Поховання катакомбної культури міжріччя Дніпра та Дону з бронзовими ножами.

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to systematize and analyze the burials of the Middle Bronze Age between the Dnieper and Don rivers, which correspond to the area of the Donetsk-Don catacomb culture containing the bronze knives. The study is based on the use of methods such as comparative, historical and typological, statistical. In particular, statistical analysis shows that burials with the bronze knives of a catacomb culture is not considered to be ordinary. This is evidenced by the saturation of the accompanying burial stock, which exceeds the average indicators. It has also been found that there are correlates between burials with bronze knives and other weapons such as arrowheads, spear / dart tips, mace and ax. Some part of the bronze knives could act as weapons, moreover non-specialized weapons. To evaluate such findings in burials, it is important to analyze the accompanying inventory and other context. The relevance of this area of research to the catacomb cultural community is the lack of a generally accepted view of the significance and scope of this element of burial complexes in scientific circles. Today, there are several approaches of interpreting knives: first, as part of a table set (caused by a stable combination in burials with an awl and considered as a knife and fork), and second, as a matter of purely household use (such understanding is predominantly predetermined because of small metric characteristics of the blade), thirdly, as a weapon. As a result of the analysis of burials containing the bronze knives, it was found that all the proposed approaches are realistic. But it should be borne in mind that a bronze knife is an important marker of high life status and, despite its morphometric characteristics, can carry a semiotic load of weapons, and therefore provide a "military color" to the burial. It can be assumed that not all warriors had such high stakes to secure themselves with the metal weapons. A combat knife can attest to the high property status of the deceased.