Происхождение акинаков на востоке Евразийской степи

Abstract

This article presents the analysis of an early Bronze Age burial complex which forms part of the barrow group Yolka-10 (Voronezh Oblast, Novohopersky district). It was first discovered in 2017 in the course of archaeological exploration and fully excavated in 2018. Since the place was not covered by an earthen mound, the whole complex was studied as a single entity (49 m2). Its central part was occupied by a stone crom- lech i.e. a line of stones orientated north-east – south-west. The structure consisted of 19 large stones and sand- stone slabs of different sizes and was accompanied by no less than 20 small stones with a diameter about ten centimetres. Its length was approximately 4.5 metres and its width was up to 0.9 metres. The south-western part of the cromlech contained an “entrance” – a gap between the stones. To the southeast of the cromlech a burial was discovered, containing a skeleton of an adult man oriented north-east – south-west (head to north-east). The individual was placed in the grave supine with the legs bent at the knees, turned right and the face orientated upwards. Under its skull a valve of an Unio shell was found. A part of a dog spine was lying perpendicular to the human body, on a south-west – north-east orientation. Grave goods found in the burial pit included a lithic flake, a polished bone tube made from a long bone of a mammal and a pottery fragment. The analysis of funerary rites and the burial assemblage suggests that the studied burial complex belongs to the Yamnaya archaeological cul- ture. In this culture the construction of cromlechs symbolized the separation of two worlds: of the living from the world of the dead. Burials with stone assemblages are typical for steppe territories and reflect the ways of herdsmen migration from the Lower Don to the forest-steppe Don region.

Keywords

• epoch of early nomads
• scytho-siberian world
• acinaci
• karasuk daggers