Occupying a continuous territory and having similar features that form an internally connected system that uniformly changes in time and varies in space to a limited extent.
Archaeological culture is one of the main concepts (and class-si-fi-ka-ci-on-nyh units) in ar-heo-logia, while its de-fi-ni- tion, co-co-you-de-le-nia, in-ter-pre-ta-tion and other as-pek-you in-ni-ma-niya serve as a pre-me-tom of discus- this, like theo-re-ti-che-sky and philo-sophic-sky (for example, a number of authors de la yut emphasize that the culture is archaeological yav-la-et-sya only one of the research-before-va-tel-sky in-structures), and in from-no-she-nii con-kret-no-go ma-te-ria-la. The term “archaeological culture” in a meaning close to the present time has been used since the 19th century; for a more clear-to-no-no-ma-nia (like Kultur-ge-biet - a cultural area) an important meaning did you have a ra-bo-you G Kos-si-ny and his school-ly, as well as-le-mi-ka with them; it is believed that the first clear defi-ni-tion of archaeological culture was given by G. Child in 1929-1930.
Archaeological culture reflects the life-non-activity of the group of the ancient on-se-le-tion (within the framework of some kind of active-tiv-but circ- ku-li-ro-va-la in-for-ma-tion), connected with the general-no-stu of pro-from-water-st-veins and other na-vy-kov, norms, tra -di-tsy (up to the cult) and so on. From-in-the-first-but behind the nya-ty-em "archaeological culture" le-zh-lo name-but striving-le-nie you-de-pour ancient eth-no-ches-communities -sti, their parts or ob-e-di-non-nia, which is stored in the research-to-va-tel-practice-ti-ke pain-shin-st -va specialists. Co-from-no-she-nie of a specific archaeological culture with the host-st-ven-but-be-you-mi, ideological-logical, languages-ko-you-mi and others ha-rak-te-ri-sti-ka-mi of the ancient community (including military-po-lytic or others) re-sha-et-sya from the possibility of ar-geo-logia in this case and in-no-ma-niya features of the studied ancient communities. In-torture for-ma-li-zi-ro-vat about-tse-du-ru you-de-le-niya culture of the archaeological us-pe-ha did not have.
Within the framework of archaeological culture, local and chrono-logic can be distinguished. va-ri-an-you, sa-mi cultures - embrace in cultural-tour-but-historical communities, cultural zones, epo -hee and so on; fe-no-men compare-no-tel-noy cultural-tur-noy not-us-that-chi-vo-sti, che-res-po-lo-si-tsy, mi-gra-tsy can be from -ra-zhat-sya with special in-nya-tiya-mi: type of pa-myat-ni-kov, cultural-tour-but-is-to-ri-sky go-ri-umbrella and others. The borders of an archaeological culture can be clear-cut (when they coincide with the borders of cultural communities, with li-chii of neutral zones, eu-te-st-ven-nyh ru-be-zhey and so on) or times-we-you-mi (ob-ra-zu-yut-sya contact- nye zones). The area of archaeological culture can change, for example, as a result of me-not-number-of-len-no-sti on-se-le-niya. In the case of mi-grassions in a different region of the archaeological culture of fik-si-ru-et-sya on separate ter-ri-to-ri-yah, so-ka-mo- worthy development does not lead to the formation of different archaeological cultures. A change in the archaeological culture pro-is-ho-dit in re-zul-ta-te on-co-p-le-niya internal from me-not-ny or skip-to-about-time-but, for example, in re-zul-ta-te on-yav-le-niya but-in-go on-se-le-niya and other external influences. You told me that there was no archaeological culture at the ancient and later stages of history (or that you didn’t -tse-le-co-about-times-but).
The formation and early history of the Slavs cannot be studied and understood in isolation from the processes of formation and development of other ethnic groups in Europe. The initial history of the Proto-Slavs, which is not yet entirely clear, is closely intertwined with the history of the Celts and Germans, Scytho-Sarmatians, Finno-Ugric peoples and Balts. Therefore, the problem of the origin of the Eastern Slavs is usually considered on the basis of materials from several archaeological cultures of the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. - the first half of the 1st millennium AD, whose monuments were left by the population that lived on the territory of modern Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.
One of the most striking archaeological communities in Central Europe, which was strongly influenced by the provincial Roman and La Tène cultures, was Przeworsk (2nd century BC - early 5th century AD). Formed on the basis of the development of local cultures of Central and Southern Poland under the strong influence of the Celts of the Danube region, this culture was a complex formation that included Celtic, Germanic, early Slavic and other components. The complex diverse composition of materials found at the same sites is explained by the mixing of different groups of the population and its frequent movement. The habitat of the Przeworsk tribes has undergone some changes during the long existence of the culture. At first it included lands from the right bank of the Oder in the west to the Bug in the east. In the 1st century BC. the first wave of migration of the Przeworsk population, pressed from the west and south-west by the Germans and Celts, to Western Volhynia and the territory of the Upper Dniester region is noted. Here later they encounter the Zarubintsy tribes and gradually begin to mix with them. As a result of this mixing, a new formation is gradually taking shape - the Zubritskaya culture. From the end of the 2nd century AD the second wave of settlement of Przeworsk tribes is noted, as a result of which groups of this population penetrated into Transcarpathia and the Middle Dniester region, and some, probably even further to the east - into certain areas of the south of the forest belt of Eastern Europe. This movement of the Przeworsk people was partly caused by pressure on them from the north from the tribes of the Wielbar culture (1st - early 5th century).
The Wielbar archaeological culture is of great importance for the history of Central and Eastern Europe, since it is connected with the so-called Gothic problem. Some information about the habitat of the Gothic tribes is contained in the work of the VI century. Gothic historian Jordanes "Getica" (or "On the origin and deeds of the Getae"). Judging by his words, the Goths appeared from the Baltic Sea, from the territory of Scandinavia and from the island of Gotland. After the appearance in the Lower Vistula region in the 1st century. AD the Goths quickly moved south and in the III century. joined the barbarian wars with Rome on the territory of the Black Sea and the Danube.
Characteristic materials of the Wielbark monuments (a biritual burial rite - first cremations, later inhumations), sacrificial pits with ash and stones, mostly hand-made dishes - egg-shaped pots, bowls often with x-shaped handles, jugs, etc., often decorated with a combination of polished and specially roughened surfaces, incised geometric figures, etc.) were originally distributed in the lower reaches of the Vistula and other adjacent parts of Poland. Traced on archaeological material and partially confirmed by data from written sources, the repeated movements of groups of the Velbar population chronologically generally correspond to the movement of the Goths and Gepids. Two main waves of movement of the Goths are noted as part of the carriers of the Wielbar culture. At the end of the II century. the western areas of culture are deserted, but the Wielbark monuments appear in the basin of the Western Bug and in Western Volhynia - this was accompanied by the displacement of part of the population of the Przeworsk and Zubrytsky cultures. From the middle of the III century. AD Wielbark monuments become known from the Lower Danube to the Dnieper. Various groups of the population could be involved in this movement, including some groups of the early Slavs as part of the Przeworsk culture, Western Balts, etc.
In the first half of the 1st millennium AD. on the territory of the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Eastern Europe, there are (according to archaeological data) repeated movements of various groups of the population that left monuments of many archaeological cultures, including practically synchronous Kiev and Chernyakhov, later - Kolochinskaya, as well as a number of other cultures. These archaeological cultures are traditionally considered within the framework of the question of the origin of the Slavs. It is impossible to characterize all of them here, therefore only the brightest among them are considered in more detail.
Chernyakhov culture
Monuments of the Chernyakhov culture are located in the forest-steppe regions of Ukraine and Russia (part of the Kursk and Belgorod regions), the Black Sea steppes to the west of the Dnieper, in Moldova and Southeastern Romania: from the Seversky Donets to the Lower Danube and from the upper reaches of the But along the Lower Dnieper. In the steppe, monuments of the Chernyakhov culture are much less common. The period of existence of culture is the middle of the III - the beginning of the V century. AD At present, the ethnic heterogeneity of the population of the Chernyakhov culture is generally recognized.
The economy of the tribes of the Chernyakhov culture was agricultural and cattle breeding. It was based on arable farming using a light or heavy plow. There are known finds of iron nares of various types. In addition, there are finds of iron hoes, probably for gardening. Millet, barley, wheat, oats, peas were grown, flax and hemp were common. For harvesting, sickles and scythes of various shapes were used, which may be due to the specialized purpose of tools. Supplies were stored in pits-cellars and large clay storage vessels. In the settlement of Floreshty (Moldova), a utility pit was found that can hold up to 12 centners of grain, which is an annual supply for a family of 6 people. Rotary stone hand millstones were used for grinding grain. Mill structures were found that could be used by several families. For example, in the settlement of Ivankovtsy (Ukraine), the remains of such a mill with two sets of millstones located in the same building with a cellar pit were excavated.
Among the animal bones found in the cultural layers of settlements, more than 90% are the bones of domestic animals. The leading role belonged to cattle, but small cattle, pigs, horses and poultry were also bred. The bone was widely used for the manufacture of tools intended for cleaning hides and processing leather; combs, some jewelry, and household items were also made from it. It is believed that there were even specialized bone carving workshops.
The Chernyakhov culture is characterized by well-developed metalworking, pottery and other crafts. Products made in specialized workshops, including tools, weapons, household items, pottery and some types of jewelry, were distributed throughout the cultural area, regardless of the ethnicity of the population that left the monument.
Findings of slag, lyachek, crucibles and their fragments, as well as blanks and semi-finished products are associated with the processing of non-ferrous metals. The study of the composition of non-ferrous metal jewelry showed two main groups of alloys: the first is close in composition to products of the Baltic origin, the second is similar to the composition of bronzes common in the workshops of the Black Sea region. This may be due to different sources of raw materials for the local bronze craft, or may reflect some tradition of alloy formulation. Most of the ornaments of the Chernyakhiv culture are made of bronze or billon, a copper alloy on a silver base. Finds of things made of precious metals are very rare.
The development of iron-making and iron-working crafts was of great importance. It can be assumed that these crafts were already specialized. Marsh and other ores were used, in particular, iron ore deposits in the Krivoy Rog region (Ukraine) could be used. Wastes from the production of iron and its processing in the form of slags were found in many Chernyakhovsky settlements. Several dozens of metallurgical furnaces of various designs have been found. Chernyakhov craftsmen knew various methods of iron processing and steel production. Experts note some Late Scythian and Central European and provincial Roman features in blacksmithing - the widespread use and stable combinations of technological methods in the manufacture of one item - packaging, carburizing and hardening.
Pottery was especially well developed. Remains of small pottery workshops were found in more than 50 settlements. So, in the settlement of Zhuravka (Ukraine), two kilns for firing ceramics were found, located next to a semi-dugout workshop. Inside it were stocks of clay prepared for use and some special tools: a polisher, a stone pestle for crushing impurities, and other things. Sherds from molded but unfired pots were also found here. There is evidence of the use of a foot potter's wheel.
The population of the Chernyakhov culture used stucco and circular dishes, which were distinguished by a variety of shapes, sizes and purposes.
The predominance of high quality pottery and its wide assortment is one of the characteristic features of the Chernyakhov culture. It is assumed that the idea of the potter's wheel came to Chernyakhov from the Black Sea region, from the Roman provinces, or was adopted by them from the population of the Carpathian region, familiar with the potter's wheel due to Celtic or Dacian influence.
A glass-making workshop has been opened in the settlement of Komarov in the Middle Dniester region. It is believed that it was a trading post of Roman craftsmen. Some settlements can be considered as commercial, i.e. associated with the development of tufa deposits (a stone that was used to make millstones), salt extraction, etc.
One of the most common crafts is weaving, making woolen and linen fabrics. On some metal objects in the burials, prints of various fabrics were found. A wide range of found woodworking tools indicates a sufficient development of this craft.
Monuments. The vast majority of settlements are settlements of considerable size, located on the slopes of the banks of small rivers and streams. On fertile chernozem soils, settlements reach 20-30 hectares. In areas less suitable for agriculture, the area of settlements is up to 5 hectares. Often settlements are grouped, forming "nests". The buildings in the settlements are located in clusters or in two or three rows along the river bank. Usually, household or industrial buildings were located next to the living quarters.
Dwellings are represented by semi-dugouts and ground houses. Most semi-dugouts are rectangular in shape, their area is up to 20 square meters. m. Ground buildings, one - or multi-chamber, also have a rectangular shape, their area ranges from 10 to 40 square meters. m. The frame-pillar wattle walls of houses were usually coated with clay, in the center of the house a hearth was arranged on the floor. In terms of size and layout, among the above-ground structures, pillar structures with an area of 60 to 160 square meters stand out. m - the so-called large or "long" houses, inside which the residential and economic parts stood out: a living room and a room for keeping pets, sometimes separated by a vestibule. The walls of such structures were probably made of turf. Large buildings were mainly discovered on the territory of Western and Northern Ukraine and Moldova, and their prototypes are well known in Scandinavia and Northern Germany.
In most settlements of culture, there were different types of simultaneous buildings. In the southern regions of the area of the Chernyakhov culture, above-ground residential and outbuildings built of stone are common. The walls of such houses were built using the technique of armor-clad masonry, laid “dry” (i.e., without a binder solution), with backfilling of the inside with small stones.
Only three cape settlements are known, located in the southeastern, steppe part of the Chernyakhovsky area (Gorodok, Bashmachki and Aleksandrovka - the most significant in terms of area), which arose in the 4th century BC. AD - at the very end of the existence of culture. The defensive structures of these settlements are earthen ramparts, on which double stone or wooden walls with clay internal backfilling, and ditches were erected. It is believed that in addition to the ramparts and walls, there were also stone towers. The design of defensive structures is close to late Scythian or antique.
The soil burial grounds of the Chernyakhov culture are located at higher places than the settlements, but not far from them and occupy a small area compared to the settlement. Most of the known cemeteries date back to the 4th c. The funeral rite is characterized by bi-rituality, i.e. using both cremation and cadaverization.
Usually both rites are found at the same burial ground. Burials were located in soil pits. Cult pits and other traces of feasts were found on some burial grounds.
Burnings were committed on the side, outside the burial place. The remains of burning were placed at the bottom of shallow rounded pits, which were covered from above with a vessel, shards or a flat stone. There are both urn and non-urn burials. Clay vessels were used as urns - pots, bowls, in isolated cases - wooden caskets or other containers (made of leather, fabric, etc.). More than 60% are non-inventory burials. The rest are accompanied by mostly metal parts of the costume, sometimes burnt or deliberately broken and placed inside or near the urn. The finds of weapons are associated with single urn burnings: socketed spear and arrowheads, knife-daggers, shields (they retain iron umbones - central cone-shaped plaques), axes, spurs, swords are occasionally found. Swords are long, their hilts usually do not have pommel and crosshairs. Sometimes the weapon is stuck in the bottom of the grave pit or bent, i.e. deliberately corrupted. This detail of the rite is an element of the Przeworsk culture.
Corpses were made in ordinary oblong pits, pits with lining or internal side ledges, as well as in catacombs. The dead were located, as a rule, elongated, on their backs, with their heads to the north or west. Most of the burials are individual, but there are also pairs. A rite of ritual destruction of burials is known, which was apparently performed by the tribesmen of the deceased. Moreover, it is the burials with a northern orientation that are destroyed more often. They are characterized by a diverse and numerous inventory, including several vessels. Burials with a western orientation in the majority turn out to be without inventory or contain 1-2 objects. The grave inventory is represented by ornaments: glass beads, brooches, various pendants, belt buckles, as well as personal or household items (combs, knives, whorls) and offerings, most often - these are vessels with farewell food. It is probable that such items occasionally found in burials as keys, heaps of small stones, and tortoise shells had a ritual significance.
Tools of labor are usually absent in the graves, weapons are rare, although the militancy of the Goths and their allies was repeatedly noted by ancient authors. Among the burials, the graves of the "nobility" stand out - deep large pits lined with wood, the remains of the dead in which are accompanied by numerous objects. Entire banquet sets stand out, often including imported items such as glass goblets. Such burials sometimes occupy a special place on the plan of the burial ground.
Items of material culture. The bulk of the finds are fragments of various clay vessels: pots, bowls, jugs, vases, goblets. The forms of relatively few molded vessels are indicative of different cultural traditions or imitate the forms of circular ones. Tableware is distinguished by careful workmanship; it was often decorated with molded-on rollers, grooves, incised horizontal lines, less often flutes, wavy or stamped ornaments were used. Some examples of polished vessels are obviously imitations of imported metal vessels. Among the crockery at the Chernyakhovsk sites, there are quite often Black Sea amphorae, in which oil or wine was brought. In addition, there are separate finds of red-clay and red-glazed pottery that came out of provincial Roman workshops. An interesting group of vessels is made up of thin semi-egg-shaped earthenware goblets with a stamped ornament - local imitations of Roman glass vessels. Only in the settlements are pots and pitho-shaped vessels made of coarse clay and intended for storing supplies. Several vessels were found, the surface of which is decorated with a complex system of images, possibly associated with calendar cycles and having a ritual purpose.
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| Chernyakhov culture. Jewelry, household items, tools, weapons: 1, 2 - brooches; 3 - beads; 4 - buckles; 5 - combs; 6 - knife, 7 - ax; 9 - sickle; 10 - clay whorl; 11 - armchair, 12 - narals; 13 - braid; 14 - spear tip; 15 - daggers; 16 - sword |
The settlements of the Chernyakhov culture are characterized by a significant number of finds of tools. Numerous iron knives, fishhooks, clay whorls, clay weights for a vertical loom, iron and bone needles, piercers, and awls were found. Armament items are rarely found in settlements, while finds of household items are quite diverse - these are both borrowed and local bone or iron combs, toilet tweezers, locks and keys, etc.
A characteristic feature of the Chernyakhov culture is numerous Roman coins; single finds are coins of the Bosporan coinage. On the sites explored to the west of the Dniester, there are numerous finds of Roman bronze coins of the 3rd-4th centuries, which served the active trade of the population of these regions with the Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire. To the east of the Dniester, silver Roman denarii, issued as early as the 2nd century BC, predominate. - coins of fine silver. About 140 hoards of silver Roman coins come from the territory of the Chernyakhov culture. Some researchers believe that silver coins rather embodied treasures or were used as a means of payment only in foreign trade transactions, while barter was going on in the interior without coins.
In addition to coins, the Chernyakhov culture is connected with the Roman world by numerous finds of glass and single metal vessels. Glassware became widespread in the Roman Empire in the first centuries AD. and penetrated into the territory of the barbarian tribes. Many types of goblets found at the Chernyakhovsk sites are not typical for the Roman provinces themselves; they were probably made specifically for the barbarians. Elongated-conical or cylindrical goblets were popular. Vessels were made of one-color, most often greenish or yellowish glass and decorated with incised ornaments or sometimes soldered glass colored threads. Beads made of glass, ornamental stones and amber were also imported.
Ethnic composition. Currently, researchers identify several cultural traditions within the ethnically heterogeneous Chernyakhiv population. The Chernyakhov culture cannot be regarded as the result of a simple evolution of any of the previous cultures, although Germanic, Scytho-Sarmatian, Slavic, Thracian and other elements are noted in it.
The first group of traditions belongs to the German circle. It is determined by the biritual funeral rite and some of its features, "large" houses, ceramics of the Wielbar types (see above), forms of jewelry and household items. These signs are known practically throughout the entire territory of the Chernyakhov culture.
The second group includes Sarmatian and Late Scythian features: burials according to the rite of burial in pits with liners or catacombs, individual forms of molded ceramics (pots with expanding throats), stone buildings - multi-chamber houses and estates with a courtyard, metal mirrors. The legacy of the culture of the Sarmatian tribes is the placement in burials of parting meat food with a stuck knife, pieces of paint and chalk, as well as the custom of intravital deformation of the skull. Chernyakhovsk sites with these elements are concentrated mainly on the territory of the Northern Black Sea region.
The third group includes features correlated with the Slavs: monuments dominated by square semi-dugouts of an insignificant area, with a large number of utility pits; a high percentage in the ceramic set of stucco pots: the absence of large burial grounds. Such monuments are concentrated on the territory of the Upper and Middle Dniester region, where the traditions of the Przeworsk culture continue. Also, a number of elements of Kievan culture are correlated with the Slavs, the monuments of which are common in the Middle Dnieper and more eastern regions.
The end of the Chernyakhov culture is connected and chronologically coincides with the time of the emergence and domination of a new wave of nomads, the Huns, in the Eastern European steppes (see below). The invasion of the Huns at the end of the 4th century. caused the outflow of part of the population to the west - written sources report the movement of the Gothic and Sarmatian-Alanian tribes. At the same time, in the forest-steppe regions of the territory occupied by the population of the Chernyakhov culture, some groups of the population continue to remain, which also corresponds to the data of written sources about the subordination of part of the Ostrogoths, Gepids and other peoples to the Huns.
On the territory located to the northeast, in the period preceding the formation of the Chernyakhov culture, and then simultaneously with it, there was the Kiev culture, which is also considered by many researchers as part of the question of the origin of the Eastern Slavs.
Kyiv culture
At the turn of II-III centuries. AD within the forest and forest-steppe in the northern part of the Middle and southern parts of the Upper Dnieper, in the territory of the Desenye and adjacent regions of the left bank of the Dnieper, the Kievan culture was formed, monuments of which exist until the middle of the 5th century. The process of its formation is connected with the complex interaction of the post- or late Zarubinets tribes, various local and penetrating here from the west - Przeworsk groups (see above).
The economy of the population of the Kievan culture is characterized by agriculture and residential cattle breeding. Small unfortified settlements and their corresponding ground burial grounds with burials according to the rite of cremation on the side are widespread. With the traditions of the post-Zarubinets culture, some researchers associate the custom of building residential semi-dugouts with a central support pillar and a hearth in the middle part of the building. The rite of burning, accompanied by the placement of re-fired ceramics in the grave, finds analogies in the Przeworsk culture. Modeled utensils are typical for Kyiv culture. Some forms of ceramics, such as sharp-ribbed bowls and pots with a polished surface, have prototypes among the ceramics of the Zarubintsy and Przeworsk cultures. In addition to local hand-made utensils, some of the monuments have imported circular ones made in Chernyakhiv workshops. Especially noticeable is the influence on the Kievan culture from the Chernyakhov culture in the 4th - early 5th centuries, by this time the finds of some types of bronze and iron brooches, horn combs, glass beads, tweezers belong. At the beginning of the IV century. the population of Kievan culture, under the onslaught of the Chernyakhov tribes, cedes to them part of its territory in the Middle Dnieper. This gave a new impetus to the advancement of certain groups of the population of the Kievan culture in the Upper Dnieper region, which had begun somewhat earlier.
On the basis of the Kyiv culture, the Kolochin culture is being formed, which has recently been considered by some researchers as a Slavic culture. This archaeological culture dates back to the period from the middle of the 5th to the second half of the 7th century, and the range of its monuments almost completely coincides with the territory of the previous culture. Almost the same are the methods of house-building (semi-dugouts of a log or frame-pillar structure with a hearth in the center) and the burial rite (earth burial grounds with the remains of cremation on the side). In addition, studies of the characteristics of the Kiev culture allow a number of authors to suggest that, in addition to the Kolochin culture, this culture is a partial basis for the Penkov culture (see below), which is considered as "Antskaya", i.e. Slavic. Some researchers see similarities between elements of the Kolochinsk, Penkovo and Prague cultures, the latter of which is recognized by almost all as a reliable archaeological culture of the early Slavs.
Origin of East Slavic tribes
The question of the origin of the East Slavic tribes that lived in the forest-steppe and forest zones of Eastern Europe, whose names and territory of settlement are well known according to the Tale of Bygone Years (beginning of the 12th century), is closely related to the problem of the formation of reliable early Slavic cultures. As we know, none of the agricultural archaeological cultures of the early Iron Age and the first half of the 1st millennium AD, whose monuments have been explored in vast forest-steppe spaces, was purely Slavic - the population of each of them was heterogeneous and consisted of various ethnic components, autochthonous and newcomers.
Some authors associate messages of the 1st-2nd centuries with the Slavs. AD about the Wends who lived east of the Vistula. Starting from the VI century. information about the Slavs is already reliable and is becoming more diverse. According to the data of the Gothic historian Jordanes and a number of Byzantine authors of the 6th century, the Slavs themselves (“Sklavins” in Greek and Latin vowels) are known from the Lower Danube to the Vistula, and the Antes, related to them and close in culture, from the Dniester to the Dnieper or Don. Many Byzantine sources of the VI-VIII centuries. report on the raids of the Slavs on Byzantium, their resettlement in the Balkans. German early medieval chronicles record the Slavs in the territories east of the Elbe. The Old Russian Tale of Bygone Years, referring to oral tradition, names the regions of the Lower and Middle Danube as the ancestral home of the Slavs. Thus, it turns out that those occupied in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. Slavic lands stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Balkans and from the Dnieper to the upper Danube and the Oder.
Archaeological cultures and tribes of Eastern Europe in the second half of the 1st millennium AD: a - Prague-Korchak culture; b - Penkovskaya culture; c - Kolochin culture; d - Tushemla culture; e - Moschinskaya culture; e - area of culture of early long mounds; g - the area of culture of the hills; h - Baltic tribes; and - Finnish tribes
Prague culture
On the territory from the Elbe to the Dnieper and from Pomerania to the Danube in the 5th century. a relatively uniform archaeological culture is taking shape, called the Prague culture. Prague culture is practically the only culture whose belonging to the early Slavs is generally recognized.
Throughout the distribution area, it is characterized by the following elements:
- small villages (up to 10 buildings), located in groups along the banks of small rivers;
- residential buildings (square semi-dugouts or above ground with a small depression - northwestern area) with a stove-heater (less often clay) in one of the corners of the building (eastern and southern areas) or a hearth (north-western areas);
- the dominance of the rite of burning on the side (ground burials and a few barrows);
- stucco unornamented ceramics with strictly maintained proportions (high pots, expanded in the upper third);
- economic structure - based on agriculture, in the presence of cattle breeding and home crafts.
Prague culture was, according to experts, a new cultural formation, which was formed during the period of the great migration of peoples. There are three main theories of its origin. The first sees its prototypes in the Slavic component of the Przeworsk culture, the second sees it in the continuation of the traditions of the Zubrytska culture, and the third zone of its formation is connected with the territory of the Belarusian Polissya.
In the V-VI centuries. there is a gradual resettlement of the carriers of the Prague culture towards the Middle Dnieper, the Danube and the Elbe, where they assimilate the remnants of the local population, who did not leave during the events of the Hun era. At the end of VI - beginning of VII century. groups of the Slavic population begin to settle in the Balkans.
Period V-VII centuries. AD - an important period in the history of the formation of the Slavic peoples, with which are associated:
- the last stage of the existence of the common Slavic language;
- wide resettlement and development of new lands;
- the earliest reliable Slavic archaeological sites.
Within the Prague culture, as a result of the interaction of the settling groups of the Slavic population and their contact with local tribes, its local-chronological variants are formed. On the territory of Europe, there are several main cultures, one way or another connected with Prague. On the territory of Ukraine, two are distinguished: Prague-Korchak and Luka-Raikovets.
Prague-Korchak culture
Monuments of this culture are common in the Carpathian region, the interfluve of the Dnieper and the Bug. The period of existence of culture - V-VII centuries.
Economy. Settlements are always located on lands suitable for cultivation. The basis of the economy was agriculture. Rala with small iron tips and wooden rales without iron tips were used, which were most suitable for plowing black earth lands. Sometimes small iron and bone hoes were used to cultivate the arable land. Wheat, millet, barley, oats were grown, for the harvesting of which iron slightly curved sickles were used. Animal husbandry was in second place in importance. Bred cattle and pigs, small cattle; horse bones are rare. Pink salmon scythes were used for fodder harvesting. Judging by the small number of finds of fish hooks, as well as the bones of fish and wild animals, fishing and hunting played an insignificant role in the life of the population.
Handicraft production was poorly developed; rather, we can talk about home crafts (spinning, weaving) or home production (woodworking, bone processing). Traces of the production and processing of iron are clearly found on a few sites. To obtain iron, apparently, local poor marsh ores were used. Ferrous metal finds are few. Metallographic analysis of these objects showed that simple schemes were used: the manufacture of products entirely from iron, raw steel, or packaged raw materials.
Traces of jewelry production are represented by finds (in the settlement of Zimno, Khachki and some other settlements) of crucibles for melting non-ferrous metal, clay lyacs and fragments of casting molds for making simple jewelry. A workshop was excavated at a settlement in Bernashovka (Ukraine), in which a set of molds connected to each other was found.
Pottery was made only by hand. Basically it is kitchen utensils - pots, pans. As a rule, the dishes have no ornamentation, only occasionally they are decorated with an oblique notch, finger impressions along the edge of the rim of the vessel (at a late stage of the existence of the culture) or a molded roller.
Monuments. The Korchak culture is characterized by small settlements with an area of no more than 1 ha, on the territory of which there were most often up to 10 buildings. Settlements are usually located on low floodplain capes. Every 5-7 km, several such settlements (up to 10) form a kind of "nests".
Fortified settlements are rare. Among them, the most famous settlement is Zimno (V - mid-7th century), arranged on the remnant of a high bank of one of the tributaries of the river. Western Bug (Ukraine). One of the sides of the settlement was fortified with a wooden wall, a rampart and a palisade, the others were quite steep and steep. The logs of the palisade are obliquely driven into the slope of the cape at a distance of 3-5 m from the wall. Along the wooden defensive wall on the inner side of the site there was a long wooden building of a pillar structure, divided into several residential cages. The cages were heated by open hearths.
The dwellings studied in many settlements are square semi-dugouts (deepened into the ground from 0.1 to 1 m) with wooden walls of a pillar structure and a stove-heater in one of the northern corners. In some areas, the oven was made of clay. In the northwest of the cultural area, rectangular dwellings were built, which were heated by an open hearth. Between residential buildings, there are usually groups of utility buildings, the nature and composition of which are different in different regions.
Small ground burial grounds were usually located near the settlements. There is a known case when the burials were located between the buildings of the village (Teterevka, Ukraine), were fenced and inscribed in its structure. The Korczak culture is characterized by the ritual of cremation on the side. The burnt bones, cleared of the remains of the funeral pyre, were poured onto the bottom of a shallow rounded pit or collected in an ordinary clay pot, which was also then placed on the bottom of the pit; Burials, as a rule, do not have grave goods. Only in rare cases are melted glass beads, iron knives, and belt buckles found in them.
In addition to ground burials, barrow burials are known in some areas with the same rite of small inventory burning on the side. Ritual bonfires were located at the base of the mounds. Urnless burials predominated. The bones collected from the place of burning were poured onto the layer of the fire, placed in a hole at the base of the mound or in the mound itself. From the 7th century the practice of building such mounds is gradually spreading over a wider area. Burial monuments of culture have not been discovered and explored throughout the entire territory of its existence.
Items of material culture. Monuments of the Korczak culture are poor in finds. Fragments of stucco vessels, clay whorls, small iron knives are most often found in the settlements. Costume items are among the rare finds - these are brooches, buckles and bracelets with expanding ends, plaques, bell-shaped and trapezoidal pendants. Many of these objects were found at the settlement of Zymno, as well as in the Carpathian region. Some of them belong to the types of things that are widespread in Southern and Central Europe, they could get here as a result of trade or as war trophies. Only towards the end of the existence of a culture are local forms of jewelry formed. Finds of weapons are also rare.
In a significant part of the area of the Early Slavic Prague culture (and its variant, the Korczak culture), development proceeded calmly, without visible upheavals. The temporary neglect of some settlements can be explained by the outflow during the resettlement. At the turn of the VII-VIII centuries. on its basis, on the territory of the Right-Bank Ukraine and Moldova, a culture of the Luka-Raikovetskaya type begins to take shape, the materials of which show the genetic continuity between the early Slavic culture of this region and the later Old Russian. In general, the materials of the new culture are very close to those of the Korczak culture, but nevertheless, due to the natural development of economic and social life, the tastes and needs of the population, there are some changes in the nature of the settlements, the design of dwellings, the technology of making ceramics, and in the details of the funeral rite.
Luka-Raikovets culture
Monuments of culture are common from the Belarusian Polesie in the north to the basin of the river. Prut in the south and from the upper reaches of the Western Bug in the west to the Middle Dnieper in the east. The period of existence of culture VIII-X centuries.
The economy of the Luka-Raikovets culture was agricultural. The spread of arable farming is confirmed by the finds of iron parts of arable tools - burrs and burrs. In addition, iron hoes were used to till the soil. Found grains of cultivated crops - wheat, millet, barley. Home crafts continued to exist and developed - spinning and weaving, wood and bone processing, beekeeping. Probably, hunting and fishing played some auxiliary role in the economy.
Pottery was made mainly by hand, but in the 9th century. there are vessels made on a manual potter's wheel, decorated with a linear or wavy ornament. Circular utensils coexist for some time with stucco, only gradually displacing it. The early pottery vessels, still quite crude, repeat the local most common form of molded pots - with an extension in the upper third. It is assumed that the technology of making on a manual potter's wheel came here from the south-west, from the regions of the Danube region, and was quickly mastered by the local population - in the 9th century. circular vessels account for up to 20% of those found at the sites of the Luka-Raikovets culture, and their number is gradually increasing.
Monuments. The Luka-Raikovets culture is characterized by open settlements - settlements, which are located along the banks of rivers, in places convenient for farming, cattle breeding and various agricultural crafts. Their area is insignificant, and the building is unsystematic. From the 9th century an increase in size is noted - the area of settlements reaches 3 hectares, and the buildings are arranged in rows. Small estates appear, consisting of several buildings for residential and household purposes. Sometimes houses and estates form separate groups. The increase in the number of settlements dates back to the same time.
A characteristic example of a cultural settlement is the Khotomel settlement on the river. Goryn. It consists of a small settlement (only an area of 0.12 hectares), located on a hill protruding into the floodplain of the river, protected from three sides by a lowland. The mound was built by the bearers of the Prague culture, but was burned down. The oval site of the settlement is surrounded by an earth rampart, additional arched ramparts and ditches protect the site from the eastern and western sides. A settlement adjoins the settlement. At the settlement, ground buildings, apparently of a log construction, which were heated by adobe stoves, and rectangular semi-dugout dwellings with a stove - a heater or an adobe stove, located in one of the corners, were investigated. Unlike most other settlements, the Khotomel settlement, in addition to ceramics, turned out to be rich in various finds. Not only household items (knives, whorls) were found here, but also tools (axes, sickles, hoes), as well as weapons and equipment for the rider and riding horse (arrowheads of various types - iron socketed double-thorned, stalked rhomboid and leaf-shaped; arrowheads socketed spears; two-piece bit, spur). In addition, jewelry was found: horseshoe-shaped brooches, bronze belt buckles, rings, bracelets. An interesting find is a temporal ring - a silver seven-pointed one, decorated with false granulation - this is one of the earliest finds of a Slavic temporal ring of this form.
Burial monuments of culture are represented by ground burials and mounds. Burials were performed according to the rite of burning on the side. Burials are rarely accompanied by things - single finds of iron knives, melted glass beads and other small items are known. Continuing the tradition of the Prague population, the population of the Luka-Raikovets culture buried the cremated remains in clay urns or without them in small pits. During the VIII-IX centuries. almost throughout the territory of culture, the custom of building mounds is widespread, which by the 10th century. becomes predominant. The burial mounds contain individual burials, among which urnless burials predominate. The remains of cremations are increasingly located at the base of the mounds at the ritual fire site, at the site of the burning, and sometimes placed at the top of the mound.
The carriers of the Prague and cultures close to it, who settled on the Right Bank of the Dnieper in the 7th-8th centuries. and partially mixed with a small local population, became the ancestors of the southwestern group of East Slavic tribes, named in these territories by the chronicler at the beginning of the 12th century - Volhynians, Drevlyans, Polyans, Dregovichi (partially).
Penkovskaya culture
After the Hunnic conquest of the 70s. 4th century in the forest-steppe zone of the Middle Dnieper region, a part of the heterogeneous Chernyakhov population was preserved, which, along with the carriers of the Kyiv culture who advanced from the north, took part in the formation of the Penkov culture during the 6th century. The main area of culture formation is the Middle Dnieper and the river basin. Southern Bug. Monuments of this culture are common in the forest-steppe in the territory from the Seversky Donets in the east to the lower Danube in the west. The period of existence of culture V-VIII centuries.
Economy. The population was engaged in agriculture and residential cattle breeding. The herds included large and small cattle, horses, and bred pigs. The craft was mostly domestic in nature. The exception is iron mining and, apparently, iron processing. Some researchers associate the Gayvoronsky metallurgical center on the Southern Bug with the Penkovo culture. Here, the remains of 21 metallurgical furnaces, 4 furnaces for roasting (enrichment) of ore and several pits for its storage were discovered and investigated. The study of blacksmith products showed that the Penkov blacksmiths (like their predecessors - carriers of the Kyiv and Prague cultures) used, first of all, simple technologies: the manufacture of products entirely from iron or raw steel. They also know such methods for improving the working qualities of tools as carburizing and heat treatment. It can be argued that almost all tools and household items made of ferrous metal are of local origin.
The monuments of the Penkovo culture are characterized by stucco ceramics: biconical and round-sided pots, frying pans. At the final stage of development of the Penkovskaya culture in its area, in the Dnieper region, centers for the manufacture of pottery, the forms and ornamentation of which have North Caucasian prototypes (the settlement of Kantsirka, etc.) appear. The appearance of pottery workshops can be associated with the resettlement of North Caucasian (Alan) masters. Burials of noble nomads of that time (one of them - the so-called Pereshchepinsky treasure) are also known in the southern part of the Middle Dnieper. In the second half or end of the 7th c. On the territory of the Penkovo culture, the Pastyrskoe settlement appears - this is a multi-ethnic settlement that has become a large trade and craft center. The craft traditions of the center were formed on a local basis under the strong influence of traditions brought from the Danube region. The pastoral settlement was destroyed in the first half of the 8th century, apparently by the Khazars.
Monuments. The most common open settlements are settlements located on low areas of coastal terraces and dunes with easy-to-cultivate soils and floodplain meadows. The area of settlements does not exceed 2-3 hectares. Several settlements are known with materials of the Penkovo culture, but the ramparts and ditches of these settlements turned out to be built in the Scythian era. The settlements are dominated by an unsystematic arrangement of dwellings, next to which there were utility pits and household buildings. The main type of dwellings were quadrangular semi-dugouts of frame-pillar or log construction with an area of 12-20 square meters. m. At an early stage of culture, dwellings heated by open hearths were built, then in the zones of contact with the carriers of the Prague culture, stoves located in one of the corners became widespread. In several settlements of the Middle Dnieper region, traces of yurt-like dwellings, characteristic of nomadic Turks, were found.
Burial monuments of culture are soil burial grounds containing burials according to the rite of burning on the side. Burial grounds, occupying a small area, are located in the immediate vicinity of the settlements. The cremated remains were placed in earthenware urns, which were placed at the bottom of shallow rounded pits or simply scattered at their bottom. There are cases when burnt bones were covered with an urn turned upside down. One burial pit can contain from 1 to 3 urns. Burials are accompanied by decorations, sometimes there are ritual vessels.
Monuments of the Penkovo culture are characterized by a rather large number of various finds made of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. At several settlements, iron spears, hoes and sickles were found. Common finds are iron knives, biconical and rounded clay whorls. There are individual arrowheads and spearheads, bronze and silver jewelry: brooches of various shapes, pendants, belt buckles and plaques. The mass material is ceramics - fragments of molded vessels: biconical or round-sided pots, frying pans. Penkovskaya ceramics, as a rule, are not ornamented. Sometimes there are vessels decorated with notches along the rim or moldings under the rim.
The finds of treasures of the 7th century, which are sometimes called "antsky", are associated with the territory of a part of the Penkovskaya and Kolochinskaya cultures. First of all, they are characterized by various details of the belt set (buckles, lining, belt tips), richly ornamented, finger-shaped brooches and other women's jewelry. The prototypes of these things date back to some cultures of Southeastern Europe, but their sets and composition, which determine the dress, are largely original. The appearance of a group of treasures hidden for a relatively short period marks the end of the Penkovo and Kolochin cultures. This event, apparently, can be associated with the advancement of a population close to the late Prague culture.
Monuments of the Penkovo culture occupy an area that coincides with that which, according to Jordan, was occupied by the Ants - he wrote that they live on the lands from the Dniester to the Dnieper on the bend of the Black Sea. According to Procopius of Caesarea, the Antes and Sklavens (Slavs) had a common language, the same way of life, customs and beliefs, and once "even the name of the Slavs and Antes was the same." The Byzantines quite definitely distinguished the Antes from the Slavs among the mercenaries, using for their own purposes the strife between these groups.
According to a number of linguists, the ethnonym Antes is of Iranian origin. So, apparently, the Iranian-speaking population of the Northern Black Sea region called the Slavs who settled in the southeastern outskirts of the Slavic world.
Romensko-Borshevsky culture
Cultural monuments occupy the territory of the left bank of the Dnieper from the basin of the river. Desna to the Upper and Middle Don. The main time of existence - VIII-X centuries. (in some territories until the beginning of the 11th century).
At the end of the 7th century there is, according to some researchers, the movement of part of the Slavic population that lived in the space from the Danube to the Dnieper, to the northeast and east of this territory to the regions of the left bank of the Dnieper. Gradually mixing with the local population, the settlers, bearers of the traditions of the late Prague - early Luka-Raikovets culture, master the forest-steppe territories right up to the Upper and Middle Don. In this space, the Romny and Borshevsky cultures are formed, which are unconditionally recognized by everyone as Slavic. They existed simultaneously (VIII-X centuries) and were extremely close in many details to each other, therefore sometimes the culture is called Roman-Borshevka. Common to both cultures are: arable farming as the basis of the economy, the predominant type of settlements - settlements, semi-dugout rectangular dwellings with stoves in one of the corners, developed bone carving, molded vessels decorated with rope stamp imprints or finger impressions along the edge of the rim, the burial rite - under burial mounds on the side. However, there are a number of differences regarding house building, a set of jewelry and costume items, and details of the funeral rite.
Economy. As already mentioned, the basis of the economy was arable farming, in which arable tools were used with wide iron tips, the most convenient for the development of untouched lands, and small tips for cultivating old arable soils. Wheat, millet were grown, and rye appeared at a later stage. Hoes and hoes were used to cultivate small areas (gardens?). The harvest was harvested with iron sickles of stable pronounced forms. Analysis of the osteological material shows a decisive predominance of the bones of domestic animals - cattle, then pigs and small cattle. The wide distribution of various iron products speaks of the local nature of metalworking and local iron mining. Traces of non-ferrous metal processing, lyacs, crucibles and casting molds for the manufacture of individual adornments were found at many settlements. Researchers point to a noticeable amount of Saltovskaya ornaments, which are most often found in the area of Romny monuments of the 8th-9th centuries. For monuments of the early period up to the 9th century. finds of ornaments associated with their origin with the Danube territories (hollow gold earrings, moon pendants, grained temporal rings) turn out to be characteristic. At the same time, temporal five- and seven-beam rings appear, decorated with false granulation. The form and style of these jewelry go back to examples of Byzantine jewelry art. As raw materials, non-ferrous scrap metal and silver Arab coins were used, which began to spread in Eastern Europe in the 8th century. For the culture of the IX-X centuries. in general, a set of jewelry is characteristic, consisting of radial temporal rings, metal bracelets and neck torcs with flattened ends. Later, from the 11th century, ray temporal rings become a defining feature for one of the East Slavic tribes - the Radimichi, whose territory is located a little to the north and practically does not coincide with the area of the Romny monuments. Many pendants and buckles found during excavations of settlements have analogies among Hungarian, early nomadic, Baltic and Eastern Finnish antiquities.
The Romensko-Borshevsky culture is characterized by stucco ceramics, represented by a wide range of vessels of various sizes and shapes - these are pots, bowls, and frying pans. Coarse pots predominate, decorated with imprints of a rope stamp in the form of oblique stripes or zigzags, as well as finger tucks along the edge of the rim. Dishes were burned in ovens. At the very end of the IX century. vessels appear, corrected on a manual potter's wheel, however, during the 10th century. the predominance of stucco forms is preserved.
In some settlements, circular dishes of Saltov origin are found - jugs and pots, carefully made, covered with burnished stripes.
Culture settlements are unevenly distributed within its range. Most of them are concentrated in areas covered with forests in ancient times. Among the settlements, unfortified ones predominate, the area of some of them is very significant and reaches 10 or more hectares. The earliest settlements are characterized by their location on low parts of river banks in floodplains. In the IX-X centuries. settlements begin to occupy the plateau of the high banks of the rivers, but the floodplains continue to be populated too. Separate small settlements appear (for 1-2 yards), freely located on the lands of wide floodplain plots. The different system of location of settlements suggests that the population consciously chose the areas most suitable either for arable farming or for the predominant grazing of livestock. Small clusters of villages corresponded to individual fortified settlements - settlements. Sometimes settlements are closely adjacent to the settlement. The area of settlements most often does not exceed 0.5 hectares, although there are separate fortified settlements, the area of which reaches 2-3 hectares. Most often, high capes of the native coast were used to build fortified settlements. Using the steep natural slopes of such capes, the inhabitants increased their steepness by escarpment, i.e. artificial pruning to a height of about 10 m. So, for example, the slopes of the cape, on which the Bitatsky settlement (Ukraine) is located, turned out to be pruned along the entire perimeter. The construction of ramparts and ditches was widely used. The construction of the rampart included wooden walls built from close-by log cabins or double rows of palisades, the interior of which was filled with earth.
Typical dwellings were rectangular semi-dugouts, which had pillared walls and were heated by stoves. But in the tenth century log buildings began to spread. The stoves were either carved from a clay ledge left near one of the walls of a pit dug out for the construction, or entirely molded from clay brought from the side. The area of dwellings ranged from 16 to 20 square meters. m. In some cases, it was possible to determine that residential log buildings were two-story: the first floor was occupied by a foundation pit, the floor of the second was laid on poles located along its perimeter (Gorbovo). In addition to residential buildings, there were outbuildings in the settlements. The most common type of household structures were grain pits, located both inside the dwellings and next to them. Researchers note a gradual increase in the volume of these storage pits from a few dozen to almost 1000 liters, which reflects the gradual increase in agricultural production.
Funeral monuments of the Roman culture are small round mounds with burials according to the rite of cremation on the side. Early burials are poorly known. Usually in burial mounds of the 8th century. cremated remains collected in 1-2 urns were placed at the base of the mound. Gradually, the location of the urns changed. Burnt bones, in or without an urn, were most often located in the upper part of the mound. Burials with practically no inventory are characteristic, only occasionally melted glass or bronze ornaments are found among the remains of burning. In the northern regions of the distribution of the Romny culture, ritual fires are found in barrows, which later, in the 11th century, become a characteristic feature of Radimic barrows. Burial mounds, as a rule, have several dozen mounds and are located in relative proximity to settlements.
All researchers correlate the Romny culture with the East Slavic tribe of the northerners, whose habitat in the 12th century, according to the chronicle, largely coincides with its area. However, according to the observations of some authors, at the end of the X - the first half of the XI century. On the territory of the Dnieper Left Bank, there is a sharp change in material culture, the vast majority of the Romny settlements are devastated and perish in fires. At the same time, in the first half of the XI century. the appearance of some groups of the Slavic population to the north and northeast of the Romny territory is noted. Fragments of stucco Romny ceramics were found in settlements located in the basin of the river. Moscow.
Some part of the Romny population, undoubtedly, remained in the former territory of their habitat and took part in the formation of the already ancient Russian population of this region.
Some researchers associate the Borshev culture (the territory of the Upper and Middle Don basin) with the history of the Vyatichi, but not everyone agrees with this. It is only clear that the monuments of the Borshevsky culture belonged to some group of Slavs. Part of the settlements of the Borshevo culture is located on the territory of the Scythian settlements - the Slavic population used the fortifications built in the early times.
The difference between this culture and the Roman culture is insignificant. First of all, this is connected with house-building: the semi-dugouts of the Borshevites were heated by stoves-heaters or stoves made of stones and clay.
The funeral rite of the Borshevsky culture - cremation on the side with burial under the mound. Unlike the Roman barrows, some of the Borshev barrows have a more complex structure. For example, mounds near the Bolshoy Borshevsky settlement (Voronezh region) turned out to be such. Inside the barrow, on the ancient surface, there were low wooden burial chambers-domovinas with the remains of several cremations in urns. In addition to clay vessels-urns, accompanying vessels were found in the same chambers, apparently with parting food. Ring fences made of wooden posts were installed around the dominions. However, most of the barrows in Borshevsky have a conventional structure, and the remains of cremations are located in urns or simply piled on the surface of the buried soil.
Settlements and burial mounds with Borshevsky material are also noted on the upper Oka. The similarity is primarily determined by the forms of molded ceramics and the funeral rite of burning on the side. The Upper Oka kurgans are characterized by the presence of remains of charred wooden chambers-domovinas. In the same part of the area, settlements of the 8th-10th centuries are also known, apparently also left by the Slavs. It is believed that in the territories occupied by the Baltic tribes (shank), in the VIII century. groups of the Slavic population penetrate from somewhere in the southwest. Old Russian Vyatichesky burial mounds of the XI - the beginning of the XII century. (except for the Upper Oka region, where early burial mounds with cremations were noted) were investigated in the Oka basin before the confluence of the river. Moscow and beyond in its basin. Probably in the 11th century. Vyatichi from the Verkhneoksky region began to actively settle in the northeast and north. Gradually, the Slavs move into the lands occupied by the Eastern Finnish tribes, some of which are descendants of the tribes of the late Dyakovo culture - this is how the territory outlined by the chronicler as the land of the Vyatichi develops.
Source
T.A. Pushkin Archeology: Textbook / Edited by Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.L. Yanina. - M.: Publishing House of Moscow. un-ta, 2006. - 608 p.
archaeological culture- a term used to refer to a community (complex) of similar archaeological sites dating back to the same time and distributed in a certain area.
1. Definition of the concept
Archaeological culture is a fundamental concept of archaeological science. On the one hand, it allows you to streamline archaeological sources, localizing them in space and time, on the other hand, it paves the bridge between archaeological sources and their creators.
There is no doubt that certain communities stand behind archaeological cultures - individual peoples or groups of related peoples. This point is extremely important for ancient history dealing with the preliterate period. "Silent" history seems to begin to speak, acquires a certain concreteness, and anonymous communities that left certain archaeological cultures receive, albeit conditional, a name. Therefore, the identification of archaeological cultures forms the basis for solving a wide variety of problems of ancient history: the way of managing, the social structure, the ethno-cultural specifics of communities. Comparison of materials from different archaeological cultures makes it possible to reproduce to a certain extent the ethnogenesis of individual peoples, their economic ties, migration processes, etc.
The similarity of archaeological sites can be traced in various ways, for example, in the shape and decoration of dishes, decorations, house building techniques and interior design of houses, burial customs, etc. They began to talk about the spread of certain archaeological complexes within certain territories in the 19th century, different terms were used to define such complexes: cultural group, cultural province, cultural area, just culture, etc. The term "archaeological culture" is widely used in science in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Since then, it has become the main one for determining archaeological complexes. It was in the first half of the twentieth century that most of the archaeological cultures were identified.
2. Archaeological cultures
The names of archaeological cultures are conditional, have a different nature, more often cultures are called according to some distinguishing feature:
Archaeological cultures, in terms of ethnicity, may include:
Separate elements of a culture can also be reversed as a result of the spread of ideas or the migration of the people who bear this culture. The study of the emergence, spread and disappearance of archaeological culture makes it possible to reconstruct the history of tribes and peoples in the eras preceding the emergence of written sources.
3. Material culture
The term "material culture" implies, firstly, the significance of all physical objects of the environment for the people of a certain culture, and secondly, a complex of artifacts (TECHNOCOMPLEX) typical of a given socioculture and is an essential part of its cultural identity. People for the most part relate to material objects in the way that is customary in their culture, and researchers of material culture study the relationship between the objects found and their meaning for the bearers of this culture. In this sense, material culture is comparable to language, i.e. verbal culture, both are cultural phenomena. Archaeologists are trying to recreate the common culture of ancient communities by drawing conclusions about less permanent cultural features based on the study of the remains of material culture.
See also
Sources
Literature
- Kudryavtseva N. On the question of the definitions of the concept of "archaeological culture". In: Archeology and Methods of Historical Reconstructions. K., 1985.
It is well known that the idea of isolating an archaeological culture and identifying it with specific peoples goes back to the works of H. Child. “We find certain types of remains—vessels, implements, burial rites, types of house building—constantly repeated together,” he wrote in 1929. “We call such a complex of regularly connected features the term 'cultural group' or 'culture'. We assume that such a complex is the material expression of what today can be called a people. This concept was once positively received by Soviet scientists and became an integral part of the theoretical apparatus of Russian archaeologists. There are a large number of works devoted to the study of the status and nature of archaeological culture (for the historiography of the issue, see: Ganzha A.I., 1988; Klein L.S., 1991; Kovalevskaya V.B., 1995; and others). The existing points of view regarding the nature of archaeological culture can be summarized in two large groups. The first position, which goes back to G. Child's definition, assumes that archaeological culture is the material expression of real social groups and peoples. It makes sense to call the supporters of this point of view ontologists. They are the vast majority among archaeologists.
According to another point of view, archaeological culture is an analytical category intended to describe groups of monuments that are typologically close to each other. In other words, it is an intellectual abstraction, a product of the researcher's thinking. In a certain sense, this is an "ideal type" in the sense that the term was used
M. Weber. Regarding the relationship between ethnic communities and archaeological cultures, epistemologists take a more cautious position. They believe that before going to the level of historical and ethnogenetic reconstructions, the archaeologist needs to deal with the actual archaeological source studies issues. This point of view was most consistently developed in the domestic literature in the works of L.S. Klein (1978, 1991) and his students. Proponents of this approach can be called epistemologists.
In British archeology, many prominent specialists also adhere to the view of archaeological culture as an exclusively analytical category (Renfrew C., 1977, p. 94; Hodder I., 1982, p. 169). There are supporters of such views in modern German archeology (Brother S., 2000, s. 156, 165). In American processualism, this issue was discussed in a slightly different context: what determines the similarities and differences in archaeological material - the functional specificity of artifacts or cultural closeness between groups (Binford L., 1973).
By and large, ontologism and epistemologism correlate with each other in the same plane as primordialism and constructivism in sociocultural anthropology (for more details, see: Tishkov V.A., 2003). However, they are not exactly the same. I introduced the first two concepts to denote two common interpretations of archaeological cultures. In the second case, we are talking about the most popular approaches in the theory of ethnicity. Primordialism is the direction according to which ethnicity is an objective given, based on biologically or culturally transmitted traits. A typical example of primordialism is, for example, the concept of ethnogenesis by Yu.V. Bromley. Constructivism suggests that ethnicity is not an innate trait of an individual, but is constructed depending on certain circumstances. B. Anderson's book Imagined Communities (2001) played a particularly important role in the formation of constructivism.
According to Anderson, the formation of nations was not due to natural demographic and ethnogenetic processes. A nation is an ideologically constructed community. A good example is the formation of nations in South and Central America. Here nations arose as a result of the political mobilization of the masses by local leaders and the struggle for independence against the Spanish crown. Initially, throughout the entire territory of the Spanish colonies, there lived approximately the same population of yesterday's immigrants from Europe, Negro residents forcibly taken out of Africa. Only the indigenous population of the various provinces of the Spanish colony differed from each other. However, as a result of political mobilization, several different nations emerged - Argentines, Bolivians, Brazilians, Mexicans, Uruguayans, etc.
Archaeological culture is a set of interconnected monuments, in a certain way limited by time and space.
Main similarities:
The similarity of the funeral rite.
Similarity in the field of ornamentation of ceramics.
Women's jewelry.
Architecture.
archaeological culture- a set of material monuments that belong to the same territory and era and have common features.
Usually, an archaeological culture is named after some characteristic feature that distinguishes it from others: according to the shape or ornament of ceramics and decorations (for example, funnel-shaped goblets culture), burial rite (for example, catacomb culture), etc., or according to the area where the most typical monuments of this culture were first found (for example, the Dnieper-Donetsk culture).
In archeology, the concept of culture is given a meaning that is somewhat different from the generally accepted and accepted in other scientific disciplines. Similar material monuments that characterize archaeological culture do not necessarily belong to a single society, and a different set of material monuments - to different communities of people. In this regard, some archaeologists refuse the very term "archaeological culture", preferring the term "technological complex" or "technocomplex" to it, so as not to confuse archaeological culture with a similar term of sociology.
When archaeologists use the term "culture", they assume that their finds testify to a certain way of life of people who left certain monuments of the past. When it comes to the same type of tools or other artifacts, the term "industry" is also used. The term "archaeological culture" is the main one in describing the prehistoric era, about which there are no written sources. The mechanisms for the spread of archaeological culture can be different. The theory of diffusionism considers, for example, such options as the resettlement of culture carriers or the transfer of technology through trade. Sometimes, during excavations in the same place, signs are found that are characteristic of different cultures, which may mean a clash or coexistence of their carriers, or maybe the evolution of one culture into another.
Cultural-historical community - cultural associations of a certain era, the common name for groups of close archaeological cultures.
The type of monuments is the listed classification of archaeological material. It often happens that monuments combine the functions of different categories. For example, mounds can carry not only the function of burial (funeral), but also perform certain cult functions.
6. Early Paleolithic.
The Lower (Early) Paleolithic is a period in the history of mankind that began at the end of the Pliocene era, in which the first use of stone tools by the ancestors of modern man Homo habilis began. These were relatively simple tools known as cleavers, spheroids (roughly cut stones) and flakes. Homo habilis developed stone tools during the Olduvai era, which were used as axes and stone cores. This culture got its name from the place where the first stone tools were found - Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. The people living in this era subsisted mainly on the meat of dead animals and the gathering of wild plants, since hunting was not yet widespread at that time. About 1.5 million years ago, the more advanced human genus Homo erectus appeared. Representatives of this species (Synanthropes) learned to use fire and created more complex chopping tools from stone, and also expanded their habitat through the development of Asia, which is confirmed by finds on the Zhoukoudian Plateau in China. About 1 million years ago, man mastered Europe and began to use stone axes.
The social organization of people was at the stage of a primitive herd (unstable, formed for the purpose of hunting, for protection from enemies, animals, elements). Tools of work - in general, the most primitive stone, wooden, bone tools. The economy consisted of gathering and hunting, people led a nomadic lifestyle.
Cultures of the Lower Paleolithic
Africa: 2.5-1 million years ago
Olduvai culture 2.5-1 million years ago
Acheulean culture 2.5 million - 200 thousand years ago
Europe: 1.2 million - 600 thousand years ago
Abbeville culture 1.5 million - 600 thousand years ago
