1800 BC.[47] It is probably the archaeological manifestation of the Indo-Iranian language
group.[48]
The Sintashta culture emerged from the interaction of two antecedent cultures. Its
immediate predecessor in the Ural-Tobol steppe was the Poltavka culture, an offshoot
of the cattle-herding Yamnaya horizon that moved east into the region between 2800
and 2600 BC. Several Sintashta towns were built over older Poltavka settlements or
close to Poltavka cemeteries, and Poltavka motifs are common on Sintashta pottery.
Sintashta material culture also shows the influence of the late Abashevo culture, a
collection of Corded Ware settlements in the forest steppe zone north of the Sintashta
region that were also predominantly pastoralist.[49] Allentoft et al. (2015) also found
close autosomal genetic relationship between peoples of Corded Ware culture and
Sintashta culture.[50]
The earliest known chariots have been found in Sintashta burials, and the culture is
considered a strong candidate for the origin of the technology, which spread throughout
the Old World and played an important role in ancient warfare.[51] Sintashta settlements
are also remarkable for the intensity of copper mining and bronze metallurgy carried
out there, which is unusual for a steppe culture.[52]
Because of the difficulty of identifying the remains of Sintashta sites beneath those of
later settlements, the culture was only recently distinguished from the Andronovo
culture.[46] It is now recognised as a separate entity forming part of the 'Andronovo
horizon'.[45]