Серьги в виде двойной спирали из погребений Алтая гунно-сарматского времени

Abstract

The eleven examples of a special type of jewelry – flat, double spiralled, bronze wire ear-rings have been recorded in Altai sites dated to the Xiongnu-Sarmatian period. This paper analyses the main characteristics of the jewelry and their area of dissemination and also the probable sources of their appearance in the culture of the population in the region. It also focuses on a likely source of origin of these earrings within the culture of the Altai people. It is noted that in the Altai sites of the previous Scythian period and the subsequent medieval period, no prototypes or similar products were found. Analogues were not found in the adjacent regions of South Siberia and Central Asia. Nonetheless, a detailed study of the criteria of discovery and characteristics of the earring type throws light on their date and likely origin: the products date back to the second half of the 3rd century and the beginning of the 5th century AD based on the chronology of funerary complexes; their origin was related to the infiltration of the samples of the Xianby material culture to Altai through Mongolia from North China, which became the basis for the appearance of a new type of earrings. All earrings in question were found in burials of women, they were a paired or a single jewelry. Due to their unique nature, flat, double spiralled earrings could be a diagnostic attribute of the Altai archaeological culture on the late stage of the Bulan-Koba archeological culture of Altai.