Dmitry Gennadievich Zdanovich Sintashta society: social foundations of the “quasi-urban” culture of the Southern Trans-Urals of the Middle Bronze Age Specialist. natural-landscape and historical-archaeol. center "Arkaim". Chelyab. state univ. Chelyabinsk, 1997. 93 pp. The work explores the possibility of reconstructing the social base of the Sintashta (quasi-urban) culture of the Southern Trans-Urals of the Middle Bronze Age. The analysis involves settlement structures and funeral rites. Data from archaeological sources are considered in the context of the Indo-European tradition and the social history of Eurasia in the Bronze Age. The work is intended for archaeologists, historians, cultural scientists. Published by decision of the editorial and publishing council of Chelyabinsk State University.

Scientific editor, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor N.Ya. Merpert Reviewer, Candidate of Philosophy, Professor V.I. Lipsky

INTRODUCTIONMEDIUM-SCALE SOCIETIES AND THE PROBLEM OF VOZHDESTVASINTASHTINSKIE SETTLEMENT STRUCTURES AND SINTASHTINSKIE SOCIETYSINTASHTINSKIY FUNERAL RITE AND SINTASHTINSKIE SOCIETYTheoretical problems of the social interpretation of the funeral riteTypes of the Sintashta funeral rite Spatial organization of burial complexes Number of people buried in “elite” pits and some characteristics of the ritual Funeral structures Funeral equipment Some conclusions FUNCTIONS AND POSITION OF THE “ELITE” IN SINTASHTINSKY SINTASHTA PROTOPOLIS SOCIETY CONCLUSION ABBREVIATIONS OF THE NAMES OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS LIST OF REFERENCES