Социальные структуры в условиях фронтира: пример бронзового века Южного Зауралья
Social Structures in Frontier Conditions: case-study for the Bronze Age in the Southern Trans-Urals

Summary/Abstract: The article substantiates the possibility of adapting the concept of a frontier for the interpretation of archaeological data on a concrete example of a stateless society. The historiographic analysis of the evolution of the concept has been carried out, the author’s understanding of this phenomenon has been formulated; its archeological criteria have been also proposed: locality, brevity of functioning, cultural variability, migration origin, military character of the elite, traces of conflicts, long translation of frontier traditions after the functioning of the frontier. This list corresponds to the main traits of the Sintashta sites (the Bronze Age in the Southern Urals). The only exception is the absence of traces of conflict. Probably, migrants occupied a sparsely populated or unsettled territory. As a result, a gradual refusal of fortifications and high concentration of population came; elite (primarily military) paraphernalia disappeared from funerary rites. The main features of cultural “heirs” (economy, technology, etc.) demonstrate continuity with Sintashta traditions and the tendency to multiple territorial expansions.

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