Wheeled vehicles

Prof. V. Kul'baka (an archaeologist connected to the
Mariupil' Humanities Institute) has recently published an interesting
booklet ["Indo-European tribes of Ukraine in the paleometallic
epoch", Mariupil' 2000, 80 pp. ISBN: 966-7329-30-5 (in Ukr.)], which
contains a good deal of information about recent digs in Ukraine and
adjacent areas. Kul'baka cannot confirm the reigning date for the
Bronocice pot and its depiction of the earliest known wheeled vehicle
in Europe (the dig mixed up material from various layers and the RC-
ed bones have no necessary relation to the pot: in any case it is at
least from the late second quarter of the 3rd millennium BC and could
in fact be more ancient, we just don't know for sure). Kul'baka
follows the latest Bratchenko (1997) calibrated RC dates for the
Yamna culture, which re-establish an older (and briefly questioned)
time frame for this (=ca. 3400-2900 BC).Now to the meat of the
matter. The booklet lists and describes 109 Yamna culture burials (62
in Moldova and Ukraine, 47 in South Russia), which contain clear
evidence of wheeled waggon transport. [2 or more wheels buried along
with humans in most graves, and sometimes entire waggons. No horses
though, but what looks like a wooden horse bit]. This custom
continued in the Catacomb culture(s) era [calibr. RC 2900-2200 BC]
Kul'baka is actually a specialist as to the latter. He has elsewhere
analyzed the burial systems of its various groups, and attempted to
relate these (and the discovered material remnants) to practices
described in the Rigveda. Unfortunately there is no accompanying
linguistic evidence in these remains, though Kul'baka notes that a
recently discovered pot seems inscribed in what looks very much like
very early Sanskrit letters. The pot, however, is from the time and
area (Donets'k region) of the Zrubna culture (ca. 1200 BC).