Household items and decorations discovered in funeral constructions have a special value for the science. However, they, naturally, do not give a complete view of the life of the Andronovo tribes.
In this regard, settlements are considered to be the most “talkative” monuments of the Bronze Age. Archaeological excavations which were carried out there give an opportunity to see those sides of human life related to the everyday life. There is no any another monuments which could construct more complete historical picture.
Archaeologists registered more than hundred settlements of ancient stock-breeders and miners on the territory of Kazakhstan; more than thirty of them were investigated by scientists. What were they like?
Mostly, settlements of the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 1st millennium B.C. consisted of one or two dozen earth-houses of rectangular or oval form. Wooden roofs rose above the ground and rested on timber and stone props. Dwellings were connected by the system of different corridors and passages. Most houses became surrounded by utility buildings for livestock. This is how the settlement discovered in 1955 by A.Kh. Margulan in upstream of the Atasu river in Dzhezkazgan region looked like. It consisted of three dozen living and utility buildings, occupied the area of fifteen thousand square meters. Dwellings were constructed with in a big way: the least houses were up to 80 square meters, medium — approximately 150, the largest — up to 250 square meters. Walls of the largest semi-earth-house, or so called big house, were tiled with specially polished granite plates. Each room was heated by fireplaces made of stone plates.
During excavation a great number of various ceramics, stone, mattocks, as well as a lot of little bone and bronze household items were discovered.
Besides the pastoral cattle-breeding and primitive agriculture inhabitants from the Atasu settlement were occupied with foundry. This is certified by discovered here several copper smelting ovens and workshops.
In addition to capital dwellings of the type of Atasu big house, ancient people constructed habitations of more light ground-based type. In Shet district of Dzhezkazgan region archaeologists discovered the Buguly II settlement which belongs to this type of buildings. It included twenty rectangular constructions of relatively small size: 10×8 or 7×5.
Buguly ground-based buildings were constructed in the following way. On a clear platform something similar to the modern foundation was erected from flatwise placed stone blocks. It’s inner and outward sides were tiled by vertically set stone plates. Inside this laying wooden frame was constructed. Roof made of thin timbers relied on the frame. The construction was covered by cane mats. The form of the Buguly houses looks like warm yurts of cattle-breeders of the past.
Reference:
Agapov P., Kadyrbayev M. (1979) Treasure of ancient Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata: Zhalyn. 252 p. (in Russian)
