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Archeological culture named Andronovo culture covered huge territory. Its area of habitation reached the Southern Aral in the West, the Yenisei in the East, borders of forest-steppe in the North and Central Asian lands of ancient irrigation in the South. This culture was one of the most significant during the Bronze Age in Europe and Asia. This culture characterized Old and Middle Bronze Age and changed to other cultures only in the end of the 2^nd and the beginning of the 1^st millennium B.C. Long-term investigations of scientists rather clearly defined the main features of the economy and way of life of the Andronovo tribes lived the steppe zone from the Ural to the Yenisei. Predominantly, people of Andronovo culture had settled way of life. People constructed their dwelling along the banks of free and quite steppe rivers with wide flood-plain grassland. Fertile soil here produced good harvest for that period that is why the economy had combined agro-pastoral character. These tribes lived in big patriarchal families; earth-houses served as a dwelling with a great number of economic extensions and enclosures for livestock. Despite the fact that they knew how to gain a part of natural treasures, many natural processes remained mysterious and absolutely inexplicable. Religions appeared, had the period of flourishing, sometimes spread on huge territories, afterwards along with the expansion of frontiers of man’s knowledge gradually declined and died. Ancient man was not able to explain natural phenomena. They were incomprehensible for ancient people. Therefore, human beings lead by the fear and hope inevitably attributed thousands of reasons, reflected in the great number of beliefs and religious superstitions to the facts surpassed his knowledge. Cult of the dead had significant role in life of the Andronovo people. Lev Nikolayevich Gumilyov expressed, as it seems to be, very paradoxical but true, in essence, idea that people belonging to different nations diverge less by the way of life than by their attitude to the death. Belief in immortality of dead relatives and fellow tribesman, in the existence of other world, describes the need to organize funerals of congeners as a complicated and magnificent ritual where the customs and rules of the clan were observed. It is quite natural that they were not equal for the dwellers of different regions of the planet.

Essential Vocabulary

Tasks:

1. Read the text «Steppe Andronovo Сulture». Write and memorize unknown words and word combinations.

2. Translate the text into Russian.

Answer the following questions:

1. What was the area of Andronovo culture habitation?

2. What Ages does this culture characterize?

3. According to the investigations of scientists what steppe zone did they live in?

4. Where did they construct their dwelling?

5. How can you explain their cult of the dead?