KITCHEN POTS OF THE 8TH-9TH CENTURIES IN THE PONTIC REGION AS AN ETHNIC MARKER (CONTINUATION OF THE DISCUSSION)

Abstract

Kitchen pots are one of the most popular categories of ceramics on archaeological sites of the 8th-9th centuries in the Black Sea region. They are typical for the Saltovo-Mayaki archaeological culture. There is a point of view that such pots can be an ethnic marker of Bulgar and Khazar tribes. The article considers this hypothesis based on a detailed morphological analysis of the shapes of kitchen pots found in different sites and different areas of the Pontic region. The methodological basis of the research is the historical-and-cultural approach. This is a scientific direction developed by the famous Russian ceramic researcher A.A. Bobrinsky. The sources of the study were 525 vessels found on sites of various types in the Don basin: catacomb burial grounds, pit burial grounds, cremation burial grounds, as well as settlements associated with burial grounds of various types. The article highlights two traditions of creating pot shapes. These traditions are distinguishable at all levels of analysis used. Each of these traditions must be represented on the sites with different funeral rites. This leads to the conclusion that there is no clear connection between the different traditions of creating pots and different ethnic groups of the 8th-9th centuries. It can be explained by two reasons: craft production of the kitchen pots and the distribution of these pots among the multi-ethnic population through market mechanisms.