The tradition of using complex architectural solutions and sod block elements in the kurgan mound... more The tradition of using complex architectural solutions and sod block elements in the kurgan mounds erection became widespread in the steppe cultures across Eurasia in Bronze Age and Scythian time. This mound construction technique was discovered in kugrans of noble individuals of high social rank of the Filippovka type monuments in the Southern Urals. Soil blocks use in the kurgan architecture of the Filippovka type monuments indicates that they can be attributed to the cultural traditions of the Scythian world. Complex kurgan architecture may reveal genetic connection between the Filippovka type kurgan monuments belonging to the aristocracy with general cultures of the Scythian era. The range of signs characterizing the burials of Scythoid cultures disappears after functioning of burial grounds like Filippovka 1 was suspended and traditions of the early Sarmatian culture were established in the burial rite of the Southern Urals nomads.
Традиция применения сложных архитектурных решений и дерновых блочных элементов при строительстве надмогильных сооружений получила широкое распространение в степных культурах Евразии в эпоху бронзы и скифского времени. Данная строительная техника отмечается в курганах знати филипповского круга памятников Южного Приуралья. Применение грунтовых блоков в курганной архитектуре памятников филипповского круга указывает на соответствие их культурным традициям скифского мира. Сложная курганная архитектура может указывать на генетическую связь памятников знати, оставившей курганы филипповского круга, в целом с культурами скифской эпохи. После прекращения функционирования могильников подобных Филипповке 1 и утверждения в погребальном обряде кочевников Южного Приуралья традиций раннесарматской культуры, комплекс признаков, характеризующих захоронения скифоидных культур, исчезает.
The paper makes an attempt to consider the cultural and historical events marking the final stage... more The paper makes an attempt to consider the cultural and historical events marking the final stage of the Sarmatian epoch from the point of view of climate dynamics in Eastern Europe. It has been confirmed that the Late Sarmatian period in the Lower Volga region coincided with increasing climate humidity and was characterized by high precipitation during the cold season. This occurred in conditions of the Siberian High weakening, resulted to penetration of the Atlantic and Mediterranean cyclones into the inland regions of Eastern Europe and the western areas of Western Siberia. This led to high snow cover formation and provoked a series of other unfavorable factors that triggered migrations and population decline in nomadic or semi-nomadic societies whose economic basis was cattle herding. We suppose that this climate change scenario was not limited to the Lower Volga region. In the article we analyze paleoclimatic, cultural and historical events of the 3rd – 4th centuries AD which occured in the adjacent regions. We found that during this period the Sargat culture, whose economy was based on semi-nomadic cattle breeding, was declining in most of the forest-steppe east of the Urals. The population in the Southern Urals almost completely disappeared by the last decades 3rd century AD. The area of the Late Sarmatian culture from the Lower Volga region is reduced to the Astrakhan Right Bank of the Volga. Only the Lower Don and the Sal-Manych steppes remained inhabited, which is probably due to the regional resource base specifics. Therefore, in most part of Eastern Europe and the western regions of Western Siberia, the population was declining or disappearing long before the Huns invasion, and increase in climate humidity was among the contributing factors. At the same time, the humid climate of the 3rd – 4th centuries AD had a beneficial impact on the crop production. A high winter precipitation provided the flourish of agricultural societies.
В статье предпринята попытка рассмотреть культурно-исторические события финала сарматской эпохи с позиций климатических изменений в Восточной Европе. Установлено, что позднесарматский период в Нижнем Поволжье совпал с гумидизацией климата и характеризовался высокими нормами осадков в холодное время года. Это происходило в условиях ослабления азиатского антициклона, что способствовало проникновению влажных воздушных масс атлантических и средиземноморских циклонов в глубинные регионы Восточной Европы и западные районы Западной Сибири. Это приводило к формированию высокого снежного покрова и обусловливало комплекс иных неблагоприятных факторов, которые стали причиной миграций и сокращения численности населения в обществах, экономическую основу которых составляло кочевое или полукочевое скотоводство. Исходя из предположения, что такого рода сценарий климатических изменений не ограничивался Нижним Поволжьем, в статье проанализированы известные палеоклиматические и культурно-исторические события в III–IV вв. н.э. в сопредельных регионах. Показано, что в этот период на большей части лесостепи к востоку от Урала происходит угасание саргатской культуры, основой экономики которой служило полукочевое скотоводство. В Южном Приуралье к концу III в. н.э. практически полностью исчезает население. Ареал позднесарматской культуры Нижнего Поволжья сокращается до астраханского Правобережья Волги. Хорошо заселенной остается лишь территория Нижнего Дона и Сало-Манычские степи, что, вероятно, связано со спецификой ресурсной базы региона. Таким образом, на большей части Восточной Европы и западных районов Западной Сибири происходит сокращение или исчезновение населения задолго до гуннского нашествия, и одной из причин этого является гумидизация климата. При этом гумидизация климата в III–IV вв. н.э. оказала положительное влияние на экономику земледельцев и обществ с комплексным хозяйством. Большое количество осадков в зимнее время года обеспечивало глубокую влагозарядку почвы и, как следствие, высокие урожаи, что послужило причиной расцвета таких культур.
Chronology and Periodization of the Sauromat and Sarmatian Cultures: Regional Features, 2023
The paper is devoted to examining the monuments of the Volga-Don and North Caucasian steppes (146... more The paper is devoted to examining the monuments of the Volga-Don and North Caucasian steppes (146 complexes in total) dating back to the middle of the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The emphasis is made on studying the burial structures design in the form of catacombs of types I, II, IV, I/IV, V and the features of the funeral rite. The Late Sarmatian substrate cultural complex and the migrants‘ culture as bearers of the early stage of Alanian culture of the North Caucasus are the two main features in the composition of the analyzed group of monuments. The signs connecting the monuments with the Alanian culture include the chamber grave type in the form of type I catacombs with the position of the buried perpendicular to the long axis of the entrance pit, the presence of ditches, the very design of hiding places with front horse harness, organic bedding in the chamber, as well as the distribution of some groups of metal inventory. The features associated with the Late Sarmatian culture include catacombs formation of types II, IV, I/IV and V as a synthesis of the catacomb burial tradition where the buried is positioned with its head facing north, skulls deformations, incense burners, whetstones, spindle whorls presence in the inventory, as well as animal bones as farewell food. Taking into account the chronological and territorial monuments bindings supplemented by a historical interpretation, the name “Monuments of the Volga-Don steppe and the Fore Caucasus of the middle of the 3rd and 4th centuries AD” (or the “Alans-Tanaites” culture) has been proposed to the considered group of the monuments by the authors.
В статье рассмотрены памятники середины III – IV в. н.э. волго-донских и северокавказских степей (146 комплексов). Акцент сделан на анализе конструкции погребальных сооружений в виде катакомб типов I, II, IV, I/IV, V и особенностей погребального обряда. Двумя основными компонентами в сложении анализируемой группы памятников являются субстратный позднесарматский культурный комплекс и куль- тура мигрантов – носителей раннего этапа аланской культуры Северного Кавказа. Признаками, связывающими с аланской культурой, являются: тип камерных могил в виде катакомб типа I с положением погребенного перпендикулярно длинной оси входной ямы, наличие ровиков, сам принцип устройства тайников с парадной конской сбруей, органические подстилки в камере, а также в распространении некоторых групп металлического инвентаря. Признаки, связывающие с позднесарматской культурой: формирование катакомб типов II, IV, I/IV и V в качестве синтеза традиции захоронения в катакомбе с положением погребенного головой в северный сектор, деформация черепов, наличие в составе инвентаря курильниц, оселков, пряслиц, а также присутствие костей животных (напутственной пищи). Предложено название рассматриваемой группе памятников, учитывающее их хронологическую и территориальную привязку, дополненную исторической интерпретацией – памятники степного Волго-Донья и Предкавказья середины III – IV в. н.э. (культура «алан-танаитов»).
Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Serija 4. Istorija. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija
The paper introduces into scientific discourse the materials of the early Sarmatian burials from ... more The paper introduces into scientific discourse the materials of the early Sarmatian burials from the Verkhniy Balykley I kurgan cemetery from the area of the Volgograd Trans-Volga region. This monument was studied in the course of the 1978–1979 expedition organized by the Volgograd State Pedagogical Institute under the leadership of A.S. Skripkin. Materials. The burial includes four mounds located compactly on the banks of the reservoir and one single mound setting far away in the steppe. Eighteen inlet burials of the early Sarmatian time were found in three Bronze Age kurgans. Some burials contained no burial inventory; others did include a variety of grave goods. The funeral rites present a wide range of grave structures: pits with side chambers, simple rectangular pits and catacombs. The southern body orientation of the buried individuals was dominating. In kurgans 5 and 6, a circular arrangement of graves is traced, which is typical for early Sarmatian mounds-cemeteries. Materia...
History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Caucasus, 2019
In June-October of 2018, the Terek complex archaeological expedition (LLC «Research-production ce... more In June-October of 2018, the Terek complex archaeological expedition (LLC «Research-production center “Daghestan archaeological service”»), the Caucasian expedition (Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and the Chechen expedition (Institute for Humanitarian Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Chechen Republic), having joined experts from Vladikavkaz, Volgograd, Grozny, Makhachkala, Moscow, Simferopol, and others, at the expense of PAO «Gazprom» / LLC «Gazprominvest» (St. Petersburg) and LLC «Kiruss» (Grozny), conducted a secure-and-preserve research in the territory of the Nadterechny district of the Chechen Republic in the construction zone of the Mozdok-Grozny gas pipeline. Of particular interest are the materials of the burial site “Bratskie Kurgany”, dating from the III – IV centuries AD, which is the necropolis of the Bratsk 1st hillfort, belonging to the early stage of the Alanian culture. The named necropolis occupies an approximate territory of 6.5 x3.5-2 km. This article presents a general overview of the investigated burials of this burial mound. As a result of the work, 162 mound and non-mound burials were excavated. The absolute majority of burials were made in type I catacombs (the long axis of the chamber is perpendicular to the long axis of the entrance pit). The studied sample of burials makes it possible to consider this monument as a reference for the territory of the Middle Pre-Terek region in the specified time. The people who made the burial grounds of the type “Bratskie 1-e Kurgany” participated in cultural and historical processes in the Western Caspian region, where their presence was recorded in the Terek-Sulak interfluve from the second half of the III century AD, and from the middle of the IV century AD - in South Daghestan, where, judging by information from written sources, the “Land of Mascuts” is located.
In 2018, Kurgan 2 of Gvardeyskiye 3 Kurgany (the 3rd Gvardeiskiy Kurgans) in the Nadterechny Dist... more In 2018, Kurgan 2 of Gvardeyskiye 3 Kurgany (the 3rd Gvardeiskiy Kurgans) in the Nadterechny District of the Chechen Republic was studied. In the result, nine burials were found in the Kurgan which was created during the Early Bronze Age and continued to be used in the course of the Middle and Late Bronze Age. However, the three most recent burials date back to the Early Iron Age period. The burials were localized inside the existing embankment and formed a compact group. In two cases, the burial type was not identified; nevertheless in one case, the burial was constructed in a catacomb. The grave goods are mainly presented by ceramic vessels from the workshops of the sedentary population from the foothill area of Central and Eastern North Caucasus regions. The conclusion was made that the investigated Kurgans were left by the nomadic North Caucasian steppes population of the 3rd–1st centuries BC due to the feature analysis of the Early Iron Age burial complexes.
Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Serija 4. Istorija. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija, 2020
Introduction. The article publishes and analyzes the materials founded by the kurgan research nea... more Introduction. The article publishes and analyzes the materials founded by the kurgan research near the village of Kovalevka in the southern part of the Volga-Don interfluve. Kurgan No. 13 is part of a kurgan cemetery, where the burials look relatively simultaneous and can be interpreted as a cemetery of nomadic migrants, settled in this territory in the confrontation with other Sarmatian groups. Methods. The authors pay special attention to the details of the horse bridle, to the type of the bits and cheek-pieces, and to the plaques, which decorated the straps of the headband. The traditional method of analogies is used for the analysis and interpretation of the material. Analysis. The type of rod cheek-pieces with two rectangular loops for fixing the rein in the central part and disc-shaped tips at the ends became widespread in the Sarmatian environment at the turn of the era. The cheekpieces and plaques were decorated with gold foil applications. Such burials are known in the Lowe...
Introduction. Recent archaeological studies deal with the integration of natural science discipli... more Introduction. Recent archaeological studies deal with the integration of natural science disciplines. Such scientific interaction includes the reconstruction of climatic changes, human adaptation to the changing conditions of nature, study of sociocultural specifics in nomadic groups as well as rising archaeological cultures, with emphasis on the interconnection between the fluctuations of steppe environmental conditions and steppe populations. Analysis. The article presents the results of the carried out interdisciplinary analysis of classic and modern archaeological studies and natural science disciplines. This allows evaluating the specifics of different factors (paleoclimatic, sociocultural, etc.) influencing the “steppe-human” system in a new way. Such factors as registered climatic changes, spreading areas of archaeological cultures, mortuary funeral rites, results of paleoanthropological examination, written records and ethnographic data provide evidence to reconstructing dif...
Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia (Russian-language), 2020
We describe artificial openings in crania of the Early Iron Age nomads of the Lower Volga region, ... more We describe artificial openings in crania of the Early Iron Age nomads of the Lower Volga region, owned by the Moscow State University’s Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology. Such openings were found in two male specimens of the Sauromato-Sarmatian age from Bykovo (burial 4, kurgan 13) and Baranovka (burial 2, kurgan 21). Using macroscopic and X-ray examination, we attempt to identify the surgical techniques and the reasons behind the operations. The cranial vault of the Bykovo individual was trepanned by scraping and cutting, for medical purposes. The man survived the surgery, as evidenced by healing. In the case of Baranovka, the operation was performed postmortem or peri-mortem by drilling and cutting, possibly for ritual purposes. Collating these cases with others relating to the Early Iron Age nomadic (Sauromato-Sarmatian) culture of the Lower Volga region and adjacent territories and with written and archaeological sources suggests that the closest parallels come from Central Asia, and Southern and Western Siberia, where the custom of post-mortem ritual trepanations was very common. The surgical techniques practiced in the Lower Volga region were likely due to the penetration of Greek and Roman medical traditions in the mid-first millennium BC.
Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Serija 4. Istorija. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija, 2019
Introduction. Archaeological sites of the 4th century AD absent on most of the area of the Late S... more Introduction. Archaeological sites of the 4th century AD absent on most of the area of the Late Sarmatian culture. This may be both due to the difficulties of their identification and absence of chronological indicators and due to migrations of nomads from the steppe zone. Perhaps unfavorable climatic conditions for nomadic cattle breeding affected the decrease in the number of nomadic population in the 4th century AD. Methods and materials. The paleosoil data allow reconstructing the ecological situation in dry and desert steppes in the first centuries AD. The initial stage of the Late Sarmatian era (the late 2nd – the early 3rd centuries AD) was marked by arid conditions with cold winters with little snow, which were favorable for cattle breeding in the steppe zone. In the late 3rd century and at the turn of the 3rd – 4th centuries, the processes of humidization began – an increase in climate humidity, which favorably affected the ecological situation in the steppe: high grass, ar...
This article considers the issues of continuity and innovations in the middle and late Sarmatian ... more This article considers the issues of continuity and innovations in the middle and late Sarmatian cultures on the materials of Staritsa burial mound. The burial mound was dug out in the 60s of the 20th century by archaeological expedition under the leadership of V.P. Shilov. To solve this problem the main features of burial complexes and anthropological materials of the 1st – 3rd centuries A.D. were analyzed. The source base of the research includes materials of 30 burial complexes and cranial measurements of 22 skulls. To highlight transition periods the authors used the method of determining sign’s weight during its allocation to the antecedent or subsequent culture, as well as its chronological range. Digital information on anthropological series obtained in the process of measuring skulls was processed by the simple and multivariate statistics methods to identify the population continuity, similarities and differences. As a result of the study, the authors have identified and sub...
History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Caucasus, 2019
The article is devoted to the results of preserving archaeological research of the Matlas settlem... more The article is devoted to the results of preserving archaeological research of the Matlas settlement, located on the western tip of the Khunzakh plateau, in the Khunzakh region, in the Midland Dagestan. The total area of the study was 406 square meters. As a result of the work, the foundations of the walls of stone buildings, probably residential and economic structures, were fixed. In addition, a piece of land, used for farming, was fixed. The cultural layer of the settlement contains fragments of various metal products, fragments of glass bracelets, stone products, ceramics, including fragments of glazed vessels, and numerous animal bones. An open complex of buildings dates from the XI-XII centuries, basing on chronological indicators (glazed ceramics and glass bracelets).Matlas settlement was a stationary settlement. This is indicated by the presence in the cultural layer of a large number of fragments of ceramic dishes, bones of domestic animals, individual finds related to huma...
The paper presents a comparative analysis of anthropological materials originating from the nomad... more The paper presents a comparative analysis of anthropological materials originating from the nomadic burials of the Lower Volga and Lower Don regions of the late 3rd and 4th century AD. The standard assessment program of paleopathological conditions developed by A. P. Buzhilova was applied in the course of examination of the anthropological material. The authors conducted the analysis using the methods of multivariate statistics in order to assess the degree of variability. The results obtained were correlated with the data of archaeology and paleoecology. The studied sample from the burial grounds of the Lower Volga region included 22 individuals; the archaeological complex of the Lower Don is presented by bone remains of 9 individuals. The study has shown that both series for the most part are close to each other as regards to pathological conditions, stress markers as well as gender and age indicators. Statistically significant differences were revealed only for 4 characteristics:...
The tradition of using complex architectural solutions and sod block elements in the kurgan mound... more The tradition of using complex architectural solutions and sod block elements in the kurgan mounds erection became widespread in the steppe cultures across Eurasia in Bronze Age and Scythian time. This mound construction technique was discovered in kugrans of noble individuals of high social rank of the Filippovka type monuments in the Southern Urals. Soil blocks use in the kurgan architecture of the Filippovka type monuments indicates that they can be attributed to the cultural traditions of the Scythian world. Complex kurgan architecture may reveal genetic connection between the Filippovka type kurgan monuments belonging to the aristocracy with general cultures of the Scythian era. The range of signs characterizing the burials of Scythoid cultures disappears after functioning of burial grounds like Filippovka 1 was suspended and traditions of the early Sarmatian culture were established in the burial rite of the Southern Urals nomads.
Традиция применения сложных архитектурных решений и дерновых блочных элементов при строительстве надмогильных сооружений получила широкое распространение в степных культурах Евразии в эпоху бронзы и скифского времени. Данная строительная техника отмечается в курганах знати филипповского круга памятников Южного Приуралья. Применение грунтовых блоков в курганной архитектуре памятников филипповского круга указывает на соответствие их культурным традициям скифского мира. Сложная курганная архитектура может указывать на генетическую связь памятников знати, оставившей курганы филипповского круга, в целом с культурами скифской эпохи. После прекращения функционирования могильников подобных Филипповке 1 и утверждения в погребальном обряде кочевников Южного Приуралья традиций раннесарматской культуры, комплекс признаков, характеризующих захоронения скифоидных культур, исчезает.
The paper makes an attempt to consider the cultural and historical events marking the final stage... more The paper makes an attempt to consider the cultural and historical events marking the final stage of the Sarmatian epoch from the point of view of climate dynamics in Eastern Europe. It has been confirmed that the Late Sarmatian period in the Lower Volga region coincided with increasing climate humidity and was characterized by high precipitation during the cold season. This occurred in conditions of the Siberian High weakening, resulted to penetration of the Atlantic and Mediterranean cyclones into the inland regions of Eastern Europe and the western areas of Western Siberia. This led to high snow cover formation and provoked a series of other unfavorable factors that triggered migrations and population decline in nomadic or semi-nomadic societies whose economic basis was cattle herding. We suppose that this climate change scenario was not limited to the Lower Volga region. In the article we analyze paleoclimatic, cultural and historical events of the 3rd – 4th centuries AD which occured in the adjacent regions. We found that during this period the Sargat culture, whose economy was based on semi-nomadic cattle breeding, was declining in most of the forest-steppe east of the Urals. The population in the Southern Urals almost completely disappeared by the last decades 3rd century AD. The area of the Late Sarmatian culture from the Lower Volga region is reduced to the Astrakhan Right Bank of the Volga. Only the Lower Don and the Sal-Manych steppes remained inhabited, which is probably due to the regional resource base specifics. Therefore, in most part of Eastern Europe and the western regions of Western Siberia, the population was declining or disappearing long before the Huns invasion, and increase in climate humidity was among the contributing factors. At the same time, the humid climate of the 3rd – 4th centuries AD had a beneficial impact on the crop production. A high winter precipitation provided the flourish of agricultural societies.
В статье предпринята попытка рассмотреть культурно-исторические события финала сарматской эпохи с позиций климатических изменений в Восточной Европе. Установлено, что позднесарматский период в Нижнем Поволжье совпал с гумидизацией климата и характеризовался высокими нормами осадков в холодное время года. Это происходило в условиях ослабления азиатского антициклона, что способствовало проникновению влажных воздушных масс атлантических и средиземноморских циклонов в глубинные регионы Восточной Европы и западные районы Западной Сибири. Это приводило к формированию высокого снежного покрова и обусловливало комплекс иных неблагоприятных факторов, которые стали причиной миграций и сокращения численности населения в обществах, экономическую основу которых составляло кочевое или полукочевое скотоводство. Исходя из предположения, что такого рода сценарий климатических изменений не ограничивался Нижним Поволжьем, в статье проанализированы известные палеоклиматические и культурно-исторические события в III–IV вв. н.э. в сопредельных регионах. Показано, что в этот период на большей части лесостепи к востоку от Урала происходит угасание саргатской культуры, основой экономики которой служило полукочевое скотоводство. В Южном Приуралье к концу III в. н.э. практически полностью исчезает население. Ареал позднесарматской культуры Нижнего Поволжья сокращается до астраханского Правобережья Волги. Хорошо заселенной остается лишь территория Нижнего Дона и Сало-Манычские степи, что, вероятно, связано со спецификой ресурсной базы региона. Таким образом, на большей части Восточной Европы и западных районов Западной Сибири происходит сокращение или исчезновение населения задолго до гуннского нашествия, и одной из причин этого является гумидизация климата. При этом гумидизация климата в III–IV вв. н.э. оказала положительное влияние на экономику земледельцев и обществ с комплексным хозяйством. Большое количество осадков в зимнее время года обеспечивало глубокую влагозарядку почвы и, как следствие, высокие урожаи, что послужило причиной расцвета таких культур.
Chronology and Periodization of the Sauromat and Sarmatian Cultures: Regional Features, 2023
The paper is devoted to examining the monuments of the Volga-Don and North Caucasian steppes (146... more The paper is devoted to examining the monuments of the Volga-Don and North Caucasian steppes (146 complexes in total) dating back to the middle of the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The emphasis is made on studying the burial structures design in the form of catacombs of types I, II, IV, I/IV, V and the features of the funeral rite. The Late Sarmatian substrate cultural complex and the migrants‘ culture as bearers of the early stage of Alanian culture of the North Caucasus are the two main features in the composition of the analyzed group of monuments. The signs connecting the monuments with the Alanian culture include the chamber grave type in the form of type I catacombs with the position of the buried perpendicular to the long axis of the entrance pit, the presence of ditches, the very design of hiding places with front horse harness, organic bedding in the chamber, as well as the distribution of some groups of metal inventory. The features associated with the Late Sarmatian culture include catacombs formation of types II, IV, I/IV and V as a synthesis of the catacomb burial tradition where the buried is positioned with its head facing north, skulls deformations, incense burners, whetstones, spindle whorls presence in the inventory, as well as animal bones as farewell food. Taking into account the chronological and territorial monuments bindings supplemented by a historical interpretation, the name “Monuments of the Volga-Don steppe and the Fore Caucasus of the middle of the 3rd and 4th centuries AD” (or the “Alans-Tanaites” culture) has been proposed to the considered group of the monuments by the authors.
В статье рассмотрены памятники середины III – IV в. н.э. волго-донских и северокавказских степей (146 комплексов). Акцент сделан на анализе конструкции погребальных сооружений в виде катакомб типов I, II, IV, I/IV, V и особенностей погребального обряда. Двумя основными компонентами в сложении анализируемой группы памятников являются субстратный позднесарматский культурный комплекс и куль- тура мигрантов – носителей раннего этапа аланской культуры Северного Кавказа. Признаками, связывающими с аланской культурой, являются: тип камерных могил в виде катакомб типа I с положением погребенного перпендикулярно длинной оси входной ямы, наличие ровиков, сам принцип устройства тайников с парадной конской сбруей, органические подстилки в камере, а также в распространении некоторых групп металлического инвентаря. Признаки, связывающие с позднесарматской культурой: формирование катакомб типов II, IV, I/IV и V в качестве синтеза традиции захоронения в катакомбе с положением погребенного головой в северный сектор, деформация черепов, наличие в составе инвентаря курильниц, оселков, пряслиц, а также присутствие костей животных (напутственной пищи). Предложено название рассматриваемой группе памятников, учитывающее их хронологическую и территориальную привязку, дополненную исторической интерпретацией – памятники степного Волго-Донья и Предкавказья середины III – IV в. н.э. (культура «алан-танаитов»).
Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Serija 4. Istorija. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija
The paper introduces into scientific discourse the materials of the early Sarmatian burials from ... more The paper introduces into scientific discourse the materials of the early Sarmatian burials from the Verkhniy Balykley I kurgan cemetery from the area of the Volgograd Trans-Volga region. This monument was studied in the course of the 1978–1979 expedition organized by the Volgograd State Pedagogical Institute under the leadership of A.S. Skripkin. Materials. The burial includes four mounds located compactly on the banks of the reservoir and one single mound setting far away in the steppe. Eighteen inlet burials of the early Sarmatian time were found in three Bronze Age kurgans. Some burials contained no burial inventory; others did include a variety of grave goods. The funeral rites present a wide range of grave structures: pits with side chambers, simple rectangular pits and catacombs. The southern body orientation of the buried individuals was dominating. In kurgans 5 and 6, a circular arrangement of graves is traced, which is typical for early Sarmatian mounds-cemeteries. Materia...
History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Caucasus, 2019
In June-October of 2018, the Terek complex archaeological expedition (LLC «Research-production ce... more In June-October of 2018, the Terek complex archaeological expedition (LLC «Research-production center “Daghestan archaeological service”»), the Caucasian expedition (Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and the Chechen expedition (Institute for Humanitarian Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Chechen Republic), having joined experts from Vladikavkaz, Volgograd, Grozny, Makhachkala, Moscow, Simferopol, and others, at the expense of PAO «Gazprom» / LLC «Gazprominvest» (St. Petersburg) and LLC «Kiruss» (Grozny), conducted a secure-and-preserve research in the territory of the Nadterechny district of the Chechen Republic in the construction zone of the Mozdok-Grozny gas pipeline. Of particular interest are the materials of the burial site “Bratskie Kurgany”, dating from the III – IV centuries AD, which is the necropolis of the Bratsk 1st hillfort, belonging to the early stage of the Alanian culture. The named necropolis occupies an approximate territory of 6.5 x3.5-2 km. This article presents a general overview of the investigated burials of this burial mound. As a result of the work, 162 mound and non-mound burials were excavated. The absolute majority of burials were made in type I catacombs (the long axis of the chamber is perpendicular to the long axis of the entrance pit). The studied sample of burials makes it possible to consider this monument as a reference for the territory of the Middle Pre-Terek region in the specified time. The people who made the burial grounds of the type “Bratskie 1-e Kurgany” participated in cultural and historical processes in the Western Caspian region, where their presence was recorded in the Terek-Sulak interfluve from the second half of the III century AD, and from the middle of the IV century AD - in South Daghestan, where, judging by information from written sources, the “Land of Mascuts” is located.
In 2018, Kurgan 2 of Gvardeyskiye 3 Kurgany (the 3rd Gvardeiskiy Kurgans) in the Nadterechny Dist... more In 2018, Kurgan 2 of Gvardeyskiye 3 Kurgany (the 3rd Gvardeiskiy Kurgans) in the Nadterechny District of the Chechen Republic was studied. In the result, nine burials were found in the Kurgan which was created during the Early Bronze Age and continued to be used in the course of the Middle and Late Bronze Age. However, the three most recent burials date back to the Early Iron Age period. The burials were localized inside the existing embankment and formed a compact group. In two cases, the burial type was not identified; nevertheless in one case, the burial was constructed in a catacomb. The grave goods are mainly presented by ceramic vessels from the workshops of the sedentary population from the foothill area of Central and Eastern North Caucasus regions. The conclusion was made that the investigated Kurgans were left by the nomadic North Caucasian steppes population of the 3rd–1st centuries BC due to the feature analysis of the Early Iron Age burial complexes.
Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Serija 4. Istorija. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija, 2020
Introduction. The article publishes and analyzes the materials founded by the kurgan research nea... more Introduction. The article publishes and analyzes the materials founded by the kurgan research near the village of Kovalevka in the southern part of the Volga-Don interfluve. Kurgan No. 13 is part of a kurgan cemetery, where the burials look relatively simultaneous and can be interpreted as a cemetery of nomadic migrants, settled in this territory in the confrontation with other Sarmatian groups. Methods. The authors pay special attention to the details of the horse bridle, to the type of the bits and cheek-pieces, and to the plaques, which decorated the straps of the headband. The traditional method of analogies is used for the analysis and interpretation of the material. Analysis. The type of rod cheek-pieces with two rectangular loops for fixing the rein in the central part and disc-shaped tips at the ends became widespread in the Sarmatian environment at the turn of the era. The cheekpieces and plaques were decorated with gold foil applications. Such burials are known in the Lowe...
Introduction. Recent archaeological studies deal with the integration of natural science discipli... more Introduction. Recent archaeological studies deal with the integration of natural science disciplines. Such scientific interaction includes the reconstruction of climatic changes, human adaptation to the changing conditions of nature, study of sociocultural specifics in nomadic groups as well as rising archaeological cultures, with emphasis on the interconnection between the fluctuations of steppe environmental conditions and steppe populations. Analysis. The article presents the results of the carried out interdisciplinary analysis of classic and modern archaeological studies and natural science disciplines. This allows evaluating the specifics of different factors (paleoclimatic, sociocultural, etc.) influencing the “steppe-human” system in a new way. Such factors as registered climatic changes, spreading areas of archaeological cultures, mortuary funeral rites, results of paleoanthropological examination, written records and ethnographic data provide evidence to reconstructing dif...
Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia (Russian-language), 2020
We describe artificial openings in crania of the Early Iron Age nomads of the Lower Volga region, ... more We describe artificial openings in crania of the Early Iron Age nomads of the Lower Volga region, owned by the Moscow State University’s Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology. Such openings were found in two male specimens of the Sauromato-Sarmatian age from Bykovo (burial 4, kurgan 13) and Baranovka (burial 2, kurgan 21). Using macroscopic and X-ray examination, we attempt to identify the surgical techniques and the reasons behind the operations. The cranial vault of the Bykovo individual was trepanned by scraping and cutting, for medical purposes. The man survived the surgery, as evidenced by healing. In the case of Baranovka, the operation was performed postmortem or peri-mortem by drilling and cutting, possibly for ritual purposes. Collating these cases with others relating to the Early Iron Age nomadic (Sauromato-Sarmatian) culture of the Lower Volga region and adjacent territories and with written and archaeological sources suggests that the closest parallels come from Central Asia, and Southern and Western Siberia, where the custom of post-mortem ritual trepanations was very common. The surgical techniques practiced in the Lower Volga region were likely due to the penetration of Greek and Roman medical traditions in the mid-first millennium BC.
Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Serija 4. Istorija. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija, 2019
Introduction. Archaeological sites of the 4th century AD absent on most of the area of the Late S... more Introduction. Archaeological sites of the 4th century AD absent on most of the area of the Late Sarmatian culture. This may be both due to the difficulties of their identification and absence of chronological indicators and due to migrations of nomads from the steppe zone. Perhaps unfavorable climatic conditions for nomadic cattle breeding affected the decrease in the number of nomadic population in the 4th century AD. Methods and materials. The paleosoil data allow reconstructing the ecological situation in dry and desert steppes in the first centuries AD. The initial stage of the Late Sarmatian era (the late 2nd – the early 3rd centuries AD) was marked by arid conditions with cold winters with little snow, which were favorable for cattle breeding in the steppe zone. In the late 3rd century and at the turn of the 3rd – 4th centuries, the processes of humidization began – an increase in climate humidity, which favorably affected the ecological situation in the steppe: high grass, ar...
This article considers the issues of continuity and innovations in the middle and late Sarmatian ... more This article considers the issues of continuity and innovations in the middle and late Sarmatian cultures on the materials of Staritsa burial mound. The burial mound was dug out in the 60s of the 20th century by archaeological expedition under the leadership of V.P. Shilov. To solve this problem the main features of burial complexes and anthropological materials of the 1st – 3rd centuries A.D. were analyzed. The source base of the research includes materials of 30 burial complexes and cranial measurements of 22 skulls. To highlight transition periods the authors used the method of determining sign’s weight during its allocation to the antecedent or subsequent culture, as well as its chronological range. Digital information on anthropological series obtained in the process of measuring skulls was processed by the simple and multivariate statistics methods to identify the population continuity, similarities and differences. As a result of the study, the authors have identified and sub...
History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Caucasus, 2019
The article is devoted to the results of preserving archaeological research of the Matlas settlem... more The article is devoted to the results of preserving archaeological research of the Matlas settlement, located on the western tip of the Khunzakh plateau, in the Khunzakh region, in the Midland Dagestan. The total area of the study was 406 square meters. As a result of the work, the foundations of the walls of stone buildings, probably residential and economic structures, were fixed. In addition, a piece of land, used for farming, was fixed. The cultural layer of the settlement contains fragments of various metal products, fragments of glass bracelets, stone products, ceramics, including fragments of glazed vessels, and numerous animal bones. An open complex of buildings dates from the XI-XII centuries, basing on chronological indicators (glazed ceramics and glass bracelets).Matlas settlement was a stationary settlement. This is indicated by the presence in the cultural layer of a large number of fragments of ceramic dishes, bones of domestic animals, individual finds related to huma...
The paper presents a comparative analysis of anthropological materials originating from the nomad... more The paper presents a comparative analysis of anthropological materials originating from the nomadic burials of the Lower Volga and Lower Don regions of the late 3rd and 4th century AD. The standard assessment program of paleopathological conditions developed by A. P. Buzhilova was applied in the course of examination of the anthropological material. The authors conducted the analysis using the methods of multivariate statistics in order to assess the degree of variability. The results obtained were correlated with the data of archaeology and paleoecology. The studied sample from the burial grounds of the Lower Volga region included 22 individuals; the archaeological complex of the Lower Don is presented by bone remains of 9 individuals. The study has shown that both series for the most part are close to each other as regards to pathological conditions, stress markers as well as gender and age indicators. Statistically significant differences were revealed only for 4 characteristics:...
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Традиция применения сложных архитектурных решений и дерновых блочных элементов при строительстве надмогильных сооружений получила широкое распространение в степных культурах Евразии в эпоху бронзы и скифского времени. Данная строительная техника отмечается в курганах знати филипповского круга памятников Южного Приуралья. Применение грунтовых блоков в курганной архитектуре памятников филипповского круга указывает на соответствие их культурным традициям скифского мира. Сложная курганная архитектура может указывать на генетическую связь памятников знати, оставившей курганы филипповского круга, в целом с культурами скифской эпохи. После прекращения функционирования могильников подобных Филипповке 1 и утверждения в погребальном обряде кочевников Южного Приуралья традиций раннесарматской культуры, комплекс признаков, характеризующих захоронения скифоидных культур, исчезает.
В статье предпринята попытка рассмотреть культурно-исторические события финала сарматской эпохи с позиций климатических изменений в Восточной Европе. Установлено, что позднесарматский период в Нижнем Поволжье совпал с гумидизацией климата и характеризовался высокими нормами осадков в холодное время года. Это происходило в условиях ослабления азиатского антициклона, что способствовало проникновению влажных воздушных масс атлантических и средиземноморских циклонов в глубинные регионы Восточной Европы и западные районы Западной Сибири. Это приводило к формированию высокого снежного покрова и обусловливало комплекс иных неблагоприятных факторов, которые стали причиной миграций и сокращения численности населения в обществах, экономическую основу которых составляло кочевое или полукочевое скотоводство. Исходя из предположения, что такого рода сценарий климатических изменений не ограничивался Нижним Поволжьем, в статье проанализированы известные палеоклиматические и культурно-исторические события в III–IV вв. н.э. в сопредельных регионах. Показано, что в этот период на большей части лесостепи к востоку от Урала происходит угасание саргатской культуры, основой экономики которой служило полукочевое скотоводство. В Южном Приуралье к концу III в. н.э. практически полностью исчезает население. Ареал позднесарматской культуры Нижнего Поволжья сокращается до астраханского Правобережья Волги. Хорошо заселенной остается лишь территория Нижнего Дона и Сало-Манычские степи, что, вероятно, связано со спецификой ресурсной базы региона. Таким образом, на большей части Восточной Европы и западных районов Западной Сибири происходит сокращение или исчезновение населения задолго до гуннского нашествия, и одной из причин этого является гумидизация климата. При этом гумидизация климата в III–IV вв. н.э. оказала положительное влияние на экономику земледельцев и обществ с комплексным хозяйством. Большое количество осадков в зимнее время года обеспечивало глубокую влагозарядку почвы и, как следствие, высокие урожаи, что послужило причиной расцвета таких культур.
В статье рассмотрены памятники середины III – IV в. н.э. волго-донских и северокавказских степей (146 комплексов). Акцент сделан на анализе конструкции погребальных сооружений в виде катакомб типов I, II, IV, I/IV, V и особенностей погребального обряда. Двумя основными компонентами в сложении анализируемой группы памятников являются субстратный позднесарматский культурный комплекс и куль- тура мигрантов – носителей раннего этапа аланской культуры Северного Кавказа.
Признаками, связывающими с аланской культурой, являются: тип камерных могил в виде катакомб типа I с положением погребенного перпендикулярно длинной оси входной ямы, наличие ровиков, сам принцип устройства тайников с парадной конской сбруей, органические подстилки в камере, а также в распространении некоторых групп металлического инвентаря. Признаки, связывающие с позднесарматской культурой: формирование катакомб типов II, IV, I/IV и V в качестве синтеза традиции захоронения в
катакомбе с положением погребенного головой в северный сектор, деформация черепов, наличие в составе инвентаря курильниц, оселков, пряслиц, а также присутствие костей животных (напутственной пищи). Предложено название рассматриваемой группе памятников, учитывающее их хронологическую и территориальную привязку, дополненную исторической интерпретацией – памятники степного Волго-Донья и Предкавказья середины III – IV в. н.э. (культура «алан-танаитов»).
Традиция применения сложных архитектурных решений и дерновых блочных элементов при строительстве надмогильных сооружений получила широкое распространение в степных культурах Евразии в эпоху бронзы и скифского времени. Данная строительная техника отмечается в курганах знати филипповского круга памятников Южного Приуралья. Применение грунтовых блоков в курганной архитектуре памятников филипповского круга указывает на соответствие их культурным традициям скифского мира. Сложная курганная архитектура может указывать на генетическую связь памятников знати, оставившей курганы филипповского круга, в целом с культурами скифской эпохи. После прекращения функционирования могильников подобных Филипповке 1 и утверждения в погребальном обряде кочевников Южного Приуралья традиций раннесарматской культуры, комплекс признаков, характеризующих захоронения скифоидных культур, исчезает.
В статье предпринята попытка рассмотреть культурно-исторические события финала сарматской эпохи с позиций климатических изменений в Восточной Европе. Установлено, что позднесарматский период в Нижнем Поволжье совпал с гумидизацией климата и характеризовался высокими нормами осадков в холодное время года. Это происходило в условиях ослабления азиатского антициклона, что способствовало проникновению влажных воздушных масс атлантических и средиземноморских циклонов в глубинные регионы Восточной Европы и западные районы Западной Сибири. Это приводило к формированию высокого снежного покрова и обусловливало комплекс иных неблагоприятных факторов, которые стали причиной миграций и сокращения численности населения в обществах, экономическую основу которых составляло кочевое или полукочевое скотоводство. Исходя из предположения, что такого рода сценарий климатических изменений не ограничивался Нижним Поволжьем, в статье проанализированы известные палеоклиматические и культурно-исторические события в III–IV вв. н.э. в сопредельных регионах. Показано, что в этот период на большей части лесостепи к востоку от Урала происходит угасание саргатской культуры, основой экономики которой служило полукочевое скотоводство. В Южном Приуралье к концу III в. н.э. практически полностью исчезает население. Ареал позднесарматской культуры Нижнего Поволжья сокращается до астраханского Правобережья Волги. Хорошо заселенной остается лишь территория Нижнего Дона и Сало-Манычские степи, что, вероятно, связано со спецификой ресурсной базы региона. Таким образом, на большей части Восточной Европы и западных районов Западной Сибири происходит сокращение или исчезновение населения задолго до гуннского нашествия, и одной из причин этого является гумидизация климата. При этом гумидизация климата в III–IV вв. н.э. оказала положительное влияние на экономику земледельцев и обществ с комплексным хозяйством. Большое количество осадков в зимнее время года обеспечивало глубокую влагозарядку почвы и, как следствие, высокие урожаи, что послужило причиной расцвета таких культур.
В статье рассмотрены памятники середины III – IV в. н.э. волго-донских и северокавказских степей (146 комплексов). Акцент сделан на анализе конструкции погребальных сооружений в виде катакомб типов I, II, IV, I/IV, V и особенностей погребального обряда. Двумя основными компонентами в сложении анализируемой группы памятников являются субстратный позднесарматский культурный комплекс и куль- тура мигрантов – носителей раннего этапа аланской культуры Северного Кавказа.
Признаками, связывающими с аланской культурой, являются: тип камерных могил в виде катакомб типа I с положением погребенного перпендикулярно длинной оси входной ямы, наличие ровиков, сам принцип устройства тайников с парадной конской сбруей, органические подстилки в камере, а также в распространении некоторых групп металлического инвентаря. Признаки, связывающие с позднесарматской культурой: формирование катакомб типов II, IV, I/IV и V в качестве синтеза традиции захоронения в
катакомбе с положением погребенного головой в северный сектор, деформация черепов, наличие в составе инвентаря курильниц, оселков, пряслиц, а также присутствие костей животных (напутственной пищи). Предложено название рассматриваемой группе памятников, учитывающее их хронологическую и территориальную привязку, дополненную исторической интерпретацией – памятники степного Волго-Донья и Предкавказья середины III – IV в. н.э. (культура «алан-танаитов»).