Metal complex of the Bronze Age from an Alakul burial ground (typology and manufacturing techniques)

The article deals with metal artifacts from an Alakul burial ground, which is considered to be one of the largest and brightest monuments of the Alakul culture in the Trans-Urals. There is a description of morphological and typological characteristics of the metal complex which determined the main types of objects, a circle of cultural analogies, and also artifacts which aren't found among materials of other monuments. The main raw materials for production of artifacts were tin bronze (71,6 %). Concentration of tin in jewelry markers of the Alakul culture (cross-shaped pendants) could reach 25–30 %. The obtained data reflect the extent of expansion of use of tin alloy with simultaneous reduction of number of products made of pure copper by the Alakul populations, in comparison with the previous Petrovka culture. This process was promoted by the established relations with sources of metal raw materials and, in particular, of tin alloy arriving in the form of small rectangular bars with concentration of tin of 2–5 %, possibly from centers of production of metal in Central Kazakhstan and the Altai. The metallographic analysis revealed 8 technological schemes applied to produce an inventory complex and jewelry with a prevalence of high-temperature modes. The fact that masters of the Alakul burial ground chose from such big variety of technological schemes calls attention, because they adopted traditional methods of Petrovka metal working. However, the increase in share of forge technologies of molding in combination with forging hot metal processing at temperatures of full red heat, increase in application of preliminary homogenization annealing, which is necessary when working with high tin bronze, were, undoubtedly, a progressive phenomenon. The received data characterize the studied metal complex as traditional for the entire Alakul culture of the Tobol river basin, on the one hand, and as original and unique, on the other hand