scholarly journals Joint finds of knives and swords in burial complexes of the early nomads in the Southern Urals

2021 ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
E.V. Vildanova
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Military Reform ◽  
The Military ◽  
Burial Grounds ◽  
Frontal Side ◽  
Functional Purpose

The paper considers iron knives which have been found together with swords or daggers in burials of the early nomads of the Southern Urals. The aim of this work was to collect information about joint findings of edged weapons and knives and to determine the functional purpose of such bladed sets. This research uses data on seven joint finds of a sword/dagger and a knife in the early nomadic burials of the Southern Urals, originating from six burial grounds. The paper also addresses the issue of origins of this tradition. The functional affiliation of the object as a weapon has been determined by the localization of the knife directly on the sword or dagger in the military burial. Knives which have been found together with a dagger or a sword could represent elements of mili-tary weapons of the early nomads of the Southern Urals. Most likely, the sword scabbards had an additional pocket for knife on the frontal side. This explains the location of the knifes directly along the axis of the sword blade. Such knives probably were used as auxiliary weapons and only in a close combat. If knives are considered as a category of military auxiliary weapons, then their disappearance could be related to some kind of military «reform», expressed in appearance of heavy armed cavalry, distribution of spears, standardization of swords, daggers and arrowheads. The time of existence of such edged sets fits into the middle/second half of the 5th — turn of the 4th/3rd c. BC. A limited number of finds in the early nomadic complexes in the Southern Urals indicates a rather rare use of this weaponry element. The tradition of such edged kits possibly dates back to the nomadic cultures of Central Asia. The edged sets of a dagger and a knife have been found in tombs of the late stage of the Uyuk (Saghlyk) Culture (5th–3rd c. BC). The placement of a knife on the waist of the deceased (sometimes in the same scabbard together with dagger) during the Early Scythian and later periods suggests the conceptualization of knife as a weapon.

scholarly journals METEORIC IRON IN PRODUCTION AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICE OF THE YAMNAYA CULTURE IN THE URALS REGION

2021 ◽  
pp. 190-206
Author(s):  
Н. Л. Моргунова ◽  
М. А. Кулькова ◽  
А. М. Кульков
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
The Urals ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Middle Volga Region ◽  
Radiocarbon Data ◽  
Middle Volga ◽  
New Research ◽  
Functional Purpose

Среди курганов ямной культуры Среднего Поволжья и Южного Приуралья особое место занимают монументальные сооружения с находками изделий из железа. Выделяются предметы как производственного, так и ритуального назначения. По данным радиоуглеродного анализа курганы датируются в пределах первой половины III тыс. до н. э. В 2019 г. авторами на современном оборудовании проведены новые исследования химического состава поверхности металлических предметов, изотопный анализ свинца, а также реставрация железных предметов. Дополнительные исследования позволили подтвердить метеоритное происхождение железа, уточнить форму и функциональное назначение изделий. Анализ погребального обряда и инвентаря из меди и метеоритного железа позволяет сделать вывод, что курганы были предназначены для «супер-лидеров». При жизни они могли выполнять управленческие, военные и сакрально-ритуальные функции. Наличие предметов из железа свидетельствует об обожествлении власти вождей и о распространенном представлении связи лидерства и небесных сил. Large burial constructions that have yielded items made from iron occupy a special place among the Yamnaya kurgans in the Middle Volga region and the Southern Urals. It is possible to single out both production items and artifacts used for religious purposes. The radiocarbon data put the kurgans around the first half of III mill. BC. In 2019 the authors conducted new research of the chemical composition of the metal item surface, using modern equipment, performed the stable isotope analysis of the lead and carried out the restoration works of the iron objects. The additional studies provided an opportunity to confirm the meteoric origin of the iron, clarify the shape and the functional purpose of the artifacts. It can be inferred from the analysis of the funerary rite and the offerings made from copper and meteoric iron that the kurgans were intended to bury super leaders. During their lifetime such chieftains could perform management, military and sacral ritual functions. Presence of iron items suggests that the power of the chieftains was deified and the idea of the links between the leadership and heavenly forces was quite common.

scholarly journals HOUSEHOLD AND SACRED USE OF THE POTTERY BY THE SARMATIAN TRIBES OF THE SOUTHERN URALS AND WESTERN KAZAKHSTAN

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 90-100
Author(s):  
Liudmila Anatolyevna Kraeva
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Liquid Food ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Western Kazakhstan ◽  
Short Term Exposure ◽  
Burial Rites ◽  
Burial Grounds

The article deals with the pottery from the Sarmatian burial grounds of the Southern Urals and Western Kazakhstan. Pottery was placed in the graves of the representatives of all social stratums of the nomadic population. In more expensive imported dishes were usually placed. Sarmatian ceramics was actively used both in household and in religious ceremonies. Specially produced vessels for burial rites are found in the graves, as well as utensils already used in the household, including those repaired. The author points out the signs which prove that the pottery had been in household use before being placed in the grave: the presence of soot on the inner and outer walls of the vessels; grease stains and traces of boiling over liquid food; repair marks; (broken handles, chipped edges of the vessels, etc.); scuff marks and homemade polishing; the change of color on the surface the vessel and on the layers of the potsherds. The characteristics proving that the pottery was specially manufactured burial rites include: the use of raw materials with rough natural impurities; poor quality battering (uneven distribution of tempers); negligence in the moulding; short-term exposure to temperatures below 450 C during firing;) the absence of soot on the walls of the vessel; the absence of repair marks. The examination of the surface of the vessels and experimental work let the author make an assumption about the functional use of some types of pottery.

scholarly journals “Greenhouses and Workers’ Dormitories”: Migration from Central Asia and China to Rural Areas of the Southern Urals

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 74-84
Author(s):  
A. A. Avdashkin ◽  
◽  
E. I. Salganova ◽  
N. A. Gafner ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Migration Flow ◽  
Chelyabinsk Region ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews

The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of migration from Asian countries on the rural areas of the Russian region using the example of the Chelyabinsk region. Addressing this problem allowed us to answer the following questions: what objects in rural areas are labeled as “migrant” and what are the assessments of this phenomenon by the public? Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, natural population decline is growing. Restricting international migration has shown that migrants are very important for the Russian agricultural sector. The decline in the population in rural areas of Russia, the deterioration of the ecological situation in the Central Asian region shows the need for research on migration to the countryside. There is a high probability that after the removal of several restrictions, we will see an increase in the migration flow to some areas of the countryside (greenhouses, workers' hostels, empty villages). For this study, we applied a set of ethnographic and ethno-sociological methods: participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and massive ethno-sociological survey conducted within the framework of the RFBR and Chelyabinsk region project “Asian vector of migration to the Chelyabinsk region: historical retrospective, forecasts and risks”. In total, during the project, 150 hours of included observation were implemented. In 2021, 49 in-depth interviews were collected with residents of the Chelyabinsk region and 37 with migrants from Central Asia. The sample of objects for observation and establishment of contacts with informants included: greenhouses for growing vegetables, garden associations, settlements in the study areas, rural shops, etc. The focus of xenophobic sentiments may shift from large cities to suburbs and villages, where new objects are being built, labeled as “migrants” (greenhouses, dormitories for migrants). "Chinese" greenhouses are no longer perceived as objects directly related to the presence of the Chinese, but are associated with migrants in general. Greenhouse complexes, where the main contingent is made up of migrants from the Central Asia, seem to be perceived as "Chinese" by inertia. All negative characteristics and parameters that were attributed to them are automatically extended to all greenhouses where there are “others”.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study of the Layout of Bronze Age Fortified Settlements in the Southern Urals (3rd to 1st Millennia BC)

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-72
Author(s):  
O. A. Ulchitsky ◽  
E. K. Bulatova ◽  
E. K. Kazaneva ◽  
O. M. Veremey
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Defensive Function ◽  
Northern Kazakhstan ◽  
Central Eastern

The earliest (Bronze Age) fortifi ed settlements in the Southern Urals are described with regard to their defensive function, as well as to manufacture and living quarters. Their parallels are discussed. We focus on the architecture of the earliest Indo-European forts and compare it to that of the later Eurasian counterparts. We reveal the relations between the layout of the Sintashta-Petrovka forts and the architecture of Central Asia and of the early Central Eastern states. Bronze Age settlements of Southern Urals, Northern Kazakhstan, and Central Asia are compared on a unifi ed scale with reference to their function. The results can be used in future research on ancient architecture.

scholarly journals Impact of the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739 on the construction of relations between the Russian Empire and nomadic peoples of the Southern Urals and Central Asia (based on materials from Orenburg Expedition)

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 494-524
Author(s):  
Stepan V. Dzhundzhuzov ◽  
Sergey V. Lyubichankovskiy
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
State Archive ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Colonial Policy ◽  
External Threat ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
The Impact

The article considers the pattern of relationship between the Russian Empire and the nomadic peoples of the Southern Urals and Central Asia in the 1730s. The authors study the impact of the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739 on the geopolitical situation in the southeastern frontier zone, and review the signifi cance of the Orenburg Expedition (Commission) to the settlement of confl icts among the steppe subjects of the empire as well as for preventing threats to them coming from neighboring states. The study is based on materials of the Orenburg Commission and the Orenburg Expedition preserved in the State Archive of the Orenburg region. The authors do not share the opinion that the Orenburg Expedition was founded exclusively as a mechanism of imperial colonial policy, but neither do they deny its role in expanding Russia’s protectorate into the Kazakh steppe, and later into Central Asia. During the war, Russia aimed at preventing Kazakh raids against the Kalmyk nomads, for such raids prevented the Kalmyks from participating in the campaigns against the Crimean and Kuban Tatars who fought alongside Turkey. The article shows that the Orenburg Expedition, whose few troops were involved in suppressing the Bashkir uprising, were only able to provide the Kalmyks with diplomatic support. The aggressive policy of the Dzungar Khanate, aimed at the conquest of Kazakhstan, prevented the Kazakh Zhuzhes from establishing military hegemony in the Ural steppes. Only the fi rm stance of Russia, which declared its readiness to protect its Kazakh subjects, made the Dzungar ruler Goldan-Tseren renounce his claims to the Kazakh steppes. The authors conclude that the policy of Russia in this region was to prevent prolonged military confl icts among the steppe peoples while at the same time neutralizing any attempts at their military unifi cation. Russia assumed the role of a peacemaker, and, in the case of external threat, of a reliable ally; this raised the authority of the empire and forced the nomads to seek its patronage and submit to its will.

scholarly journals To the Issue of Anthropological Contacts Between the Populations of the Srubnaya and Alakul Cultures of the Late Bronze Age in the Southern Urals and Western Kazakhstan Steppes

2020 ◽  
pp. 65-83
Author(s):  
Alexander Khokhlov ◽  
Egor Kitov ◽  
Yulia Kapinus
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Asian Origin ◽  
Foreign Population ◽  
Western Kazakhstan ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Burial Grounds ◽  
The Bronze Age

Introduction. The work focuses on anthropological materials of the border between two areals: the Srubnaya and Alakul cultures of the Bronze Age. New data is based on the burial grounds of the Kozhumberdy type of the Alakul culture from Western Kazakhstan. Methods and materials. The authors compare the craniological series which are formed according to the geographical localization of the monuments and modern archaeological ideas about their cultural interpretation. Analysis. As a result of statistical analysis, the craniological series of the Srubnaya and Alakul cultures are morphologically quite close, but the latter show higher variability of characteristics. More close to each other are samples of female skulls which show that the formation of physical characteristics of these populations occurred on a single anthropological substrate. Initially, carriers of different caucasoid complexes, mainly of steppe origin, and in a small proportion of the uraloid ones took part in the process. The populations of the Srubnaya and Alakul cultures for a long time interacted with each other. This is reflected in the materials of syncretic Srubnaya-Alakul monuments, as well as in the craniological characteristics of the population of these cultural entities. Judging by morphological features of the skulls, the eastern group of the Alakul population also contacted the collectives of the Fedorovo version of the Andronovo culture of Kazakhstan. The participation of any groups of Central Asian origin in the composition of Alakul populations is not denied, but if it took place, it was most likely of a secondary nature due to the incorporation of certain representatives of a foreign population. Results. The results and conclusions of this work should be used in historical reconstructions of the processes of the formation, development and extinction of the Bronze Age archaeological communities in the area of the VolgaUrals and Western Kazakhstan.

On Links between the Ancient Nomads in the Southern Foothills of the Urals and Central Asia

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-50
Author(s):  
Sergeï Gutsalov
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
The Urals ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
The West ◽  
The North ◽  
Eastern Half ◽  
Grave Goods

Abstract This article publishes interesting burials of ancient nomads dating from the end of the 3rd, 2nd or 1st centuries BC from the Dongulyuk II and Volodarka I tumuli necropoleis in the West of Kazakhstan. Materials from these funerary sites include some quite rare finds: phalerae, belt plates bearing depictions of confronting winged dragons, two-handled infantry swords used by warriors on foot and other objects relating to the life of nomads. The funerary rite – including such elements as burials in pits with ledges or in catacombs, the laying out of horses’ skulls on ledges, the arrangement of the deceased with their heads pointing to the north or south – indicates that the cultural links of the nomads from the southern foothills of the Urals at the end of the 1st millennium BC were orientated towards Central Asia. If it is borne in mind that many objects among the accompanying grave goods can also be associated with the eastern half of the Eurasian steppes, then it would seem highly likely that the nomads had originally come from northern China, moving west and migrating into eastern Europe including the southern Urals.

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