Scythian Time Research Articles

The origin of Scythian caldrons in the context of the late Bronze − Early Iron Age of Eurasia

A detailed analysis of the historiography of the issue is presented, which takes into account works devoted to the antiquities of the early Iron Age. The authors come to the conclusion about the local production of Scythian metal boilers, seeing in this a very high level of development of metalworking of Scythian masters. With regard to the issue associated with the origin of the tradition of manufacturing these products, then in the historiography there were two theories: the Asian (L. N. Chlenova, S. V. Demidenko, V. S. Bochkarev, etc.) and native (O. A. Krivtsova-Grakova and others). In our opinion, the question of the origin of boilers should be considered taking into account the specific features of their morphology. Thus, open-shell boilers that dominate the archaic times (VII−VI centuries BC) are made taking into account the clearly formulated traditions and requirements for products of this category brought from the East to the Northern Black Sea Coast. Regarding the boilers with closed housing, which begin to appear in the VI century BC, we can say the following. Their production originates in the local traditions of the production of boilers, which were formed back in Cimmerian times (riveted boilers). But these traditions do not receive a direct line of development in Scythian time. We see rather complicated processes of formation of the Scythian center for the production of archaic cast caldrons in the Kuban region, where this tradition spreads throughout the Northern Black Sea Coast. In the course of this complex and multifaceted process, new syncretic traditions of the production of boilers are formed, combining the innovative method of production (casting) and the local traditions of perception of the shape of the caldron.

Железный меч скифо-сарматского времени из степного Алтая

Железный меч скифо-сарматского времени из степного Алтая

Excavated DNA from Two Khazar Burials

To understand a biological tribal affiliation (in terms of Y-chromosomal haplogroups, subclades, and haplotypes) of two excavated Khazar bone remains in the lower Don region in the south of Russia, we have extracted and analyzed their DNA and showed that both belonged to haplogroup R1a and its subclade Z93. The pattern could be considered typically “Turkic”, and not a Jewish DNA lineage. Their haplotypes were also identified and reported here. The haplotypes indicate that both Khazars were unrelated to each other in a sense that their common ancestor lived as long as 1500 - 2500 years earlier than them, in the middle of the II millennium BC—beginning of the I millennium BC, during typically Scythian times or somewhat earlier. Their haplotypes are unrelated to well-known Jewish haplotypes of haplogroup R1a.

The Elements of the Horse Bridle from the Severynivka Hillfort

AbstractThis article is devoted to horse bridle details. They are made from horn and belong to the Scythian time. Artefacts and associated materials are analysed in complex. The supposition of their local production is proposed.

Landscape regularities of human colonization of the Tuva territory in the Scythian time (8th–3rd centuries B. C.)

We discuss the issues related to the human colonization of the Tuva landscapes in the Scythian time. An analysis is made of the spatial and landscape confinedness of archaeological sites having regard to the Late-Holocene rhythms of climate change in the mountains. For the historical-landscape analysis the MapInfo 12.0 GIS technologies were used in compiling the landscape map of the Tyva Republic, the scheme of physical-geographical regionalization and the schematic map of spatial distribution of archaeological sites from the Scythian time. The then most developed landscapes include the steppe mountain-valley and forest-steppe low- and mid-mountain landscapes, which was associated with the main economic sector, namely nomadic stockbreeding. The culture of the Scythian time existed under a colder and more humid climate than at present. An increase in humidity in originally dry areas led to an increase in steppe vegetation productivity growing in depressions and on slopes of mountain ranges. These factors created favorable conditions for the development of nomadic stockbreeding. A spatial analysis of the distribution of archaeological sites in the physical-geographical provinces of Tuva intimates that depression landscapes were colonized mostly in the Scythian time. The Tuvinian depression province (the archaeologically richest area of Tuva) and the Ubsunur depression account for 52 and 21% of the sites, respectively. The mountain landscapes were colonized to a considerably lesser extent; the largest number of sites are located in the Western-Tuva mountain province. In the Scythian time, the cores of development of the Tuva territory were represented by the intermontane depressions (Tuvinian and Ubsunur), the connections between which were provided by a small number of large valleys and mountain passes.

О некоторых особенностях использования подпружных застежек кочевниками Южного Приуралья в скифское время

О некоторых особенностях использования подпружных застежек кочевниками Южного Приуралья в скифское время

Calendar Age of the Baigetobe Kurgan from the Iron Age Saka Cemetery in Shilikty Valley, Kazakhstan

AbstractThis study addresses the development of an absolute chronology for prominent burial sites of Inner Asian nomadic cultures. We investigate Saka archaeological wood from a well-known gold-filled Baigetobe kurgan (burial mound #1 of Shilikty-3 cemetery) to estimate its calendar age using tree-ring and 14C dating. The Saka was the southernmost tribal group of Asian Scythians, who roamed Central Asia during the 1st millennium BC (Iron Age). The Shilikty is a large burial site located in the Altai Mountains along the border between Kazakhstan and China. We present a new floating tree-ring chronology of larch and five new 14C dates from the construction timbers of the Baigetobe kurgan. The results of Bayesian modeling suggest the age of studied timbers is ~730–690 cal BC. This places the kurgan in early Scythian time and authenticates a previously suggested age of the Baigetobe gold collection between the 8th and 7th centuries BC derived from the typology of grave goods and burial rites. Chronologically and stylistically, the Scythian Animal Style gold from the Baigetobe kurgan is closer to Early Scythians in the North Caucasus and Tuva than to the local Saka occurrences in the Kazakh Altai. Our dating results indicate that the Baigetobe kurgan was nearly contemporaneous to the Arjan-2 kurgan (Tuva) and could be one of the earliest kurgans of the Saka-Scythian elite in Central Asia.

Landscape regularities of human colonization of the Tuva territory in the Scythian time (8th–3rd centuries B. C.)

Landscape regularities of human colonization of the Tuva territory in the Scythian time (8th–3rd centuries B. C.)

История формирования коллекций скифского времени с территории лесостепного Алтая в археологическом собрании Алтайского государственного краеведческого музея

История формирования коллекций скифского времени с территории лесостепного Алтая в археологическом собрании Алтайского государственного краеведческого музея

EROSION CATENAS ON EARTHEN FORTIFICATIONS

Morphometric characteristics and soil conditions in the catenas developed on earthen fortification ramparts of the Scythian time (2300 years BP), have been studied by complex of methods. Statistical relationships have been established between estimated mean annual rate of erosion loss in microhabitats of the pedo-topo-catenas and the slope length and steepness. In addition, specific character of soil formation in microzones of catenas has been evaluated using the coefficients of the surface insolation and relative humidity, the results being taken into account in the calculations of erosion intensity. The net result of the joint action of erosion and soil processes on the slopes can be adequately described with the help of recommended types of relief characteristics.

Древности Бийско-Катунского междуречья эпохи бронзы и раннескифского времени

Древности Бийско-Катунского междуречья эпохи бронзы и раннескифского времени

Культура кочевников Нижнего Поволжья скифского времени: общее и особенное

Культура кочевников Нижнего Поволжья скифского времени: общее и особенное

Gold technology of the ancient Scythians – gold from the kurgan Arzhan 2, Tuva

In 2000-2003, a ‘royal’ burial site in Tuva Republic, Siberia, dating to early Scythian times, was excavated by a joint German-Russian research program. Thousands of gold articles were discovered in the wooden chamber of ‘royal’ burial no. 5, dated to the late 7th century BC. The majority of these ornaments are decorated in the Scythian animal style. The study of the technological aspects reveals the variety of manufacturing techniques and designs employed for these extremely rich ornaments, and provides an insight into the complexity of the art of the early Scythian goldsmiths at the end of the 7th century BC. This paper aims to present the large variety of distinct processes used in the manufacture of these gold artefacts. The technical expertise and the equipment at the disposal of the Early Iron Age craftsmen can be inferred from tool marks and analysis of surface structures. The early date of these finds, demonstrated by a combination of radiocarbon and dendrochronology, supports the assumption that this particular, sophisticated style of early Scythian metal work originated in the Tuva region.

Distinction between fault and salt control of Mesozoic sedimentation on the southern margin of the Mid-North Sea High

Abstract The North Dogger Fault Zone (NDFZ) is situated at the northern margin of the UK Southern North Sea Basin at the northern limit of the mobile Zechstein Supergroup. This fault zone underwent movement during late Triassic and probably early Jurassic times. The NDFZ is comparable with the southern part of the Dowsing Fault Zone (SDFZ), which was initiated during late Scythian times and continued to move until at least mid-Carnian times. The SDFZ is located at the southwestern edge of mobile salt. Both fault zones form part of the basin-bounding fault system, which is proposed to have been initiated as a response to the growth of salt swells in the centre of the Southern North Sea Basin. The fault formation is due to folding of the Triassic strata over the swells and overall shortening of the Triassic cover. The shortening was taken up as extension at the basin margins, corresponding to the edge of the mobile Zechstein salt.

Halokinetic initiation of Mesozoic tectonics in the southern North Sea: a regional model

AbstractThe North Dogger Fault Zone is located at the northern margin of the UK Southern North Sea Basin, at the edge of the mobile Zechstein Supergroup, and was particularly active during late Triassic and early Jurassic times. It resembles geometrically, and is related tectonically to, the Dowsing Fault Zone which was initiated in late Scythian time along the southwestern edge of the mobile salt. It is proposed that both of these basin-bounding fault systems were initiated in response to the buoyant growth of salt swells in the centre of the Southern North Sea Basin. Passive folding of the Triassic strata over the swells, which accommodated the shape changes caused by halokinesis, led to extension on the fault zones at the edge of the mobile Zechstein salt.

A ‘reg’ palaeosol from the Lower Triassic of south Devon: stratigraphic and palaeoclimatic implications

AbstractA ‘reg’-type palaeosol occurs at the top of the Lower Triassic Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds at Budleigh Salterton, south Devon. Its morphology supports the idea that such soils form by the introduction of wind blown fines below a surface stone layer by a process of wetting–drying and crack formation. The degree of profile development indicates a prolonged period of pedogenesis, corresponding to a major stratigraphic break. The palaeosol formed under arid conditions, and represents a change in climate during Scythian times from a semi-arid to arid regime.

Stable isotope study through the Permian-Triassic boundary in East Greenland

A survey of stable isotope ratios in sediments spanning the Permian-Triassic boundary in East Greenland shows Upper Permian evaporites to have b34S = + 10.6 ± 1.6%o and limestones to have b13Cmb = +4.5 ± 0.4%o, in conformity with similar values from probable correlative formations in Europe and North America. Most values of both isotopes in Triassic formations are lower and scattered, apparently reflecting varying inputs of non-marine waters including the oxidative erosion of isotopically light sulfur. This transition in the East Greenland section has obscured any clear detection of chemical events recorded elsewhere: a drop in marine b13C.,.,b near the Penman-Triassic boundary, and a sharp rise in b34S,1t in latest Scythian time.