Metal production and its role in the culturogenesis of the Volga-Urals population during the Late Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age

Abstract

This paper presents a review of data on metal production within the Kargaly mining district in the South Cis-Urals and describes its relationships with the beginning of the culturogenesis of the Yamnaya culture within the Volga-Ural region. The Cis-Urals copper products have original morphology and technology in comparison with those from the Maykop center of metal production as well as metal products from western centers of the Yamnaya culture. Raw materials for the Cis-Urals center of metalworking were sourced from the Kargaly copper ore field, which is located near the modern Orenburg city. Kargaly masters developed a number of unique techniques in obtaining and processing not only copper, but also meteoritic iron. Diverse assemblages of metal products recovered from archeological sites of Yamnaya culture in the Cis-Urals include unique tools and weapons with specific features that have no analogies in other metal processing centers of that epoch. Metallurgy and production of copper items had an important role in the economy of the Yamnaya culture from the early (Repino) to the late (Poltavkinsky) stages. Its origin was probably connected with copper production techniques developed by the Volga population of the Eneolithic Period under the influence of the Balkan-Carpathia regional center. To a much lesser extent, the development of the Kargaly mining-metallurgical district was associated with connections with the Maykop culture. The morphology of metal products and metallographic data indicate that small groups of Cis-Urals craftsmen migrated to the Trans-Urals and Southern Siberia during the advanced stage of the Yamnaya culture.

Keywords:

Metal production, Volga-Ural region, Yamnaya culture, culturogenesis