RS 436 What Kind of Communities Stand Behind Archaeological Cultures? Elena Kupriyanova

Can future researchers assume that in Saratov lived Chinese—discovering Chinese cars there? What is meant by archaeological cultures and how are they identified? What social groups existed in the society of Arkaim and its surroundings? Are these social structures reflected in archaeological cultures? Why did craftsmen of the Sintashta and Petrovka cultures, living in the same region and at the same time, use different methods and materials to make bronze goods? From what mixture were the peoples of the Southern Urals formed in the Bronze Age—combinations of peoples, diversity of cultures and religions? We discuss the meaning of the term “archaeological culture” with Elena Vladislavovna Kupriyanova, Candidate of Historical Sciences, director of the Center for the Study of Nature and Human Problems, Associate Professor of the Faculty of History and Philology at Chelyabinsk State University.