Items of Clothing from the Early Nomadic Kurgans in the Southern Urals: Iconography and Burial Practice (Based on the Materials of Cemeteries Filippovka 1 and Filippovka 2)

Abstract

The article is devoted to publication and analyses of objects found during the excavation of the cemeteries Filippovka 1 and Filippovka 2 which are of value for reconstruction of clothing of the early nomads from the Filippovka Southern Urals. The objects under study are divided into two blocks – those carrying images of the nomads themselves for instance depictions of exclusively male riders with weapons or of various decorative elements made of precious metals, stripes, pendants and embroideries, according to the location of which in the burial relative to the backbone, one can get an idea of the costume as a whole. All burials where decorative patch elements were found in situ belong to females. The absolute majority of the sew-on decorations are made in the version of animal style art traditionally associated with Filippovka 1 cemetery, represented to a large extent by plates made from precious metals ornamenting wooden vessels. Obviously, this series of objects expresses the worldviews of the early nomads who left these funerary monuments on the territory of the Southern Urals, reflecting their religious and mythological ideas on the world around them and the vision of themselves. It is unlikely that these items were produced in a nomadic environment; they were rather produced in workshops the location of which has yet to be determined. In any case, they should be separated from Achaemenid style treasures which are referred to as “the antique” and were redesigned by nomads to suit their own needs.

Keywords

• southern urals
• early nomads
• early sarmatians
• horsemen
• filippovka 1 kurgan cemetery
• fillipovka 2 kurgan cemetery
• clothing reconstruction
• animal style
• gold stripes
• iconography