The Adaptation of the Seima-Turbino Tradition to the Bronze Age Cultures in the South of the West Siberian Plain
The Adaptation of the Seima-Turbino Tradition to the Bronze Age Cultures in the South of the West Siberian Plain
DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2018.46.3.049-058
V.I. Molodin, I.A. Durakov, L.N. Mylnikova, and M.S. Nesterova
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
This article presents the results of a study of bronze-casting artifacts found at the Middle Bronze Age settlements of the Middle Irtysh region. Seima-Turbino-type clay bronze-casting molds from the sites of Chernoozerye VI, Abramovo-10, and Vengerovo-2 are described with regard to construction, composition of molding mixture, and types of cast. Special attention is paid to the archaeological context. At Abramovo-10, the casting area was located between the houses; at Vengerovo-2, in a special structure with furnaces and utility pits. Similar types of casting areas, furnaces, and reusable molds attest to the unification of the casting process and a sophisticated tradition practiced by the indigenous Krotovo people, who, judging by the molds and casts, manufactured the Seima-Turbino-type bronze weapons themselves. The Irtysh, with its tributaries, was a transportation route along which the tradition spread. Initially, Seima-Turbino bronze artifacts were imported; but eventually they were replicated by local casters, who, in certain respects, adhered to their own metallurgical traditions.
