Zhartas — a Late Bronze Age Burial Ground in the North-East Kazakh Low Hills

This paper presents the analysis of materials from a grave in the Zhartas burial ground belonging to the Sargary-Aleksyevka culture, located in the north-eastern Kazakh low hills (Saryarka) in the middle reaches of the Shiderty River. The funerary rite and associated artifacts find analogies among culturally similar sites in Central Kazakhstan, which are part of the cultural community of roller ceramics. According to paleoanthropological analysis, the woman interred, aged approximately 45—55 years, can be classified as belonging to the Caucasoid dolichocranial cranial type. Examination of her postcranial skeleton indicates she represents the “steppe” morphotype commonly associated with Bronze Age populations from the western region of the Eurasian steppes. Anthropological evidence further suggests a resemblance between the woman buried at the Zhartas burial ground and individuals from other Bronze Age burial grounds in Kazakhstan. The artistic reconstruction made from her skull gives an idea of the appearance of the population of the Sargary-Aleksyevkaculture in the north-eastern part of the Kazakh low hills. Judging bywell-known analogies, radiocarbon and isotopic data, as well as current ideas about the chronology of coil pottery finds from the steppe zone of Eurasia, the Zhartas burial ground dates to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC.

2nd millennium BC · artistic reconstruction · Central Kazakhstan · Eurasian steppe · funerary rite · Grave goods · Late Bronze Age · Paleoanthropology · Saryarka · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies