very possibility of finding further monoculture Fedorovka settlements. The new site is located less than five kilometers from the well-known for specialists Tuktubaevo cemetery of Cherkaskul’ and Fedorovka cultures. Special significance of the Trubnyi settlement increases the presence of metal artifacts, among
which the socketed arrowhead is the rarest. Analogies for it have found in the monuments of different cultures, most of which dates back to the 17—14 centuries cal BC.