Alexey A. Tishkin^a,# and Vadim V. Gorbunov^a,## 

^a Altai State University, Barnaul, Russia

^#E-mail: tishkin210@mail.ru
^##E-mail: gorbunov@hist.asu.ru

Keywords: two-piece clasps, the Srostki culture, mound, the Early Middle Ages, X-ray fluorescence analysis.

The paper considers a group of artistically decorated clasps made of non-ferrous metal, which served as elements of the attire. These objects were found in the burials of the Srostki archaeological culture at the sites of Popovskaya Dacha, Blizhniye Elbany V and Srostki I. The design is bipartite, with one part serving as a frame and the other one as a pin. Their connection made it possible to fasten the opposite edges of the clothing piece where such details were sewn to. The authors describe the shape and design of the finds, indicate the dimensions, and discuss the features of ornamentation. The results of the chemical analysis of objects with an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer are presented. Four types of two-piece clasps were identified. Their analogies considered in the paper show that such items existed in the 9th–12th centuries on the territory ranging from the Irtysh to the Angara regions. An assumption is made about the initial emergence of the discussed objects among the Samoyedic tribes. Later, clasps reached the greatest diversity in their shape and decor with the participation of the Turkic-speaking population. The materials of the Srostki culture suggest that the clasps in question served as an element of woman’s clothing reflecting a high social status.

DOI: 10.31857/S0869606322030151