Relative and absolute chronology data indicate that the Koshkinsky and Koksharovsky-Yuryinsky (Kozlovsky) complexes are Early Neolithic sites in the Koksharovsky Hill sanctuary. They were formed, most likely, at the end of VI - at the turn of VI-V thousand years. and existed until the end of the V-turn of the V-IV millennium BC. At the turn of the V-IV - early IV millennium BC, the Late Neolithic Poludensk and Basyanovo complexes were formed on their basis. In the third quarter of the fourth millennium BC, the Late Neolithic complexes on the sanctuary were replaced by Eneolithic ones.

Keywords: Neolithic of the Trans-Urals, Koksharovsky Hill sanctuary, Koshkinsky, Koksharovsky-Yurinsky, Basyanovsky, Poludensky type complexes, chronology.

Introduction

The Koksharovsky Hill sanctuary is located in the forest zone of the Middle Trans-Urals, on the shore of Lake Yurinsky in the Verkhnesaldinsky urban district of the Sverdlovsk region. It is an artificial earth structure (diameter approx. 40 m, height over 1 m in the south and approx. 3.5 m in the northern part) was created in the center of the Neolithic Yuryinsky settlement. There are no more than ten monuments of this bulk type on the territory of Eurasia, all of them are located in the taiga zone of the Trans-Urals and Western Siberia north of 58° N, in the basin of the left-bank tributaries of the Ob. The most famous are Koksharovsky, Makhtylsky, Ust-Vagilsky hills, Chertova Gora, where excavations were carried out. The first one is most fully studied (Fig. 1). Analysis of archaeological data obtained during the excavations of the Koksharovsky hill allows us to consider the pa-

Figure 1. Map-layout of Neolithic mounded hills-sanctuaries.

1-complex of archaeological monuments "sanctuary Koksharovsky hill-Yuryinsky settlement"; 2-Makhtylsky hill; 3-Ust-Vagilsky hill; 4-Chertova Gora.

This work was financially supported by the Program of Fundamental Research of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences " Historical and cultural heritage and spiritual values of Russia "(project "Sources of cultural heritage of the ancient population of the Urals").

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2. Stratigraphic section in the central part of the Koksharovsky hill. 1-modern turf and dark gray humus sandy loam with a small inclusion of pebbles and coals - scree of an excavator trench; 2-dark gray redeposited loam with the inclusion of pebbles and coals - filling of excavations and robber pits; 3-dark gray-brown loam with a small inclusion of pebbles and coals - the upper bulk undisturbed layer of the hill 4-loose redeposited dark gray-brown loam with a small inclusion of pebbles and coals; 5-dark gray homogeneous loam with more intense inclusions of pebbles and coal than in layer 2 - an average bulk undisturbed hill layer; 6-dark gray loam with spots of dark brown loam, pebbles and coals - redeposited layer; 7-gray-brown loam with intense inclusions of small spots of continental sand and clay, pebbles and coal-redeposited layer; 8-mixed brown loam with a small inclusion of pebbles and coal - redeposited layer; 9-dark gray loam, intensely saturated with coal and small spots of punctures and light gray loam with small spots of calculus.brown continental loam - the lower bulk undisturbed layer of the hill. 10 - thickness of thin (thickness 1 - 3 cm) layers of coals, light gray and yellow continental clay and sand-deliberate filling at the base of the hill; 11-layer of mixed and washed-out layers that make up layer 7; 12-yellow and light brown coarse-grained sand with a large inclusion of pebbles, light gray and light brown clay-mainland; 13-layer of the mainland in a redeposited state - outflows from pits and excavations deepened into the mainland; 14 - layer of coal and coal-saturated layers of loam; 15-punctures; 16-burnt wood.

peppermint is a sanctuary, probably of high rank*. This conclusion is based on the following observations:

The construction of the complex required a significant amount of labor; at least three stages of filling the hill in the Neolithic period are recorded (Fig. 2). As a result, an elevated platform, a kind of mountain, was created for ritual actions in the plain space of the Trans-Urals. The tradition of using elevated places as places of worship is well known from both archaeological and ethnographic materials;

The area of the hill is separated from the territory of the Yuryinsky settlement by two moats (Fig. 3). According to archaeological and ethnographic data, such an organization of sacred and residential space is common;

in the layers of the hill there are the remains of 15 wooden objects measuring 2 × 2 m or more (approx. 5×5 m), with a height of at least 1 m. Next to or inside some of them, smaller structures are marked: 55×30, 80×55 cm. These objects are either overlain by alternating layers of light continental sand and carbonaceous layers, or built on pillows of such layers. Inside or near some of these structures, vessels were found turned upside down (Fig. 4, 11; 5, 1, 3, 5; 6, 2, 4). It is possible that the structures were burned after the ceremony: powerful bonfires and calcined layers were noted in the cultural layers of the hill (see Figure 2). Probably, the structures were also of a cult nature, and fire rituals played a major role in the ritual actions;

the complex presents specific artefacts**: a drilled ornamental stone mace in the form of a stylized animal head (see Figs. 4, 1),

* The cult character of the monument is justified in a number of articles [Shorin, 2006, 2008, 2010].

** Most of it is made up of debris, but there are also whole samples. All artifacts, with the exception of the mace - an accidental find, were found on the mound of the cult site of the sanctuary or in the area of the moats.

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Fig. 3. Layout of objects and ditches on Koksharovsky hill. 1 - boundaries of excavations where only the upper horizons are revealed; 2-carbonaceous layers; 3-calcined layers.

4. Cult artefacts from the layers of the Koksharovsky hill. 1-mace; 2-rod; 3-duck head; 4-disk; 5-a fragment of the butt part of the knife; 6-a biconical product; 7-9-arrowheads; 10 - "iron"; 11-vessel. 1, 2, 5, 7 - 9 - stone; 3, 4, 6, 10, 11 - clay.

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5. Ceramics of the Koshkino culture.

talc rods with notches (see Fig. 4, 2), clay duck head (see Fig. 4, 3), ceramic "spinning wheels" and disks (see Fig. 4, 4), a fragment of the shell part of a crescent-shaped shale polished knife, decorated in the form of a bird's head (see Fig. 4, 5), clay objects of spherical and biconic shape, usually ornamented (figs. 4, 6), clay "irons" (see figs. 4, 10), over 60 vessels with zoomorphic nalepami (see figs. 4, 11), etc. [Shorin, 2010];

stone tools have special features. For example, polished or carelessly processed arrowheads made from low-quality raw materials. In fact, these are imitations of weapons, and it is possible that they were used as votive weapons (see Figures 4, 7-9).;

in the cultural layers of the sanctuary and settlement, all types of Neolithic ware are represented: Koshkinskaya, Koksharovskaya-Yurinskaya (Kozlovskaya), Basyanovskaya (Boborykinskaya), Poludenskaya, which are common in the Middle and Southern Trans-Urals, the Tobolsk-Ishim interfluve*, and variations of these cultural traditions in the form of specific cultural complexes are noted in the territory to the east of the Ural Range: on the left and right banks of the middle Ob River in the north (monuments of the Amninsky, Sumpanyinsky, Satyginsky, Barsovo-Gorsky, Bystrinsky, Kayukovsky types, etc.) and in Central Kazakhstan in the south (monuments close to the Boborykin ones). The influence of Koshkinsky, Kozlovsky, Boborykin and Poludensky ornamental traditions on ceramics of Neolithic cultures of the western slope of the Urals is less noticeable. But there are also some Trans-Ural vessels and manifestations of ornamental traditions.

The presence in the cultural layers of the sanctuary of all types of ceramics known in the Trans-Urals determined the subject of our study, since local stratigraphy

6. Ceramics of the Koksharov-Yuryinsky type from the Neolithic period (1-5, 7) and the Eneolithic period (6, 8).

* A sanctuary could be territorial or inter-clan. In the ethnography of the peoples of the Urals (Khanty, Mansi, Udmurts) and other regions of the world, intergroup sanctuaries are known, where on the most important holidays of the calendar cycle the population gathered from a significant territory and from places located a few days away from the common cult center.

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Table 1. Distribution of Neolithic ceramics of different cultures in the main stratigraphic layers of the Kosharovsky hill

Layer

Koshkinskaya Street

Basyanovskaya Street

Koksharovsko-Yuryinskaya street

Poludenskaya Street

Quantity

%

Quantity

%

Quantity

%

Quantity

%

Central part

Upper

108

20,0

29

15,3

234

28,8

160

34,5

Average

278

51,6

49

25,8

432

53,1

258

55,6

Lower

153

28,4

112

58,9

147

18,1

46

9,9

Total

539

100

190

100

813

100

464

100

Eastern periphery

Upper

98

34,4

27

81,8

110

29,3

127

33,0

Lower

187

65,6

6

18,2

266

70,7

258

67,0

Total

285

100

33

100

376

100

385

100

Table 2. Distribution of Neolithic ceramics of different cultural types in the central and eastern periphery of the hill

Hill section

Koshkinskaya Street

Basyanovskaya Street

Koksharovsko-Yuryinskaya street

Poludenskaya Street

Quantity

%

Quantity

%

Quantity

%

Quantity

%

Centre

539

65,4

190

85,2

813

68,4

464

54,7

Eastern Periphery

285

34,6

33

14,8

376

31,6

385

45,3

Total

824

100

223

100

1189

100

849

100

it actually reflects the chronology and interaction of ancient collectives not only in this territory, but also in a large historical and cultural region*. The analysis of stratigraphy and planigraphy is complicated by the formation of cultural layers of the hill: the mound was created during several stages (see Figure 2).The soil for filling was taken from the Yuryinsky settlement, i.e. the cultural layer of the Koksharovsky hill also includes the cultural layer of the settlement (for more details, see [Shorin, 2003; 2007]). Thus, the cultural complexes in the layers of the sanctuary are to some extent redeposited.

Relative chronology of the Sanctuary's ceramic complexes

Statistical analysis of the occurrence of multicultural ceramic complexes in the main stratigraphic layers-filled in ancient times and not disturbed later (see Fig. 2), as well as their distribution over the excavated area of the monument (central and eastern peripheral), allows us to make the following observations according to the relative chronology (Tables 1, 2).

Ceramics of the Koshkinsky and Koksharovsky-Yuryinsky types are more numerous in the middle and lower layers than in the upper, both in the center and on the periphery (see Table 1). It is more abundant in the central than in the eastern peripheral part of the monument (see Table 2). This gives grounds to consider the Koshkinsky and Koksharovsky-Yuryinsky complexes earlier on the sanctuary. It is precisely with these types of dishes that the cult objects recorded on the central site of the sanctuary**are also associated.

Ceramics of the Poluden type in the center of the hill are more widely represented in the middle and upper layers of the sanctuary, it is extremely small in the lower one. But in the peripheral part of the sanctuary, there are more of these ceramics in the lower layers than in the upper ones (see Table 1). Ceramics of this type are distributed almost equally over the area of the hill (see Table 2). Strange, at first glance, stratigraphy-

* For ceramics of all types, the Kiev Radiocarbon Laboratory of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has obtained a series of dates on the basis of which the problems of absolute dating can be discussed. Ceramic dates for cult objects 12 and 15, which were accompanied by vessels of the Koshkinsky culture, correlate with the dates for coal determined in the radiocarbon laboratory of the Institute of Chemical Engineering of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

** Koshkinsky objects 5, 6, 12, 15, Koksharovsko-Yuryinsky-3, 7 (see Fig. 3). In object 12, a fragment of the butt part of a polished knife was also found, designed in the form of a bird's head (see Fig. 4, 5). A large grinding plate was also found here.

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The geographical distribution of Poluden ceramics in the eastern part of the hill, as well as in the area of the sanctuary as a whole, has its own explanation. The hill probably increased in size at the expense of the periphery, so the abundance of these ceramics in the remote part of the sanctuary from the center, even in the lower layers (and the uniform distribution over the area), is an indirect evidence that ceramics of this type occupy a late position in the relative chronology of the monument. An indirect argument in favor of belonging to the complexes of the Poludensky type to a later period is the absence of religious objects on the site of the sanctuary, accompanied by vessels of this type. The ruins of the Poludensky-type vessels are found in or near the filling of the Late Neolithic moat 2.

In the relative chronology of the sanctuary, the position of the Basyanovo ceramic complex, the smallest of the Neolithic ones, is less certain. In the central part of the hill, Basyanovskaya ceramics are more abundant in the lower than in the middle and upper layers (see Tables 1, 2), but in the eastern periphery they predominate in the upper layers (see Table 1). This may be a manifestation of the specific formation of cultural layers of the monument.

Table 3. Radiocarbon dates for ceramics

N n/a

Lab Index

Radiocarbon date, l. n.

Calibrated date, years BC*

Culture

Drawing number

1 σ

2 σ

1

Кі-15540

6 070 ± 80

5 070 - 4 840

5 300 - 4 700

Poludenskaya Street

7, 1**

2

Кі-15539

5 980 ± 90

4 960 - 4 770

5 250 - 4 600

3

Кі-16170

5 980 ± 90

4 960 - 4 770

5 250 - 4 600

"

7, 3

4

Кі-15913

5 970 ± 80

4 950 - 4 770

5 100 - 4 600

"

7, 2

5

Кі-16384

5 960 ± 80

4 940 - 4 770

5 060 - 4 670

Basyanovskaya Street

7, 7

6

Кі-16038

5 950 ± 90

4 950 - 4 710

5 100 - 4 550

"

7, 6

7

Кі-15906

5 890 ± 90

4 910 - 4 870 4 860 - 4 670 4 640 - 4 610

4 960 - 4 520

"

7, 5**

8

Кі-15538

5 750 ± 80

4 690 - 4 490

4 790 - 4 440

"

7, 4**

9

Кі-15589

5 670 ± 90

4 620 - 4 440 4 430 - 4 360

4 720 - 4 340

10

Кі-16386

7 610 ± 80

6 530 - 6 380

6 610 - 6 330

Koshkinskaya Street

5, 1**

11

Кі-16424

6 830 ± 90

5 800 - 5 630

5 900 - 5 600

12

Кі-15915

7 010 ± 80

5 930 - 5 800

6 020 - 5 720

"

5, 2

13

Кі-16388

6 570 ± 90

5 620 - 5 470

5 670 - 5 360

"

5, 3

14

Кі-16390

6 290 ± 80

5 370 - 5 200

5 470 - 5 040

"

5, 4

15

Кі-16389

6 020 ± 90

5 040 - 4 790

5 250 - 4 650

"

5, 5

16

Кі-15535

5 960 ± 80

4 940 - 4 770

5 060 - 4 670

"

5, 6

17

Кі-16169

5 840 ± 90

4 800 - 4 580

4 860 - 4 490

"

5, 7

18

Кі-15914

6 950 ± 80

5 900 - 5 730

5 990 - 5 700

Koksharovsko-Yuryinskaya street

6, 1

19

Кі-16037

6 820 ± 90

5 790 - 5 630

5 900 - 5 530

"

6, 3

20

Кі-16383

6 480 ± 80

5 520 - 5 360

5 560 - 5 300

"

6, 2

21

Кі-16385

6 420 ± 90

5 480 - 5 320

5 560 - 5 200

"

6, 5

22

Кі-16387

6 260 ± 90

5 320 - 5 200 5 190 - 5 060

5 500 - 4 950

"

6, 4

23

Кі-15536

6 225 ± 90

5 300 - 5 060

5 500 - 4 850

"

6, 7**

24

Кі-15537

6 045 ± 90

5 060 - 4 800

5 300 - 4 700

25

Кі-15541

5 440 ± 90

4 370 - 4 220

4 460 - 4 040

Eneolithic

6, 6

26

Кі-15907

5 250 ± 90

4 230 - 4 190 4 170 - 3 970

4 350 - 3 800

"

6, 8

* The OxCal Version 3.9 calibration program was used.

** Multiple dates were obtained for a single ceramic fragment.

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See Table 4. Radiocarbon dates for coal from places of worship 12 and 15 Koshkinsky culture

N n/a

Lab Index

Radiocarbon date, l. n.

Calibrated date, years BC*

An object

1 σ

2 σ

1

Le-7879

6 920 ± 100

5 970 - 5 950 5 910 - 5 710

5 990 - 5 640

15

2

Le-7880

7 560 ± 200

6 640 - 6 220

7 100 - 6 000

15

3

Le-7881

6 940 ± 150

5 990 - 5 710

6 100 - 5 550

15

4

Le-7882

7 440 ± 200

6 400 - 6 030

6 600 - 5 800

15

5

Le-7883

7 050 ± 180

6 070 - 5 730

6 350 - 5 600

15

6

Le-7884

7 450 ± 450

6 850 - 5 800

7 500 - 5 500

15

7

Le-7885

5 920 ± 60

4 880 - 4 870 4 850 - 4 710

4 960 - 4 670 4 640 - 4 610

15

8

Le-7886

6 940 ± 150

5 990 - 5 710

6 100 - 5 550

15

9

Le-7887

6 900 ± 160

5 980 - 5 940, 5 920 - 5 660

6 100 - 5 500

15

10

Le-8900

6 640 ± 45

5 620 - 5 535

5 640 - 5 480

12

11

Le-8901

7 150 ± 100

6 210 - 6 190 6 180 - 6 170 6 160 - 6 140 6 100 - 5 900

6 230 - 5 800

12

12

Le-8902

6 900 ± 45

5 840 - 5 730

5 900 - 5 700

12

13

Le-8903

6 450 ± 65

5 480 - 5 360

5 530 - 5 300

12

14

Le-8904

6 700 ± 50

5 670 - 5 560

5 720 - 5 530

12

* The OxCal Version 3.10 calibration program was used.

7. Vessels and pottery fragments from the Neolithic period. 1-3-poludensky type, 4-7-basyanovsky type.

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Radiocarbon dates

Radiocarbon dates obtained from ceramics determine the short period of existence of the Poludensky complex at the sanctuary (Table 3, N 1-4; Fig. 7, 1-4). This is the end of the V - beginning of the IV millennium BC (hereafter dates on an uncalibrated chronological scale). The dates established from fragments of Basyanovo ceramics (Tables 3, N 5 - 9; Figures 7, 4 - 7) also indicate a relatively short existence of complexes of this type in the sanctuary-within the first half of the IV millennium BC.

According to radiocarbon dates, the Koshkinsky and Koksharovsky-Yuryinsky complexes are generally defined as earlier than the Poludensky and Basyanovsky complexes. Fragments of Koshkino ceramics date from the middle of the VI-beginning of the IV millennium BC (Table 3, N 10-17; Fig. 5). Dates for coal from Koshkino objects relate to the turn of the VI-V - middle of the V millennium BC.Eight dates established from samples from the filling of object 15 (Table 3). 4, N 1-6, 8, 9), are in the range from 7,560 ± 200 to 6,900 ± 160 hp. And only for sample N 7 the date 5,920 ± 60 BP was obtained. It falls within the dates of the second of the intervals indicated for ceramics. By the way, the average date of 7,037 ± 56 BP is very close to the date obtained from the vessel (see Figs. 5, 2) from this object - 7,010 ± 80 BP.

The average date (R Combine) established for five coal samples from object 12 (see Table 4, N 10-14) corresponds to 6,738 ± 24 bp; 1σ - 5 665 - 5 625 years BC, 2σ - 5 710 - 5 620 years BC For the vessel 5, 3), there is a date of 6,570 ± 90 BP (see Table 3, N 13). Consequently, object 12 can be dated to the second quarter - middle of the fifth millennium BC.

The dates for fragments of Koksharovo-Yuryinsk ceramics range from the 5th millennium BC (Table 3, N 18-24; see Fig. 6, 1 - 5, 7).

Conclusions

The chronostratigraphy of the Koksharovsky hill confirms the relative Neolithic chronology of the Trans-Urals proposed by V. N. Chernetsov [1968], O. N. Bader [1970], and V. T. Kovaleva [1989]. The earliest are the Koshkinsky and Koksharovsky-Yuryinsky (Kozlovsky) ceramic complexes, which were formed, most likely, at the end of the VI - at the turn of the VI-V millennium BC and lasted until the end of the V-turn of the V-IV millennium BC. At the turn of the V-IV, at the beginning of the IV millennium BC, they were replaced by the Poludensk and Basyanovo complexes, based mainly on previous traditions. In the third quarter of the fourth millennium BC, Late Neolithic complexes were replaced by Eneolithic ones in the sanctuary. The ornamental composition of the latter reflects both Ayat and Sosnovoostrov features. The Eneolithic ceramic complexes were probably based on the earlier, primarily Poludensk, ornamental traditions. Two fragments of such Eneolithic pottery from the sanctuary were found to date back to the third and fourth quarters of the fourth millennium BC (see Table 3, N 25, 26; see Figures 6, 6, 8). The sanctuary of Koksharovsky hill in Neolithic times functioned, probably with interruptions, for at least 1.5 thousand years from the turn of the VI-V to the middle of the IV millennium BC. e. first as a cult place of Koshkinsky and Koksharovsky-Yurinsky groups of the population, and in the first half of the IV millennium. BC-Basyanovo and Poludensky.

List of literature

Bader O. N. Uralskiy neolit [The Ural Neolithic]. MIA. - 1970. - N 166. - pp. 157-171.

Kovaleva V. T. Neolithic of the Middle Trans-Urals. Sverdlovsk: Ural State University Publ., 1989, 80 p. (in Russian)

Chernetsov V. N. K voprosu o slozhenii uralskogo neolita [To the question of the composition of the Ural Neolithic]. Istoriya, arkheologiya i etnografiya Srednoi Azii [History, Archeology and Ethnography of Central Asia], Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1968, pp. 41-53.

Shorin A. F. Koksharovsky hill - a new type of cult complexes in Northern Eurasia / / Images and sacred space of ancient epochs. Yekaterinburg: Aqua-Press Publ., 2003, pp. 87-102.

Shorin A. F. On the functional purpose of "sacrificial hills" of the Middle Trans-Urals (based on the materials of the Koksharovsky hill) / / Modern Problems of Archeology of Russia: Materials of Vseros. archeol. Congress (October 23-28, 2006, Novosibirsk). Novosibirsk: Izd-vo IAET SB RAS, 2006, vol. 1, pp. 331-333.

Shorin A. F. Istoriya I nekotorye itogi izucheniya Koksharovskogo kholma [History and some results of studying the Koksharovsky Hill]. Kurgan: Kurgan State University Publ., 2007, pp. 30-42.

Shorin A. F. Markers of the sacred space of the Central Ural sanctuary Koksharovsky hill // Tr. II (XVIII) Vseros. archeol. congress in Suzdal. 2008-Moscow: IA RAS, 2008. - Vol. I. - pp. 279-281.

Shorin, A. F., Koksharovsky holm Sanctuary in the Middle Trans-Urals: Markers of Sacred Space, Ural. ist. Vestn. - 2010. - N 1. - p. 32-42.

The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 24.05.10.

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