The book highlights the main results of the study of the monuments of the Eneolithic - the early Iron Age in the steppes of Eastern Europe. It gives a new interpretation of the problem of the development of the economy and social system of the ancient tribes of the Lower Volga region, discusses the issues of ties between pit and log crops, the area of ​ ​ monuments of the Poltava stage and their historical place, the origin of the Sarmatians and the nature of their trade relations with the ancient world.