The Stepnoye-1 burial ground is located in the Plastovsky District of the Chelyabinsk Region on the left bank of the Uy River near the present-day settlement of Stepnoye. The burial ground occupies a vast territory of about 2,000 square meters. The horn items were discovered during the archaeological excavations of mound 4 by the expedition of the Museum-Reserve “Arkaim” led by Dmitry Zdanovich. Grave pit 13 is one of the largest on the site of the multi-burial mound 4. The floor of the burial chamber was covered with numerous remains of sacrificial animals, including the skeleton of a dog. The burial chamber contained two disturbed male and female skeletons, parallel to each other, about nine years of age. The pit had been robbed in ancient times. Nevertheless, the pit preserved a rich burial inventory: four decorated vessels, a shield-shaped cheek-piece with spikes, a wooden item with metal staples, stone tools, 13 arrowheads made of stone, bones and horns, animal knucklebones, and a string silver of beads.

The S-shaped horn item was located at the feet of a male skeleton. It is a monolithic figured horn item: a flat bar and an S-shaped hook. The plank is rectangular in plan, one end is smoothly rounded, on the front part of the opposite one, 1.5 centimeters from the edge, there is a low ledge. The back side is in the form of a shallow longitudinal groove. There is a blind rectangular hole opposite the base of the hook. A massive hook extends from the front part, with a transverse, semicircular in cross-section, asymmetrically slanted groove at the junction. The upper part of the hook is cut flat.

A number of experiments were conducted to place the S-shaped part on different parts of the bow — on the outside of the bow and on the inside as a bed for the transportation position of the bowstring on the outside of the upper shoulder of the bow. As a result, due to the fact that the weight of the S-shaped part significantly exceeded the weight of the “arrow shelf” and created an imbalance in the mechanics of the bow, the parts were swapped and the upper shoulder was lengthened to create balance. The results of experimental shooting showed the excellent qualities of this bow.