The profound transformation in culture that began with the Yamnaya is obvious to many archaeologists of the steppe. The increase in the intensity of the human use of the steppe lands coincided with a nearly complete disappearance of permanent settlements—almost all the structures that the Yamnaya left behind were graves, huge mounds of earth called kurgans. Sometimes people were buried in kurgans with wagons and horses, highlighting the importance of horses to their lifestyle. The wheel and horse so profoundly altered the economy that they led to the abandonment of village life. People lived
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