HISTORY of the STUDY of MONUMENTS of the BRONZE AGE of the NORTHEAST CASPIAN SEA REGION
The article provides data illustrating the stages of studying monuments of ancient history on the territory of the Ustyurt plateau. From the first mentions about the Ustyurt plateau, in written sources, to its comprehensive study, more than a thousand years passed. Scientific studies conducted until the middle of the XX century, primarily concerned the study of geology, climate and soils. An archaeological research itself begins after the Great Patriotic War. The second half of the 20th century became a decisive stage in the study of archaeological monuments, including the Eneolithic-Bronze of the Caspian Sea. The beginning of the 21st century was marked by a new round of research on Bronze Age monuments - the study of the Toksanbay and Aitman settlement complexes. The work of the West Kazakhstan archaeological expedition of the A. Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology under the leadership of Z. Samashev and with the participation of A. S. Yermolaeva actually laid the foundation for the period of accumulation of archaeological material of this era. Research was carried out comprehensively - with the involvement of specialists of related disciplines: soil science, palynology, zoology, trasology, ceramology, etc. An archaeologically promising area has opened up to science, where in the era of Eneolithic-Bronze there was an active development of the territory, reflected in the historical past of the region.