culture and introduced into scientific use the concept of “carcass cultural-historical community.” It is represented by the monuments of Pokrovskaya (XVIII – XV centuries BC) and Berezhnovsky-Mayevskaya (XVII – XII centuries BC) timber cultures, which are settlements, necropolises, workshops, mines, treasures and single finds. Dwellings – dugouts, half dugouts and land. Necropolises are represented by barrows and soil burial grounds. In the kurgan stratigraphy, the carcass burial sites occupy an upper position in relation to the graves of the pit and catacomb communities. The ceremony included the burial of the deceased in pits or wooden log cabins in a bent position, on the left side, of the hands in front of the face. Cases of cremation are also known. Funeral equipment is represented by jagged and canned vessels, less commonly metal products.Changes in climatic conditions, depletion of natural resources and overpopulation led to a sharp reduction in the population and cultural transformation of the tribes of the Srubnaya community. The pioneer of the carcass culture is V. A. Gorodtsov, who in the years 1901—1903, in the process of studying the barrow antiquities of the Seversky Donets, turned his attention to curved burials in wooden frames – log houses. In accordance with the design features of the burial structure, the culture he allocated was called the carcass. The concept of the origin of culture from the Poltavkin monuments of the Volga region and its migration at a late stage was developed in the mid-1950s by O. A. Krivtsova-Grakova. In the 1970s, N. Ya. Merpert and E.N. Chernykh turned their attention to local differences within the logging culture, but the identification of individual local variants or cultures, in their opinion, was problematic at that time. Later, in the course of scientific research, a number of researchers turned their attention to the anthropological, chronological and cultural differences of the steppe and forest-steppe monuments, which confirmed the hypothesis of local differences in the environment of the Srubnaya culture. N. Ya. Merpert and E.N. Chernykh put into scientific use the concept of “felling cultural-historical community”, which reflects its cultural heterogeneity. In the mid-1970s, N.K. Kachalova identified the Berezhnovsky type of monuments based on the materials of the Lower Volga, and I.F. materials of the Mayevsky burial ground (Dnepropetrovsk) – Mayevsky type of monument]. In the 1990s, N. M. Malov and O. V. Kuzmina, on the basis of materials from the Pokrovsky burial ground, single out a separate Pokrov culture. The common features of the funeral rite of the Berezhnovsky and Mayev types of monuments allowed V.V. Otroshchenko to combine both types into a separate Berezhnov-Mayev culture as part of the carcass cultural and historical community of the Late Bronze Age. Yu. M. Brovender singled out the Stepanovsky type of monuments in the environment of the Berezhnov-Mayev carcass culture. Thus, among the carcass cultural-historical community of the Late Bronze Age, the Pokrov and Berezhnov-Mayev carcass cultures and the Stepan type of monuments are distinguished, which reflects its cultural heterogeneity and formation features. The problem of the origin of the log house culture (later the log house cultural and historical community) was posed by V.A. Gorodtsov in 1907, almost immediately after the discovery of burial mounds in log cabins on Seversky Donets. The researcher formed the migration concept of origin, which was finalized in the mid-1950s by O. A. Krivtsova-Grakova. The researcher believed that the carcass culture was formed in the Volga region on the basis of the Poltava culture of the Middle Bronze Age. One of the variants of this hypothesis is the concept of the Volga-Ural cultural genesis of V. S. Bochkarev. Migration theory has not received absolute support in the scientific community. N. N. Cherednichenko spoke in favor of the autochthonous origin of the carcass culture. In his opinion, all local variants of the carcass culture are synchronous, and there was no single center of culture origin, and the formation of each variant should be explained based on the specifics of the local archaeological situation. V.V. Otroshchenko developed in the 1990s a concept for the development of a felling cultural and historical community from the Sintashta, Don-Volga Abashev, Babin cultures and Potapov type monuments of the Middle Volga region in the process of their ethnocultural interactions. In accordance with it, the researcher identified among the community of Pokrovsky and Berezhnovo-Mayevskaya log cabling, which, in his opinion, developed on a different basis. Pokrovskaya carcass culture develops in the forest-steppe interfluve of the Don and Volga due to the political and cultural influences of Sintashta culture bearers on the Late Abashev population, from where it spreads to other regions.
Protoberezhnovsky monuments are common in the Lower Volga region, where, according to the researcher, the Novokumak ethnic component that came from the east is superimposed on the Late Catacomb population.Later, the tribes of the Pokrovsky carcass culture advance on the Left Bank of the Seversky Donets, where they are fully assimilated by the carriers of the Babin culture. As a result of the assimilation of the Pokrov population by Babin tribes, the Berezhnovo-Mayev log-house culture is formed. Pokrovskaya carcass culture (XVIII – XV centuries BC) is widespread in the steppe and forest-steppe zone from the Seversky Donets to the Volga. Separate monuments are presented in the Urals. An eponymous monument is the Pokrovsky burial ground in the Saratov Volga region, which was investigated by P.S. Rykov in the 1920s near the city of Pokrovsk (now Engels). Highlighted in the early 1990s by N. M. Malov and O. V. Kuzmina as a cover culture. It was formed on the basis of the Don-Volga Abashev culture with the direct influence of the Sintashta and Potapov type monuments of the Middle Volga. Monuments are represented by settlements, burial grounds, treasures, mines, workshops and occasional finds. The settlements were located in close proximity to the rivers on small elevations. The most studied settlements are Usovo Lake, Mosolovka, Kapitanovo, Yanokhino, Scars and Prokazino.
Dwellings of that time, terrestrial, dugouts and half-dugouts of a frame-pillar construction with a gable or tent-shaped roof. The walls are made of turf, logs, rarely made of stone. In large buildings, the residential part is most often isolated from the auxiliary. Inside the dwellings were one or more foci, pits, sometimes a well. Funeral monuments are represented by barrows and soil burial grounds. They are located mainly on terraces or hills along river banks, less often on watersheds. The burial mounds of the Pokrov culture include a small number of embankments, from 2 to 15. Single mounds and huge necropolises are rare.
A mound embankment was erected after the last burial. The number of burials in the mound varies from 1 to 100. The deceased were buried in sub-rectangular pits, sometimes in log cabins in a crouched position on the left side, in an adoration position, with their heads to the north. Vessels act as funerary equipment, less often – weapons and jewelry. In the graves are also fixed animal bones – the remains of meat food. The most studied burial grounds are Pokrovsky, Staroyabalaklinsky and Novopavlovsky. The ceramic culture complex is represented mainly by pointed pots with geometric patterns. Tools and weapons made of stone are represented by a variety of axes and maces, arrowheads, scrapers, hammers, knives, anvils, ore graters and abrasives. Jewelry is also known – faience beads, grooved temporal pendants and bracelets.Bone products are widespread: psalms, awls, veneers, punctures, needles, knitting needles, arrowheads. Metal tools are represented by axes, sickles, telescopes and chisels, punctures, cuttings with a wide rhombic crosshair and daggers with a pristine handle. Jewelry made of bronze, antimony and gold is also widespread: rings, temporal lobed rings, plaques, spiral-shaped bracelets and open bracelets with a spiral ending. In general, the spiral-shaped ornament was widespread. The basis of the economy of the carriers of the Pokrov culture was stall and distant cattle breeding. The population of the Pokrov log-house culture ethnically represents the Indo-Iranian ethnic group and had certain signs of the Indo-Aryan ethnic group at an early stage of its development.
The Berezhnov-Mayev log-house culture (XVII – XII centuries BC) is widespread in the steppe and forest-steppe zone from Ingulets to the Volga. The eponymous monuments are the Berezhnovsky burial mound in the Volga region and the Mayevsky burial ground near the city of Dnepropetrovsk. In the 70s of the XX century N.K. Kachalova was allocated Berezhnovsky type of monuments, and I.F. Kovaleva – Mayevsky. The general features of the funeral rite allowed V.V. Otroshchenko to combine both types into a separate Berezhnov-Mayev culture as part of the felling cultural-historical community. Yu. M. Brovender singles out the Stepan type of monuments among her. It was formed on the
