scholarly journals From the History of Shamanism: Images of Shamans and Shamanistic Rituals on the Petroglyphs of the Upper Amur, Olekma, and Aldan Rivers (article one)

2019 ◽  
pp. 53-61
Author(s):  
Tatyana Yu. Sem ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
European Population ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cultural Genesis ◽  
The Bronze Age

The article deals with the ancient roots of shamanism according to the materials of the petroglyphs of the Upper Amur, Aldan and Olekma of the Bronze Age and early Iron Age (2000–1000 BC) with the ethnographic parallels. In order to analyze the material, the author uses a set of methods – diachronic archaeological and ethnographic comparative research, iconographic and semantic analysis. According to the petroglyphs of the 11 images of shamans of the specified period, and two of the 18th century, describing the personality of shamans with ritual paraphernalia – a suit, a tambourine, a mallet, a baton, masks and a headdress. Two images in costumes were also dressed in masks of the supreme gods of heaven and thunder. All shaman figures are painted in the process of ritual actions. There are hunting rituals, ritual of receiving the heavenly grace of the calendar type, circular dances associated with the cult of the sun at the new year’s holiday, the ritual of seeing the soul into the world of the dead and the shaman's initial ritual of sacrifice to the spirits to strengthen the shaman's power depicted among the shamanistic rituals on the petroglyphs. The vast majority of the considered images of shamans with attributes and costumes, shamanistic rituals depicted in the petroglyphs of the Upper Amur and Aldan rivers have direct correspondences in the shamanism of the Tungus-Manchu peoples (Evenki, Nanai, Udege), which indicates a possible direction of cultural genesis in the region. In addition, some of the images have parallels with the spiritual culture of the ancient Indo-Europeans and Turkic-Mongols. Some images – radiant headdress, figures of thunderbolts – have analogies among the ancient Indo-European population of Karakol and Pribaikalye. Separate stories are genetically related to the Okunevites. Shamanic tambourines with vertical rungs are typical for the Altai and Tuvinians and were found in the Yakut group of Evenks.

scholarly journals From the History of Shamanism: Images of Shamanic Assistant Spirits on the Petroglyphs of the Upper Amur and Aldan (Article Two)

2019 ◽  
pp. 65-72
Author(s):  
Tatyana Yu. Sem ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sacrificial Ritual ◽  
Cultural Genesis ◽  
The Universe ◽  
The Bronze Age

The article deals with the history of shamanism and interpret the images on the petroglyphs of the Upper Amur, Olekma and Aldan rivers, dating back to 2000–1000 BC. Important role in the petroglyphs is played by the images of the Supreme gods and forest spirits that were accessed by shamans and shamanic spirit-helpers. The opposition of light and dark spirits-assistants in the form of deer and bear riders symbolizing the two worlds of the universe – the upper and lower ones – stands out among the latter. The first rider was accompanied by mushroom-shaped spirits, the second one – by hammer-shaped, sharp-headed spirits. The first spirits were associated with the mushroom ritual drink from used during the ritual to communicate with the gods, and the second ones – with farriery. Images of one-legged and two-legged hunchbacks and mother goddesses were widespread as well. The scene of making a sacrifice to the spirits highlights two shamanic guardian spirits: the first is depicted with a radiant head; the second is a sharp-headed one, having similarities with main shamanic patron spirits of the Tungus-Manchus – Buchu and Manga. Images of spirits-assistants of shamans in the form of one-legged hunchbacks, deer and bear riders, mushroom idols and mother goddesses depicted in the petroglyphs of the Upper Amur and Aldan rivers also have direct correspondences in shamanism of Tungus-Manchu peoples (Evenks, Nanais, Udege) that testifies to participation of ancient Upper Amur tribes in ethnocultural genesis of Tungus-Manchurians. Some plots of the sacrificial ritual are genetically related to the Okunev culture, probably also being genetic and cultural impulses for the Upper Amur population of the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The opposition of the spirits of the light and dark sides of the sky has analogues in the culture of the Yakuts and Buryats. Blacksmith ongons as the assistant spirits of the shamans are found in the Buryat culture. This indicates the participation of the Upper Amur tribes of the Bronze Age in the cultural genesis of some peoples of Siberia

Household Economy, Long-Term Change, and Social Transformation: The Bronze Age Political Economy of Northwestern Europe

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Kristiansen
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Term Change ◽  
History Of Vegetation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Triggering Factor ◽  
The Bronze Age

In this article I examine how long-term economic strategies in the Bronze Age of northern Europe between 2300 and 500 BCE transformed the environment and thus created and imposed new ecological constraints that finally led to a major social transformation and a "dark age" that became the start of the new long-term cycle of the Iron Age. During the last 30 years hundreds of well-excavated farmsteads and houses from south Scandinavia have made it possible to reconstruct the size and the structure of settlement and individual households through time. During the same period numerous pollen diagrams have established the history of vegetation and environmental changes. I will therefore use the size of individual households or farmsteads as a parameter of economic strength, and to this I add the role of metal as a triggering factor in the economy, especially after 1700 BCE when a full-scale bronze technology was adopted and after 500 BCE when it was replaced by iron as the dominant metal. A major theoretical concern is the relationships between micro- and macroeconomic changes and how they articulated in economic practices. Finally the nature of the "dark age" during the beginning of the Iron Age will be discussed, referring to Sing Chew's use of the concept (Chew 2006).

scholarly journals Ancient DNA shows domestic horses were introduced in the southern Caucasus and Anatolia during the Bronze Age

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (38) ◽  
pp. eabb0030
Author(s):  
Silvia Guimaraes ◽  
Benjamin S. Arbuckle ◽  
Joris Peters ◽  
Sarah E. Adcock ◽  
Hijlke Buitenhuis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Domestic Horses ◽  
Third Millennium Bce ◽  
History Of ◽  
Southern Caucasus ◽  
The Bronze Age

Despite the important roles that horses have played in human history, particularly in the spread of languages and cultures, and correspondingly intensive research on this topic, the origin of domestic horses remains elusive. Several domestication centers have been hypothesized, but most of these have been invalidated through recent paleogenetic studies. Anatolia is a region with an extended history of horse exploitation that has been considered a candidate for the origins of domestic horses but has never been subject to detailed investigation. Our paleogenetic study of pre- and protohistoric horses in Anatolia and the Caucasus, based on a diachronic sample from the early Neolithic to the Iron Age (~8000 to ~1000 BCE) that encompasses the presumed transition from wild to domestic horses (4000 to 3000 BCE), shows the rapid and large-scale introduction of domestic horses at the end of the third millennium BCE. Thus, our results argue strongly against autochthonous independent domestication of horses in Anatolia.

scholarly journals Andronovo Problem: Studies of Cultural Genesis in the Eurasian Bronze Age

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-36
Author(s):  
Stanislav Grigoriev
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Scientific Terminology ◽  
Long Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Genetic Continuity ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Cultural Genesis ◽  
The Bronze Age

Abstract Andronovo culture is the largest Eurasian formation in the Bronze Age, and it had a significant impact on neighboring regions. It is the important culture for understanding many historical processes, in particular, the origins and migration of Indo-Europeans. However, in most works there is a very simplified understanding of the scientific problems associated with this culture. The history of its study is full of opposing opinions, and all these opinions were based on reliable grounds. For a long time, the existence of the Andronovo problem was caused by the fact that researchers supposed they might explain general processes by local situations. In fact, the term “Andronovo culture” is incorrect. Another term “Andronovo cultural-historical commonality” also has no signs of scientific terminology. Under these terms a large number of cultures are combined, many of which were not related to each other. In the most simplified form, they can be combined into two blocks that existed during the Bronze Age: the steppe (Sintashta, Petrovka, Alakul, Sargari) and the forest-steppe (Fyodorovka, Cherkaskul, Mezhovka). Often these cultures are placed in vertical lines with genetic continuity. However, the problems of their chronology and interaction are very complicated. By Andronovo cultures we may understand only Fyodorovka and Alakul cultures (except for its early stage); however, it is better to avoid the use of this term.

scholarly journals Ancient Xinjiang mitogenomes reveal intense admixture with high genetic diversity

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (14) ◽  
pp. eabd6690
Author(s):  
Wenjun Wang ◽  
Manyu Ding ◽  
Jacob D. Gardner ◽  
Yongqiang Wang ◽  
Bo Miao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Genetic Admixture ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
High Genetic Diversity ◽  
Genetic History ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
History Of ◽  
Genetic Continuity ◽  
The Bronze Age

Xinjiang is a key region in northwestern China, connecting East and West Eurasian populations and cultures for thousands of years. To understand the genetic history of Xinjiang, we sequenced 237 complete ancient human mitochondrial genomes from the Bronze Age through Historical Era (41 archaeological sites). Overall, the Bronze Age Xinjiang populations show high diversity and regional genetic affinities with Steppe and northeastern Asian populations along with a deep ancient Siberian connection for the Tarim Basin Xiaohe individuals. In the Iron Age, in general, Steppe-related and northeastern Asian admixture intensified, with North and East Xinjiang populations showing more affinity with northeastern Asians and South Xinjiang populations showing more affinity with Central Asians. The genetic structure observed in the Historical Era of Xinjiang is similar to that in the Iron Age, demonstrating genetic continuity since the Iron Age with some additional genetic admixture with populations surrounding the Xinjiang region.

A 5th CenturybcIron Age Chariot Burial from Newbridge, Edinburgh

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 ◽  
pp. 31-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Carter ◽  
Fraser Hunter ◽  
Andrea Smith ◽  
Mhairi Hastie ◽  
Steven Lancaster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Burial Mound ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Burial Practices ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
History Of ◽  
National Museums ◽  
The Bronze Age

The remains of the first Iron Age chariot burial in Britain outside Yorkshire were discovered during the winter of 2000–1, near the Bronze Age burial mound of Huly Hill, at Newbridge, Edinburgh. Excavated by Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd with the assistance of the National Museums Scotland, the chariot proved unique beyond just its burial location. The Newbridge chariot was buried intact, a method consistent with the burial practices of Continental Europe rather than Yorkshire, where they were predominantly buried disassembled. Detailed post-excavation analysis revealed a history of repair and reuse, and construction techniques that indicate links with the chariot building traditions of both Yorkshire and Continental Europe. Fifth centurybcradiocarbon dates for the burial place it firmly within La Tène A, consistent with its similarities to European examples and indicating that it pre-dates the known Yorkshire examples. This indicates the emergence of a British tradition of chariot construction by this time, familiar with Continental habits and technology but distinctively different in such areas as wheel construction and suspension fittings. Based on the findings, a reconstruction of the chariot was built for display in the National Museums Scotland, providing an opportunity further to understand and confirm the construction techniques observed or hypothesised during excavation.

scholarly journals Ancient Bactria in Historical Sources

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 354-359
Author(s):  
I. Umarov
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The World ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Bronze Age

Ancient Bactria is a country where early urban planning traditions and foundations of statehood were formed in Central Asia. Historical sources give a lot of information about Ancient Bactria. In terms of development, the northern regions of Bactria were especially distinguished. Here, since the bronze age, agriculture, handicrafts, trade, culture, urban planning were highly developed and still attracts the attention of the world scientific community. This article provides information about the history of Ancient Bactria, its population, cities and historical regions based on Greco-Roman sources.

The Technological Weakness of the Ancient World

1969 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Reece
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Outward Appearance ◽  
Technological Improvement ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Bronze Age

One of the major puzzles in the history of the Graeco-Roman world lies in the great discrepancy between its considerable achievements in art, in literature, in philosophy, in mathematics, and in medicine, and its very marked backwardness in most branches of technology. This is less surprising where the Romans are concerned, since, for all their admirable qualities in other directions, they were not a conspicuously original or inventive people. Even in those spheres in which they most excelled, the arts of government and warfare, they made few contributions of their own, and their strength lay rather in their skill at adapting to their own purposes the bright ideas of other men. It is significant that those two simple but important aids to improved horsemanship and cavalry tactics, the saddle and the stirrup, were not invented by the Romans, nor indeed by the Greeks, but by the nomadic tribes that pressed in on the Roman empire from the third century A.d. onwards. But with the Greeks the case is different. They were a highly intelligent people, gifted with a degree of inquisitiveness which made them unwilling to accept without question the outward appearance of the world in which they lived. Consequently in mathematics and certain branches of pure science they were able to make quite astonishing progress. But these intellectual advances were not accompanied by any marked degree of technological improvement. While Eratosthenes in Alexandria was calculating the circumference of the earth, and obtaining a figure that was less than i per cent short of the real one, the world around him was still more or less at the same technical level as it had been since the end of the Bronze Age. This contrast between theoretical brilliance and practical incompetence is great and dramatic, and it is the purpose of this paper to suggest some of the reasons why it existed.

The saving of Navan

Antiquity ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 61 (231) ◽  
pp. 64-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Mallory
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early History ◽  
Limestone Quarry ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Landscape

Navan, Co. Armagh, is one of the major ritual sites of Irish and of European prehistory. Its 2.5 square km encompass the bronze- and iron-age Navan ‘fort’, the bronze-age ritual pond of the King's Stables, the bronze-/iron-age Haughey's fort, and the iron-age ritual lake of Loughnashade – and, surely, other sites not yet detected. It figures largely in the early history of Ireland as the ancient capital of Ulster. For years, a limestone quarry has been eating into the archaeological landscape; its erosion was finally halted last year, thanks to the vigour with which the Friends of Navan fought the archaeological case. Here, one of the founder Friends sets out the issues, and what kind of victory was won.

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