Archaeological Studies of M.G. Moshkova in Orenburg Region in the 1950–1960s and Their Significance for the Volga-Ural Region Archaeology

The article considers the activity on studying archaeological sites of the Bronze Age, the Early Iron Age and the era of the Middle Ages in the east of Orenburg region performed by M.G. Moshkova in the 1950th – 1960th. The group of the Southern Ural archaeological expedition under the leadership of M.G. Moshkova investigated Novo-Kumakskiy and Alandskoe I-III burial grounds. Studying the monuments of the east area of Sauromatian culture allowed to specify borders of their distribution and to reveal manifestations of fire cult in the funeral ceremony. The article introduces the idea of formation of the South Ural early Sarmatian culture on the basis of Sauromatian culture with participation of tribes of the forest-steppe Trans-Ural region and the Aral region in this process. Also M.G. Moshkova revealed and investigated burial and settlement sites of Alakul culture that allowed to make adjustments in the periodization of Andronovo cultural and historical community. Studying the burials of medieval nomads in Novo-Kumakskiy burial ground led to specification of the periodization of South Ural history in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. Thus, works of M.G. Moshkova in the east of Orenburg region promoted the solution of key problems of the Southern Cis-Ural and Trans-Ural history in the 2nd millennium BC – the 2nd millennium AD.