The First Results of on Analytic Study of Materials of the Jetyasar Archaeological Culture (Altyn-Asar 4i burial ground)

The analytic study was performed on the materials of the Jetyasar culture from the excavations of the Altyn-Asar-4i burial ground (excavations of the Khorezm expedition of the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences under the direction of L. M. Levina; storage of the State Oriental Museum). It included study of the chemical composition of artefacts from the burials made of non-ferrous metals as well contextual study of anthropological remains. As a result, the nomenclature of metals and alloys used for production was established, the dominance of bronze items at the early stage was recorded, after the 4th century - alloys with zinc. Despite the small volume of the studied sample, a preliminary conclusion can be made about the predominant use of non-ferrous scrap metal. Materials from burial mound No. 201 stand apart. Here pure copper and alloys with zinc were used to make parts of a headdress and personal adornment (pendant), apparently not having undergone several processing cycles. In this burial, the component composition of the metal elements of the headdress was determined for the first time from the preserved traces on the cranial vault. All individuals demonstrate Mongoloid features; the man and woman from the burials with linings (Nos. 203 and 201) showed the consequences of pre-mortem injuries caused by combat weapons

Adornment · Archaeological evidence · Bronze · Bronze Age · Dominance (genetics · Excavation