Abstract
Ritual objects, referred to in the archaeological literature as caches, hoards, or stashes, have been found in burial sites of the Sintashta and early Alakul/Alakul cultures of the 2nd millennium BC in the Ural-Qazaqstan Steppe. This article uses the term stash (Rus. схрон) to describe the purposefully hidden objects discovered in nine burial structures known from publications. Three groups of objects, most of which were made of copper-based alloys, are identified: weapons; tools; household items; and jewelry. The authors suggest that the objects in the stashes are a physical expression of a socio-economic "code" defined in the Sintashta and early Alakul sites by a combination of military and industrial items. The stash in the Alakul burial rite represents the cultic purpose of a deposit. Possibly, the objects in the stashes demonstrate the professional and social status of the buried individuals.