Analysis of shapes and ornamental designs of vessels from the Balanovo burial ground

The article is devoted to analysis of shapes and ornamental designs of 121 vessels from the Balanovo burial ground. The burial field belongs to the Bronze Age and is situated in the Mari part of the Volga river basin. The analysis has been carried on within framework of the historical-and-cultural approach to pottery study developed by A.A. Bobrinsky (Bobrinsky, 1978). Vessel shapes have been study in accordance with procedure developed by Yu.B. Tsetlin. The procedure includes three consecutive stages: 1. determination of general proportionality of vessels; 2. detachment of vessels’ functional parts; 3. determination of the functional parts’ maturity. Analysis of ornamental designs has been carried out in accordance with the procedure developed by the author of the article and consisted of detachment of technological ornamental traditions (type of ornamental tools and ways of its drawing) and of stylistic ornamental traditions (at four structural levels: an 251 element, an image, a motif, and a composition). In result the author has detached the Balanov and the Atli-Kasin pottery traditions of forms creation and ornamentation (there is no differences in pottery traditions of these two populations). Mixed Balanov-Atli-Kasin traditions have been detached also. The presence of mixed traditions allows the author to make a more substantiated conclusion that the Balanov burial ground was left by two closely related population groups, by Balanovo and Atlikan groups.