Синташта́ | |
 Location of theSintashta culture (violet) | |
.png)  Shown within Continental Asia Show map of Continental Asia Sintashta (Russia) Show map of Russia | |
| Location | Chelyabinsk Oblast,Russia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 52°29′10.4″N60°11′17.8″E / 52.486222°N 60.188278°E /52.486222; 60.188278 |
| Type | Settlement |
Sintashta[a] is anarchaeological site inChelyabinsk Oblast,Russia. It is the remains of a fortified settlement dating to theBronze Age,c. 2100–1800 BC,[1] and is thetype site of theSintashta culture. The site has been characterised as a "fortified metallurgical industrial center."[2]
Sintashta is situated in thesteppe just east of the southernUral Mountains. The site is named for the adjacent Sintashta River, a tributary to theTobol. The shifting course of the river over time has destroyed half of the site, leaving behind thirty one of the approximately fifty or sixty houses in the settlement.[3]
The settlement consisted of rectangular houses arranged in a circle 140 m in diameter and surrounded by a timber-reinforced earthen wall with gate towers and a deep ditch on its exterior. The fortifications at Sintashta and similar settlements such asArkaim were of unprecedented scale for the steppe region. There is evidence ofcopper andbronzemetallurgy taking place in every house excavated at Sintashta, again an unprecedented intensity of metallurgical production for the steppe.[3] EarlyAbashevo culture ceramic styles strongly influenced Sintashta ceramics.[4] Due to the assimilation of tribes in the region of the Urals, such as the Pit-grave, Catacomb, Poltavka, and northern Abashevo into the Novokumak horizon, it would seem inaccurate to provide Sintashta with a purelyIndo-Iranian attribution.[5] In the origin of Sintashta, theAbashevo culture would play an important role.[4]
Five cemeteries have been found associated with the site, the largest of which (known asSintashta mogila or SM) consisted of forty graves. Some of these werechariot burials, producing the oldest knownchariots in the world. Others includedhorse sacrifices—up to eight in a single grave—various stone, copper and bronze weapons, and silver and gold ornaments. The SM cemetery is overlain by a very largekurgan of a slightly later date. It has been suggested that the kind of funerary sacrifices evident at Sintashta have strong similarities to funerary rituals described in theRig Veda.[3]
Radiocarbon dates from the settlement and cemeteries span over a millennium, suggesting an earlier occupation belonging to thePoltavka culture. The majority of the dates, however, are around 2100–1800 BC, which points at a main period of occupation of the site consistent with other settlements and cemeteries of the Sintashta culture.[3]
Based on four samples, the recent dating of Sintashta culture in Sintashta II settlement, (also known as Levobereznoe) is 2004-1852 calBC (2170-1900 calBC, 95.4% in the beginning of the sequence, and 1940-1660 calBC in the end).[6]
| External videos | |
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 The Sintashta culture - earliest chariots, fortified settlements and bronze metallurgy. Ivan Semyan |