Traceological Analysis of Stone Tools of Miners and Metallurgists from Zhezkazgan Copper Deposits

This article presents the results of a traceological study of two collections of stone tools – tools of miners from the Kresto-Center quarry and metallurgists from the Milykuduk settlement, located in the zone of Zhezkazgan copper deposits in the Zhezkazgan-Ulytau Mining and Metallurgical Center (MMC). Structural and raw materials, typological, technological, functional, and contextual analyses were used to study the collection, which consists of 63 items. As a result of the research, it was found that the settlement of Milykuduk was engaged in ore processing, and the Kresto Center quarry was engaged in its extraction. The metallurgical specialization of the population of Zhezkazgan-Ulytau MMC was dictated by the richest deposits of oxidized and sulfide copper ore. Region Saryarka was one of the largest centers of mining and ancient metallurgy for the entire Northern Eurasia during the Late Bronze Age. Mining and metallurgical production was an important and complex production process of antiquity, the level of which was an indicator of the development of the productive forces of ancient society.