Anatolian Metal V

Herausgeber: nsal Yaln

Bochum 2011

Montanhistorische Zeitschrift Der ANSCHNITT. Beiheft 24 = Verffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum Bochum, Nr. 180

Titelbild Alacahyk gehrt zu den wichtigsten prhistorischen Stdten in Anatolien. Besonders berhmt sind die frhbronzezeitlichen Frstengrber mit ihren zahlreichen Grabbeigaben aus Gold, Silber und Bronze, darunter die frhesten Eisenfunde Anatoliens. Zum Grabinventar zhlten auch zahlreiche bronzene Sonnenstandarten und Tierfiguren. Im Vordergrund ist eine dieser Sonnenstandarten zu sehen. Sie dient heute als Symbol des Kultur- und Tourismusministeriums der Trkei. Im Hintergrund ist eine schroffe Landschaft bei Derekutuun, Kreis Bayat, Provinz orum zu sehen. In Derekutuun wurde seit dem 5. Jt. v. Chr. gediegenes Kupfer bergmnnisch gewonnen. Im Vordergrund ist eine der prhistorischen Strecken abgebildet. Fotos stammen von Herausgeber.

Diese Publikation entstand mit freundlicher Untersttzung der

Der Anschnitt Herausgeber: Vereinigung der Freunde von Kunst und Kultur im Bergbau e.V. Vorsitzender des Vorstandes: Dipl.-Ing. Bernd Tnjes Vorsitzender des Beirats: Bergassessor Dipl.-Kfm. Dr.-Ing. E.h. Achim Middelschulte Bibliografische Informationen der Deutschen Bibliothek Die Deutschen Bibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet ber http/dnd.ddb.de abrufbar. Geschftsfhrer: Museumsdirektor Prof. Dr. phil. Rainer Slotta Schriftleitung (verantwortlich): Dr. phil. Andreas Bingener M.A. Editorial Board: Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Mller, Prof. Dr. phil. Rainer Slotta; Dr. phil. Michael Farrenkopf Wissenschaftlicher Beirat: Prof. Dr. Jana Gerlov, Ostrava; Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Ludwig, Bremen; Prof. Dr. Thilo Rehren, London; Prof. Dr. Klaus Tenfelde (), Bochum; Prof. Dr. Wolfhard Weber, Bochum Layout: Karina Schwunk ISSN 0003-5238 Anschrift der Geschftsfhrung und der Schriftleitung: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum Am Bergbaumuseum 28, D-44791 Bochum Telefon (02 34) 58 77 112/124 Telefax (02 34) 58 77 111 http://www.bergbaumuseum.de Einzelheft 9,- Euro, Doppelheft 18,- Euro; Jahresabonnement (6 Hefte) 54,- Euro; kostenloser Bezug fr die Mitglieder der Vereinigung (Jahres-Mitgliedsbeitrag 50,- Euro)

Redaktion nsal Yaln Christian Wirth Layout, Titelgestaltung Angelika Wiebe-Friedrich Druck WAZ-Druck GmbH & Co. KG, Duisburg

ISBN 3-937203-54-0 ISBN 978-3-937203-54-6

Dieser Band ist Robert Maddin gewidmet

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Vorwort Gruwort

9 11

Rainer Slotta & Andreas Hauptmann Robert Maddin and the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum James D. Muhly Robert Maddin: An Appreciation Mehmet zdoan The Dynamics of Cultural Change in Anatolia H. Gnl Yaln Die Karaz-Kultur in Ostanatolien Ulf-Dietrich Schoop amlbel Tarlas, ein metallverarbeitender Fundplatz des vierten Jahrtausends v. Chr. im nrdlichen Zentralanatolien Horst Klengel Handel mit Lapislazuli, Trkis und Karneol im alten Vorderen Orient Metin Alparslan & Meltem Doan-Alparslan Symbol der ewigen Herrschaft: Metall als Grundlage des hethitischen Reiches nsal Yaln & Hseyin Cevizolu Eine Archaische Schmiedewerkstatt in Klazomenai Martin Bartelheim, Sonja Behrendt, Blent Kzlduman, Uwe Mller & Ernst Pernicka Der Schatz auf dem Knigshgel, Kaleburnu/Galinoporni, Zypern Hristo Popov, Albrecht Jockenhvel & Christian Groer Ada Tepe (Ost-Rhodopen, Bulgarien): Sptbronzezeitlicher ltereisenzeitlicher Goldbergbau Tobias L. Kienlin Aspects of the Development of Casting and Forging Techniques from the Copper Age to the Early Bronze Age of Eastern Central Europe and the Carpathian Basin 127 111 91 85 79 69 53 31 21 17 13

Svend Hansen Metal in South-Eastern and Central Europe between 4500 and 2900 BCE Evgeny N. Chernykh Eurasian Steppe Belt: Radiocarbon Chronology and Metallurgical Provinces Andreas Hauptmann Gold in Georgia I: Scientific Investigations into the Composition of Gold Thomas Stllner & Irina Gambashidze Gold in Georgia II: The Oldest Gold Mine in the World Khachatur Meliksetian, Steffen Kraus, Ernst Pernicka Pavel Avetissyan, Seda Devejian & Levron Petrosyan Metallurgy of Prehistoric Armenia Nima Nezafati, Ernst Pernicka & Morteza Momenzadeh Early Tin-Copper Ore from Iran, a Posssible Clue for the Enigma of Bronze Age Tin Thomas Stllner, Zeinolla Samaschev, Sergej Berdenov , Jan Cierny , Monika Doll, Jennifer Garner, Anton Gontscharov, Alexander Gorelik, Andreas Hauptmann, Rainer Herd, Galina A. Kusch, Viktor Merz, Torsten Riese, Beate Sikorski & Benno Zickgraf Tin from Kazakhstan Steppe Tin for the West? Autorenliste 231 253 211 201 187 173 151 137

Thomas Stllner, Zeinolla Samaschev, Sergej Berdenov , Jan Cierny , Monika Doll, Jennifer Garner, Anton Gontscharov, Alexander Gorelik, Andreas Hauptmann, Rainer Herd, Galina A. Kusch, Viktor Merz, Torsten Riese, Beate Sikorski & Benno Zickgraf

Tin from Kazakhstan Steppe Tin for the West?

In memory of our friend Sergej Berdenov ( October 2010)

1. Tin in the Ancient Near East State of Research

Tin has been regarded as one of the enigmas of ancient metal research; for a long time, scientists have especially put question marks on where this essential alloying metal came from, which was transported to the Oriental and Mediterranean Cultures. Considering the scarcity of tin deposits in these regions, (Fig. 1) it was astonishing to learn that tin-bronzes had occurred here earlier than elsewhere - by the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. This generally pointed to a long distance trade of metals in the third millennium. Moreover, various written sources, also support this idea of tin cargos being traded from abroad to consumers in Mesopotamia and Anatolia (texts from Kltepe-Karum Kani, Aur or Sush/Susa and the Mari and Ebla archives) (e.g. Muhly 1973; 1985; Moorey 1994; Van Lerberghe 1988; Reiter 1997; Parzinger & Boroffka 2003: 1 f.; Dercksen 2005). In the third millennium, there is evidence for tin trading from Meluhha (via the island of Dilmun) and the kingdom of Anshan to southern Mesopotamian Sumerian city-states like Elam or Ur (Heimpel 1987). This trade took place on the level of a peer policy trade that was administered by the king and his officials, especially in the Ur-III- and also older Akkad period (currently Lamberg-Karlowsky 1978; Weeks & Collerson 2004; Helwing 2009). During the second millennium, this trading pattern seems to have changed: for the time period between the 19th and 17th centuries B.C. the archives of Mari tell about Zimri-Lim and his officials, who were main actors within this trade; in Susa King Kuduulu is also known as being involved in these activities; besides this we know of the old Assyrian traders in Aur (Reiter 1997). But we also hear from Sin-uselli from Larsa, Inneri from Elam and Nannaere from Ur who were active as entrepreneurs in the tin trade. So tin (annakum) was transported from Susa and Aur and from there to Karum Kani in donkey loads of about 75 kg each (Dercksen 2005). Tin was traded through several routes: via Susa and via Enunna

and Sippar to northern Mesopotamia (Mari) and to the Levantine harbours from where it was shipped by sea (Uluburun) to the Eastern Mediterranean (Reiter 1997; Parzinger & Boroffka 2003; Garner 2010). The establishment of geochemical markers like Pb-isotopic patterns also allowed the identification of the origin of metals from the late 1980s onwards. Although till now the composition of alloys cannot be ruled out as a real shortcoming in determining the provenance of a single component, first results support the textual evidence. The early tin bronzes of Troy and the northern Aegean (treasures of Troy IIg; Poliochni, Thermi), for instance, display a remarkable isotope pattern that differs in parts from the regional isotopic fields (Pernicka 1995; Pernicka et al. 2003)1. This points to very old Devonian and even older Cambrian and Precambrian ore deposits being used for their metal components. Such deposits are not known from the Anatolian and Aegean geology, which gave a first argument that especially tin from geologically old deposits have been mixed with local copper metals (Pernicka 1998; Pernicka et al. 2003). Such tin deposits are known elsewhere in geologically older ore mountains: one major tin belt of that kind spans from Europe (Ore Mountains) over the Caucasus and Central Asia to northern China and the Far East. Others cross over Europe from Cornwall via northern and central France to Tuscany, or are stretched across parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Although the western tin deposits seem reasonable, there are arguments that they did not play a role in the earliest bronze metallurgy: tin-bronzes are known comparatively late in Western Europe (Penhallurick 1986; Pernicka 1998). As the written sources are not very clear in locating the exact place of origin of the tin sources (they only mention sites from where the tin had been traded to next trading nodule), no clear provenance can be concluded. But one has to regard even a more complex pattern, if one looks at the broader spectrum of isotopic data that is available after more than a three decades of intensive research.

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Fig. 1: Prehistoric tin mining in SW- and Central Asia, Mapping: DBM, J. Cierny with additions.

According to the data of the tin bars from the Uluburun shipwreck (Pullak 2005: 137 ff.; 2005: 65) it is also likely that tin from the Bolkarda (Taurus) mountains was used at the end of second millennium; that however does not decide the debate if the late 4th mill. Kestel mines had been used as a tin deposit (Muhly 1993; Yener & Vandiver 1993b). But the tin enriched crusts on crucibles of the nearby early 3rd millennium site of Gltepe made clear that tin was perhaps used in not large quantities to be deliberately alloyed for a rather small quantity of prestigious metals during that time (Yener & Vandiver 1993a). Regional patterns have arisen in the 2nd millen-

nium and this was favorable for also smaller deposits to take part in the tin business. Recently a new tin deposit was discovered near Arak in western Iran (Deh Hossein, Sanandaj-Sirjan-zone) (Fig. 1) and perhaps, could also be a candidate for delivering this metal to southern Mesopotamian centers; so far especially the Luristan bronzes of the 2nd millennium fit nicely into the geochemical signature of this deposit (Nezafati et al. 2006; Begemann et al. 2008). In the 2nd millennium, tin-bronzes became ubiquitous in this part of the ancient world and this caused a high

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demand in tin, wherever it came from. According to the older geological ages of a part of the tin ores that were obviously used since the 3rd millennium, research has also been focusing since the mid1990s on tin deposits in Central Asia.

2. Central Asia as Deliverer of Tin

The southern part of Central Asia was involved in a long distance trading network during the 3rd and 2nd millennium (summarized by e.g. Kohl 2007: esp. 214 pp.); so it is also reasonable to include possible tin sources in southern Afghanistan for the question of tin provenance: One hint for the origin of tin was the 3rd millennium Lapis lazuli trade that brought Afghanistan into discussion as a supplier of tin (see the comments of Helwing 2009: 213 p.). In the Hilmand region north of Kandahar, rich primary and placer deposits of tin are known but yet unexplored, concerning of their ancient usage (Pigott 1999; Lyonnet 2005). If the Aravalli mountains in north-west India, well known for their geologically old ore deposits, must also be taken into account, may be debatable after a series of metals from southern Mesopotamia proved to have similar Pb-Isotopic ratios (Begemann et al. 2008; Begemann & Schmidt-Strecker 2009: esp. 29). It is however an unsolved question if tin crossed the northern Iranian plateau at all on its way to the west; contrary to arsenic bronzes, tin bronzes were very rare in the 3rd millennium and we do not know many of the eastern Iranian 2nd millennium metal compositions2. The same is principally true for the BMAC complex in Central Asia. Although the oases cultures were included in wide ranging trade connections, and although the tin sources of the Fergana valley in the North were relatively near, there was no major tradition in tin bronzes before the mid of the second millennium. Recently, K. Kaniuth (2007) analyzed the metal sequence of the Middle and Late Bronze Age Sapalli culture in Bactria. He made clear that even there the Bronze technology was not of great importance before the LBI, meaning the first half of the 2nd millennium. The innovation of tin bronzes therefore may not be connected with the BMAC complex and the younger Namazga-VI related communities in Bactria or in the Margiana. It seems that the Bronze technology was directly related with the Andronovo-communities and the steppe civilizations in the north. Recent research carried out in the Fergana valley and its tin deposits clearly uncovered evidence that the tin mining sites of Karnab, Mushiston and Changali were exploited by groups of the AndronovoTazabagjab culture (Alimov et al. 1998; Boroffka et al. 2002; recently Garner 2010). Their cultural habit shows typical elements of a steppe economy based on herding and semi-nomadic lifestyle. On the other hand they seemingly stood in close relation to the oasis cultures in the south, which easily can be observed by the higher portion of wheel turned ceramic in their material culture (Parzinger & Boroffka 2003; Kuzmina 2007: 365).

In Karnab, the organizational pattern is best visible. The tin mines were obviously exploited during a longer period of time but not necessarily in a continuous way. Several mines were active and J. Garner (2010) recently presented arguments for some kind of succession in their use during the exploitation process. The same pattern can also be observed in the nearby Andronovo settlement of Sikoni, where several phases of reuse have been discovered within the dwelling grounds. Even in high mountainous areas, such as at Mushiston (at an altitude of more than 3300 m), the Andronovo mining pattern was visible (Garner 2010). Although fire setting did not have the same importance as in the Ferganavalley and although the mined ore, a polymetalic coppertin ore [stannite], is different from the cassiterite in Karnab, the underground mining again showed some range in the operation periods that indicates continuous usage in intervals from the early 2nd millennium onwards. A nearby high altitude sanctuary is a clear manifestation of the ritual importance that this locality held for the Andronovo miners (Parzinger & Boroffka 2003: 238 pp.). The tin mines of Zeravshan manifested for the first time the eminent role that the tin-exploitation had for the Andronovo-communities: it became obvious that the technological knowledge of tin was nearly exclusively linked to Andronovo-groups.

3. Tin Mines in East Kazakhstan

Andronovo groups, namely those of the Fedorovka and Alakul ceramic traditions (recently Kuzmina 2007: 96 pp.) also played an eminent role in another tin mining district of central Asia. The region of eastern Kazakhstan was first investigated in this respect by S.S. Chernikov during the 1930s to 1950s (Chernikov 1949; 1960). Chernikov accompanied the geological surveys during the 1930s and therefore became acquainted with many tin mining districts in the Kalba-Narym geotectonic unit (Fig. 2). Therefore he obtained first hand information and realized the importance of the prehistoric and especially Bronze Age mining activities. In his reports, he described in detail many of the mining sites for the first time. Chernikov can also be rightfully called the father of many more recent investigations concerning the Bronze Age in East Kazakhstan. In his studies of metals, Chernikov (1949) raised the question for the first time if the early tin bronze in neighboring NW-China can be related to the East Kazakhstan deposits (recently Mei et al. 1998; Mei 2004). Although Chernikov could not exclusively link the mines with one of the cultural groups in East Kazakhstan, he did realize the importance of the metallurgical production while excavating the Andronovo settlements of Trunikovo or Kanaj (Chernikov 1960). In the following decades Chernikovs results were widely accepted. For instance, E.N. Chernykh repeatedly acknowledged the importance of East Kazakhstan, especially when discussing the introduction of tin bronze

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Fig. 2: Mining sites in East Kazakhstan after Chernikov (1949) with additions: 1. erdojak (Sn), 2. udskoje (Sn), 3. Delbegetej (Sn), 4. Kariga (Cu), 5. Kazanunkur (Au, ), 6. Mynunkur (Sn), 7. Nikolaevskoe (Cu), 8. Orlovskoe (Cu), 9. Ubinskoe (Sn), 10. Urunaj (Sn), 11. Zyrjanovskoe (Cu). Important mining in Central Asia: 12. Bozshakol (Pavlodar) (Cu), 13. Dshezkazgan (Cu), 14. Kenkazgan (Cu), 15. Kargaly (Cu), 16. Karnab/angali (Sn), 17. Kyzylkum (Cu), 18. Michailovo (Cu), 19. Minussinsk basin (Cu), 20. Mushiston (Sn), 21. Veshnveh (Cu, Iran); quadrangles: Bronze Age settlements with metallurgy: a. Ayrtau; b. Novaja Schulba; mapping: DBM, G. Steffens/Th. Stllner.

technology in the eastern part of EAMP (Eurasian Metallurgical Province) during the 2nd mill. BC. (Chernykh 1992: Fig. 37) or the Sejma-Turbino phenomen which he connected with a younger chronological horizon than what has recently been argued by H. Parzinger (e.g. Chernykh & Kuzminych 1989; Parzinger 2002; Parzinger & Boroffka 2003: 289 pp.; Parzinger 2006). The Sejma-Turbino Phenomen and the occurrence of tin bronzes, especially in the context of the Siberian Okunev cultures, is of special interest for East Kazakhstan. Tin bronzes obviously occurred at the end of the 3rd millennium in the forest-steppe zone of Siberia, as well as in East Kazakhstan and the Altai region. Although neither the Sejma-Turbino cultural complex3 nor the Okunev culture can be linked with tin-mines so far, it is clear that they had some access to tin resources. Therefore, one may ask if the East Kazakhstan tin mines had been

worked during the early phase of the Bronze Age? If the Kalba-Narym supplied Okunev with tin, one has to assume a tin trade crossing the Irtysh river system or even using the Irtysh as a northern and eastern route. Archaeological research and field work in East Kazakhstan has brought to light further evidence in the last decades. On both sides of the Irtysh, further metallurgical sites have been documented, such as those on the Shulbinka river (Alekhin & Iljushin 1989; Ermolaeva et al. 1998; Alekhin 2000) or in the surrounding areas of the Delgebetej (Askaraly) ore mountains in the northwestern part of the Kalba-Narym geological unit (Maksimova & Ermolaeva 1987; Orazbaev & Omarov 1998; Ermolaeva 2001). East Kazakhstan can be regarded as a region rich in metal ore resources, which can be contributed to a com-

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plex geological history that has led to various paragenetic conditions with different types of ore deposits (Fig. 2). Within the so-called Altai geotectonic unit, (Altaiskij Geo-Tektonogen) the Kalba-Narym zone and the OreAltai zone can be differentiated from one another (Geologija SSSR): tin deposits are intrusively embedded with pegmatites, granites and granodiorites into sandstones and calcareous rocks of the Middle Devonian and Lower Carbonian Ages. Westwards of this zone, tin is found closely related with gold deposits in the western Kalba formation (Fig. 2) (Scherba et al. 1984; Malchenko & Ermolov 2006). The ore deposits are formed as massive deposits or as veins4. The metallogenesis of these ore deposits can be assigned nowadays to the Devonian and Lower Carbon and therefore can be counted as one of the old tin deposits. The zone of the Ore-Altai (Rudnyj-Altaj), north of the river Irtysh, is different in many respects. Polymetallic ore mineralizations are dominant. The metallogenesis began later during the Upper Cambrian and culminated during the Hercynic tectonic phase. The ore deposits are manifold. Besides lead- and zinc-deposits, there are mainly copper and copper-zinc deposits that have developed extensive oxidation zones on the surface; polymetallic sulfidic ores are also abundant. Such ore deposits have been in use since the Soviet period5 (Parchmann et al. 1996); prehistoric copper metallurgy found in their surroundings also points to their importance in earlier days.

copper metallurgy (Alekhin & Ilushin 1989; Ermolaeva 1998). At Bozshakol, west of Pavlodar, the ore field was investigated twice by surveys with a small sondage at the Late Bronze Age settlement (Berdenov et al. 2004; Garner et al. 2007). Finally surveys and excavations were carried out in the Kalba-Narym-zone following the footsteps of S.S. Chernikov in 2005 (Garner et al. 2007; in detail Stllner et al. in prep.). In the Kalba-Narym-Zone, some tin mining fields, such as Mynchunkur, Karagoin, Achmetkino, Urumchaj and Kalai Topkan were also investigated. At some sites hammer stones clearly indicated tin mining activities from the Bronze Age, but only in Kalai Topkan (Belaja Gora) was it possible to gain detailed results through an underground investigation (Fig. 3). Two underground workings were discovered inside a tin mineralized dyke stretching along the side a slope from SE to NW. A sounding in mine 2 not only revealed hammer-stones but also some charcoal whose dating placed the mining activities in the late Bronze Age7.

3.2. The Shulbinka Metallurgical Sites

Another area that was already known as a metallurgical activity zone is along the banks of the Shulbinka River, a northern tributary to the Irtysh. Archaeologists surveyed the river stream system in the late 1980ies, taking advantage of soil erosion to detect archaeological remains. At the site Novaja Shulba IX and X, as well as at Novoshulbinskoe, slags and ores were reported (Alekhin & Ilushin 1989; Ermolaeva 1998). Therefore it was targeted to explore this copper production and to study its technological level in more detail. A further principal aim was to find possible relations with the tin producing societies south of the Irtysh in order to reconstruct possible exchanges between different metal producing communities. Excellent results were gained from the site Novaja Shulba IX (Fig. 4). After an initial geophysical research and some soundings proved the validity and the potential of the site, we launched a small-scaled excavation in July 2006. Following the results of the magnetic survey, some metallurgical features dating to the Andronovo period were uncovered: pits filled with slag, and crucible remains that were dumped in a pit nearby indicate considerable metallurgical smelting activity at a household level (Fig. 5). Mineralogical and petrological studies of the slag provided some insight into a very simple copper smelting process in which much of the ore was converted into cuprite and magnetite instead of being reduced to metallic copper. These points to an inefficient smelting process carried out under weakly reducing atmospheric conditions. Besides a large smelting crucible, the expedition also uncovered a smaller crucible fragments that may have served as melting crucibles.

3.1. Results of Field Work between 2003 and 2008

In the following section, the results of field work of the German Mining Museums Kazakhstan project that has been carried out between 2003 and 20086 will be briefly introduced. This will not replace the detailed publication of the projects results that is to be published in 2011/2012 (Stllner et al. in prep.). The project originated from a first and brief survey in 2003, where many to be investigated sites were visited for the first time (e.g. deposits of Askaraly, the Shulbinka zone, the Bozshakol ore field [this one will not reported here]). Additionally, a primary goal from the beginning was to reevaluate and to date the different ancient tin workings described by Chernikov (1949) (Berdenov et al. 2004). One focus was put on the north-western part of the Kalba-Narym zone, especially on the ore mountains around Askaraly (Delgebetej mountains) where four campaigns were carried out from 2004 to 2008 (Berdenov et al. 2005; Cierny et al. 2005; Garner et al. 2007; Stllner et al. 2009; 2010). Besides that, surveys and smaller excavations were carried out near the Shulbinka river (Berdenov et al. 2004; Garner et al. 2007) where older surveys had produced settlement sites with evidence of

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Fig. 3: Kalai Topkan, NW-SE oriented dyke with both the accessible mines 1 and 2, view from east (map and picture); mapping/ foto: DBM, J. Garner.

Only very scarce architectural remains (feature 2: post hole) of a dwelling site were discovered; some fire pits have been found nearby the terrace edge, thus indicating that the actual dwellings were situated there. Perhaps one may reconstruct them as simple tents with fireplaces in the centre. As the degraded soils, did not offer an easily visible stratigraphic sequence, it was necessary to differentiate the finds and features according to their level. This method revealed at least the differentiation of three periods during which the terrace had been settled: two of the fire places belonged to the 29th to 24th centuries, but left no archaeological material that allowed a cultural allocation. A second chronological level was clearer: a feature filled with small pieces of slag, as well as some ceramic assemblages from trench V, can be correlated with a 14C-date to the end of the 3rd millennium. According to the ceramic, this cultural tradition can be assigned to the Early Bronze Age Elunino-tradition in East and North Kazakhstan, which is also related to the Krotovo/Samus group in Siberia (Alekhin 2000: 140144, Fig. 4; Parzinger 2006: 336 p.) (Fig. 6). If the metallurgical activity can be proved, it would be one of the

few seldom examples in the greater region. Besides these older groups, the Andronovo left most of the material remains at the site. According to the ceramic finds, the site has produced a lot of different and very nicely executed materials belonging either to the Alakul or the Fedorovka traditions. According to archaeozoological investigations, most of the animals remains belong to sheep/goat and cattle with a minor percentage of horse. This is a common result in Andronovo settlements which is usually explained by the semi-pastoral economic pattern and would also be the most likely explanation when taking into account the elusive settlement features found in Novaja Shulba IV. Therefore it may have been the concurrence of fuel, water and grazing grounds that attracted Andronovo groups to stay on the terraces of the Shulbinka river system. Ores may have been collected at the deposits nearby or brought from greater distances. The nearest polymetallic copper deposits in TalovskoRulichinskoe rudnoe pole or Orlovskoe pole (Vavilonovo) are only as few as ten kilometers away. Therefore a small object with saw-tooths on each side seems especially remarkable, as it contains silver, lead and some

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Fig. 4: Novaja Schulba IX, view from NW to the site (foto); geomagnetic survey, grey-scale picture showing the magnetic resistivity with +/- 20 n Tesla, and the excavation trenches of 2006, mapping: DBM, J.Garner, B. Zickgraf.

minor amount of copper. If it is not a deliberate alloy, such a metal composition would generally fit the polymetallic deposits north of the Irtysh. It is not known if these small mobile Andronovo groups were dependent to some extent on the larger Andronovo settlements that are known in East Kazakhstan (Kanaj, Trushnikovo: Chernikov 1960), but it would be a fascinating hypothesis to explain the organizational pattern of Bronze Age metal exploitation.

Omarov 1998; Ermolaeva 2001). The western, eastern and southern flanks of the Askaraly Mountains (the highest peak being 731 m) are enclosed by the Tshara (Shar) and Kyzylsu rivers. Even today communities from the river valleys use the mountains as pastures for their herds. This situation displays a subsistence pattern that also allowed the existence of a larger mining enterprise: herding and perhaps agriculture was possible to a larger extent in and around the tin bearing mountains. The tin deposits of the Kalba-Narym-zone are divided into pegmatic and pneumatolytic-hydrothermal ore deposits. Tin mineralizations in paragenesis with tourmaline and quartz in a context with granite-plutonites are most abundant; pegmatitic vein-mineralizations are the dominating type, also in the Askaraly ore field; the ores that have recently been investigated by XRD exhibit typical paragenetic components such as albite, fluorite, a dark greyish to black tourmaline (dravite, schorl), muscovite, biotite, quartz and sericite8. The samples of tinores proved a paragenesis of cassiterite and tourmaline that can be classified between the tin pegmatites and

3.3. The Askaraly Tin Ore Field

Another testing ground for the understanding of Bronze Age organizational patterns are the tin mines that have been investigated around the mountainous region of Askaraly (Delgebetej); the area is situated south of the broad banks of the Irtysh river and has fertile and arable land for herding with even some agriculture on its northern flanks around the small village of Maloe Karasu. Older research around this area brought to light Bronze Age settlements and graveyards (Orazbaev &

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Fig. 5: Novaja Schulba IX, features 7 and 8 with crucible and slag pit, mapping: DBM, J. Garner.

tin veins. Tin ore veins and veinlets were also observed during the excavation in mine Z1 (Askaraly I) and in the mine of Askaraly II.

3.3.1. The Mines

Mining traces can be found over a large area in the Askaraly Mountains; from 2003 onwards they were separated into several districts (Fig. 7). Three accumulations of open pit mines are known so far. At first, when the surveys began in 2003/2004, the geological reports

that only listed the large mining field of Askaraly I (near the village of Gromovka) were followed9 (Fig. 7.1). But further field work, especially in 2005, further mining fields were detected and then designated as Askaraly II and V (Fig.7.2, 11-18). It is therefore to be expected that even more mining districts once existed although later field walking and surveys did not produce further proof. The largest ore mining field is that of Askaraly I, whose open pit mines stretch in a roughly west to east direction over 1.75 km; the mines cluster in groups and are there-

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fore separated into western, central and eastern parts. Investigations were undertaken in the form of surveys, including geomagnetic and geo-electric measurements, and with the help of small sondages that were dug in 2004 and 2005 (Fig. 8). Especially the geo-electric tomography brought sound results that provided insight as to the depth and extension of at least five open cast mines that were later refilled. At nearly all mines, the prehistoric exploitation stopped at depths of 10 to 12 m, some even at lesser depths most likely because the tin enrichment became too poor. Cessation at depths of 10 to 12 m was not necessarily caused by an impoverishment of the deposit, but more likely due to technical problems such as a poor air circulation. There were remarkable differences between the mines: not all mine tailings produced hammer-stones and there were differences in the size and structure of the mining debris itself (larger angular as well as smaller debris). This indicates different operation periods dating not only to the Bronze Age but perhaps even to younger periods. However, there is no proof for such an assumption, because the excavations almost never reached the solid mining surfaces or bottom levels. Therefore nearly no charcoal was found in situ which was surprising when compared to the fully excavated mine of Askaraly II.

Fig. 6: Novaja Schulba IX, findings form early Bronze Age Elunino culture, drawings/fotos: DBM/RUB, A. Kuzcminski.

Fig. 7: Askaraly Mountains, Bronze Age sites in the surrounding of the tin mines (pick an hammer symbols), lozenges: graves; circles: settlements; mapping DBM. A: Hornschuch; Th. Stllner.

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Fig. 8: Askaraly I, aerial foto of the mining field from north (1), mapping of the mining district with tailings and open pit depressions, mapping/foto: DBM, J. Garner/M. Rabe; Foto: R. Sala/M. Deom.

Tin from Kazakhstan Steppe Tin for the West?

Fig. 9: Askaraly II, the mines, base map and 3D-visualisation, mapping: DBM/RUB, J. Garner, G. Steffens, Th. Stllner.

However, the typical set of hammer stones that was classified on basis of the large quantities of tools from Askaraly I fits well with the stratified and well-dated pieces of Askaraly II. Therefore there are good arguments to date at least those mines to the Bronze Age where hammer stones have been discovered in larger quantities. While the mining district of Askaraly I had been surveyed in detail, this was not possible for Askaraly III, where we discovered at least nine large open pit mining depressions, many of which had a scatter of hammer stones in their tailings. Most impressive is mine 1 that stretches over a length of nearly 200 m from east to west, thus indicating a similar direction of the ore bodies as in Askaraly I.

In 2005, a third mining area was discovered nearby a geological camp at the site Chernogorka (the small black hill), or in Kazakh language, the Mastau Baj (the site of the chief) (Fig. 7.2). It is a favorable area, a climatically well-protected basin with a water source: Askaraly II. During three campaigns Askaraly II turned out to be one of the most important discoveries during our project. In 2005 a mine was found on a hill to the north and at its foot a small graveyard (Mastau Baj I) came to light. Preliminary investigations in 2005 proved that they dated to the Andronovo-Fedorovka culture. When the expedition returned a year later, a settlement was also discovered near a small stream at the centre of the Mastau Baj valley. So for the first time in East Kazakhstan, a possibly complete ensemble was at hand. It was expected that further detailed excavations would provide a

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3.3.2. The Graveyard

According to the dating of the settlement and graveyard in Mastau Bay, the features should be regarded as contemporaneous. Both features can be related to the tin mining process and allow some idea about the size of the communities that was involved. The graveyard of Mastau Baj II (Chernogorka) consisted of at least nine grave monuments stretching in two groups from south to north alongside a low hill. The southern group was excavated in three campaigns between 2005 and 2008. The grave architecture was comparatively similar to one other (Fig. 11): There are slab circles that contained between one and four slab cists, some which were still covered by stone slabs. These stone chests were built with a lot of effort and with some craft skills in preparing the stone slabs to fit them into the stone construction. Many of the graves had been robbed or ritually reopened. There were both cremation (Fig. 12) and inhumation graves and one partly cremated body in Grave 4/2. All slab cists had a west-east orientation. In addition to male graves, also children and female persons had been buried in the graveyard. The grave goods are comparatively oriented to one standard: most of the time one pot-shaped vessel or even some sherds were put into the graves, only a child burial (grave 2/2) had two vessels. Metal objects are rare and not well preserved; one bracelet of typical Andronovo shape (Fig. 12) with conic spiral ends or a metal bead of tumbaga (gold-copper alloy) are noteworthy11. The grave goods and burial rituals are typical and do stand out for the Andronovo-Fedorovka in East Kazakhstan (Chernikov 1960:Taf. 2-6; Arslanova 1973; 1974; Ermolaeva 2001; Parzinger 2006: 410 p.)12. The only outstanding aspect are various hammer stones that have been found in and in the surroundings of the graves: these stone hammers have certainly been deposited deliberately, either in the stone circuits or near the slab cists. Especially the in-depth and full excavation of the stone circuits in 2008 made clear that some of them must have already been deposited beneath the stone slabs during the erection process13 (Fig. 11). There is only one case where such hammer stones could be discussed as grave gifts sensu strictu: in grave cist 2/1 the male grave contained three hammer-stones and a small metal ring. The hammer stones do occur regularly with each grave or at least in each stone slab circle: it may therefore display a more communal rite of depositing working tools of the community during the succession of the burial. Even the three hammer stones in grave 2/1 may not have necessarily belonged to the buried person, but instead stresses his importance within the mining community. As argued elsewhere, it is an individual and single case so far although some similar cases do exist in Central Kazakhstan (Begazy, Dzhezkazgan: Margulan 1976; 1979: 79; see discussion: Stllner et al. 2010). At the southern part of the graveyard we also discovered a rectangular slab construction that certainly cannot be

Fig. 10: Askaraly II, hammer stone handle found in feature 15228 underground, Foto/drawing:DBM/RUB, Th. Stllner.

complete insight into various aspects of tin mining and tin metallurgy, as well as its economic and social circumstances. This most promising situation stimulated us to carry out a complete, full-scale excavation: this goal was but nearly reached during 2006 and 2008. The mine of Askaraly II lies isolated from a larger mining field on the slope of a granite hillock north of the Mastau Baj area (Fig. 9). In fact, there are three different open casts extending over 15 m, again nearly in a west to east (WSW to ENE) direction. The mine can be regarded as one of the smaller ones in comparison to those in Askaraly I and V; but it was fully excavated and therefore delivered exact information about depth (again up to 9 m in depth) and about the volume of material extracted (190 m3)10. The mine could be dated by Andronovo ceramic found in upper layers of the younger refill and by charcoal dating from fire-setting layers to the 1st half of the 2nd millennium. The mine of Askaraly II also allowed insight into the mining process and the refilling with mining debris and surface material. According to the traces and the large quantity of charcoal found, fire setting had been the most important mining technique that was used there in combination with hammer stone work. The dumping process proceeded continuously from one chamber to the next. According to 14C-dates and the refilled strata, it seems that the mining and refilling process proceeded from west to east. The most interesting feature was discovered in 2008 in the oldest mining part in the western mine: the bottom a layers were enriched with charcoal but also especially with waterlogged wooden artifacts. They may be interpreted as an in situ ensemble of a fire setting construction: A wooden handle for a hammer stone can be regarded as the first find of its kind in Central Asia (Fig. 10).

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Fig. 11: Askaraly II, graveyard Mastau Baj II (Chernogorka), general map of the grave and ritual features, with stone hammers mapped, draft: DBM, J. Garner.

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Boroffka 2003, 238 pp.) and may also be interpreted as some kind of sanctuary for burnt offerings.

3.3.3. The Settlement

Finally we want to turn to the settlement in Mastau BajI. In 2006 and 2008, only a part of a very large house could be investigated. Its construction turned out to be a so-called half-pit house, a poluzemljanka (Fig. 13). Large stone slabs were put into the halfway excavated founding pit. According to the three edges found so far one would estimate a size of about 110 m2 with an internal extension of about 12 to 8 m. It is, in fact, one of the largest houses ever excavated in East Kazakhstan and the first that was built with a stone foundation. The original construction of the roof is not yet clear as we have not detected a single post hole or a fireplace. So one may think of a monopitch roof that had its counterfort only on one (the northwestern) side? In the western area, a waste dump was found outside the house. According to the original surface, the house was built into an inclining surface towards the west. The strata sequence consisted of a highly intermixed upper soil part (steppe black earth [tschernosem] and loess) which was intermingled with the upper parts of the cultural layer by small mammals activities (refilled burrows). Below that,

Fig. 12: Askaraly II, graveyard Mastau Baj II (Chernogorka), grave 3/2, feature of the cremation with Andronovo vessel and bracelet, Foto: DBM, B. Sikorski.

identified as graves. In its centre, a hole filled with charcoal enriched ash was excavated; the feature was accompanied by an amorphous stone slab that perhaps served as some kind of stele in the centre. Other elongated stones were found in the enclosure, perhaps fallen from a once upright position. This structure is reminiscent of the high altitude sanctuary that has been excavated near the Mushiston tin mines (Parzinger &

Fig. 13: Askaraly II, settlement Mastau Baj I, state of excavation 2008 with stone architecture, draft: DBM/RUB, J. Garner, A. Gontscharov.

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covered by a grayish slip on the surface. Such pottery is strikingly rare in the northern steppe zone, especially in the first half of the 2nd mill. It must to be related to contact with the Andronovo-communities with the oasiscultures of the BMAC-complex to the south (Kuzmina 2007: 365, 418 with further literature). Other findings display perfectly the economic activity of the Mastau Baj community: there are tools such as bone hafts for sickles and stone hoes which were perhaps used for agricultural activities14 (Fig. 14). On the other hand, hammer stones, a casting spoon, as well as several crucible fragments can be connected to the tin mining and metallurgy (Fig. 14-15). Thomas Stllner

Fig. 14: Askaraly II, settlement Mastau Baj I, stone tools: hoes, grinding-stone and stone hammers, fotos: DBM/RUB.

the cultural stratum was nearly untouched but of a single phase. Therefore the spoiling of later strata was not a serious shortcoming with regards to the chronological classification, but the situation may have disturbed the functional areas within the house. However, an actual occupational level was difficult to sort out. The cultural material found is interesting by its chronological concurrence with the mine and the graveyard. Nearly all material belongs to the Andronovo-Fedorovka culture. There are some exceptions, such as a sherd that belongs to the Amangeldy type of Central Kazakhstan (Chernikov 1960: 249, Taf. 56; Kuzmina 2007: 28, 75); another one (5569) was remarkable because a thin section made it apparent that it was wheel turned and

Most interesting are the crucibles that proved tin smelting occurred at the site: three samples have been investigated so far (KZ-414, KZ-424, KZ-425). The crucibles were made of a slightly tempered iron containing ceramic (Fig. 15). Inside they had a characteristic whitish, glassy and scarred slag crust with a thickness of around 1 mm. First samples were taken to prepare thin-sections that were first investigated with the help of an optical microscope. According to a first semi-quantitative analysis using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) tin was enriched in the lag crust (Fig. 15). The tin content was in the form of finely dispersed crystals of cassiterite (SnO2) and as well as droplets of tin within a glassy matrix that also contained sub-microscopic particles of SnO2. The cassiterite therefore cannot be interpreted as a relict of the primary ore but had crystallized from a silica rich smelt. The Ca-Feldspar mineral anortite ( CaAl2Si2O8) is also abundantly represented in the slag crust. SnO2 is generally enriched in the glassy phase, which in tin slags frequently leads to the formation of tin-silica glasses (with nearly 50 weight % of SnO2) with amounts of CaO and FeO. Large contents of SnO2 cause a similar coloring as tin glaze, such as on Majolica ware from the Renaissance. Interestingly the crucibles of the Gltepe settlement near the presumed tin mines of Kestel had quite a similar stock of chemical compositions. But in the Gltepe crucibles, the tin content is much lower and no tin droplets have been described (Yener & Vandiver 1993a). Andreas Hauptmann

Summary
In summary, it became apparent that the Askaraly IIensemble is a core feature in understanding the circumstances of steppe tin production. Obviously small kinship groups constantly won and smelted tin ores, perhaps on a permanent basis. The evidence of a specialized community further indicates small-scale production units in the Askaraly Mountains. It is therefore not surprising that these exploitations have grown from the early 2nd mill-

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Fig. 15: Askaraly II, settlement Mastau Baj A: Fragment of a tin (s)melting crucible. Note the whitish slag encrustation. Scale: 3 cm between lines. B: Thin section through the crucible lining. Note very thin slag encrustation (black) on top of the section. C: Glassy liquefied slag encrustation (light, below) on ceramic material (black, above). The whitish layer is remarkably enriched in tin and tin oxide. Scale inside the picture. D: Finely distributed crystals of cassiterite (Ca)SnO2, ), whitish-grey) in tin rich glassy matrix, and a larger globule of tin in the middle of the picture. E: Detail of D. Rhomboedric crystals of cassiterite in glassy matrix. C-E: Scanning electron pictures, secondary electron mode. Pictures: D. Kirchner/A. Hauptmann

ennium onwards; all AMS-C14-dates collected during the project stand in accordance to recent new dating of Andronovo-Fedorovka sites in Central Asia (Fig. 16). In this respect this period seems to be a heyday of tin exploitation that even served markets abroad: even in Mastau Baj I foreign contacts are visible. Did the tin exploitation start even earlier in the Early Bronze Age, during the time of the Siberian Okunev bronzes and Sejma-Turbino phenomenon? This cannot yet be securely answered, but there is an indication: at a larger sanctuary and rock art site (Askaraly VI) in the Northwest

of the Askaraly Mountains, many typical Middle and Late Bronze Age petroglyphs were documented, though at least one depiction of a horse displays typical stylistic elements of the Sejma-Turbino style (Fig.17)15. This could indicate the advent of mining as early as the beginning of the 2nd mill. However we comment on this evidence and its chronological value: it makes clear that the Askaraly people at least had contact to specialists, inheriting the Sejma-Turbino style. Thomas Stllner

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Fig. 16: Askaraly V, petro-glyph showing a Sejma-Turbino horse; left: stylistically comparable horses at knives from Sejma, after Chernykh 1992, Fig. 7, Foto: Z. Samaschev.

Fig. 17: AMS-14C-datings from various sites of East Kazakhstan, draft: DBM, Th. Stllner.

Tin-Mining in East Kasachstan: Relevant for the Oriental Markets? Let us finally turn back to the general question raised at the beginning of the article: to what extent did the East Kazakhstan deposits contribute to the long-distance trade that even reached western markets? According to general cultural contacts we cannot doubt that Andronovo groups were in close contact with bordering communities in northwest China, as well as with the Namazga V and early VI-cultures in the south. Recent studies (Kaniuth 2007; Helwing 2009) ruled out that predecessors of the silk routes passing through north Iran

were used to transport tin to the West; if they did so, they had no impact on the metallurgy of cultures that were lying in their path. The question has currently been raised again by the first results we gained from Pb-Isotope analses of bronzes from East Kazakhstan16. Fig. 18 shows these metal objects in a Pb-Isotope diagram standardized at 206Pb. It is apparent that 208/206Pb-ratios of 16 metal objects scatter between 2.10 and 2.13. They are different from all other ratios that have been found so far in Bulgaria, Anatolia and the Aegean (Pernicka 1995); this allows the conclusion that either the copper or the tin of these

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Fig. 18: Lead isotope ratios of tin-bronzes and of a tin bead from East Kazakhstan, normalized 206Pb. As a comparison the isotopic fields are shown from ores, metals and slags of Anatolia and the Aegean as well as from Bronze artifacts from the Troas (after Pernicka 1995; Pernicka et al. 2003). Isotope measurements Dr. M. Bode at Laboratory for Geochronology, University of Mnster. Drawing: A. Hauptmann (Hauptmann et al. in prep.).

objects was derived from ore deposits that have a much older geological age. According to Stacey & Kramers (1975) diagrams, this speaks for a higher geological age dating roughly to the late Cambrian and the early Paleozoic. This is exactly what one would expect from the Kalba-Narym ore deposits. Only two of the East Kazakhstan samples show isotopic ratios that are comparable with the Eastern Mediterranean ore deposits; this is also certainly an indication that in East Kazakhstan younger ore deposits were used or even that the metals were derived from other regions with geologically much younger deposits. The lead isotope ratio of the tin bead 226 shows a strong radiogenic lead and ranges out from the other bronze artifacts. This ratio is more comparable with isotope clusters that have been measured from the tin bars of the Uluburun shipwreck and Hishuley Carmel (Haifa) in Israel (Pulak 2000). The sample contains only a very low portion of lead and therefore differs remarkably from the eastern Kazakhstan bronzes. The lead isotope proportions of the eastern Kazakh metals are of importance because they plot at a range which groups with bronze artifacts from Troy (IIg) and the Troas in Northwest Anatolia (Pernicka 1995; Pernicka et al. 2003). If there is an archaeological link between the Black Sea regions the northern Aegean and the Central Asian ore deposits cannot yet be answered. But what should not be forgotten is that the famous Troy IIg had trading contacts to the steppe zone: it is not by mere chance that the famous Lapislazuli axe (whose origin is likely the Afghan Badakhshan Mountains) found its best parallels in the southern Russian hoard of Borodino (for the relations see for instance Treijster 1996, 221). May

we doubt that the steppe zone could not have had the potential not only to disseminate innovations such as horse, horse-gear and wagon but as well as raw-materials17. The size of raw material exploitation and its possible spread can best be discussed with copper of the Kargaly type that has been found in a large geographical sphere, from the Northern Pontus to the Southern Ural18. Till now many questions remain unsolved and need to be deepened further. Especially Kazakhstan as a continental bridge already holds many possibilities to follow them. Andreas Hauptmann, Thomas Stllner

Notes
1 A major problem is still the question if the lead content used for the isotope analysis are derived from the copper or the tin; new attempts are made with the help of tin isotopes that could minimize this problem in the future: Haustein et al. 2010. 2 On the contrary, tin bronzes are known to a greater extent in the southern part of SW-Asia, in Mundigak, in Baluchistan or also in SW-Iranian Fars (Kaftari period): see for example Kaniuth 2007; Helwing 2009. 3 Sejma-Turbino cannot be regarded as a specific cultural group, but more as an assemblage of stylistically related objects that spread from Western Siberia and the Middle Ural via East Kazakhstan to the Altai region and Northwest China: characteristic is a high percentage of tin-bronzes (47 %); recently H. Parzinger (1997; 2002) presented arguments that would relate this phenomenon with the Early Bronze Age Krotovo-Samus culture and also with the contemporary Okunev culture. Perhaps Sejma-Turbino and the phenomenon of the spread of the first tin bronzes can be explained by migrating metallurgists who seldom left any archaeological evidence. This may be seen for instance at the metallurgical workshop

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7 8

9 10

11

12

13

of Abylaach I, in which one axe can be connected with Sejma-Turbino. The site is located on the peninsula of Tajmyr north of the Taiga and stands isolated within northern Siberian hunter and gatherer societies who hardly had any large interest in metals (Chlobystin 1987, 336; 338). During the Soviet period, these ore deposits were only exploited to a lesser extent since they were regarded as uneconomical. Nonetheless, they were explored by geological exploration surveys, evidence of which can still be seen today as many small workings and trenches. These rich ore resources were the basis of the metal and the chemical industry of Ust-Kamenogorsk. The ore resources can be considered even today as one of the richest in the world: the gold reserves hold nearly 50% of all Kazakh deposits. In relation to primary copper resources, Kazakhstan is in the middle field of all known copper deposits worldwide. The country has produced 470000 tons of copper in 2001 and ranked ninth in the world, after Chile and the US. The project was generously supported by the Gerda-Henkel foundation in three successive projects between 2003 and 2008; I have to express my gratitude to the foundations officials and boards for the uncomplicated and effective collaboration, especially Dr. A.-M. Lauter (special program Central Asia), Dr. A. Khnen and the chairman Dr. M. Hansler. The project itself was initiated by Sergej Berdenov, Jan Cierny, Zeinolla Samaschev and Thomas Stllner during a first field trip in 2003. Throughout the years and after the death of Jan Cierny and recently of Sergej Bedenov, who passed after a long and severe illness, the program was continued by many Kazakh and German colleagues: A. Gorelik took over many of the responsibilities and supported the project with his expertise. We would like to thanks to not only the entire persons listed as collaborators in the title, but also G. Suvorova, A. Sascha Kolmogorov, Ju. Digon and Director Djusupov of the Kraevedcheskij Museum in Ust-Kamenogorsk as well as the students Ilja Merz, Jerlan Kazizov, Aidos Tschotbajev, Abu Alpamys Zhalgasuly and Olexandr Balyk, K. Malek, M. Rabe, Andzej Kuczminski, A. Kramer, N. Lwen, Dr. B. Song and P. Thomas from Bochum. ETH 31183: 309060; 2-Konfidenzintervall: BC 1462-1210 [93,9%]); unfortunately no findings and dating were gained from a similar sounding in mine 1. Although it is always difficult to estimate the original metal enrichments or even to find clear evidence of tin ores at all, we were able to identify them from fresh samples and ore specimens collected at the mine in Askaraly II, the settlement of Mastau Baj II as well as from dumps of the mine Z1 of Askaraly I. The geological maps even included a rough drawing of the mining depressions of Askaraly I. Askaraly was not mentioned at all by S.S. Chernikov. This volume would have produced 532 tons of granite and tin ore; if we take a volume of at least 1/100 of pure ore, one would expect nearly 5 tons of tin ore; if we count with 2 to 5% of tin content within the ore this would result in a minimum of 100 to 250 kg of metallic tin possibly extracted from the mine Askaraly II. Comparable examples for instance from the graveyard Sangru: Kuznetzova/Teplobodskaja 1994, 76; for the general type: Margulan et al. 1966, 272 Taf. LV. 21, 22, 25-27; a typology of jewellery is given by Kuzmina 2007, 645 Fig. 33 (the type is analogous to Fig. 33,1). The burial constructions find their best parallels in East Kazakhstan, for instance in the graveyards of Sarykol (Chernikov 1960, 15 p. 199 Tab. IV [Kurgan 5, 16), of Kojtas at the Kyzyl-Su river bank and Maloe Karasu in the near vicinity (Orazbaev/Omarov 1998, 10 p., 43 Fig. 2 [enclosure 1, 12 p, 44 Fig 5 [enclosure 4]; Ermolaeva 2001); further examples from Central Kazakhstan are known from Elshibek (Margulan 1966, 135 p. Fig. 55 [enclosure 69], 135 pp. Fig. 56 [enclosure 73] and Belasar (op. cit. 140 p., Fig 58 [enclosure 58]) It may well be possible that those hammers have also been used for managing the stone-cutters work when building the graves: but even then they would be charged with ritual meaning that finally obliged the funeral community to bury them with the dead. It can certainly be regarded as a very special communal rite, however interpreted in detail. In Ele-

14 15

16 17

18

novka (SE-Ural forelands) the stone-slab chambers were erected from stones deriving from the mines (Kuzmina 2007, 85 ff). The investigation of the animal bones by M. Doll is awaited and will certainly provide further insight into subsistence strategies. Typical is for instance the flat nostril and the oversized head that can be found as decorations on knives in the Sejma cemetery; for comparisons see for instance: Chernykh 1992, Fig. 77. The first samples that have been measured come from the Bronze Age collections of the Kraevedcheskij Museum of East Kazakhstan; further analyses are now in preparation. For the steppe pastoralists it was certainly easier to expand and move along their west to east stretching subsistence girdle than to bridge it towards the south where they had to adopt to other climates and subsistence patterns; east-west interactions are well documented since the chalcolithic for instance from the pit-grave culture: recently summing up the debates: Kohl (2007, 133 pp.). Kohl, op. cit. raised the question of the introduction of wagons and the domestication of cargo-carrying animals such as the camels (it should be mentioned that camels even later played a role in the Scythian animal art) and may well be also acknowledged as important as cargo-animal for the steppe and desert-steppe girdle in Central Asia. For the late 3rd and early 2nd millennium we may take the disk-shaped cheekpieces to prove the wide interaction and exchange patterns within the steppe and foreststeppe zones: Teufer 1999, 70, Abb. 1. Although the research of the Kargaly team (Chernykh 2003; Chernykh 2007) has proved the huge scale of copper exploitation it remains difficult to follow the geochemical arguments for the dissemination of Kargaly copper as the geochemical variation of single pure copper deposits of similar type need a counter-proved by help of Pb-Isotopes and detailed measured trace elements: critics on the use of spectral-analyses came from L. Chernykh (2003, esp. 5355). See also the comments of Ph. Kohl to Kargaly (Kohl 2007, esp. 171 pp.).

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