Early Nomads Research Articles

Saving the frozen Scythian tombs of the Altai Mountains (Central Asia)

The frozen tombs of the Scythian civilization, preserved for over 2000 years in the permafrost of the Russian, Mongolian, Chinese and Kazakh Altai Mountains, are a major archaeological find dating back to the 1920s. Inside the tombs lie bodies which have often been so well preserved in the frozen ground that even the tattoos on their skin remain intact. Grave robbers and fortune hunters have been the tombs' traditional enemies but, today, a new threat hangs over them. Climatic change is causing the permafrost in this part of Siberia to thaw. With the permafrost that preserves the kurgans now gradually thawing, the remaining frozen tombs and the insights they provide into the ancient nomad Scythian culture could be lost for ever, after 2000 years of perfect conservation. The University of Ghent (Belgium) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, together with local institutions in Russia and Kazakhstan, have started a project to preserve the remaining frozen tombs. Besides making an inventory of the archaeological heritage in several research areas in Russia and Kazakhstan, they are looking for ways to detect the tombs that are frozen, and are searching for technical solutions to preserve the frozen tombs in situ.

Seashells and Nomads of the Steppes (Early Scythian Culture and Molluscs of the Cyprea family in Eastern Europe)

AbstractThis article is devoted to the question of the sudden and relatively large-scale spread of pendants made of cowrie shells, which is to be observed in the southern parts of Eastern Europe in the Early Scythian period – the 7th-6th Centuries BC. The traditional use of these shells was characteristic of the population of the cultures and civilizations of the Ancient East starting in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. The appearance of cowrie shells in Eastern Europe is associated with the spread in this part of the world of sites of the Early Scythian Culture: the Early Scythians had adopted this kind of adornment during the Cimmerian-Scythian campaigns into Transcaucasia and the Near East in the 7th Century BC.

Chronology of Key Barrows Belonging to Different Stages of the Scythian Period in Tuva (Arzhan-1 and Arzhan-2 Barrows)

This paper focuses on the chronological study of 2 Scythian period monuments that are the key to the chronology of the entire Eurasian Scythian culture. These are the unique monuments of Arzhan-1 and Arzhan-2 in Central Asia (Tuva Republic). The dating of both these monuments began immediately after their discovery, but discussion about their chronological position is still current. Both monuments contained considerable wooden material from their construction suitable for dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating. The first results for the Arzhan-1 barrow were obtained by wiggle-matching in 2004–2005, while the Arzhan-2 barrow was first dated in 2003. It is now possible to compare the chronological position of these barrows using the same methods. As postulated earlier, Arzhan-1 is the oldest Scythian period monument and is dated to the boundary of the 8–9th centuries BC. The position of the Arzhan-2 monument stretches to the middle of the 7th century BC. δ13C values for annual tree rings in logs from both barrows were also determined to gain a better understanding of the climatic conditions at the time of barrow construction.

Spenser and Olaus Magnus: A Reassessment

At several points in A View of the Present State of Ireland Spenser cites a work by the Swedish Catholic prelate Olaus Magnus, the Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus or “Description of the Northern Peoples” (Rome, 1555). Olaus’s Historia rarely features in discussion of Spenser’s use of sources, though it was clearly one of a number of texts he uses when constructing his depiction of Irish customs and tracing their origins in Scythian culture. This essay introduces Olaus’s life and work, and its relevance to Spenser, before reassessing earlier attempts at tracing his influence in The Faerie Queene. Focus then turns to the specific citations of the Historia made in the View and to the kind of text that Spenser believes he draws upon, in particular how he appears to read or remember Olaus’s work as offering a form of cultural or ethnological history of the Scythians. Understanding how Spenser read Olaus’s work—and possibly that of his brother Johannes Magnus—is thus fundamental to our comprehension of how he uses the Scythians to characterize Irish barbarity.

Le changement climatique à partir de 850 av. J.-C. et l'expansion de la culture scythe

Climatic change since 850 BC and development of the Scythian culture. The climate shift to more humid conditions at the Subboreal/Subatlantic transition in Northwest Europe is also evident in southern Siberia. Regions that originally were semi-deserts developed into attractive steppe areas with high biomass production, and increased carrying capacity. The central area of southern Siberia is of special interest because of an acceleration of the cultural development and increase of human population density shortly after 850 BC. We hypothesise a causal relationship between the initiation of the humid conditions at the start of the Subatlantic period and the growth and migration of the Scythian population. To cite this article: B. van Geel et al., C. R. Palevol 5 (2006) .

Mythe aryen et référent linguistique indo-européen dans la Russie du XIXe siècle

SummaryLike the other European countries, Russia of the 19th century experienced much of the same scholarly discourse concerning the Aryan idea. The Russian Aryan myth distinguishes itself from the German and French versions by the absence of racialism and its Orthodox anchoring, this way offering the possibility of a certain ‘decentralization’ in the face of the Western experience of Aryanism. This difference often permits Slavophile intellectual circles at the periphery of the classic university life to develop a genealogical discourse concerning nationhood and the legitimization of the imperial expansion of Russia in Asia and the Far East. As a result, the Aryan reference blossomed in the historical and archaeological arguments for the justification of the supposed national continuity and statehood between the ancient Scythian world and contemporary Russia. The proximity between the Slavic and the Indo-Iranian languages, of the Oriental branch of the Indo-European family, would naturally constitute, for the Slavophiles, a scientific argument in favour of the Aryan assertion of Russia : the competition between the Germanic peoples and the Slaves for the most ancient antiquity is then transposed into the notion of language.

Antiquarianism and abduction: charles vallancey as harbinger of indo-european linguistics

Scholars generally dismiss the ideas of the eighteenth-century founder of the Royal Irish Academy, Charles Vallancey, who argued for links between ancient Irish, Phoenician, and Scythian languages and cultures. Vallancey's antiquarian writings were widely known at the time and impacted upon thinkers such as William Jones, who first correctly articulated the links between Indo-European languages. Earlier, Vallancey had hypothesized similar links and a “common source” of world languages, relying on Irish origin legends and supposed similarities between Ireland and the “Orient.” Though inaccurate, his ideas spurred fuller investigations, prompting philologers in new directions. The father of semiotics, Charles Sanders Peirce, argued for the value of speculative reasoning, outlining the logic of discovery. For Peirce “abduction” is the beginning of the scientific method, the formation of a hypothesis. Reading Vallancey's speculations as abductive suggestions accounts for his prominence at the time and asserts his influence in the history of philology and linguistics.

Mythe aryen et référent linguistique indo-européen dans la Russie du XIXe siècle

Like the other European countries, Russia of the 19th century experienced much of the same scholarly discourse concerning the Aryan idea. The Russian Aryan myth distinguishes itself from the German and French versions by the absence of racialism and its Orthodox anchoring, this way offering the possibility of a certain ‘decentralization’ in the face of the Western experience of Aryanism. This difference often permits Slavophile intellectual circles at the periphery of the classic university life to develop a genealogical discourse concerning nationhood and the legitimization of the imperial expansion of Russia in Asia and the Far East. As a result, the Aryan reference blossomed in the historical and archaeological arguments for the justification of the supposed national continuity and statehood between the ancient Scythian world and contemporary Russia. The proximity between the Slavic and the Indo-Iranian languages, of the Oriental branch of the Indo-European family, would naturally constitute, for the Slavophiles, a scientific argument in favour of the Aryan assertion of Russia : the competition between the Germanic peoples and the Slaves for the most ancient antiquity is then transposed into the notion of language.

Climate change and the expansion of the Scythian culture after 850 BC: a hypothesis

In south-central Siberia archaeological evidence suggests an acceleration of cultural development and an increase in the density of nomadic populations around 850 BC. We hypothesize a relationship with an abrupt climatic shift towards increased humidity caused by a decline of solar activity. Areas that initially may have been hostile semi-deserts changed into attractive steppe landscapes with a high biomass production and high carrying capacity. Newly available steppe areas could be invaded by herbivores, making them attractive for nomadic tribes. The central Asian horse-riding Scythian culture expanded, and an increased population density was a stimulus for westward migration towards southeastern Europe.

Early Nomads in the Southern Foothills of the Urals Based on Materials from the Pokrovka Burial-Ground

Early Nomads in the Southern Foothills of the Urals Based on Materials from the Pokrovka Burial-Ground

Chronology and Possible Links Between Climatic and Cultural Change During the First Millennium Bc in Southern Siberia and Central Asia

We reconstructed climate change during the second half of the Holocene for the Minusinsk (southern Siberia) and the Uyuk (Central Asia) valleys in the Eurasian steppe zone. Sediment cores from 2 lakes and a soil profile from the Arzhan-2 burial mount were investigated. We combined pollen and geochemical analyses and radiocarbon dating with the archaeological record. A sharp increase of human population density occurred at the transition from the Bronze Age to Iron Age (about 2700 cal BP). The most representative Scythian culture started in the Uyuk and the Minusinsk valleys after increased humidity and occupation capacity of the steppe zone during the 9th century BC.

Un fragment de l’épopée scythe : «le cheval de Colaxaïs» dans un partheneion d’Alcman

A fragment of Alemán (fr. 1, 59 Page = 3, 59 Calame) mentions a horse of Colaxaïs, a personage of the Scythian epics, who is also known to other sources (Herod. IV, 5-7 ; Val. Flac. VI, 48-59). The analysis of this fragment and its comparison with the Ossetic epics and other Iranian data allow the reconstruction of some features of the Scythian epics, which were the source of the Aleman’s information. Aleman has probably obtained his information about the Scythian world in Sardis, where he spent his youth (ca. third quarter of the 7th c. BC). Indeed, Lydians, as well as Ionians, had intensive contact with Iranian nomads (the Cimmerians and later the Scythians).

Scythian gold: treasures from ancient Ukraine

Published in conjunction with the November 2000 through December 2001 exhibition, Gold of the Nomads: Scythian Treasures from Ancient this volume presents the most important Scythian gold objects in Ukraine, many of which were discovered only in the last two decades. The nine essays, color illustrations, and maps of civilizations of the ancient world and excavation sites combine analysis of the 172 pieces with an overview of recent advances in our understanding of Scythian culture.

Islam in the Crimea: national and religious self-identification of the Crimean Tatars

Located at the junction of trade routes between Prichernomorje and the Mediterranean, Crimea has always been in the sphere of ethnomigratory processes. Therefore, it is natural that the elements of the Scythian, Greek, Gothic, Hun, Khazar, Kypchak and Turkomyslian cultures influenced the formation of the spiritual and material culture of the Crimean Tatar people. The variety of ethnoses that have changed continuously over the centuries has been reflected in the dialectal structure of the Crimean Tatar language that exists up to the present time.

The "bird-woman", the "birthing woman" and the "woman of the animals" : a consideration of the female image in petroglyphs of Ancient Central Asia

Within the artistic traditions of South Siberia and northern Central Asia, significant representations of female figures did not disappear with the Paleolithic period. Rather, images of females who appear to have a "more-than-human" signification can be traced down through the Bronze Age and perhaps even into the period of the Early Nomads (first millennium B.C.E.). Using petroglyphs from Kalbak-Tash in the Altay Republic and from two major new sites in the Mongolian Altay, the author demonstrates the continued appearance of three primary forms of female imagery: that of a woman with bird characteristics ("bird-woman"), that of the "birthing woman", and another which might be called a "woman of the animals". Frequent in appearance and occasionally impressive in presentation and size, these images reaffirm an archaic but persistent association of the female figure with cattle and with deer; they force one to ask why such images have hitherto received so little attention in the recording and study of Eurasian petroglyphs.

Ancient Xinjiang Between Central Asia and China; The Nomadic Factor

Historical knowledge of Central Asia in China dates back to the second century B.C., and is associated with the odyssean journey of the imperial envoy Zhang Qian. Contacts between China and Central Asia had certainly been in existence long before then. The momentum behind the expansion of communication is commonly traced back to the development of a mobile way of life among the pastoral peoples of the Central Asian steppe, and to the increased level of economic specialization of farmers and herders, which provided both a means and a need for trade. Findings from the burials of the Pazyryk culture [Hiebert, 1992] show the extraordinary network of exchange woven by the pastoral nomadic cultures of the Sayano-Altai region. Though the findings cannot document the existence of any actual trade, it is clear that these people had access to products that were produced far away, in China and possibly the Near East. The evolution of the early nomadic cultures is also associated with developments in metallurgical pr...

Scythians and Sarmatians of the Northern Caucasus: Recent Archaeological Finds

AbstractFinds of tumuli in the Northern Caucasus show the permanent presence of Scythians in these parts. Tumuli excavated in the Stavropol' region (at Krasnoye Znamya and Novozavedennoe) and in Kabardino-Balkariya (near Nartan) show the influence of the Near East on early Scythian culture (7th-6th c. B.C.). The great Kuban' barrows excavated in the 1980's reveal sacred platforms or sanctuaries of the 4th c. B.C. Scythian graves have also been found in Checheno-Ingushetiya (near Achkhoi-Martan). About 300 Sarmatian complexes have been studied, largely in the NW Caucasus, revealing the penetration of Sarmatian peoples in this area.

Prehistory of the Upper Yenisei area (southern Siberia)

Our understanding of the prehistory of the Upper Yenisei area is based on several key multilayered sites, which provide an excellent opportunity for the investigation of long-term culture change and the reconstruction of culture history. The earliest traces of prehistoric people in the region date to the Sartan glacial. Ui I is dated to ca. 22,000–17,000 B.P. and belongs to the middle phase of the Yenisei Upper Paleolithic, predating the period of the Final Paleolithic Afontova culture (16,000–10,000 B.P.). The Early Holocene period remains little known; there is only one assemblage (the lower cultural layer of Sosnovka Golovan'skaya) which may be attributed to the Epipaleolithic. In the seventh and sixth millennia B.P., the aceramic Early Neolithic (the uppermost cultural horizons of Maina and Ui II, Ust'Khemchik 3, etc.) was widespread and was replaced by the Late Neolithic Verkhneeniseisk culture in the fifth millennium B.P. This was succeeded by the Eneolithic Afanas'eva culture at the end of the fifth millennium B.P. and, later, by the Bronze Age Okunev culture (until the twelfth century B.C.). From the eighth to the second centuries B.C., Scythian cultures flourished in the area, until the invasion of the Huns. All of these stages of the Holocene culture sequence are represented in the stratified site of Toora-Dash.

Basic Stages of the Formation of the Yakut People

The centuries-long process of formation of Yakut people and their culture may be divided into two main phases: pre-ethnic and actual historical. During the formative pre-ethnic phase, presumably occurring in the second half of the first millennium B.C. in the Altai mountains, the most ancient sources of Yakut culture came into being. These substrata sources go back to the common regional culture of the early nomads of Southern Siberia and Central Asia and chronologically encompass two historical ages: the Scythian-Siberian and the Hunnic-Sarmatian. Thus, in the Scythian-Siberian phase, elements of a proto-Turkic complex first appear among the Pazyryk people of the Altai mountains: the interment of horses to accompany the deceased on the northern side of the burial pit and the oblong stones driven vertically into the ground at the eastern side; and a number of cultural and commonplace attributes of nomadic existence. These were preserved in the Yakut culture through the mediacy of the proto-Turkic worl...

Migratory Patterns in Early Nomadism : A Reconsideration of Tepe Tula'i.

In this article the nature of early nomadism is discussed. To this end, the stratigraphy and ceramic assemblages of the seventh millennium B.C. site Tepe Tula'i are reanalyzed. Similarity coefficients for the assemblages indicate a complicated sequence of partially contemporary strata. Relations to other excavated assemblages in southwestern Iran suggest that Tepe Tula'i was frequented by mobile groups from two different regions. From the character of these ties, it is concluded that migratory patterns of early nomads were different from those of today's pastoral nomads in the same region.