Steppe Nomads Research Articles

The Beginning of Writing Culture among Steppe Nomads

The present study focuses on the prerequisites for the periodization of writing in the culture of steppe nomads, the stages of development of pictographic subject and ideological writing are analyzed. Many petroglyphs, symbols left by steppe nomads, probably reflect their desire to understand the world around them. Authors of articles as part of several expeditions to the complex petroglyphs of Shiveet Khairkhan, Arshan Khad, Khoit-Tsenkher, Baga-Oygur in Mongolia; Bichikt-Bom, Karakol, Bizhikt-Khaya, Bii-Khem, Karasuk in Russia; Ak-Baur, Zhetysu, Tamgaly, Terekti in Kazakhstan. Based on written sources, as well as outdated creativity, commercial from generation to generation, the article analyzes the origins of written nomadic culture. The authors believe that some historical events are captured in the tradition of the Turkic chronology, such as “Koyan zhylgy ashtyk” (Famine in the year of the rabbit), “Meshin zhylgy sogys” (War in the year of the monkey) and are a reflection of the subject nomadic culture. In the process of research, it was established that the heritage of many petroglyphs and symbols with the ancient Turkic alphabet confirms the cultural and cognitive continuity of the written culture of the nomads.

Scythian and Sarmatian Weapons in Shilovsky District Museum of Local History

During the early Iron Age, the Middle Oka Region was inhabited by Gorodets tribes. The collection of Scythian and Sarmatian weapons in Shilovsky District Museum of Local History is mainly comprised with accidental finds made by locals and materials discovered by exploration researches. Shilovsky District of Ryazan Region is situated at the border between mixed and broad-leaved forests. Back in the early Iron Age they were occupied by Gorodets tribes. The indigenous people were engaged in hunting, fishing and cattle breeding. The area is fringed with forest-steppe vegetation in the south. It provided access to steppe nomadic invaders. It is proven by finds of Scythian and Sarmatian weapon. Scythian iron arrowheads have three blades, narrow triangular proportions and a bushing longer than the fletching. Similar arrowheads are typical for Scythian antiquities found in the Middle Don River and dated 4th–3rd century BC. Iron tanged triple-bladed arrowheads have Sarmatian origins and date back to 3rd–1st century BC. Iron acinaci are severely damaged with corrosion, which prevents establishment of their typology and chronology. The original find is a combat knife with a ring pommel and a single-edged blade Single-edged bladed weapon was created under oriental influence. The early Scythian is the period an iron spearhead with a C-shaped bushing is dated. It is transition from bronze heads to iron ones. One of the rare finds is a bell-shaped copper helmet. It has signs of damage that obstruct its typological identification. Its closest equivalents are the Montefortino helmets and pilei. Having analysed the collection of artefacts it can be concluded that the Gorodets people and steppe nomads were actively interacting at war during the entire Scythian-Sarmatian epoch. The research fails to confirm that the steppe nomads were trade intermediaries between the Antique Black Sea area and the forest zone people

Ethnocartography of Medieval Yugra

The uncertainty of the location of the chronicle Yugra is attributable by several circumstances, including its localization both to the west and to the east of the Urals, with the division in written sources of the people(s) called Yugra / Ugra into steppe nomads (Ugrians, Ungry, Magyars, Hungarians), who went west to the Carpathians, and taiga dwellers (Yugra), who remained «in the midnight countries». For ethnographers and historians, this topic is relevant not only from the perspective of the historical geography of the 11th – 17th centuries, but also as a key to understanding many plots of Russian history related to the colonization and development of the resources of the Urals and Siberia. Is it possible today to add something to this old discussion? The author believes that visual sources (maps) can open new perspectives and place new accents, since cartography has particular reliability and credibility as a direct projection of reality. On early maps and in accompanying descriptions, Yugra is located mainly in the Urals, although, apparently, the Yugrichs also lived east of the Urals. Moscow, while moved northward and eastward in the 14th century, especially after the baptism of Permians by Stefan, provided the Yugra spreading beyond the Urals. While in the 11th – 16th centuries Yugra was in the orbit of influence (or part of the domain) of Novgorod the Great, then from the end of the 15th century, it became the possession of the Moscow Grand Prince, who in 1488 supplemented his title with the name «Yugorsky». Since that time, Yugra has been increasingly mentioned beyond the Urals, and after the defeat of Novgorod from Moscow, the very name «Yugra» becomes a thing of the past and is replaced by new, Moscow names –«Vogul» and «Ostyak».

Затты жазу, суретті жазу және ой жазу кезеңдері

In our study, we focus on periods leading up to the ancient Turkic Bitig script of the steppe nomads, analyzing the prerequisites and possibilities of writing culture. There are many petroglyphs and symbols that belong to early pictographic writing in the regions inhabited by steppe nomads. We have worked with these petroglyphs and symbols during several expeditions, including Shiveet Khairkhan, Arshan Khad, Hoyt-Tsenher, Baga-Uygur in Mongolia, Bichikt-Bom, Karakol in the Altai Mountains of Russia, Bizhik-Khaya, Bii-Khem in Tuva region, Karasuk inscriptions in the Khakassia, and AkBauyr, Zhetysu, Tangbaly, Terekti petroglyphs in Kazakhstan. Regarding the Greek data related to the period of object-based writing pertaining to the Saks, representatives of the steppe nomads, are presented. Focusing on the concepts formed from the writing history passed down through generation, this article considers its utilization among nomadic communities. It is clear that the tradition of counting the years and remembering well-known events, such as, “The Famine of the Year of the rabbit”, “The massacre of the Year of the Monkey” in nomadic culture, also the object-based writing and pictographic writing created the prerequisites of ancient Turkic script. This cultural-cognitive continuity is probably one of the main reasons why many petroglyphs and symbols are similar to the ancient Turkic script. Through this article, we have confirmed that all samples of historical writing periods are found in regions inhabited by steppe nomads. We aim to convey, their significant role in the formation of the ancient Turkic script and also their place in the world writing culture.

«ГЕОПОЛИТИЧЕСКИЕ РЕВОЛЮЦИИ» КАК МЕХАНИЗМ ТРАНСФОРМАЦИИ ТЕРРИТОРИАЛЬНОЙ СТРУКТУРЫ РОССИИ XVI–XIX вв.

Based on comparing the models of territorial development of the statehood in the West and in Russia, the article identifies civilization features of the Russian state’s development, which have been determined, in essential moments, by the unique spatial-geographical and cultural-historical conditions of Eurasia. Geopolitically vulnerable position of Russia, starting from its earliest state prototype — Kievan Rus’, the openness and amorphous character of its borders facing the habitat areas of warlike steppe nomads, combined to determine the historically prolonged and complex process of stabilizing its state territory. The latter’s development not only took shape of its expansion or contraction but implied the substantial changes in the basic power configuration, as well as in the functional and strategic role of individual lands and regions. Under these conditions, one of the main directions of Russia’s state development had to become the improvement and stabilization of its geopolitical position, together with the formation of a territorial structure that would best meet these tasks. The groupings of events and processes associated with deep qualitative transformations of these areas of the state development are suggested to be defined as “geopolitical revolutions”. The content of this concept, motivations and mechanisms of the “geopolitical revolution” are analyzed using the example of the forced transformation of the territorial foundations of the Russian statehood during the 12th–16th centuries. For the Imperial era of the Russian history, it is proposed to distinguish three critically important periods of transformation which, having as the basis a similar and successively inherited “program” of actions, fall under the characteristics of the “geopolitical revolution”. This concept, making it possible to systematize historical material better and highlight the dominants of the state development, could serve as the basis for a comprehensive periodization of the Russian history.

Barrows in the forest-steppe between the Dniester and Southern Bug, Ukraine. Initial results of comprehensive research

The article presents the preliminary results of research by a Polish-Ukrainian team who in 2018-2023 worked on the project of comprehensive exploration of barrows situated in the forest-steppe between the Southern Bug and Dniester in modern Ukraine. There, two major stages of erecting and using barrows were distinguished for the 3rd and 1st millennia BC. Two barrows discussed herein, explored as part of the project, were erected in the second stage. Barrow 3 in Ivanivtsi-Antonivka can be dated to the second half of the 10th – first half of the 8th century BC, whereas Barrow 6 in Sloboda Noskovetska to the late 8th – early 7th century BC. The older one was erected and then used by communities related to the early period of the Chornolis culture. The younger one is at present one of the main pre-Scythian complexes of eastern Podillia. The multi-component set of artefacts deposited under its mound represents a mixture of the Chornolis culture, Basarabi-Şoldăneşti influences and impact of early steppe nomads (Cimmerians?). It illustrates well a complex cultural mosaic found in the forest-steppe between the Southern Bug and Dniester rivers.

The Rurikids: The First Experience of Reconstructing the Genetic Portrait of the Ruling Family of Medieval Rus' Based on Paleogenomic Data.

The Rurikids were the reigning house of Rus', its principalities and, ultimately the Tsardom of Russia, for seven centuries: from the IX to the end of the XVI century. According to the Primary Chronicle (the Tale of Bygone Years), the main chronicle of Rus', the Rurik dynasty was founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, invited to reign in Novgorod in 862, but still there is no direct genetic evidence of the origin of the early Rurikids. This research, for the first time, provides a genome-wide paleogenetic analysis of bone remains belonging to one of the Rurikids, Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich (?-1294), the son of the Grand Prince of Vladimir Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (1221-1263). It has been established that his Y chromosome belongs to the N1a haplogroup. Most of the modern Rurikids, according to their genealogies, belonging to the N1a haplogroup, have the most similar variants of Y chromosomes to each other, as well as to the Y chromosome of Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich. Genome-wide data of the medieval and modern Rurikids unequivocally indicates that they belong to the N1a haplogroup of the Y chromosome, starting at least from the XI century (since the time of Prince Yaroslav the Wise). All the other alleged Rurikids, both ancient and modern, being carriers of other haplogroups (R1a, I2a), possess high heterogeneity of the sequence of Y chromosomes, meaning that we cannot confirm their common ancestry. The most probable ancestors of Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich in the male line were the men who left the burial ground Bolshoy Oleny Island on the coast of the Kola Peninsula about 3,600 years ago. The reconstruction of the genome of Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich indicates the contribution of three ancestral components to his origin: (1) the early medieval population of the east of Scandinavia from the island of Oland, (2) representatives of the steppe nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppes of the Iron Age or the early medieval population of central Europe (steppe nomads from the territory of Hungary), and (3) the ancient East-Eurasian component. Reliable statistics were also obtained when the Scandinavians were replaced with the Medieval Russian Slavic populations of the XI century. Thus, for the first time, we have shown the complex nature of interethnic interactions in the formation of the nobility of medieval Rus' on the example of the ancient Rurikid.

Clothing Hygiene of the Nomads of the Great Steppe in the 13th–16th Centuries

This article considers the clothing hygiene of the nomads who lived in the Eurasian steppes during the 13th to 16th centuries. The analysis is based on the written sources from various epochs describing the life of the nomads in the Great Steppe, as well as on the data from archaeological surveys, ethnographic materials, and certain areas of medicine. The objective and subjective factors that determined the hygienic practices of the nomads in caring for their clothes are identified. The nomadic costume was designed to meet the needs of the nomadic life: it was practical and comfortable. Most garments were made of natural materials of animal origin and were therefore difficult to wash. For this and some other reasons, the nomads wore their clothes until they were completely worn out and cleaned them using drying, airing, shaking out, and freezing. The clothing hygiene of the noble nomads differed from that of the ordinary ones, mainly in how often they changed garments. Spiritual and ideological factors (prohibitions, superstitions, and omens) also played a certain role, but this needs to be explored in more detail. Since little is known about personal hygiene habits of the nomads, some of the conclusions made here may be controversial, which in turn will fuel further research on the traditional culture of life support among the nomads of the Eurasian steppes.

Mitogenome analysis reveals predominantly ancient Yellow River origin of population inhabiting Datong agro-pastoral ecotone along Great Wall.

The Datong Basin was an important arena for population movement and admixture between the Yellow River Valley and Eastern Steppe. In historical materials, the region was often the setting for a tug-of-war between Han farmers and non-Han nomads. The genetic makeup and population history of this Datong population has, however, remained uncertain. In this study, we analysed 289 mitogenomes from Datong individuals. Our primary findings were: (1) population summary statistics analysis revealed a high level of genetic diversity and strong signals of population expansion in the Datong population; (2) inter-population comparisons (PCA and Fst heatmap) exhibited a close clustering between the Datong population and Northern Han, especially northern frontier groups, such as the Inner Mongolia Han, Heilongjiang Han, Liaoning Han and Tianjin Han; (3) phylogeographic analysis of complete mitogenomes revealed the presence of different components in the maternal gene pools of Datong population-the northern East Asian component was dominant (66.44%), whereas the southern East Asians were the second largest component with 31.49%. We also observed a much reduced west Eurasian (2.07%) component; (4) direct comparisons with ancient groups showed closer relationship between Datong and Yellow River farmers than Eastern Steppe nomads. Despite, therefore, centuries of Eastern Steppe nomadic control over the Datong area, Yellow River farmers had a much more significant impact on the Datong population.

Scythian Mound of the 4th Century BC near Kobrynove Village

The article is devoted to the publication of materials from the excavations of the barrow no. 2 near Kobrynove village in Cherkasy Oblast. It belongs to the Scythian sites of the confluence of the Hirskyi Tikych and Hnylyi Tikych rivers. Most of the burial sites excavated by archaeologists in the region are dated to the 4th century BC — Ryzhanivka, Ryzyno and Rubanyi Mist. The barrow no. 2 had been excavated by the Cherkasy archaeological expedition led by H. T. Kovpanenko in 1986. An archaeologist S. S. Bessonova carried out direct work on the mound. At the time of the excavations, the barrow was 1.8 m high from the horizon level. The soil of the barrow slopes became soft as a result of plowing. The diameter of the mound at the time of research was 35 m, in ancient times it was about 25 m. The ditch was not recorded. It consisted of chernozem. In the mound there was excavated a burial in the catacombs. According to the classification of V. S. Olkhovskyi, the latter belong to the Type IІ. The long walls of the exit chamber and the pits are located on the same axis. Above the grave a complex wooden ceiling in the shape of the so-called ‘lattices’ was built. Its basis was made of oak beams. The analogies to the constructions in the shape of ‘lattices’ are known from the excavations in the south of the forest-steppe in the Dnipro Right Bank, on the Left Bank in the lower reaches of the Dnister, Middle Don, the Urals and Northern Kazakhstan. It is possible that similar ceilings over graves are of Eastern origin. Unfortunately, the catacomb was robbed in ancient times. The skull found in the robber’s pit allows claiming that the burial belonged to a woman. A round bronze spinning wheel and a fragment of realgar represent the finds from the barrow. The dimensions of the mound, the complex wooden floor indicate that the deceased had a high social status. Burial in the catacomb, a wooden covering and a realgar find suggest that she was a nomad. Thereby the mound is another evidence of the penetration of steppe nomads into the Right Bank forest-steppe. The proximity of the burial structure and the overlap to the sites of the Late Scythian period in the Dnipro Right Bank allows dating the burial in the barrow near Kobrynove village to the 4th century BC.

Hazar Kağanlığının Kutsal-İkili Yönetiminin Judaik Şifreleri

As its institutional structure and powerful presence of more than three hundred years in Southern Russia – Caucasia zone, the Khazar Qaganate was one of the most prominent Turkic state in history. The issue of the adoption of new “universal” religions by the Eurasian steppe nomads was a common situation. But in a time period when the Islam spread of rapidly and the Muslim – Christian conflict had begun to be flourished intensely, the conversion of Khazar royal elites to Judaism made their history much more remarkable. Here, we would not to examine the questions on why-how-when did the Khazars embrace the Judaism; but to try to illuminate the issues about their ruling system, so-called “Dual Kingship/Royal Diarchy or Sacral Kingship” by researchers, which is one of the most striking feature of the political structure of the Khazar Judaism. Although this model does not match the functional structure of the Qaganal office observed in the old Turkic steppe tradition which scholars generally relate to the "äb/eb Qagan and/or Yabgu Qagan" models–in particular Gök Türk administrative structure – the dual kingship/royal diarchy (sacral kingship) of Khazar Qaganate has been interpreted as a traditional but also a unique system. In this article, by the way on the clues obtained from written sources it has been hypothesized that this “unique” model of the Khazar’s Royal Diarchy (Sacral Kingship) was probably a TaNaKh-based Judaic form, inheriting only some symbolic essences from old Altaic-Turkic origin steppe-state motifs.

Sacred objects from the sites of the Sargatka Culture in the context of interaction of the forest-steppe population with the nomads of the Ural-Kazakh steppes

The paper concerns the stone altars, clay dishes, and censers from the sites of the Sargatka Culture of the Early Iron Age. Analysis of their morphological features is carried out, as well as of the dynamics of changes in the forms, the context of their deposition in burials, and specifics of their use. As the result, the reasons for the appearance of these products in the forest-steppe zone of the Tobol-Irtysh and Baraba areas (Western Siberia) are clarified and their subsequent distribution in the given region is traced. Stone altars of types I, II, and IV started appearing in the 5th–4th cc. BC in the Irtysh Basin and Baraba regions as a consequence of the Saka mi-gration. Transformation of the religious and mythological views of the Sargatka population, as a result of the inter-actions of the Tobol-Irtysh communities with the nomads of the Ural-Kazakhstan steppes, led to the appearance of new rituals requiring small stone altars for their performance, due to which there was a growing demand for these products among local communities. However, by the 4th c. BC the production of altars in the Kazakhstan center ceased due to the decline of the Early Saka Culture. From this time, the population of the Sargatka Culture began making local copies of small type I altars from stone, although their production in the Sargatka area was difficult due to the lack of sandstone outcrops, which facilitated the use of more accessible material — clay, as reflected in the appearance of clay dishes of types III–V in the territory of the Baraba and Irtysh Basin. Connection between the local and imported products is indicated by the traces of their similar use. From the 3rd c. BC, scarce altars of type I could make their way into the Sargatka context as a result of close contacts with the population of the Upper Ob Basin, among whom these objects were widespread up until the 3rd–2nd cc. BC. The appearance of type III stone altars and type VI clay dishes in the complexes of the Sargatka Culture of the Tobol and Irtysh Ba-sins in the 5th–4th and 4th–3rd cc. BC might have been caused by the migration of a small group of nomads of the Southern Urals, or by close contacts with the population of the Gorokhovo Culture. Type V altars also were bor-rowed from the bearers of the Gorokhovo Culture. Their appearance may indicate the process of assimilation of the newly arrived Sargatka population in the Tobol Basin. In the 4th c. BC, clay dishes of type I appeared in the Irtysh Basin. From the 3rd c. BC, as a result of the intensification of contacts between the local population and nomads of the Sarmatian origin, these products became more widespread, while ceramic censers and clay dishes of type II also appeared.

Population-Genetic History of China in the Context of the East Asian Population History

The territory of modern China was a zone of active population transformations from the time of its occupation by human species. There was the formation zone of the progenitors of all Mongoloid populations associated with the eastern trunk of non-Africans. The most ancient group is associated with the population of Tianyuan cave (田園洞). The basal steam split, after Tianyuan branch separation into two clusters of southern and northern populations. The north groups formed a gene pool base for the modern population of the northern half of China, Japan, Korea, as well as Mongolia, Siberia, and America. The southern groups formed a gene pool core for the population of Indochina, Indonesia, eastern Oceania. From the beginning of the Neolithic era, two-way interaction begins between both groups. During the agricultural spread, people from the region of the upper Yellow River actively settled in Tibet, the southwestern provinces of China, the lower reaches of the Yellow River, forming the basis of the gene pool of modern Tibetans, other Tibetan-Burmans and progenitors of the Han. Also, the migrants from the valley of Yellow River influence the population of the western Liao River, associated with another subgroup of the northern Mongoloid cluster. And the basin of this river, this population inhabits the Korean Peninsula, and from there to the Japanese archipelago. In historical time, especially in the Jin, Tang and Song eras, the penetration of northerners south of the Yellow River intensified. It absorbs local groups and affects the gene pools of local Sino-Tibetan and Hmong-Mien groups that have escaped assimilation. At the same time, the southern groups of Han Chinese also receive a noticeable admixture from the southern Mongoloid groups of the southern cluster. The arrival of the Han Chinese probably causes the outflow of part of the Tibeto-Burman groups to northeast India. The invasions of the steppe nomads did not change the gene pool of China. On the contrary, the resettlement of Han farmers in the steppe left a noticeable admixture in the population of Mongolia from the Xiongnu era to the present. Thus, the population of China since ancient times has not only a turbulent internal population history but had been influencing since the earliest epochs to rest of the population of the Inhabited parts of the World like Siberia, both Americas, India, South-East Asia and Oceania.

ГИС "СИБИРСКИЕ ОБОРОНИТЕЛЬНЫЕ ЛИНИИ" КАК ФОРМА ПРЕЗЕНТАЦИИ ОБЪЕКТОВ КУЛЬТУРНОГО НАСЛЕДИЯ: ОПЫТ СОЗДАНИЯ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ РАЗВИТИЯ

The article presents historical and educational geoinformation system “Siberian Defensive Lines” created by the authors. The development was based on the archival, bibliographic and field research results. At the first stage, the Tara distance of the New Ishim Line, located within the modern borders of the Omsk region, became the object of research. The publication concisely describes the main stages and results of studying the boundary lines of Siberia. The main prerequisites and a brief history of the construction of fortifications on the border of the Russian Empire and the world of steppe nomads are shown. The structure, content and basic functionality of the created GIS are described, prospects for its development are indicated.

The Origins and Chronology of the Usatove Culture

Usatove was an important southeast European culture, part of Gimbutas’ kurgan cultures, that connected the world of farmers of Old Europe with the rising influence of steppe nomads at the Eneolithic–Bronze Age transition. While the Usatove culture is currently placed within the late Eneolithic–Early Bronze Age chronological period, emerging evidence suggests the culture formed genetically and culturally in the early part of the 4th millennium BCE. We propose that the biological and cultural foundations of Usatove lie at the juncture of the Suvorove–Novodanylivka branch of the Seredny Stig complex of the North Pontic Steppe, the Trypillian farmers of southeast Europe, with influences from Varna–Karanovo VI–Gumelniţa and late Stone Age cultures of the North Caucasus.

Preliminary Preservation of the Bodies of the Deceased in the Funeral Rites of Kazakhs (Based on the Materials of Archaeological, Historical and Folklore-Literary Sources)

Purpose. The authors tried to reveal the reasons, duration and place of temporary preservation of the bodies of the Kazakhs on the basis of archaeological, historical and folklore-literary sources. The authors also tried to trace the historical continuity in the funeral and memorial rites of nomads.Results. The tradition of delayed burials is associated with the natural conditions and economic cycle of nomads. Based on ethnographic data, the authors analyze various options for preserving the body before burial. According to it, the practice of performing deferred burials originates from the period of early nomads of the Eurasian steppes. Archaeological materials contain evidence of the usage of deferred burials of notable individuals among the Turks. The article also discusses the special veneration of ancestors, which can also be traced in the funeral rites of early nomads. The large burial mounds were build in their honor, and they were buried in clothes adorned with gold, with a large quantity of supporting equipment. The funeral and memorial rites of the nomadic Kazakh people also include the veneration of ancestral spirits. They tried to bury their khans, batyrs and biys in the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. And to do this, they had to temporarily bury the body and save it until burial.Conclusion. Islam brought changes in the funeral rites of the steppe population. However, the Kazakh people tried to preserve the traditions that do not contradict the Sharia, in some cases without changes, in others, some customs were transformed in accordance with the norms and teachings of Islam. The Kazakhs managed to unite the two worlds, and for a life of peace and prosperity, with the blessing of aruakh, arranged memorial dinners on the third, seventh, fortieth day, the annual “as”, sacrifices, but in many traditions and customs, the reading of prayers from the Koran was introduced.

Ландшафты Средневековья: Фернан Бродель о проблеме кочевничества в средневековом мире Средиземноморья

The scientific heritage of Fernand Braudel, the outstanding French scientist and the recognized leader of the second generation of the historical school “Annales”, continues to be of great historiographical interest. However, not all aspects of his research have been adequately evaluated. The authors of this study examine the conceptual approaches of F. Braudel to the history of interaction between man and nature in the Mediterranean and adjacent regions through the problem of nomadism. The method of considering this issue corresponds to the basic principles of historiographic research: Identifying the author’s substantive position by analyzing his works, characterizing the source base and methods of criticizing the sources used. Braudel’s nomadism is not only a phenomenon of the steppes of Central Asia, the pastures of the Iranian Highlands, the sands of the Sahara, but an organic part of the life of the developing societies of the Iberian Peninsula, Provence, Apennines, Balkans, Asia Minor. F. Braudel was faced with the task of covering in its entirety the numerous problems associated with driving livestock to grazing and with the nomadic way of life, that is, with the regular movement of human masses and herds of livestock. Braudel revives the model of the nomadic life of the Balkans, Anatolia and North Africa. Here, in his opinion, different types of society, different types of economic management, different civilizations and ways of life collide. Braudel agrees with the identification of several types of seasonal movement of livestock. According to F. Braudel, seasonal movements of livestock are associated with a variety of factors: physical, social, historical. Nomadism, Braudel believes, has a more ancient origin than distant-pasture animal husbandry. Nomadic herders were gradually and consistently driven out of the inner plains and lowlands and were driven back to the mountainous outskirts and peripheral plains. An overabundance of empty spaces dooms, from the perspective of F. Braudel, society and economy to perpetual motion. He considered the pendulum movement of the steppe nomads to the sea, and then back from the sea to the desert to be one of the essential factors in the history of the Mediterranean. Nomadism, with its harsh closed “culture” speaks, according to F. Braudel, of obvious determinism.

Bashkir-Berkut burials in the Historical and cultural heritage of Bashkortostan: on the question of the ethnicity of burials in the decks

The object of the study is the burials in the decks of medieval nomads of the Eurasian steppes. Only eight such burials are known in Bashkortostan. The subject of the study is the Bashkir-Berkut burial ground in the Kugarchinsky district. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the funeral rite, inventory, dating. The monument was investigated by N. A. Mazhitov: in 1968 two earthen mounds containing one burial in a wooden block with the orientation of a person with his head to the west were opened, in 1969 another earthen mound containing a similar burial with the orientation of a person with his head to the northeast was opened. All three burials with belongings did not contain horse bones. The monument dates from the second half of the XIII – first half of the XIV century. Special attention is paid to the wide distribution of burials in decks among the Turkic and Mongolian tribes of Southern Siberia of the late I – early and middle II millenniums. A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic is the conclusion that according to all the main features of the funeral rite and clothing inventory, the Bashkir-Berkut mounds are close to the mounds of the Kipchaks of the Middle Irtysh region of the XI-XII centuries. The novelty of the research lies in establishing the connection of the Bashkir-Berkut burial ground with the Polovtsian tribe of Turkic-Mongolian origin Toksaba. The burial ground is located in the area of settlement of the southern group of Kipchak clans as part of the Bashkirs, the basis of this group is the Kara-Kipchak clan, dating back to the Toksobichi, whose horde in the XII century roamed the steppes between the Volga and the Dnieper, and in the XIII century entered into an alliance with the Mongols. The resettlement of the Kipchaks from the right to the left bank of the Volga is reported by Shezhere, legends and legends of the Bashkirs. The migration of the Polovtsians to the Southern Urals could be connected with the return of the Mongols from the campaign to Europe and the suppression of the uprising of local peoples.

Steppes to Health: How the Climate-Kumys Cure Shaped a New Steppe Imaginary

This paper examines the rise of the “climate-kumys cure” in late imperial Russia and how it shaped perceptions of the steppes as a “curative place.” By positing that kumys (fermented mare's milk), a traditional food produced by steppe nomads, interacted with unique qualities of the steppe climate—including aromatic air, abundant sunshine, cool forest groves, rich feathergrasses, and brilliant wildflowers—to cure tuberculosis patients of their symptoms, the climate-kumys cure produced an imaginary of the steppes that contrasted with traditional Russian views of the steppes as barren, monotonous, and even dangerous. Knowledge about the steppe climate produced by proponents of the climate-kumys cure harmonized with Soviet medical professionals’ ideas about forging workers’ bodies and restoring their minds. An understanding of the steppes as healthy, however, did not stop the spread of disease, nor did it lead to preservation. Even as the climate-kumys cure rose in popularity, the steppes that had given rise to kumys were vanishing.

Воинские погребения скифской эпохи могильника Заюково-3

The article examines the relationship of the local population from the foothill zone of the North Caucasus on the territory of the western variant of the Koban cultural and historical region with the steppe nomads in the second half of the 6th — first half of the 5th centuries BC. The authors analyzed the funerary ritual and inventory of four warrior graves from the Zayukovo-3 cemetery (Baksansky district, Kabardino-Balkaria) in which weapons were found, an object in the Scythian animal style (a bronze scabbard-end with an image of an elk), ceramic sets, jewelry sets, and came to the conclusion that the studied materials demonstrate a rather insignificant presence of steppe imports in warrior graves of the population that founded the necropolis. However, the military items produced by local craftsmen manifested the embodiment of ideas that emerged from the steppe world. In other aspects of material culture, the local population remained faithful to the traditions of the previous era, which partially changed over time, but retained their key features.