Metallic mirrors from the monuments of Bronze age of the upper stream of Ob river

Metallic mirrors are important finds for archeology of Northern Asia. The main part of such products is found in complexes of nomads of the early Iron Age and the Middle Ages. A significant amount of works is devoted to various aspects of their studying. The mirrors of Bronze age are investigated much worse. At the same time, need of their all-round consideration is obvious. The analysis of this group of subjects allows to designate not only the traditional questions connected with specification of dating of archaeological objects, definition of ethnocultural contacts and reconstruction of some sides of outlook of ancient societies, but also promotes the solution of debatable problems of emergence and initial distribution of tradition of manufacturing of mirrors, and also their uses in funeral ceremony. Important stage of work for research of mirrors of Bronze age is systematization of data about such products from monuments of Northern Asia. In this short article main results of studying of this category of finds by an example of subjects from archaeological complexes of late Bronze age of Top Priobe are presented. The most part of metallic mirrors of late Bronze age of Top Priobe is fixed in burials and that allows to consider some questions connected with definition of a place of this group of finds in ceremonial practice of the ancient population. The arrangement of products in a grave, due to various reasons, remained unknown often. The characteristic situation is fixed on a monument Rublevo-VIII where the metallic mirror was nearby of the head of died woman. The explanation of such tradition can be connected with direct utilitarian function of a mirror, which was located near the head for the buried could «look» in it. Other explanation should be looked for available the certain notions connected with this part of a body. The special relation to the head of the person arose in the ancient time and had various manifestation. For example, practice of an arrangement of metallic mirrors around the head of the buried person was widely adopted in ceremonial practice of various societies in a wide territorial and chronological framework. Further complex research of metallic mirrors from monuments of Bronze age, both by means of traditional archaeological methods, and with application of methods of natural sciences, will allow to solve the questions put in this article and to designate a place of that category of products in material and spiritual culture of the ancient population.

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