The Urals and Western Siberia in the Bronze and Iron Ages (Cambridge World Archaeology)
Cambridge University Press
Edition: Reprint, 6/5/2014
EAN 9781107653290, ISBN10: 1107653290
Paperback, 408 pages, 25.4 x 17.8 x 2.3 cm
Language: English
This book is the first synthesis of the archaeology of the Urals and Western Siberia. It presents a comprehensive overview of the late prehistoric cultures of these regions, which are of key importance for the understanding of long-term changes in Eurasia. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the Urals and Western Siberia are characterized by great environmental and cultural diversity which is reflected in the variety and richness of their archaeological sites. Based on the latest achievements of Russian archaeologists, this study demonstrates the temporal and geographical range of its subjects starting with a survey of the chronological sequence from the late fourth millennium BC to the early first millennium AD. Recent discoveries contribute to an understanding of issues such as the development of Eurasian metallurgy, technological and ritual innovations, pastoral nomadism and its role in Eurasian interactions, and major sociocultural fluctuations of the Bronze and Iron Ages.
Introduction
Part I. The Bronze Age
The Rise of Economic and Cultural Complexity
1. The development of bronze metallurgy
2. The achievements and collisions of the early and middle Bronze Age
3. Stabilization, colonization and expansion in the late Bronze Age
4. On the eve of a new epoch
final Bronze Age
Part II. The Iron Age
Forming Eurasian Interactions
5. The transition to the Iron Age and new tendencies in economic development
6. The Southern Ural within the nomadic world
at the cultural crossroads
7. The world of cultures of Cis-Urals forest zone of Eastern Europe
the maintenance of identities
8. The forest-steppe cultures of the Urals and western Siberia
on the northern periphery of the nomadic world
9. Social trends in north-central Eurasia during the second and first millennia BC.