Chronological complexes of Medieval sites in Western Siberia

Recently, an opinion has been established about the broad chronology of the medieval cultures in the study of the Middle Ages of the Trans-Urals. Particularly, the period of existence of the Bakal Culture has been consi-dered to fit within the framework of the 4th–13th centuries, and the Yudino Culture within the 6th–13th centuries. Based on the general chronology of the archaeological sites, as well as discovery of materials of different cultures within the same settlements, the researchers suggested a certain level of interaction between representatives of the Bakal and Yudino Cultures. Such ethno-cultural situation probably had to be accompanied by economic, so-cial or military aspects of the interaction of the medieval communities. However, we cannot readily accept the co-existence of representatives of the Bakal and Yudino Cultures, since no multicultural burial complexes have been found and no syncretic has been observed in the material culture. Thus, one of the main objectives was to detail the chronology of the medieval complexes and to identify the chronological phases. To address this problem, we have assessed all known dated archaeological sites of the medieval period, examined by stationary excavations and subjected to absolute and relative dating, 36 sites in total. Using the comparative typological method, an at-tempt was made to narrow the chronological framework of material complexes for each site. All radiocarbon dates have been calibrated using OxCal 4.3 program and IntCal13 calibration curve with a confidence interval 95,4 %, and 68,3 %. The absolute dates were then correlated with the relative dates. As a result, two chronological peri-ods were defined: 4th–8th and 9th–13th centuries. The first period correlates with the period of existence of the Bakal Culture. The later dates, obtained from the few single-layer sites of the Bakal type, are not supported by the material complexes and the presence of burial grounds of this time. Archaeological sites of the Yudino Culture appeared in the territory of Trans-Urals in the 9th century. This has been reliably confirmed by the appearance of single-layer settlements and monocultural necropolises dating to the developed medieval period. In summary, we conclude that the chronology of the Medieval cultures of the Trans-Urals does not overlap, and the analysis of microstratigraphy of the majority of settlement complexes allows observing the gradual replacement of some cul-tural groups by others.</jats:p

Technological characteristics of objects made of iron and iron-carbon alloys associated with the Yudino Culture (according to the metallographic data)

Towards the beginning of the 2nd millennium CE, the population of Western Siberia had achieved significant progress in the production and processing of ferrous metals. This is especially well demonstrated by the com-plexes of the 10th–13th centuries in the Lower Irtysh River area (Western Siberia) and Lower Ob River area (Western Siberia) (archaeological sites of the Ust-Ishim and Nizhneobskaya Cultures), whose materials allowed tracing a unified tradition of metalworking among the representatives of these cultures. At the time, the adjacent territory of the Tobol River (Western Siberia) was occupied by population of the Yudino Culture, whose sites yielded many different-type products from ferrous metals. At the same time, the remains of metal production sites, which confirm the presence of this craft in the economy of the population of the Tobol River area in the 9th–13th centuries, were found on the settlements. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the objects made of ferrous metals aiming at reconstruction of the technology of metal production among the representatives of the Yudino Culture. To solve this problem, we analyzed by means of structural metallography a selection of 26 items from the settlements of Papskoye, Krasnogorskoye, Barsuchye, Rafailovskoye, and Vak-Kur burial ground. The results of the analysis showed that the raw material base was represented by raw steel and bloomery iron, which was most likely produced by local metallurgists. The most common technology of metal processing was open forging of hot metal, during which the object was given a future shape. Most of the objects contain microstructures of sorbite and martensite, which may indicate the use of heat treatment techniques by the blacksmiths, particu-larly, of soft and hard quenching. In some cases, the masters used the stacked billet method to increase the weight of the product. Nevertheless, the materials show more complex technological schemes, for example, car-burization and three-layer welding. Objects made using this approach are characteristic of the territory of Northern Rus and can be considered as imports in the Tobol territory (Western Siberia). Cast iron products can also be regarded as imported, since the production of cast iron appeared in Western Siberia after the 16th century. Thus, the blacksmiths of the Yudino Culture mastered a wide range of metalworking techniques. However, there are technology-enabled objects typical of the urban centers of Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the medieval ar-chaeological sites of the Trans-Urals.</jats:p

Chronology of a Medieval complex from the Papskoye settlement (forest-steppe of Western Siberia)

A large number of imported items found in the occupation layers of archaeological sites in the Trans-Urals and Western Siberia suggest that, in the Middle Ages, these regions were on the periphery of trade routes and were involved in global historical events. In this connection, the dating of material culture provides details about trade and economic, as well as social and political, aspects of the life of communities of the past. One of the new archaeological sites allowing the dynamics of material culture to be traced is a multi-layered Papskoye settlement. This site constitutes a fortification having two areas and powerful defensive lines, located on top of the right-bank terrace of the Iset River. In this study, structures attributed to different chronological periods were analysed and artefacts were collected (7th century BC — 14th century AD). Nevertheless, collections of items dating back to the High Middle Ages (late 9th — early 14th centuries) are the most representative as they most objectively reflect the historical and cultural processes that took place in this region. Most of the finds of arrowheads, elements of cloth-ing and horse harnesses, as well as household items, in the Papskoye settlement belong to this time. In this study, we used a comparative-typological method followed by the identification of the types of things. In order to establish the most accurate chronological framework, as well as to determine the primary centres for the production of certain items, we applied the method of analogy using a wide range of material culture from the neighbouring territories, which include Altai, Mongolia, Volga region, Kama area, the Caucasus, the north of Western Siberia, etc. In this study, we identified two chronological phases within the High Middle Ages using the materials of the Papskoye fortified settlement: 1) late 9th — 12th centuries; 2) late 12th — early 14th centuries. They correspond to the period when the carriers of the Yudino and Chiyalik cultures inhabited this site. In addition, a large number of direct analogies with the neighbouring territories suggests that the territory of the forest-steppe Trans-Urals was located on the periphery of trade routes through which imports came from Southern Siberia, Volga Bulgaria and the Upper Kama area.</jats:p