Middle and Late Bronze Age House-Building in the Steppe and Forest-Steppe Altai

Abstract

This article integrates information on the house-building practices of people represented by cultures such as Andronovo, Cherkaskul, Sargary-Alekseyevka, Irmen, Korchazhka, and Burla. A graphic reconstruction of dwellings is attempted, and a prototypical model of the house is described with regard to the Middle and Late Bronze Age steppe and forest steppe Altai. It is a rectangular or nearly square single or two-chamber timber-frame-pillar structure, with a corridor-type exit extending beyond the foundation pit. Diachronic and cultural variations of this prototype are listed. Andronovo dwellings were robust or light, large or medium-large, based on the frame-and-pillar design with a fl at, ridge or truncated-pyramidal roof. Late Bronze Age dwellings are represented by a light Cherkaskul house with a gable roof at Kalinovka II. The Burla dwellings are either semi-underground framepillar or robust variously sized houses with conical or truncated-pyramidal roofs. Numerous Sargary-Alekseyevka dwellings are large or medium-sized, robust semi-underground with pillar frames and truncated-pyramidal roofs. The Irmen dwellings are similar to them. The Korchazhka dwellings are few, and their design is diffi cult to reconstruct.