Elite materials from the excavations of nobility estates and residences of the XVI–XIX centuries in the Brest region. Attempts at preliminary comprehension

Abstract

The article presents judgments regarding the role and place of elite things in the material culture of the human community. An attempt is made to comprehend the connection between the history of the elite class of the nobility and the manifestations of elite material culture in the archaeological monuments of the Brest region. The main approaches to the study of elite culture in the humanities are considered. An understanding of the essence of elite culture and elite materials for an archaeologist is expressed. The article presents preliminary results of studies of elite materials from archaeological collections collected by the author during the study of nobility estates and residences of the Modern period on the territory of the south-west Brest region. The materials under consideration are organized by functional groups and methods of complex demonstration: clothing accessories and costume jewellery, weapons and equipment of the rider, cutlery and dishes, and things for home leisure. It is noted that elite materials from the archaeological collections of nobility estates and residences of the XVI–XIX centuries. in the Brest region, having a small number of extracted collections in the composition, allow us to pay attention to the processes of social competition in the middle of the nobility class itself in the south-west of Belarus. The conducted research outlines the prospects for archaeologists of an in-depth interdisciplinary study of the material culture of the gentry class of the Modern period. Key words: elite materials, nobility, archeology, manor, residence, Modern period.