Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 4, Europe

Telegin, D. Ya (1982). Mezolitichhni Pam'yaki Ukraini (IX-VI Tisyacholittya). Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Telegin, D. Ya (1989). "Mezolit Yugo-Zapada SSSR (Ukraina i Moldaviya)." In Mezolit SSSR, ed. L. V. Kol'tsov. Moscow: Nauka, 106-123.

Vasil'evka I

TIME PERIOD: Mesolithic.

LOCATION: The left (eastern) bank of the Dnieper River in the Dnieper Rapids region, near the town of Vasil'evka, 26 km from the city of Dniepopetrovsk, Sinelnikov District, Dniepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine.

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Local Environment

During the Boreal Period (9,000-8,000 B.P.), which takes in the early part of the Mesolithic Period, the Dnieper Rapids region was a mixed grass and xerophytic steppe. By 9,000 B.P. the megafauna utilized by the Upper Paleolithic peoples had become extinct. Ecological conditions permitted domestication of animals and later, albeit sporadically, plants. The time more recent than 8,000 B.P., was one of transition from the mixedgrass xerophytic steppe to a mixed-grass mesophytic steppe (Dolukhanov and Khotinskiy 1984: 319-321;

Khotinskiy 1984: 192-195).

Physical Features

Vasil'evka I is a cemetery located on a steep slope of the Dnieper River bank near the cemetery of Vasil'evka III. Each of the 24 graves contained a single set of human remains, except for three that had two skeletons and one with the lower half of a skeleton. The majority of the skeletons were found in varying degrees of compactness, a pattern found throughout the cemetery. Most of the skeletons were oriented with the skulls to the east. Two were oriented to the west. All were on one side or another: 16 on the right; eight, on the left. All of the burials contained red ocher; none had grave goods. Some skeletons had fragments of blades with blunted edges and trapezoidal microblades embedded in bones. One contained a bone spear fragment with

Eastern European Mesolithic 121

flint inserts (Konduktorova 1974: 8; Telegin 1989: 12324).

Cultural Aspects

Vasil'evka I cemetery lacks an associated habitation site, an indication that the dead were taken to a designated place aside from the habitation site, placed in a grave in a proscribed position, and covered with red ocher. Like Vasil'evka III and Voloshskoe, graves contained microliths. Although microliths can be interpreted as grave goods (Haeussler, 1996: 177), they may be evidence of conflict in the population (Balakin and Nuzhnyi 1995; Nuzhnyi 1990: 117-119).

References

Balakin, S., and D. Nuzhnyi (1995). "The Origins of Graveyards: The Influence of Landscape Elements on Social and Ideological Changes in Prehistoric Communities." Prt?histoire Europeenne 7: 191-202.

Dolukhanov, P. M., and N. A. Khotinskiy (1984). "Human Cultures and the Natural Environment in the USSR during the Mesolithic and Neolithic." In Late Quaternary Environments in the Soviet Union, ed. A. A. Velichko. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota

Press, 319-327.

Haeussler, A. M. (1996). Dental Anthropology of Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Central Asia: Evaluation of Five Hypotheses for PaleoIndian Origins. Ann Arbor: UMI.

Khotinskiy, N. A. (1984). "Holocene Vegetation History." In Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union, ed. A. A. Velichko. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 179-200.

Konduktorova, T. S. (1974). "The Ancient Population of the Ukraine." Anthropologie XII, 1,2: 5-149.

Telegin, D. Ya (1982). Mezolitichhni Pam'yaki Ukraini (IX-VI Tisyacholittya). Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Nuzhnyi, D. (1990). "Projectile Damage on Upper Paleolithic Microliths and the Use of Bow and Arrow among Pleistocene Hunters in the Ukraine." In Proceedings of the International Conference on Lithic Use-Wear Analysis, 15-17.02.89 in Uppsala, Sweden, ed. K. Knutsson. 113-124.

Telegin, D. Ya (1989). "Mezolit Yugo-Zapada SSSR (Ukraina i Moldaviya)." In Mezolit SSSR, ed. L. V. Kol'tsov. Moscow: Nauka, 106-124.

Vasil'evka III

TIME PERIOD: Mesolithic (10,080-9980 B.P. [Jacobs 1994:

3]).

LOCATION: On the left (eastern) bank of the Dnieper River in the Dnieper Rapids region, near the village of Vasil'evka, Sinelnikov District, Dniepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine.

122Eastern European Mesolithic

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Local Environment

During the Boreal Period (9000-8000 B.P.), which takes in the early part of the Mesolithic Period, the Dnieper Rapids region was a mixed-grass and xerophytic steppe. By 9,000 B.P., the megafauna utilized by the Upper Paleolithic peoples had become extinct. Ecological conditions permitted domestication of animals and later, albeit sporadically, plants. The time more recent than 8,000 B.P. was one of transition from the mixedgrass xerophytic steppe to a mixed-grass mesophytic steppe (Dolukhanov and Khotinskiy 1984: 319-321; Khotinskiy 1984: 192-195).

Physical Features

Vasil'evka III was near Vasil'evka I. The cemetery contained 33 human remains. Most of the graves contained single burials (24), although three had two skeletons and three had three. The majority of the burials (18) were flexed (14) with 13 on the right side and two on the left. The majority of graves contained one skeleton except for three that had two and three that had three skeletons. Seven skeletons in a single group were extended on their backs and oriented to the southwest. This group of skeletons was more distant from the center of the cemetery than were the flexed skeletons. Six of the burials contained red ocher; none had grave goods. Three of the flexed burials had fragments of projectile points (points with straight dull edges). One was embedded in a rib; the other, in a vertebra. One of the extended burials contained a fragment of a bone spear with flint inserts that were embedded in the humerus (Konduktorova 1974: 8-9; Telegin 1989: 123-124).

Cultural Aspects

Vasil'evka III cemetery lacks an associated habitation site, an indication that the dead were taken to a designated place aside from the habitation site, placed in a grave in a proscribed position, and covered with red ocher. Like Vasil'evka I and Voloshskoe, graves contained microliths. Although microliths can be interpreted as grave goods (Haeussler, 1996: 177), they may be evidence of conflict in the population (Balakin and Nuzhnyi 1995; Nuzhnyi 1990: 117-119).

References

Jacobs, K. (1994). "Human Dento-gnathic Metric Variation in Mesolithic/Neolithic Ukraine: Possible Evidence of Demic Infusion

in the Dnieper Rapids Region." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 95: 1-26.

Dolukhanov, P. M., and N. A. Khotinskiy, (1984). "Human Cultures and the Natural Environment in the USSR during the Mesolithic and Neolithic." In Late Quaternary Environments in the Soviet Union, ed. A. A. Velichko. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota

Press, 319-327.

Konduktorova, T. S. (1974). "The Ancient Population of the Ukraine." Anthropologie XII, 1,2: 5-149.

Khotinskiy, N. A. (1984). "Holocene Vegetation History." In Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union, ed. A. A. Velichko. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 179-200.

Savina, S. S., and N. A. Khotinskiy (1984). "Holocene Paleoclimatic Reconstructions Based on the Zonal Method." In Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union, ed. A. A. Velichko. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 287-296.

Telegin, D. Ya (1982). Mezolitichhni Pam'yaki Ukraini (IX-VI Tisyacholittya). Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Telegin, D. Ya (1989). "Mezolit Yugo-Zapada SSSR (Ukraina i Moldaviya)." In Mezolit SSSR, ed. L. V. Kol'tsov. Moscow: Nauka, 106-124.

Voloshskoe

TIME PERIOD: Mesolithic.

LOCATION: The left (eastern) bank of the Dnieper River in the Dnieper Rapids region, Sinelnikov district, Dniepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine.

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Local Environment

During the Boreal Period (9000-8000 B.P.), which takes in the early part of the Mesolithic period, the Dnieper Rapids region was a mixed-grass and xerophytic steppe. By 9000 B.P., the megafauna utilized by the Upper Paleolithic peoples had become extinct. Ecological conditions permitted domestication of animals and later, albeit sporadically, plants. The time more recent than 8000 B.P. was one of transition from the mixedgrass xerophytic steppe to a mixed-grass mesophytic steppe (Dolukhanov and Khotinskiy 1984: 319-321; Khotinskiy 1984: 192-195).

Physical Features

Voloshskoe is located on the slope of the second terrace of the Dnieper River bank near the town of Voloshskoe. The cemetery contained 19 human remains.

Most of the burials (16) were single and flexed with 13 on the right side, 1 on the left, and 2 on the back. The two extended burials had one and two skeletons, respectively. None of the graves had red ocher. Three of the flexed burials had micro-Gravettian points. Of these, one was embedded in a rib; the other, in a vertebra. One of the extended burials contained a fragment of a bone spear with flint inserts that were embedded in the humerus (Danilenko 1955 cited in Balakin and Nuzhnyi

1995: 196; Konduktorova 1974: 8-9; Telegin 1989: 123124).

Cultural Aspects

Voloshskoe cemetery lacks an associated habitation site, an indication that the dead were taken to a designated place aside from the habitation site, placed in a grave in a proscribed position, and covered with red ocher. Like Vasil'evka I and III, Voloshskoe graves contained microliths. Although microliths can be interpreted as grave goods (Haeussler, 1996: 177), they may simply be evidence of conflict in the popUlation (Balakin and Nuzhnyi 1995; Konduktorova 1974; Nuzhnyi 1990: 117-119).

Eastern European Mesolithic 123

References

Balakin, S., and D. Nuzhnyi (1985). "The Origins of Graveyards: The Influence of Landscape Elements on Social and Idealogical Changes in Prehistoric Communities." Prehistoire Europeenne 7: 191-202.

Dolukhanov, P. M., and N. A. Khotinskiy (1984). "Human Cultures and the Natural Environment in the USSR during the Mesolithic and Neolithic." In Late Quaternary Environments in the Soviet Union, ed. A. A. Ve1ichko. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 319-327.

Konduktorova, T. S. (1974). "The Ancient Population of the Ukraine." Anthropologie XII, 1,2: 5-149.

Khotinskiy, N. A. (1984). "Holocene Vegetation History." In Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union, ed. A. A. Velichko. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 179-200.

Savina, S. S., and N. A. Khotinskiy (1984). "Holocene Paleoclimatic Reconstructions Based on the Zonal Method." In Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union, ed. A. A. Ve1ichko. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 287-296.

Telegin, D. Ya (1982). Mezolitichhni Pam'yaki Ukraini (IX-VI Tisyacholittya). Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Telegin, D. Ya (1989). "Mezolit Yugo-Zapada SSSR (Ukraina i Moldaviya)." In Mezolit SSSR, ed. L. V. Kol'tsov. Moscow: Nauka, 106-124.

ALICE M. HAEUSSLER

Department of Anthropology

Arizona State University

Tempe, Arizona

ABSOLUTE TIME PERIOD: c. 6500 (5500)--4000 B.P.

RELATIVE TIME PERIOD: Follows the Eastern European Mesolithic tradition and precedes the Scythian tradition.

LOCATION: The southern border lies along the Terek river (in the North Caucasus), along the maritime line of the Azov sea and the Crimea. In the north, Yamnaya culture sites have been found in the forest-steppe and reach the latitude of the Samarskaya Luka on the Volga, the upper Don, and Kiev on the Dnieper river. In the west, the border lies along the South Bug and the Dniester: Yamnaya culture sites have been uncovered in the Danube basin. The eastern border coincides with the rivers Ural and Belaya.

DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATTRIBUTES: The construction of

kurgan mounds over the burial; the construction of flat burial grounds with stone foundations and cromlechs. The dead were buried individually in quadrangular pits roofed with wooden floors; the position of the dead is supine in contracted posture with legs raised; the orientation is predominantly eastern; various uses of ocher in the burial rite. The funeral offerings: eggshaped and pointed-bottom vessels with a short neck, ornamented with single and double cord impressions, comb impressions; bronze four-faceted awls and leaf-shaped knives made of North Caucasus metal; upper quern

stones and millstones; pendants made of animal fangs, bone hammer-shaped pins; wooden wagons; anthropomorphic stelae in the western region. Short-term camp sites in the east and permanent settlements in the west.

REGIONAL SUBTRADITIONS: There are two major divisions in the Eurasian Steppe Nomad tradition: the Yamnaya (5500-4000 B.P.), and the later Katacombnaya (45003800 B.P.). Subtraditions for Yamnaya include the Lower Dneiper, the Volga, and the Urals; subtraditions for the Katacombnaya include the Dneiper-Azovskaya, the Donetskaya, and the North Caucasus Piedmont. Two major regions are identified: the western and the eastern. The Don river forms a rough border.

IMPORTANT SITES: Berezhnovka, Boldyrevo, Bykovo,

Durna-Skelya, Mikhailovka, Razdorskoye, Zunda-

Tolga, Tamar-Utkul.

CULTURAL SUMMARY

Environment

Climate. In the second half of the Atlantic period, the climate was warm and humid. Steppe vegetation predominated in the watersheds; mixed grass and gramineous

steppes gave way to gramineous and gramineouswormwood steppes farther in the south; pine and birch forests grew in the river valleys. The climate was close to contemporary, but the winter temperature was lower than contemporary. Fluctuations in the climate were typical for the period under consideration, however, and resulted in shifting the borders of some zones for specific trees and grasses. At the turn of the Atlantic and Subboreal periods between 4800--4500 B.P., the climate worsened and became drier, and the area of valley and stream forests decreased. The final stage of the tradition coincides with a sharp aridization in climate, reduction in valley deciduous forests, replacement of forest-steppe landscapes with steppe landscapes, and steppe landscapes with semidesert.

Topography. Most of the sites in the western region are located close to the valleys of large rivers that cross the Eurasian steppe region. A similar situation is observed in the eastern region, but here a great number of sites are located far from the valleys of large rivers and are close to microlandscape zones.

Geology. The geology of the region is characterized by the dry steppe zone, which includes subzones of dark chestnut and chestnut soils and occupies the territories of the North Pontic region, the North Caucasus piedmont region, the Lower Volga basin, the South Urals basin, and Kazakhstan. The Russian plain is located in the center. Here the contrasts of topography are not great; they fluctuate within 150-250 m. The margins of the plain adjacent to mountainous systems are characterized by great contrasts of height: The Stavropol plateau reaches an elevation of 800 m; the Donets mountain ridge is 350 m; the Caspian sea lowlands are below sea level. The North Caucasus piedmont includes accumulative plains of the KubanAzov sea maritime and Tersk-Kuma lowlands divided by the Stavropol highlands. The average height of the Ural mountains is 700-1000 m. The surface of the steppe zone is cut by valleys of large rivers: the Dnieper, Don, Volga, Ural.

Biota. The Eurasian steppe region is characterized by the predominance of animals typical for open steppe areas. The steppe animals include kulan, saiga, korsak, baibak, red duck, and bustard. During the Atlantic period and at the beginning of the Subboreal, mixed grass and gramineous steppes predominated in the region; deciduous forests of elms, lime, and oak grew in the floodlands of the rivers.

Eurasian Steppe Nomad 125

Settlements

Settlement System. Two settlement systems have been identified: (1) The eastern part of the region (between the Don and the Ural area) is characterized by a lack of permanent stationary settlements, a predominance of seasonal winter and summer camps with inexpressive occupation layer, a lack of dwellings, a possible use of transportable dismountable houses of the tent or yurt type, winter nomadic camps that tend to be close to the watersheds, the appearance of summer camps in the open steppe. (2) The western part of the region is characterized by permanent settlements on high hills and outliers of plateaus, which tend to be close to the watersheds of large rivers and which during the subsequent period were surrounded by stone fortifications and had a three-dimensional orientation of the interior space; short-term summer campsites in the open steppe. Political, economic, or religious centers had not yet developed. Hierarchic levels are not identified.

Community Organization. Communities of the western region seem to have been located to have access to (1) good agricultural soils, (2) rich pastures, (3) sedentary communities of the Balkan region. Communities of the eastern region seem to have been located to have access to (1) rivers or marshes, (2) rich pastures, (3) sources of metal and metallic items, (4) sedentary communities of the North Caucasus. So far, no differences in the organization of the communities in various levels of the settlements hierarchy have been noted.

Housing. No dwellings have been found in short-term seasonal campsites. Supposedly, transportable houses of the tent or yurt type were used. Two types of the dwellings have been identified for stationary settlements: (1) oval semisubterranean houses slightly sunk into the soil, with open hearths and dome-shaped stove (for the early stage); (2) twoand three-chamber surface constructions, the socle of which is 1 m high and made of stone, with the upper part of clay. Wealth and status do not appear to have been reflected in the housing style.

Population, Health, and Disease. Knowledge of the demographic system is based on the analysis of kurgan burial grounds. Supposedly, the density of the population is one person per 3 km, but these are average data. Average life span amounted to 35 years. An increased death rate for children is noted. There is rare evidence of some adults living to the age of 60-70 years. Skull

126Eurasian Steppe Nomad

trepanation cases and industrial injuries have been identified.

Economy

Subsistence. The Eurasian Steppe Nomad subsistence strategy was basically a herding economy. There were two major models for the eastern and western regions. In the eastern region, the basis of the economy is seminomadic herding based on rearing ovicaprids (goats and sheep), with an active use of the horse in pasturing, development of a system for seasonal use of the grasslands, a practically complete lack of crop-growing elements and fishing as well as an insignificant role for hunting. The western region stressed household and range herding, characterized by predominance of cattle, with an active use of horse in pasturing, summer migrations with ovicaprids in the open steppe, a considerable role played by crop growing in the riverine valleys, a role played by hunting and fishing, in short, a complex herding and crop-growing economy.

Wild Food. The primary animal food used for both regions was the deer (Cervus elaphus), hare (Lepus europaeus), saiga (Saiga tatarica), kulan (Equus hemionus), birds, and fish for the western region. The diet of the eastern region included some wild plants.

Domestic Foods. The primary domesticates were sheep, cows, goats, pigs, horses. Wheat and millet were grown.

Industrial Arts. The Eurasian Steppe Nomad technology was simple and was available to everyone. No crafts specialization is recorded, except for, probably, craftmen who made wooden wagons. Most of the metallic items came from the North Caucasus. No evidence for local metallurgy is available. Bone, horn, leather, wood were treated and processed; molded pottery was made; mats braided from vegetable fibers were manufactured. Most technological utensils were manufactured by individuals.

Utensils. Primary utensils were (I) molded egg-shaped vessels with short necks, decorated with cord and combed impressions; later, there appeared small amphorae and flat-bottomed pot-shaped vessels manufactured from locally available soils and fired in a pit and an open fire; (2) bronze four-faceted awls, leaf-shaped knives, flattened beads, North Caucasus metal; (3) upper quern stones and millstones; (4) battle axes and maceheads.

Ornaments. Bone hammer-shaped pins decorated with cut ornament, with bronze puncheon badges, flattened bone beads, perforated animal teeth, bronze lock pendants. Bone hammer-shaped pins in burials indicated a specific status for the dead. In the western region, such pins were parts of necklaces; in the east, they were worn near the waist with several items.

Trade. The development of seminomadic economy by the Eurasian Steppe Nomad peoples meant the establishment of exchange between nomadic herding tribes and sedentary agriculturists. The decisive role in the spread of metal from the Caucasus through in eastern Europe belongs to the Eurasian Steppe Nomads, and metal was the main item for exchange. The contact zone covered considerable territory: from the Kalmyk steppes as far as the Kuban and Terek. Agricultural produce, domesticated animals, primarily, horses, decorations, cult objects, household vessels became exchange objects.

Division of Labor. Apparently, the production of all craft goods occurred in family communities. Craft specialization is not noted.

Differential Access or Control of Resources. During the Eurasian Steppe Nomad tradition, metal functioned mostly in the social prestigious sphere and was under the control of the evolving nobility. Apparently, the control over grasslands started to evolve, but the regulation of grasslands usage was implemented by the leaders of the family groups that circulated in specific local microniches.

Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. There are three socially differentiated groups in this tradition. In the light of the probable Indo-European origin of the Eurasian Steppe Nomad people, these three groups can be correlated with the superior social group of Brahmans, the estate of Kshatriyas, and the estate of common people or Vaisyas. Tombs show clear traits of individuality; the social differentiation of the dead is characterized by some graves with socially prestigious objects such as arrow points and wagons and by huge kurgans (mounds). These are opposed to ordinary burials of common people with no offerings. Patriarchal relationships predominated.

Political Organization. The family was the main economic unit in nomadic society. Families were united in tribal subdivisions of various levels. Social links and

tribal organization were based on patriarchal and genealogical links: All families, groups of families, subdivisions of tribes, tribes, all tribal people were recognized as equals before a legendary chief. Genealogical relationships linked ideologically real economic and military-political structures. Permanent territorial, economic, political unity in the nomadic environment was not available.

Social Control. The development of the flexible nomadic economic and political system suggests the availability of democratic leaders who implemented economic, political, social as well as military control. Such a system of links provides a social and age stratification and labor division. Individual leaders or social groups that implement functions of leadership and social control come to the foreground.

Conflict. A need to redistribute grasslands and water resources lies at the basis of the conflicts that occur in a nomadic society. A change in the ecological situation caused aggravated conflicts. The final stage of the Eurasian Steppe Nomad tradition, which coincided with a sharp worsening of the climate, brought about massive migrations of the tribes and resulted in conflict situations, the enhanced role of military leaders, the appearance of fortified settlements, the evolution of a new system of weaponry, military attributes like axes and maces, and human sacrifices.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. Round kurgans expressed an idea of unity and limitlessness, and are a universal form of the Eurasian Steppe Nomad construction erected over tomb. Kurgans marked the exploited steppe space. Ritual unification of burials is evidence of common burial traditions and spreading cult of ancestors. Animals bones in tombs and kurgans testify to the cult of the bull and the horse; the presence of red ocher and coal are manifestations of a cult related to fire. Pictures on stone stelae are evidence of concepts related to a three-part vertical system of the universe.

Religious Practitioners. Apparently, the first elite estate included priests who implemented major cultic acts. Their burials are marked by rare social and prestigious goods, for example, bone hammer-shaped pins placed near human arms.

Ceremonies. A unified burial rite presupposes the existence of a single mourning ceremony in the implemen-

Eurasian Steppe Nomad 127

tation of which, judging by labor costs, some members of the tribe had to take part, and in the event of a chieftain's or priest's burial, members of the whole tribe had to participate. The ceremony included preparation of the body for burial, construction of the burial pit, the funeral, erection of the kurgan mound, and animal sacrifices or very rarely human sacrifices, which accompanied this process. Funeral offerings are rare. Ocher was frequently used to cover the bottom of the tomb and the dead person. Ocher has been found in pieces, and ocher traces of feet have been uncovered in the bottoms of some tombs. Tomb constructions and kurgan mounds are differentiated from the point of view of social labor costs.

Arts. Eurasian Steppe Nomads tribes left very modest evidences of their skills in art. It is possible to note only the availability of inexpressive cord ornament in clay pottery. Bone hammer-shaped pins, the appearance of which falls in the final stage, is another exception. Most are decorated with geometric carved ornament. Anthropomorphic stone stelae, menhirs, idols have been found in the western region.

Death and Afterlife. European Steppe Nomad people believed in an afterlife, as evidenced by the elaborate funeral rites.

Suggested Readings

Artemenko, Ivan I., ed. (1985). Archaeologiya Ukrainskoi SSR (Archeology of the Ukrainian SSR). Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Chernikch, Evgenii N. (1997). Kargaly-krupneishii gornometallurgicheskii komplex Severnoii Evrazii v drevnosti. (Kargaly-The Largest Mining-Metallurgical Complex in Ancient Northern Europe) Rossiyskaya Archeologiya 1: 21-36.

Chernyakov, Ivan T., ed. (1994). Remeslo epochi eneolita-bronzy na Ukraine (Crafts of the Aeneolithic-Bronze Age in the Ukraine) Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Demkin, Vladimir A., and Yakov G. Ryskov (1996). Pochvy i prirodnaya sreda suchich stepei yuzhnogo Urala v epokhu bronzy i rannego zheleza (Soils and Natural Resources of the Arid Steppes of South Ural in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age). Pushino: Pushkinskii Nauchnii Institut.

Gening, Vladimir F., ed. (1991). Duchovnaya kultura drevnich obshestv na territorii Ukrainy (Religious Practices of the Ancient Peoples ofthe Ukraine). Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Kovaleva, Irina F. (1983). Pogrebalnii obryad i ideologiya rannikch skotovodov (Burial Rituals and Beliefs of Ancient Cattle-Herders).

Dnepropetrovsk: Dnepropetrovskii Pedagogicheskii Institut. Lagodovska, Olga F., Olga G. Shaposhnokova, and Michail L.

Majarevitch. Mikchailovskoye poseleniye (The Mikhchailovskoye Settlement). Kiev: Izzdarelstvo Akademii Nauk Ukrainskoi RSR.

Merpert, Nikolai Y. (1974). Drevneishii skotovody VolzhskoUralskogo mezhdurech'ya (Ancient Cattle-Herders of the Volga-Ural Interfiuvial Region). Moscow: Nauka.

128 Eurasian Steppe Nomad

Merpert, Nikolai Ya., ed. (1982). Volgo-Uralskaya step' i lesostep' v epochu rannego metalla (Volga-Ukraine Steppe and Forest-Steppe in the Early Iron Age) Kuibyshev: Kuibyshevskii Gisudarstvennii Pedagogicheskii Universitet.

Morgunova, Nina L., ed. (1992). Drevnyaya istoriya Volgo-Uralskikh stepei (Ancient History of the Volga-Ural Steppe). Orenburg: Orenburgskii Pedagogicheskii Institut.

Morgunova, Nina L. and Alexandr Yu. Kravtsov (1991). "Drevneyamnaya kultura Priural'ya" (Ancient Cave-Dweller Culture in the Ural Region). Sovetskaya Archeologiya 2: 35-50.

Shaposhnokova, Olga G., ed. (1987). Drevneishii skotovody stepei yuga Ukrainy (Ancient Cattle-Herders of the Steppes of the Southern Ukraine) Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Shaposhnokova, Olga G., ed. (1988). Noviye pamyatniki yamnoi kulturi stepnoi zoni Ukrainy (New Records of Cave-Dweller Culture in the Steppe Region of the Ukraine). Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Shaposhnokova, Olga G., Vladimir N. Fomenko, and Natal'ya D Dovzhenko Yamnaya kulturno-istoricheskaya oblast' (Yuzhno-Bugskii variant) (Cave-Dweller Cultural-Historical Region (Yuzhno-Bugskii variant». Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Shevchenko, Albert V. (1986). "Antropologiya naseleniya yuzhnorusskikh stepei v epochu bronzy" (Anthopology of the SouthRussian Steppe in the Bronze Age). In Antropologiya sovremennogo i drevnego naseleniya Evropeiskoi chasti SSSR. (Anthropology of Modern and Ancient Peoples of the European Part of the USSR.)

Leningrad: Nauka, 154--172.

Shilov, Valentin P. (1975). Ochreki po istorii drevnikh plemen Nizznego Povolzz 'ya (Essays on the History of Ancient Tribes of the Lower Volga Region) Leningrad: Nauka.

Telegin, Dmitrii Ya. (1977). "Ob absolutnom vozraste yamnoi kultury i nekotoriye voprosy chronologii Eneolita yuga Ukrainy" ("Dating of Cave-Dweller Culture and Certain Problems with the Chronology of the Aeneolithic Period in the Southern Ukraine"). Sovetskaya Archeologiya 2: 5-19.

Trifonov, Viktor A. (1991). "Stepnoye Prikuban'ye v epokhu eneolitasrednei bronzy (periodizatsiya)" {"Kuban Steppe Region From the Aeneolithic Period to the Middle Bronze Age (period classification)"). In Drevnii kultury Prikuban'ya (Ancient Culture of the Kuban Region) Leningrad: Nauka, 92-166.

Turetski, Michail A. (1988). "Keramika pogrebenii yamnoy kulturi Volzhsko-Uralskogo mezhdurech'ya" ("Buried Ceramics of CaveDweller Culture in the Volga-Ural Region"). Problemi izucheniya archaologicheskoi keramiki (Problems of Studying Archeological Ceramics), ed. I. B. Vasiliev. Kuibishev: Kuibyshevskii Pedagogicheskii Institut, 35-42.

Yarovoi, Evgenii V. (1985). Drevneishiye skotovodcheskiye plemena Yugo-Zapada SSSR (Ancient Cattle-Herding Tribes of the Southwest USSR) Kishenev: Shniitsa.

SUBTRADITIONS

Dnieper-Azovskaya

Katakombnaya

TIME PERIOD: 4300-3800 B.P.

LOCATION: The sites of the Dnieper-Azovskaya Katakombnaya culture are spread in the basin of the

Dnieper, northern Azov sea maritime region, and Crimea. The northern border lies along the Orel river; the Crimean mountains serve as a southern border. The eastern border crosses the Lower Don basin, and the western border comes close to the Dniester.

DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATTRIBUTES: A Kurgan burial rite;

flat burials have been found as well. The burials are secondary burials in earlier erected kurgans; they are located in a circle on the margins of the kurgan. The burials are made in catacombs and pits. The position is supine in contracted posture; sometimes it is supine in extended posture. The goods include vessels with food, braziers with coal. Flattened bone beads, horn pins, flint lance points; stone ax-hammers are found more rarely. Metallic items are rare. Several burials of craftsmen have been uncovered. A group of burials with clay funeral masks has been identified. The settlements are one stratum. There are seasonal camps.

The sites of the Dnieper-Azovskaya Katakombnaya subtradition form part of the Katakombnaya culture circle of the Eurasian steppes. Early sites form part of the early Katakombnaya culture sites; the late sites survive until the period of the culture of the multiraisedborder ceramics of the Middle Bronze Age.

CULTURAL SUMMARY

Environment

The Dnieper-Azovskaya Katakombnaya subtradition occupies a steppe zone. It is characterized by gramineous and mixed-grass vegetation. The climate is Atlantic continental. Most of the sites are located in the basin of the Lower Dnieper.

Settlements

The settlements are located close to the first terraces over the rivers floodlands. There are some sites on the islands near the Dnieper rapids. The occupation layer has few goods. Semisubterranean dwellings have been uncovered. Bones of bull, ovicaprid, horse, and dog come from the settlements. Flint scrapers, ax-hammers, and millstones have been found.

Economy

Herding that had a mobile seminomadic character was the basis of the economic life conducted by the Dnieper-Azovskaya Katakombnaya subtradition tribes.

In summer, migrations occurred in the open steppe; winter camps were located close to the Azov sea maritime region and on the islands. Agriculture played a secondary role, but one burial uncovered near the village of Bolotnoye had remains of a sack with ears of wheat (Korpusova and Lyashko 1970). Apparently, a certain part of the population was engaged in crafts, primarily metallurgical production. Burials with tools for casting and forging have been found. Wide links existed with western regions.

Sociopolitical Organization

A sufficiently high level of economy of the DnieperAzovskaya Katakombnaya tribes presupposes significant social stratification. The social structure consisted of at least three social groups: chieftains, shaman-priests and military chiefs, and ordinary tribes people. Sex and age links as well as genealogical relationships were the basis of ties. Burials of chieftains with clay face masks are characteristic of the Dnieper-Azovskaya Katakombnaya culture (Kovaleva 1989).

Religious and Expressive Culture

Religious concepts found their reflection in the funeral rite. There was a cult of ancestors and a cult of domesticated animals. Ocher, chalk, and coal in the tombs are evidence of particular funeral rites. Burials with clay masks occupy a particular place. These masks were placed on the skulls of the dead after the removal of soft tissues. The masks reproduced facial features. This rite pursued the aim of preventing the spirit of the dead from leaving the body. Dismembered bodies of the dead, which also show the existence of a particular rite, are also characteristic for this culture.

References

Korpusova, Valentina N. and Sergey N. Lyashko (1970). "Katakombnoye pogrebeniyec pshenitsey v Krimy" ("Catacomb Burial with Wheat in the Crimea"). Sovetskaya Archeologiya 3: 166-179.

Kovaleva, Irina F. (1989). Sotsialnaya i duchovnaya kultura plemen bronzovogo veka (Social and Religious Practices oj Bronze-Age Tribes). Dnepropetrovsk: Dnepropetrovskii Gosudarstvennii Universitet.

Ivan I. Artemenko, (1985). Archaeologiya Ukrainskoi SSR (Archeology oj the Ukrainian SSR) Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Ivan, T., Chernyakov, (Ed.) (1994). Remeslo epochi eneolita-bronzy na Ukraine (CraJts oj the Aeneolithic-Bronze Age in the Ukraine) Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Kovaleva, Irina F. (1983). Pogrebalnii obryad i ideologiya rannich skotovodov (Burial Rituals and BelieJs oj Ancient Cattle-Herders).

Dnepropetrovsk: Dnepropetrovskii Gosudarstvennii Universitet.

Eurasian Steppe Nomad 129

Kovaleva, Irina F. (1989). Sotsialnaya i duchovnaya kultura plemen bronzovogo veka (Social and Religious Practices oj Bronze-Age Tribes) Dnepropetrovsk: Dnepropetrovskii Gosudarstvennii Universitet.

Donetskaya Katakombnaya

TIME PERIOD: 4500-3900 B.P.

LOCATION: The sites of the Donetskaya Katakombnaya subtradition are located in the basin of the Middle and Lower Severskoy Donets rivers, the right bank of the Lower Don, and the left bank of the Sal and Manych rivers.

DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATTRIBUTES: Kurgan burial rite,

burials in catacombs; the position of the dead is on the right side in a contracted posture; skulls are deformed. Rich funeral offerings: clay short-neck pots ornamented with herringbone patterns, drooping triangles, festoons, dishes, braziers, flasks; bronze knives, awls, chisels, adzes, pendants, stone-drilled hammers, upper quern stones, millstones, mortars, maces. There are burials of foundry workers and bow-and-arrow makers. Treasures of metallic goods have been uncovered. There are short-term settlements.

The Donetskaya culture forms part of the Katakombnaya culture circle. It is preceded by early Katakombnaya sites of the Azov sea maritime region and the left bank of the Don. It is later replaced by the sites of the Bakhmut type.

CULTURAL SUMMARY

Environment

Most of its area is located in the forest-steppe zone. Only in the south does the subtradition occupy a steppe sector, which does not have any forests in the valleys of the Don river and its tributaries. Forests of lime, birch, and oak grow in the riverine valleys. The steppe in the south is wormwood and gramineous with chernozem soils. The initial period of culture formation coincides with the general severe aridization of the climate. For example, during 4500-4300 B.P. in the valley of the Lower Don, deciduous forests are replaced by a semidesert. During the period of 4000-3900 B.P., the climate becomes milder and damper.

130 Eurasian Steppe Nomad

Settlements

The settlements are located close to the first terraces over the rivers floodlands. The occupation layer has few goods. Semisubterranean dwellings have been uncovered. Settlement layers contain ceramics, fragments of stone hammers, animal bones, considerable concentrations of fishbones and scales.

Economy

Herding, which was both mobile seminomadic, predominantly in the steppe, and household, in the forest-steppe, was the basis of economy. Apparently, migrations took place for short distances in watersheds and small river valleys. An active use of wooden wagons facilitated its development. Agriculture and fishing played a particular role for the forest-steppe areas. Remains of a sack made of bast mat with unmilled ears of wheat have been found in the burial near the village of Bolotnoye. PoIimetallic ores from the Don basin were used for the production of metal. Eleven funeral complexes of foundry workers have been uncovered. They contained technological tools for thermal treatment of metal in the form of cone-shaped forms: nozzles, casting forms, tools for forging. Metallurgical shops were located in the winter camps around the Bakhmut pit (Berezanskaya and Kravets 1989). North Caucasus arsenic bronze obtained through exchange was also used. Wide links were established with western regions as well.

Sociopolitical Organization

A sufficiently high level of economy of the Donetskaya Katakombnaya tribes presupposes significant social stratification. The social structure consisted of at least three social groups: chieftains, shamans-priests and military chiefs, and ordinary tribespeople. Sex and age links as well as genealogical relationships were the basis of ties. Burials of craftsmen who occupied a particular place in the Donetskaya Katakombnaya culture society are obvious among the burials.

Religious and Expressive Culture

Religious concepts found their reflection in the funeral rites. There was a cult of ancestors and a cult of domesticated animals. Ocher, chalk, coal in the tombs are evidence of particular funeral rites (Kovaleva 1983).

References

Berezanskaya, Sofiya S., and Dmitrii P. Kravets (1989). "0 metallurgitcheskom remesle plemen Donetskoi katakombnoi kultiri" ("The Metallurgy of Tribes of the Donetsk Catacomb Culture"). Pervobytnaya Archeologiya, ed. Ivan I. Artemenko. Kiev: Naukova Dumka, 15Cr-167.

Kovaleva, Irina F. (1983). Pogrebalnii obryad i ideologiya rannich skotovodov (Burial Rituals and Beliefs of Ancient Cattle-Herders).

Dnepropetrovsk: Dnepropetrovskii Gosudarstvennii Universitet. Bratchenko Sranislav N. (1976). Nizznee Podonie v epochu sredney bronzi (Lower Don Region in the Middle Bronze Age). Kiev:

Naukova Dumka.

Katakombniye kultiri Severnogo Pritchernomorya (The Catacomb Culture of the Northern Black-Sea Region) (1991). ed. Ivan I.

Artemenko. Kiev: Institut Archeologii Ukraini.

Berezanskaya, Sofiya S. and Dmitrii P. Kravets, (1989). "0 metallurgitcheskom remesle plemen Donetskoi katakombnoi kultiri" ("The Metallurgy of Tribes of the Donetsk Catacomb Culture"). Pervobytnaya Archeologiya. Kiev: Naukova Dumka, 15Cr-167.

Kovaleva, Irina F. (1983). Pogrebalnii obryad i ideologiya rannich skotovodov (Burial Rituals and Beliefs of Ancient Cattle-Herders).

Dnepropetrovsk: Dnepropetrovskii Gosudarstvennii Universitet.

Archaeologiya Ukrainskoi SSR (Archeology of the Ukrainian SSR)

(1985). ed. Ivan I. Artemenko. Kiev: Naukova Dumka.

Lower Dnieper Yamnaya

TIME PERIOD: 5000--4300 B.P.

LOCATION: The Lower Dnieper basin and upper rapids area.

DIAGNOSTIC MATERIAL ATTRIBUTES: Kurgan burial grounds

are located in the valley of the river and in the watersheds; the burial grounds contain dozens of kurgans; burials in pits; the position of the dead is a supine contracted posture; intensive presence of ocher in the pits and over the skeletons; mats of bark and grass on the bottom; utensils: egg-shaped vessels, leaf-shaped bronze knives, and four-faceted awls; wooden wagons. Flat burial grounds are known. Temporary campsites with inexpressive occupation layers coexist with permanent settlements. Small clay amphorae, censors; a great quantity of bronze items have been found in the settlements. Seven microdistricts have been identified (Archeologiya... 1985).

Lower Dnieper is one of the earliest Yamnaya traditions of the western Yamnaya region related to the preceding Eneolithic layer. At a later stage, Yamnaya sites coexist with the Katakombnaya sites.