Search

In 2023, during the study of the Odoevsky hillfort, a zoomorphic figurine made of bone was found. It was discovered in a layer together with ceramics of the Vyatka-Vetluzh culture of the Ananyinsky cultural and historical region (AKIO). The individual finds identified in the cultural layer of the Odoevsky hillfort are not original, and are widespread throughout the territory of the AKIO. The attribution of this product made it possible to define it as a partial image of a horse's head to the shoulders. According to the manufacturing technology, the figurine belongs to relief images and is a non-utilitarian object, most likely a pendant that was sewn on clothes. According to a combination of features: iconography, analogies, accompanying finds in the cultural layer and radiocarbon dating, the time of production of this product was established – the end of the V – middle of the IV centuries BC. And this is not accidental, since it was in the late period that the tradition of depicting a horse in AKIO flourished.

Nowadays, the most energy efficient are electric and hybrid vehicles. Despite the very high cost and insufficient design perfection, they are replacing traditional cars with internal combustion engines. In hybrid vehicles, it is relatively easy to implement energy storage systems using reversible electric machines and electric batteries. The results of a study on electrical energy generation in a vehicle are presented. The methods of mathematical and simulation modelling were used. The efficiency of operation of a vehicle with an electrical energy recovery unit is shown. The data of the generated electric current in the form of the received voltage when the vehicle is moving on various types of road surfaces are given. As a result of simulation modelling, it was found that one recuperator can generate an average of about 3 V, 12 V can be obtained from all four installed recuperators, which is enough to charge the storage units of the hybrid power plant.

The first finds of the Early Iron Age on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin were found in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Analysis of excavation collections of the end of the 20th century allowed to determine that pottery and individual finds of that time are fixed on the north-western end of the Kremlin headland on the square of 14487 m2. Reconstruction of the Early Iron Age topographic situation has revealed the reason for the settling on this area. The north-western part of the Kremlin headland in the Early Iron Age was divided by a hollow and its eastern side had an elevated and uneven surface that predetermined the choice of the western end as the location of the Ananyino cultural-historical area settlement. The Early Iron Age pottery assemblage, received during archaeological works at the Kazan Kremlin, refers mainly to the post-Maklasheyevka culture, there is also textile ceramics of the Akozino-Akhmylovo culture in this complex. The analysis of the ceramic assemblage and individual finds made it possible to make a conclusion that a permanent settlement of the post-Maklasheyevka culture ACHA existed on the site of the north-western end of the Kazan Kremlin for a long time in the IX–IV centuries BC.

Stone arrowheads were widely used on the territory of the Ananyino cultural-historical area during the IX–VII centuries BC. Numerous analogies in the sites of Maklasheyevka culture suggest that the main forms of arrowheads of the Early Iron Age were formed in the Bronze Age. In the Ananyino cultural-historical area, mainly petiole arrowheads were used, with preference given to ellipsoid shapes. The largest number of types of stone arrowheads falls on the Postmaklasheyevka culture, followed by the Vyatka-Vetluga culture, Ananyino classical and Akozino. The Ananyino cultural-historical area masters widely used the technology of production of thin bifaces – arrowheads. In this process, the technique of continuous bifacial thinning of blanks was used. This complex technology, which requires certain qualifications and a sufficiently high quality of raw materials, has been practiced in the Volga-Urals since the Eneolithic. In the circle of Ananyino cultural-historical area carriers, along with this complex multi-stage technology, a simple technique of thinning the edge parts of the tip blanks was used.

Objects, decorated with images of the head of a bird of prey, spread on the territory of the Ananyino cultural and historical area (Ananyino world) with the appearance of bimetallic hammer-axes and are associated with movement of the nomads of the Kazakhstan-Central Asian region to the west at the beginning of the Early Iron Age. The earliest images of the head of a bird of prey in the Ananyino cultural and historical area are dated to the second quarter/middle of the VII century BC. From the second quarter of the VI BC under the influence of the Scythian animal style, images of the head of a bird of prey with animal ears appeared. In the VI–V centuries BC the independent Ananyino compositions were formed, such as reproductions of owls, heads of a bird of prey on the tops of the "ceremonial" axes sockets and shoulders of full-figured images of birds, "circular motion" and "transformations" of bird heads on spindle whorls. The image of the head of a bird of prey was used till the end of the Ananyino cultural and historical area existence – IV – the first half of the III century BC.

A bronze dagger and arrowhead discovered in the vicinity of Bolshie Tarkhany village of the Republic of Tatarstan are rare types of weapons for the territory of the Ananyino Cultural and Historical Region. No direct counterparts to the dagger are known, however, items with details or ornamentation elements in the form of a comma are available in the collections of the Aldy-Bel, Early Saka and Tasmola cultures. The arrowhead with an elongated asymmetric rhomboid feather and a slightly protruding bushing, accompanying the dagger, belongs to the so-called Yenzhe type, which is mainly widespread in the steppe and forest-steppe areas of Eurasia. Overlapping of the chronological intervals of the dagger and arrowhead makes it possible to date the complex from Bolshie Tarkhany within the framework of stage I-2 of the Early Ananyino Cultural and Historical Region period (mid-8th – first half of the 7th century BC). According to spectral analysis results, the dagger was made of a rare group of tin-arsenic bronze metal with a high content of silver, bismuth and nickel. Four items from Relka and Starshiy Akhmylovsky burial grounds, as well as from Munovsky II settlement, are its close counterparts in terms of the elemental ratio. The tin-arsenic bronze group with a nickel admixture from the early Tagar period of Khakassia has a similar macro-composition of the metal.

The paper features the results of palynological studies obtained during the study of the rampart embankment of the Maklasheevka II hillfort. According to these studies, the pre-hillfort settlement of the Ananyino cultural and historical area, which arose in the second half of the 7th – first half of the 6th centuries BC, was surrounded by birch forests interspersed with open areas with herbs and cereals. This situation continued until the beginning of the construction of defensive structures in the 6th –5th centuries BC. In the 5th century BC, when the rampart was completed, coniferous and deciduous forests grew in the vicinity of the hillfort, which included pine, linden, and birch. Large areas remained free from the forest. The plant environment of Maklasheevka II hillfort during the Early Middle Ages, when the bearers of the Imenkovo culture settled at the hillfort, could not be determined, since the construction (last quarter of the 4th – first quarter of the 5th centuries AD) and completion (6th-7th centuries AD) of the rampart embankment were carried out from the soil of the lower soil horizons. In the post-Imenkovo period, the hillfort was abandoned, and semi-open areas with a predominance of forb-grass communities spread on its outskirts. The forests were small and consisted of pine and birch copses.

The paper addresses the origin, chronology and use of stone hammers of the Ananyino Cultural and Historical Area. Stone hammers were commonly used in the pre-Scythian period across the steppe zone of Eastern Europe and in the North Caucasus. Two categories of these items were spread in the territory of the Ananyino Cultural and Historical Area - equal-arm hammers and axe-hammers. The paper features evidence of local manufacture of axe-hammers, whereas such evidence is presently not available for equal-arm hammers. Placing hammers in burials next to weapons and depicting them on steles in the same position as military metal axes and socketed axes make it possible to be attribute them to weapons. The existence period of stone hammers has been determined within a wide range of the 9th – first half of the 7th enturies BC, and within a narrow range of the mid-8th – first quarter/first half of the 7th century BC.

In the beginning of the early Iron Age, the banks of the Vyatka and Vetluga rivers were populated by the carriers of a material culture belonging to the Ananyino cultural and historical area. One of the brightest elements of this culture was ceramics decorated with comb and cord ornaments. In the 1990s and the early 21st century, a name was suggested for the Vyatka antiquities of the initial phase of the early Iron Age, which reflected this very element of its material culture – the Ananyino culture of comb and cord ceramics. This paper features the results of an analysis of ceramic complexes from the Vyatka sites of the Ananyino period. The authors noted that throughout the entire existence of the culture, the number of comb and cord vessels was small and rarely exceeded the threshold of 16%. In addition, they established that comb and cord ceramics was widely spread only at the early stages of the culture’s existence; at later stages, the tradition associated with its manufacture had been lost. The discrepancy between the name and nature of the culture suggested that the authors should correct its present name. Instead of the currently used term – the Ananyino culture of comb and cord ceramics, it was proposed to introduce a new name – the VyatkaVetluga culture.

The Murzikha II burial ground is a multicultural necropolis which operated for several thousand years from the Eneolithic to the Early Iron Age. This paper addresses the burials of the Late Bronze Age belonging to the Lugovskaya culture. Most of the burials were performed with the deceased in a crouched position on the left side, and only one burial was performed using a cremation rite. The space between graves contained sacrificial complexes consisting of broken vessels. The burial items are represented by flat-bottomed ceramics and metal objects, whereby all metal items were found in burials which did not contain ceramics. Some of the vessels were decorated in the tradition of the Pozdniakovo culture. The most notable find is a double-edged dagger belonging to Loboikovka-Derbeden group of metal items of the Late Bronze Age. Another unusual metal find was a cast bronze bead. The stratigraphy and radiocarbon analysis data and analogies make it possible to suggest that two chronologically different groups of burials of the Lugovskaya culture exist in the burial ground: early, organized in groups, and late - single burials. For single burials, the following radiocarbon age was determined - 1538–1400 BC.

The paper features an analysis of a set of bronze items of weapons discovered in 2018 by a local resident in Tanaika forest near Elabuga. The set includes the following items of substantial scientific interest: a spearhead, a celt, a dagger with a cruciform handle, and a buterol. During an examination of the place of discovery, it was identified that it corresponds to the location of the Gremiachii Kliuch site, and human bones were discovered on the river bank. Due to this, it was concluded that the set of items represents the remains of a burial inventory from a destroyed burial or sacrificial complex. The celt and the spearhead are characteristic of male burials of the Ananyino cultural and historical area of the Early Iron Age. The Ananyino set of items in the complex of artifacts under study also was supplemented by a dagger with a cruciform handle, which has analogies discovered in the North Caucasus. The cumulative dating of the items has made it possible to determine the burial period of the set of items within stage I-2 of the early period of Ananyino cultural and historical area (mid- 8th – first quarter/first half of 7th century BC). All items were examined by means of emission spectral analysis, which allowed to establish that the metal of the studied findings belongs to the antimony-arsenic alloys of tin bronze and represents the Volga-Kama metallurgical group. The identified differences at the microelement level in the metal composition of the Tanaika dagger in comparison with North Caucasian analogies allow the authors to suggest its local manufacture.

The article is dedicated to the anniversary of the prominent Russian archaeologist Elizaveta Mikhailovna Chernykh. The authors reveal her early scientific career, which began with the archaeological club at school and has continued until the now day at Udmurt State University, where she works as a professor. The range of scientific interests of E.M. Chernykh cover a wide period from the Early Iron Age to the New Age. Elizaveta Mikhailovna focuses on the study of the Ananyino Cultural and Historical Area, which is the topic of a significant number of her publications. The territorial range of field studies by E.M. Chernych is remarkable, as she has worked at the sites of Kaliningrad, Kirov, Rostov, Tver and Perm Regions, and of course the Udmurt Republic.

The work is devoted to the development of cars with hybrid power plant. There is now a significant increase in their use, justified by high economic and environmental indicators. Environmental - reduction of exhaust gas emissions due to use of converted and accumulated electric energy. Economic indicators are achieved by recovery of kinetic energy, thereby increasing fuel efficiency. With the active development of cars with hybrid power plant, including on the territory of Russia, it is necessary to create conditions to ensure their technically serviceable condition. Objective – determination of rational layout schemes of hybrid power plant. Method or methodology of work: the article uses methods of analysis of literary sources. Results: a promising arrangement of hybrid power plant for the car has been revealed. Field of application: the results obtained are useful for improving the fuel efficiency of automobiles and reducing the toxicity of exhaust gas emissions.

The paper features the results of a comprehensive study of the fortifications of the Troitskii-Urai I hillfort. An analysis of a rampart section using the archaeological, geomorphological, palynological and soil science methods has made it possible to draw the following conclusions. The hillfort was built at the site of a community of the Bronze Age – the beginning of the Early Iron Age (12th – 9th centuries B.C.), and the rampart is connected to a saddle, which became an additional element of fortification. Two stages of the rampart’s construction were identified, which was completed by the population of the Post-Maklasheevka culture of Ananyino cultural and historical area. The early rampart is dated the 8th – 5th centuries B.C., and the late rampart was constructed in late 5th – 3rd/2nd centuries B.C. No information on the participation of representatives of the Imenkovo and Bolgar pre-Mongol cultures in the construction of the rampart has been revealed in this section. Throughout the entire period of the hillfort’s existence in the Early Iron Age, its inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, and the predominant consumed food items at its initial and late stages were fish and meat, respectively. The Troitskii-Urai II hillfort was built to the west of the Troitskii-Urai I hillfort in the Imenkovo period (4th –6th centuries).The second one significantly differs in terms of rampart morphology.

The article is dedicated to the anniversary of the famous Russian archaeozoologist Gulshat Sharipzyanovna Asylgaraeva. The author features her scientific career which began with the study of archaeozoological materials from medieval sites. Apart from the Middle Ages, she is currently interested in the primeval and early medieval archaeology of the Volga-Kama region. A broad outlook and profound knowledge have allowed her to become one of the leading specialists in the field of paleozoology of the Volga region and the Urals. Also G.Sh. Asylgaraeva is the responsible Secretary of the journal "The Volga River Region Archaeology" from the moment of its formation.

The paper continues the publication of collections from the Archaeological Museum of Kazan Federal University studied by the authors with the aid of archaeological and natural scientific techniques since 2018. It covers the collections of the Mesolithic, Bronze, Early Iron and Early Middle Ages. Three collections from Kazan governorate, Gari bone bed and Shigir peat bog were obtained in the 19th century by the Societies of Archaeology, History and Ethnography, and Naturalists affiliated with Kazan University. The fourth collection obtained at the excavation of Gremyachiy Klyuch hillfort in 1948 is associated with the History Department of Kazan University. The study of the collections has allowed to obtain information of considerable interest for the understanding of the development of material culture of the Ural-Volga region in a broad retrospective.

The article presents the results of a study of three collections from the funds of the Archaeological Museum of Kazan (Volga) Federal University. The formation of collections is associated with the activity of the Society of Archeology, History and Ethnography and the Society of Naturalists under Kazan University. The collections in question were obtained in late 19th – early 20th centuries as a result of excavations at Pizhma, Svinogorie and Ufa (Chertovo) hillforts. Most of these collections correspond to Ananyino cultural and historical area. In addition, Ufimskoye (Chertovo) hillfort contained items associated with the archaeological cultures of a later period: Kara-Abyz and Bakhmutino cultures. The primary feature of the collections is a significant number of bone and horn articles. The study these items using traditional methods, archaeozoological and trace analysis techniques allowed to obtain new information expanding the perception of the ancient bone crafting technology and the chronology of the monuments in question.

The article is dedicated to the anniversary of Madina Shakirovna Galimova – renowned Russian archaeologist and expert in prehistory of the Volga-Kama region. She is one of the few specialists in the Russian Federation who are engaged in the functional-trasуological analysis of stone tools. It features the primary milestones of biography and the important events in her scientific life.

The paper considers the methodological aspects of comprehensive archaeological and geological-geomorphological studies of fortifications dating back to the Early Iron Age – Early Middle Ages. The authors determined that settlements with the remains of earthworks and dwellings located on headland platforms in the condition they have retained until the present day are natural-anthropogenic complexes with three components: archaeological, geomorphological and geological, and should be studied using methods of the corresponding sciences. The history of the development of headland settlements is subdivided into the following three periods: pre-settlement, settlement and post-settlement (relic). The settlement period is in turn subdivided into three stages: the early stage associated with the carriers of the Ananyino cultural and historical area of the Early Iron Age (circa 9th – 3rd centuries B.C.); the middle period related to the construction activities of the population of the Piany Bor, Azelino and Mazunino cultures (2nd century B.C. – 4th century A.D.); and the late stage associated with the Imenkovo culture and the coexisting cultures of the Early Middle Ages (4th – 7th cc.). An analysis of information obtained as a result of studying the fortifications of promontory forts allows to conclude that the distinguished stages represent the historical stages of the development of fortifications across the Volga-Kama region.

The article features the results of comprehensive research of defensive structures located in Gremiachiy Kliuch hillfort which corresponds to the Post-Maklasheevka culture of the Ananyino cultural and historical areal. The authors determined the starting time of construction activities (9th – mid-8th centuries B.C.) and the periodization of the erection of the hillfort's earth rampart using archaeological and natural scientific techniques (lithologic and stratigraphic, palynological and geomorphological). The second stage of the construction of defensive structures corresponds to mid-8th – first quarter of 7th centuries B.C. The moat was represented by a natural saddle located in the narrowest area of the headland platform between the ravines. The authors concluded that the rampart construction technique was very archaic, and the inner support wall was used as the foundation. Fine preservation of the earth rampart which has survived almost intact until the present day is accounted for by an optimal ratio of proportions (width and height), lithological composition of the soil and forest coverage of the site in the Post-Ananyino period.

The article features the results of comprehensive archaeological and geomorphological study of the exposures of defensive structures of the Sholom hill-fort known as the Early Iron Age settlement (the Ananyino cultural and historical area) and the Early Middle Ages (the Imenkovo culture). As a result of field archaeological works the researchers determined that the rampart was constructed as late as in 1st millennium A.D., and the construction of fortifications was preceded by a long period of time during which the settlement remained unprotected. The construction of defensive structures in the settlement is subdivided by the authors into three stages which are clearly distinguishable in the body of the rampart on the basis of the structural variations of filled ground and the structural elements of the earth rampart. Each modification was accompanied by the construction of a new moat or pits used during construction, which also confirms the three-stage building of the rampart. There was a considerable pause between the construction of the early and middle ramparts, which is signified by the deformed shape of the lower rampart and a clearly identifiable border of its top section. The item complex from rampart filling material allows the authors to consider that the monument existed in 4th – 7th centuries and was related to the population of Imenkovo archaeological culture.

The authors publish results of the digs on the multi-layer Kaen-Tube island site (Lower Kama Water Reservoir, Tatarstan Republic) in 2004. It has been established that the site was first inhabited in the first half of the IV Millennium BC by the bearers of the Kama Neolithic Culture. Later, in the second half of the IV Millennium BC, it was inhabited by the bearers of Russkiy Azibey type ceramics, who were replaced by bearers of Garino culture in the Eneolithic (second half of III – early II Millennia BC). The most remarkable Eneolithic find is a small flint figurine. The Late Bronze Age of this territory was marked by an episodic settlement of the Srubnaya and Lugovskaya cultures (15th–14th centuries BC). The most numerous group of ceramic finds is associated with Atabaevo stage of Maklasheevka culture (14th/13th – 12th centuries BC). The finale of Kaen-Tube site has been related by the authors to the second phase of the Early Iron Age. The artefacts of Pyany Bor culture found on the washed out section of the stite date this stage to the 1st–3rd centuries AD.

The article presents brief information on the content and findings of the conference “Ananyino World: Cultural Space, Connections, Traditions and Innovations”, which took place in Bolgar on 28-30 November 2016 (Republic of Tatarstan). The Conference was organized by A.Kh. Khalikov Archaeology Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, Archaeology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Bolgar State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve. Its participants discussed a vast range of topics concerning the late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age of Northern Eurasia. Particularly, they discussed the issues of chronology and cultural genesis, development of traditional metal processing and ceramic production, religious ideas and motifs of fine art. Special attention was traditionally focused on archaeology of the Ananyino cultural-historical area.

The article is dedicated to D.G. Bugrov’s birthday anniversary, as a leading specialist in the early Iron Age and early medieval archaeology of the Volga-Kama region. His main interests are in the Pyany Bor and Azelino culture studies.

Sergey V. Kuz’minykh, a well-known archeologist in 2016, 65 years old. His monograph “The Volga-Kama Metallurgy in the early Iron Age (Copper and Bronze)” (1983) and his joint monograph with E.N. Chernykh “The Early Metallurgy in the Northern Eurasia: Seima-Turbino phenomenon” (1989) became classic studies on ancient metallurgy. Equally significant were his investigations of the Ananiyno world (IX–III centuries BC). Thanks to the efforts S.V. Kuzminyh in the field of history of science, the little known or completely unknown studies were discovered as well as correspondence and biographies of the archaeologists of the last century were published.

The authors publish the fi ndings of the digs on Mellya-Tamak VI temporary settlement belonging to the Chiyalik archaeological culture – one of the most comprehensively studied settlements in this complex of sites. Besides proper Chiyalik materials, some artefacts of Mesolithic-Neolithic, Early Iron Age (Pyany Bor culture) and Early Middle Ages (Kushnarenkovo culture) have been identifi ed here. The Chiyalik stage is represented by debris of a summer camp, with its surface structures, hearths, stones from wall cladding and household pits. The life time of the Chiyalik settlement on the Mellya-Tamak dune can be dated within the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries, as suggested by the authors based on some fi nds of glass beads with overlaid linear-undulate paste threads and the ceramic complex. As a result of years of research, the authors conclude that the Chiyalik sites were left by the Uralic Ugrians, who were part of the Golden Horde population and were undergoing the process of Islamization and Turkization.

This article provides an analysis of the situation in Afghanistan during the Obama administration functioning in 2009-2013. The authors assess the effectiveness of the military aspect in Obama’s strategy by using two methods: quantitative event-analysis and regression analysis. In drawing conclusions, the authors used their own empirical database. The article suggests and justifi es the thesis that there is no seasonality in opposition forces’ actions. Besides, the authors use quantitative methods to assess the effectiveness of the military aspect of the NATO strategy and reveal several unconventional tendencies of the Afghan confl ict.

This article offers findings of field investigations on two Late Bronze Age sites: Berezovaya Griva I and Ivanovskiy Bor X, located on the left bank of the Kama River in the area of Kuybyshev dam lake. These findings suggest that the Berezovaya Griva I station had a complex history of colonization: it yielded materials of the Srubnaya cultural-historical community (18th – 15th centuries BC), the Lugovskaya culture (15th – 14th centuries BC) and the later stage of Maklasheevka culture (12th/11th – 10th centuries BC). The Ivanovskiy Bor X station is a single-layer site belonging to the late stage of the Maklasheevka culture. A barrow with wooden constructions mounded during the site’s existence was investigated on the territory of this station. The under-barrow structures resemble “long barrows” of the late stage of the Maklasheevka culture and the Early Iron Age one-chamber “houses of the dead” discovered in the Volga-Kama region.

The paper offers results of 2014 field research of the first stage of the late Bronze Age burial grounds in the Volga-Kama region –Novo-Mordovo II and Stary Kuybyshev VI. These burial grounds are located in the area of the abrasion escarpment of Kuybyshev dam lake, in the confluence of the Volga and the Kama rivers. The first burial ground was discovered by A.H. Khalikov in 1962, the second is a recent discovery. The authors believe that the funeral rite and the inventory of these sites are very similar. All inhumations were made in shallow sub-quadrangular pits, in a crouched position on the left side. The funeral rite and the inventory combine elements of the Pokrovskiy and the Potapovskiy cultural types, which makes the authors to suggest the origins of formation of the Zaymishche type sites here. Analogies revealed in the sites of the Pokrovskiy and Potapovskiy types date existence of Novo-Mordovo II and Stary Kuybyshev VI burial grounds to the period preceding the Srubnaya cultural-historical community, and overall can fit within 19th – 18th centuries BC.

The article analyses the actions of external actors, both the western countries, and the African states towards Libya during the conflict of 2011. Besides, the authors examine the concept «responsibility to protect», which served as a pretext to start the military operation in this country. At the end authors consider consequences of the Gaddafi’s regime overthrow for the African region.

Problems related to the chronology of the early period in the Ananyino cultural and historical area development are discussed in the article. The chronology is based upon the objects imported from the Black Sea region, Northern Caucasus and Transcaucasia and their Ananyino replicas or imitations. Radiocarbon dates have also been taken into account. The period under consideration is divided into two stages (I-1 and I-2). They are characterized by differing technological facilities that had determined the appearance of a differing set of material culture objects. The first stage, the transition from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age, is dated within the 9th to mid-8th century BC. The second phase (mid-8th to first quarter/first half of the 7th century BC) is associated with the spread of Caucasian imports in the Volga-Kama area and mostly in the post-Maklasheevka culture sites. On the basis of these imports it is possible to claim that the Ananyino area was included into the international trade and exchange system of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Monuments of the early period of the Ananyino cultural and historical area are primarily synchronized with the pre-Scythian funeral monuments of the steppe zone of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.

Problems of analytical archaeological research characteristic of the initial period of the studies of the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the Volga-Kama area (from the late 18th century to the early 1920s) are discussed in the article. Within the initial period, the author has identified four basic problems, which were developed by researchers. 1. Periodization and dating of the Bronze Age sites and identification of those referring to the Early Iron Age (in the early 20th century). 2. Determination of ethnic belonging of archaeological cultures carriers. 3. The topography of settlements and hill-forts purpose and usage interpretation. 4. Funeral rite systematization. A separate block comprises the local problems, to which researchers used to turn sporadically: the study of ceramics, economic system, social structure, origins of certain types of metal products etc.

The history of the study of the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the Volga-Kama region can be divided into four periods, characterized by research trends, specific methods, and forms. Their chronological framework is associated with milestone works of key importance by researchers who would discard the previous frame and give rise to new paradigms. The initial period of the studies of the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the Volga-Kama area (the late 18th century to the early 1920s) is discussed in the article. It started with first site discoveries and accumulation of materials, and completed with archaeological cultures identified and prehistoric archeology periodization formed. It was a period of activity of the Imperial Archaeological Society, which included studies in the Volga region. The tradition of holding Archaeological Congresses in Kazan was established. In the late 19th – early 20th centuries, the ancientries of the Volga-Kama region attracted the attention of Finnish archaeologists. The results of the initial period were summarized in the monographs by A. M. Tallgren that also formulated new challenges to researchers.

The Lbishche fortified settlement is one of the largest settlements of the Samara Bend. Its upper layers refer to the early Middle Ages and have been well studied. The lower layers referring to the Early Iron Age have not been subjected to serious examination until recently. In 2003, 778 pottery fragments were discovered in these layers, 12 of them with basket, or net, pattern, and all found in the same room. According to the author, ceramics of this type refers to the Gorodets culture of the third period, and dates from no earlier than the 3rd-2nd centuries BC, when the carriers of this culture migrated to the Samara Volga river region from the Don river basin. In this region There are 30 Gorodets culture sites; of these, 8 fortified settlement sites, mainly in the southern part of the Samara Bend.

The report on the conference, which was held in Bolgar (the Republic of Tatarstan) in November, 2012, and dedicated to the Ananyino cultural and historical community, is presented. A wide range of problems related to the final Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age in the forest-steppe zone of European Russia, the Urals and Western Siberia were considered. Special attention was paid to the intercultural relations of the time. The results of the latest research in the field, including broad historical and cultural generalizations, are presented. It was decided to publish the materials contributed, and to hold future similar conferences at 3-4- years’ intervals.

The materials of the 2009-2010 archaeological survey and excavations on the island of Dubovaya Griva located within the bounds of the Nizhnekamsk water reservoir are presented in the article. As a result of the study, a previously unknown multi-layered site, Dubovaya Griva VI, was discovered. The artifacts of different archaeological periods have been found here, referring to the Neolithic (the Kama culture), the Bronze and Early Iron Age (the Ananyino culture) and the Early Middle Ages (the Bakhmutino culture). The site also yielded a hoard of the Chalcolithic flint weapons, consisting of four flint daggers. Additional salvage and conservation studies on the Dubovaya Griva II site have also been conducted, with materials of the Bronze Age cultures (a dwelling with Zaosinovo type pottery, ceramics of the Srubnaya and the Ananyino cultural-historical community) discovered. The surface finds from the Dubovaya Griva II site include fragments of the Neolithic (the Kama culture) and the Later Bronze Age (the Maklasheevka culture) ceramics.