The problem of the attribution of burials of medieval nomads on the territory of the ukrainian steppe on the example of three burials from the Novosilsky kurgan complex

Cercetări Arheologice 31.1, 2024, 249-260
https://doi.org/10.46535/ca.31.1.16



The problem of the attribution of burials of medieval nomads on the territory of the ukrainian steppe on the example of three burials from the Novosilsky kurgan complex

Authors: Yaroslav Chentsov

Keywords:

Nomads, steppe of Ukraine, North-Western Black Sea coast, Novosilsky kurgan group, 3-D model

Abstract:

The article is devoted to the problem of attributing monuments of medieval nomads from the Ukrainian steppe in the period of X-XIV centuries on the example of three burials from the Novosilsky Kurgan group located in the North-Western Black Sea coast. The attribution of such burials is problematic for the archaeology of Ukraine. The number of modern studies on this topic is rather small, which is determined by the somewhat biased attitude of scientists towards the monuments of medieval nomads of the 10th-14th centuries as those left by a certain homogeneous community, as evidenced by the still used term „late nomads”. However, such a strong generalization does not reflect reality. During the Middle Ages, the steppe of Ukraine was replaced one after another by waves of multi-ethnic nomads who migrated here from Central Asia. The ethnic diversity of the Pechenegs, Torks, Cumans, and the Central Asian peoples who came with the Mongols, but also their similarities, including the significant similarity of funeral rites, made it difficult to attribute and identify features for certain ethnocultural groups and chronological periods. The purpose of this paper is to trace possible solutions to this problem. Modern technologies can also help with this – namely, 3-D modelling of artefacts from burials, which allows us to learn the detailed parameters of each object and visualize it in high resolution. For this work, three 3-D models were created – one object from each burial site, which will be characterized in the paper. The models also perform an important task of preserving cultural heritage, because unfortunately, since 2014, because of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, nomadic monuments from the medieval steppe of Ukraine have been destroyed.

Download: PDF

How to cite: Yaroslav Chentsov, The problem of the attribution of burials of medieval nomads on the territory of the ukrainian steppe on the example of three burials from the Novosilsky kurgan complex, Cercetări Arheologice, Vol. 31.1, pag. 249-260, 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.46535/ca.31.1.16

Bibliography

  1. Bubenok, O. 2012. Ranni torky u stepakh Pivnichnogo Pryazovia. Kharkiv: Problemy istorii krain Tsentralnoi ta Skhidnoi Evropy.
  2. Dobroliubskii, A. 1986. Kochevniki Severo-Zapadnogo Prichernomoria v epohy srednevekovia. Kiev: Naukova dumka.
  3. Dobroliubskii, A, Smirnov, I. 2011. Kochovyky Pivdenno-Zakhidnoi Ukrainy v X-XVII stolittiakh. Kyiv: “Ilion”.
  4. Evglevskij, A., Potemkina, T. 2000. On some types of pottery ceramics of Eastern European Nomads of developed middle ages. The European steppes in the middle ages 1: 209-226.
  5. Fedorov-Davydov, G. 1966. Kochevniki Vostochnoi Evropy pod vlastiu zolotoordynskikh hanov. Moskva: MGU.
  6. Garustovich, G., Ivanov, V. 2001. Oguzy i pechenegi v evraziiskikh: Ufa.
  7. Grib, V., Kosikov, V. 1985. Parnoe kochevnicheskoe pogrebenie iz kurgana u sela Kamenka Donetskoi oblasti. Sovetskaia arkheologiia №2: 257-262.
  8. Grib, V., Kravchenko, E. 2014. Istoria i materialy odnoi ekspeditsii na Dontse. Donetsk: Sviatogirskyi almanakh.
  9. Gudkova, A. and Dobroliubskii, A. and Toshchev, G. and Fokeev, M. 1980. Otchet o rabote Izmailskoi novostroechnoi ekspeditsii Instituta Arkheologii Academiia nauk Ukrainskoi Sovetskoi Sotsialisticheskoi Respupliki v 1980 godu. Odeskii gosudarstvennyi istoricheskii muzei 88252/1: Naukovyi arkhiv OAM Natsionalna Academiia nauk Ukrainy.
  10. Gudkova, A. and Dobroliubskii, A. and Toshchev, G. and Fokeev, M. 1980. Otchet o rabote Izmailskoi novostroechnoi ekspeditsii Instituta Arkheologii Academiia nauk Ukrainskoi Sovetskoi Sotsialisticheskoi Respupliki v 1980 godu. Odeskii gosudarstvennyi istoricheskii muzei 88252/2: Naukovyi arkhiv OAM Natsionalna Academiia nauk Ukrainy.
  11. Ivanov V., Garustovich G., Pilipchuk Y. 2014. Srednevekovye kochevniki na granitse Evropy I Azii: Ufa.
  12. Kirpichnikov, A. 1973. Snariazhenie vsadnika i verhovogo konia na Rusi v IX-XIII vv.: Leningrad.
  13. Kliashtornyi, S. 2002. Kimaki, kipchaki I polovtsy. Kazan: Istoriia tatr s drevneishykh vremen.
  14. Kovaleva, I., Marina, Ch., Romashko, L. 2002. Kurgany eneolita-bronzy v krivorozhskom techenii Ingultsa. Dnepropetrovsk.
  15. Kriger, V. 1985. Kochevniki Iuzhnogo Priuralia i Zavolzhia v srednie veka: Moskva.
  16. Medvedev, A. 1966. Ruchnoe metatelnoe oruzhye (luk i strely, samostrel) VIII-XIV vv. Arheologiia SSSR. Svod arkheologicheskikh istochnikov. Vyp. EI – 36. Moskva: Nauka.
  17. Pletneva, S. 1981. Kochevniki vostochnoevropeiskikh stepei v X-XIII vv. Pechenegi, torki, polovtsy. Stepi Evrazii v epokhu srednevekovia. Moskva.
  18. Pletneva, S. 1958. Pechenegi, torki i polovtsy v iuzhnorusskikh stepiah: Trudy Volgo-Donskoi arkheologicheskoi ekspeditsii.
  19. Solovev, A. 2008. Nekotorye aspekty semantiki obriada pogrebenia so shkuroi loshadi srednevekovogo naselenia predtaezhnogo Ob-Irtyshia ( voprosy rekonstruktsii ). Okno v nevedomyi mir: 289-295.
  20. Cherkas, B. 2015. Zakhidni volodinnia ulusu Dzhuchi ХІІІ – XIV st.: suspilno-politychnyi ta ekonomichnyi rozvytok. Kyiv.
  21. Shalobudov, V. 1984. Kochevnicheskie kurgany Pravoberezhia Dnepra. Problemy arkheologii Podneprovia III-I tys. do n.e.: 166-173.
  22. Shvetsov, M. 1980. Kotly iz pogrebenii srednevekovykh kochevnikov. Sovetskaia arkheologiia 2: 192-202.

Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License