Kitchen Ware from Southern Aral Sea Region in the Golden Horde Period

Abstract

The paper considers the technological and typological features, and ornamental motifs of unglazed ceramics for kitchen purposes, discovered during archaeological excavations in the South Aral Sea settlements, related to the period of the Golden Horde. It mainly describes the kitchen ceramics from the Golden Horde quarters of the settlements of Mizdakhkan, Dzhampykkaly, Pulzhai and other monuments of the left-bank part of the Amudarya delta. Particular attention is paid to the technological and typological features, and ornamental motifs of kitchen ware. It is proved that kitchen ware has a unique place among the non-glazed products and material culture of the medieval settlements of the South Aral region. In terms to the morphological structure, the kitchen ware of the South Aral Sea region is compared with material artifacts from other regions of Central Asia and the Volga settlements. As for the decorative elements, the kitchen ware is compared to individual elements of folk applied art of the ethnic groups of the South Aral region. The ceramics of this period undergoes significant changes as compared to the previous period. The production of embossed kitchen ware is sharply reduced. Kitchen ware was widely used in everyday life by the population of the South Aral Sea along with other waere in the Golden Horde period. It is known from ethnography that such vessels were considered a cult object.

Keywords

• archaeology
• kitchen ware
• technology
• typology
• ornamentation
• cauldrons
• lids
• pots
• bowls
• mugs
• ladles
• south aral sea region