In the vast territory of the steppes in the most ancient era, west of the Urals, tribes of the so-called Srubnaya culture lived, and to the east, the Andronovo culture, the latter covering the region from the Urals to Altai and the Yenisei. The Andronovites, who spoke one of the dialects of the ancient Iranian language (Indo-European group), bred large and small cattle, horses, and were engaged in fishing. Traces of floodplain agriculture have also been found in the Southern Urals. Andronovo society was considered rather backward and archaic, as evidenced, in particular, by the poverty of their burials. In the grave, along with the deceased, earthenware, bronze ornaments, and less often tools and weapons were usually placed.