What makes us different is what makes us human..
Bronze/Iron Age Siberia
Aerial view of a kurgan's usami' (i.e. kurgan 'with a moustache') in the southern Ural Mountain region, Russian Federation (photo courtesy of V. Kostyukov). This site dates roughly from the Late Iron Age to early Medieval Period and the stone semi-circular extensions are approximately 150 meters in length.
View of the uncovered central mound of the kurgan's usami'
Certainly, one of the more intriguing aspects of these kurgans is that they represent a unique variation within the typical Tasmola sites or even among the greater Saka funeral representation. The creation of distinct variations in burial patterns within a wider set of mortuary practices may suggest the importance of the formulation of certain types of social identity. Basic elements associated with these sites are the prevalence of single inhumations, substantial evidence for horse sacrifice and the inclusion of militaristic weaponry (e.g. iron swords, arrowheads, daggers, etc.).
Hanks, Bryan K.2001. Kurgan Mortuary Practices in the Eurasian Iron Age - Ideological Constructs and the Process of Rituality. In Holy Ground: Theoretical Issues Relating to the Landscape and Material Culture of Ritual Space, edited by A.T. Smith & A. Brookes. BAR International Series 956. Oxford: Archaeopress, pp. 39-48.
Between the 10th to 5th centuries BC the widespread appearance of distinctly constructed burials signaled the appearance of what has been conventionally characterized as the beginning of the Eurasian Iron Age period. It is at this time that the apparent rise of increased mobile pastoralist regimes correlates with other significant factors relating to environmental change, technological developments, and both internal and external social and cultural factors - all of which are seen to have contributed to the formation of newly emergent societal processes.
Hanks, Bryan K.2002 Societal Complexity and Mortuary Rituality: Thoughts on the Nature of Archaeological Interpretation. In Complex Societies of Central Eurasia from the 3rd to the 1st Millennium BC: Regional Specifics in Light of Global Models - Volume II, edited by K. Jones-Bley & D.G. Zdanovich. Washington: Institute for the Study of Man, pp. 355-373.
There was a highly active and dynamic socio-economic interaction sphere created between the metal producing populations located in the Ural Mountains, the transmigrating steppe nomads, and the more sedentary groups located in the forest-steppe region. Although there appears to be clear evidence for trade between these various population groups, the movements of the nomads … may also have intensified conflicts relating to competition for suitable livestock pasturage.
Hanks, Bryan K.2002 The Eurasian Steppe 'Nomadic World' of the First Millennium BC: Inherent Problems within the Study of Iron Age Nomadic Groups. In Ancient Interactions:Eeast and West in Eurasia, edited by K. Boyle, C. Renfrew & M. Levine. McDonald Institute Monographs. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 183-197.
Excavation of an Iron Age dwelling structure (2nd to 3rd centuries BC) at the fortified settlement site of Pavlinovo in the Trans-Urals region, Russian Federation.
Professor Bryan Hanks
Bryan K. Hanks (Assistant Professor) received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2003. He is an archaeologist whose interests focus on the examination of Old World complex societies with a particular emphasis on the Eurasian steppe region.
Research interests include: tribal societies, settlement archaeology, nomadic pastoralist socio-political organization, social organization of early metal production, zooarchaeology funerary studies and ritual practices, and archaeological method and theory.
Current projects include field excavations on Bronze/Iron Age sites in Siberia and North Central Eurasia, and radiometric dating and stable isotope research on the Bronze Age period in the Southern Ural Mountain Region, Russian Federation. For more information about his research visit his website: web.mac.com/bkhanks.