Mordovian Cemeteries of 3rd–5th Centuries and the Unity of Their Early Culture

This article, based on the new archaeological materials, considers the problem of existence of a solid early Mordovian culture and determines the indisputable ancient Mordovian funerary sites . Details of female head set – as one of the most reliable ethnic sign – allowed attributing 14 burial grounds to this culture. Their geographical location allows us to assert that there was a solid early Mordovian community in the Oka - Sura - Tsna interfluvial zone in the 3rd–5th centuries. The author maintains that their division into two sub-ethnic groups - Erzya and Moksha - began later, not earlier than in 6th – 7th centuries, and was complete by the beginning of the II millennium AD.