Pages: 199-214

Late Bronze Age paired burials in Central Eurasia are represented by sustainable series in the burials of four cultural groups: Alakul, Tazabagyab, Beshkent-Vakhsh and the culture of the Svat River Valley. Some time ago, a hypothesis was advanced that the paired burial rite spread as a result of the Andronovo migration to the south. Our article compares samples of these burials by the most significant features: simultaneity and non-simultaneity of burials, age of the buried, nuances of their position relative to each other. We support the Alakul origin of the paired burial rite in Tazabagyab culture. In Beshkent-Vakhsh culture, this rite is the continuation of the local tradition of the 4th century BC. At the same time, it is impossible to fully reject the Andronovo influence on the paired burial rite in Beshkent-Vakhsh culture as it was widely spread in Namazga VI Period, which was the time of the largest penetration of the Andronovo bearers into Central Asia. The Alakul and Svat burials show greatest resemblance. Still, their direct relation is not indisputable. We can state that the appearance of the paired burial rite in Central Asia does not have a single-line solution. In Tazabagyab culture, it is certainly an Andronovo influence. In Beshkent-Vakhsh and Svat cultures, the Andronovo influence on this rite does not have any reliable evidence but is not excluded.

Keywords: Central Eurasia, Late Bronze Age, paired burials, Andronovo population migrations, Alakul, Tazabagyab, Beshkent-Vakhsh, Svat Cultures

Information about author:

Yanina Rafikova (Ufa, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of History, Language and Literature of the Ufa Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences. October Ave., 71, Ufa, 450054, Republic of Bashkortostan, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]