The type site for a regional group derived from the Late Tripolye culture (Tripolye C2), distributed in the Odessa region of the south Russian steppe zone. Dated to the mid-3rd millennium bc, the barrow cemetery at Usatovo was one of the richest in the steppe zone and lay next to a stone-built settlement. Crouched inhumations as primary burials were often accompanied by many secondary burials in cists or pits. Widespread contacts are documented by the presence of Baltic amber and Anatolian silver and antimony, and the existence of corbel-vaulted tombs with close Aegean affinities.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied