Issue 2 (67)
| LABOR INVESTMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE KAMENNY AMBAR LATE BRONZE AGE SETTLEMENT IN THE KARAGAILY-AYAT RIVER VALLEY | |||
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| Year | 2020 | Number | 2(67) |
| Pages | 26-34 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 902(470.5)”6377” | BBK | 63.4(2) |
| Authors | Chechushkov Igor V. |
Topic | ARCHAEOLOGY OF HABITAT AND LIVELIHOOD |
| Summary | The paper seeks to analyze the labor investment in the construction of the Late Bronze Age walled settlement of Kamenny Ambar in the southern Trans-Urals. Evaluation of labor investments in construction is an effective way to assess the economy, the degree of social complexity, and the religious ideas of past societies. Thus, the architecture of the Sintashta-Petrovka settlements suggests that planning was carried out during their construction, and the work itself required organized collective efforts. Based on the known parameters of architecture, available technologies, ethnography and experimental archaeology, an energetic mathematical model is developed. The model suggests that the settlement could be constructed during one season from May to October by a relatively small group of 100–300 people. At the same time, labor investment in the construction of houses significantly exceeded the volume of labor needed for the construction of a wall-ditch system. Therefore, collective labor does not appear as a significant burden for community members: houses were mainly constructed by their residents, while work on the construction of a ditch and wall was carried out by joint efforts. The paper concludes that the Kamenny Ambar community could be characterized as a simple chiefdom, as the society was complex enough to organize a relatively large group of people for collective work. | ||
| Keywords | Bronze Age, Sintashta-Petrovka settlements, prehistoric architecture, labor investment, way of life | ||
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