Part III Interpretations of Eurasian Archaeology The Bronze Age

Textile goods played an important role in the culture of many Eurasian peoples. New methods and new data concerning an-cient textiles allow us to study the textile goods produced by the Eurasia nomadic population of the Bronze Age (third–sec-ond millennium BC). The specific area of our study is the Kalmyk steppe, and the general region is the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea maritime steppes, the Ural region, and the north-ern Caucasus region of the Eurasian steppe belt. We identified and classified sources that included 50 objects. This was fol-lowed by technological analyses that included identifying and studying the textiles and their structure; determining the type of fiber used for yarn; the type of twisting; the type of thread spinning; the structure of the sample; and the type of thread weave. The analysis of the raw materials base provided indis-putable evidence that plant and wool fibers both were used during the Bronze Age. A comparison of archaeological finds with the components found on historical and ethnographic looms helped establish the types of weaving devices used in prehistoric times. Finally, it became possible to characterize the significance of textiles within the context of steppe cul-tures, not only in the everyday life, but in ritual practices as well