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with In this Article, Angela M. Taravella and Melissa A. Wilson Sayres have been added to the author list (associated with: School of Life Sciences, Center for Evolution and Medicine, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University,... more
with In this Article, Angela M. Taravella and Melissa A. Wilson Sayres have been added to the author list (associated with: School of Life Sciences, Center for Evolution and Medicine, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA). The author list and Author Information section have been corrected online.
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The role of archeology in solving issues of Khazar history is evident. Khazar cultural heritage in Eastern Europe should be discussed through reliance on archaeological material of reliably established Khazar cultural attribution. While... more
The role of archeology in solving issues of Khazar history is evident. Khazar cultural heritage in Eastern Europe should be discussed through reliance on archaeological material of reliably established Khazar cultural attribution. While searching for such material one sometimes is faced with curious cases far from science, as well as scientific guesswork. Such free interpretations of the archaeological sources, ignoring known methodical procedures and attributing Saltovo archaeological culture and its variants too loosely has resulted in discrediting the very existence of Khazar cultural heritage in Eastern Europe. This particularly relates to the attribution of certain tribal entities to the Khazars. Khazar antiquities do exist in South Russia, but they are not represented by Saltovo culture in any strict classical meaning of the term. The territory of the Khazar domain may be archeologically marked by meticulous analysis and historical interpretation of three categories of archeological sources dated from the second half of the 8 th - first half of the 10 th centuries: 1) spatial distribution of fortresses of the Byzantine type that guarded the Khazar borders; 2) three directions of migrations marked by catacomb burial rites of Alan tribes settled along the Khazar frontier for its protection; 3) geographical spread of burial sites displaying kurgan burials encircled with square-shaped ditches - the monuments left by the Khazar tribes proper.
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Abstract. The article examines the results of the paleogenetic study of anthropological materials obtained from the catacomb burials of the Alanian culture of the North Caucasus and the Middle Don in Ist Mill. AD against the background of... more
Abstract. The article examines the results of the paleogenetic study of anthropological materials obtained from the catacomb burials of the Alanian culture of the North Caucasus and the Middle Don in Ist Mill. AD against the background of available data on the genetic originality of the modern population of the region.
For thousands of years the Eurasian steppes have been a centre of human migrations and cultural change. Here we sequence the genomes of 137 ancient humans (about 1× average coverage), covering a period of 4,000 years, to understand the... more
For thousands of years the Eurasian steppes have been a centre of human migrations and cultural change. Here we sequence the genomes of 137 ancient humans (about 1× average coverage), covering a period of 4,000 years, to understand the population history of the Eurasian steppes after the Bronze Age migrations. We find that the genetics of the Scythian groups that dominated the Eurasian steppes throughout the Iron Age were highly structured, with diverse origins comprising Late Bronze Age herders, European farmers and southern Siberian hunter-gatherers. Later, Scythians admixed with the eastern steppe nomads who formed the Xiongnu confederations, and moved westward in about the second or third century bc, forming the Hun traditions in the fourth–fifth century ad, and carrying with them plague that was basal to the Justinian plague. These nomads were further admixed with East Asian groups during several short-term khanates in the Medieval period. These historical events transformed the Eurasian steppes from being inhabited by Indo-European speakers of largely West Eurasian ancestry to the mostly Turkic-speaking groups of the present day, who are primarily of East Asian ancestry.
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В статье рассматривается проблема археологических признаков, позволяющих локализовать территорию «домена» Хазарского каганата в IX в. Автор обращает внимание на то, что в 30-х годах IX в. осуществляются мероприятия по строительству цепи... more
В статье рассматривается проблема археологических признаков, позволяющих локализовать территорию «домена» Хазарского каганата в IX в. Автор обращает внимание на то, что в 30-х годах IX в. осуществляются мероприятия по строительству цепи крепостей с помощью византийских специалистов. Это совпадает по времени с выпуском дирхемов, на которых обозначена страна Хазар, как место чеканки монет. Плотность фортификационных сооружений 5, 6 агломераций и подкурганных хазарских погребений с высоким уровнем монголоидных черепов указывает на то, что хазарским «доменом», центральными территориями каганата, в IX в. были земли Нижнего Дона. Северо-западные рубежи каганата проходили по долине Тихой Сосны, а южные ограничивались Кубанью.
Research Interests:
В статье исследуется семантика изображения на сасанидской гемме, найденной на территории Нижнелубянского могильника салтово-маяцкой культуры VIII-IX вв. Композиционная схема состоит из мотивов парных крыльев и растения с тремя цветками.... more
В статье исследуется семантика изображения на сасанидской гемме, найденной на территории Нижнелубянского могильника салтово-маяцкой культуры VIII-IX вв. Композиционная схема состоит из мотивов парных крыльев и растения с тремя цветками. Автор приходит к выводу, что здесь отображена распространённая в сасанидском искусстве зороастрийская идея оси мира, обозначенная деревом всех семян, которое опирается на парные крылья - символ победы, удачи, благополучия и божественного покровительства.
The author of the article presents the research of a Sasanian intaglio found in the Nizhnelubianskii cemetery of the Saltovo-Mayaki culture of the 8th – 9th cc. The arrangement scheme consists of the motifs of the pair wings and a plant with three flowers. The author draws a conclusion that the Zoroastrian idea of the Axis mundi spread in the Sasanian art and marked by the all-seeds tree which is supported by the pair wings is a symbol of the victory, luck, wellness and divine protection.
The author of the article presents the research of a Sasanian intaglio found in the Nizhnelubianskii cemetery of the Saltovo-Mayaki culture of the 8th – 9th cc. The arrangement scheme consists of the motifs of the pair wings and a plant with three flowers. The author draws a conclusion that the Zoroastrian idea of the Axis mundi spread in the Sasanian art and marked by the all-seeds tree which is supported by the pair wings is a symbol of the victory, luck, wellness and divine protection.
Alekseyevskoye hillfort as a Saltovo-Mayatskaya culture site. Abstract. Dating and cultural attribution of the Alekseyevskoye hillfort has been discussed for 90 years. S.N. Zamyatin believed that the site was attributed to the Saltovo... more
Alekseyevskoye hillfort as a Saltovo-Mayatskaya culture site.
Abstract. Dating and cultural attribution of the Alekseyevskoye hillfort has been discussed for 90 years. S.N. Zamyatin believed that the site was attributed to the Saltovo culture, while T. M. Oleynikov attributed it to the Khazars and S.A. Pletneva initially dated the monument XVII–XVIII, more lately also carried it to the time of the Saltovo culture. Similarities in construction materials and construction techniques, technical design of the foundation and the fortification walls, and parametric characteristics of the Alekseyevskoye hillfort described by the author of the paper demonstrate that all these characteristics fit quite well in the Khazar and Alan brick and stone fortification architecture in the Don region, which has Byzantine architectural and con-struction roots. The radiocarbon date of the log that comes from the Alekseyevskoye hillfort walls is 767–847 and also corresponds to the Khazar Kaganate period.
Abstract. Dating and cultural attribution of the Alekseyevskoye hillfort has been discussed for 90 years. S.N. Zamyatin believed that the site was attributed to the Saltovo culture, while T. M. Oleynikov attributed it to the Khazars and S.A. Pletneva initially dated the monument XVII–XVIII, more lately also carried it to the time of the Saltovo culture. Similarities in construction materials and construction techniques, technical design of the foundation and the fortification walls, and parametric characteristics of the Alekseyevskoye hillfort described by the author of the paper demonstrate that all these characteristics fit quite well in the Khazar and Alan brick and stone fortification architecture in the Don region, which has Byzantine architectural and con-struction roots. The radiocarbon date of the log that comes from the Alekseyevskoye hillfort walls is 767–847 and also corresponds to the Khazar Kaganate period.
Research Interests:
В статье рассматривается проблема археологических признаков, позволяющих говорить о самоидентификации Хазарского каганата в IX в. Автор обращает внимание на то, что в 30-х гг. IX в. осуществляются мероприятия по строительству цепи... more
В статье рассматривается проблема археологических признаков, позволяющих говорить о самоидентификации Хазарского каганата в IX в. Автор обращает внимание на то, что в 30-х гг. IX в. осуществляются мероприятия по строительству цепи крепостей с помощью византийских специалистов. Это совпадает по времени с выпуском дирхемов, на которых обозначена страна Хазар как место выпуска монет. Обозначенные крепостями границы территории соответствуют плотности подкурганных хазарских погребений. Всё это указывает на то, что центральными территориями каганата в IX в. были земли Нижнего Дона.
This article examines the question of archaeological features making it possible to speak of the self-identification of the Khazar Khaganate in the 9th century. The author draws attention to the fact that in the third decade of the 9th century building projects were underway to create a chain of fortresses with the help of Byzantine experts. This process coincided in time with the emission of dirhams, with the inscriptions identifying the land of the Khazars as the point of issuing coins. The designated borders of their territory are commensurate with the density of Khazar burials in burial-mounds. All these data point to the fact that the core territories of the Khaganate in the 9th c. were the lower reaches of the Don.
This article examines the question of archaeological features making it possible to speak of the self-identification of the Khazar Khaganate in the 9th century. The author draws attention to the fact that in the third decade of the 9th century building projects were underway to create a chain of fortresses with the help of Byzantine experts. This process coincided in time with the emission of dirhams, with the inscriptions identifying the land of the Khazars as the point of issuing coins. The designated borders of their territory are commensurate with the density of Khazar burials in burial-mounds. All these data point to the fact that the core territories of the Khaganate in the 9th c. were the lower reaches of the Don.
Вклад донских алан в культурогенез и этногенез населения Хазарского каганата, его наследников, тюркских, славянских и финно-угорских соседей обсуждается на протяжении последних 100 лет. Для данной реконструкции этнической специфики... more
Вклад донских алан в культурогенез и этногенез населения Хазарского каганата, его наследников, тюркских, славянских и финно-угорских соседей обсуждается на протяжении последних 100 лет. Для данной реконструкции этнической специфики раннесредневекового населения бассейна Среднего Дона применен широкий спектр современных методов. Выполнено компьютерное картографирование и пространственный анализ расположения катакомбных, ямных и кремационных могильников салтово-маяцкой культуры в междуречье Дона и Северского Донца. С помощью процедур ГИС-моделирования выделены ареалы плотности, построены тренды пространственного распространения погребальных сооружений разного типа, а также прослежена их территориальная и этнокультурная взаимосвязь с синхронными фортификационными памятниками региона. Ареал катакомбных могильников (10 памятников) имеет наибольшую плотность на Осколе и на Сев. Донце. Использовались методы анализа палео-ДНК. В 6 образцах была обнаружена мужская гаплогруппа G2 и в 6 образцах – женская гаплогруппа I. Такое единообразие полученных результатов считается редким явлением в генетических исследованиях и встречается только при работе с материалами чрезвычайно замкнутых популяций. Одонтологический источник свидетельствует об относительной однородности компонентов внутри аланского кластера, в отличие от индивидов из ямных погребений. Выявлена демографическая специфика аланских групп. Это умеренный или повышенный ожидаемый возраст смерти (около 37 лет), значительный процент детских погребений (27–34%%), существенная разница в ожидаемой продолжительности мужчин и женщин. Изучение изотопного состава коллагена кости позволило реконструировать диету населения как смешанную растительно-белковую, с преобладанием растительного компонента. Результаты анализа изотопов стронция демонстрируют низкую мобильность населения.
The contribution made by the alans from the Don valley to the cultural genesis and ethnоgenesis of the population of the Khazar khaganate and its successors – Turkic, slavic and Finno-ugrian neighbours – has been a subject for discussion over the last hundred years . In this article a wide range of modern methods has been used to reconstruct specific ethnic features of the early-medieval population of the middle Don . These include computerized cartography and spatial analysis of the arrangement of cemeteries containing
catacombs, pit-graves and cremations of the saltovo-mayatskaya culture in the Don/seversky Donets interfluve . with the help of GIs-modelling, areas with dense distribution of such cemeteries have been singled out and trends have been indicated regarding the spatial distribution of various types of funerary structures: their territorial and ethno-cultural links with fortifications of the same time have also been traced . The largest clusters of catacomb cemeteries (10 sites) have been recorded on the oskol and seversky Donets rivers . Analyses of palaeo-Dna have been carried out . In six samples male haplogroup G2 was found and
female haplogroup I in six other specimens . Such uniformity rarely occurs in genetic researchand is only found in extremely closed populations . The odontological source testifies to the relative uniformity of the components within the alan cluster, differing sharply for the individuals from pit-grave burials . Specific demographic features of the alanian groups have been singled out: moderate or above-average death expectancy (around 37 years of age), a significant percentage of child burials (27–34 %), a marked difference in life expectancy for men and women . Study of the isotope composition of bone collagen made it possible to reconstruct the population’s diet: a mixture of vegetables and protein with the vegetable component predominating. Results of the analysis of strontium isotopes show the
population’s low level of mobility.
The contribution made by the alans from the Don valley to the cultural genesis and ethnоgenesis of the population of the Khazar khaganate and its successors – Turkic, slavic and Finno-ugrian neighbours – has been a subject for discussion over the last hundred years . In this article a wide range of modern methods has been used to reconstruct specific ethnic features of the early-medieval population of the middle Don . These include computerized cartography and spatial analysis of the arrangement of cemeteries containing
catacombs, pit-graves and cremations of the saltovo-mayatskaya culture in the Don/seversky Donets interfluve . with the help of GIs-modelling, areas with dense distribution of such cemeteries have been singled out and trends have been indicated regarding the spatial distribution of various types of funerary structures: their territorial and ethno-cultural links with fortifications of the same time have also been traced . The largest clusters of catacomb cemeteries (10 sites) have been recorded on the oskol and seversky Donets rivers . Analyses of palaeo-Dna have been carried out . In six samples male haplogroup G2 was found and
female haplogroup I in six other specimens . Such uniformity rarely occurs in genetic researchand is only found in extremely closed populations . The odontological source testifies to the relative uniformity of the components within the alan cluster, differing sharply for the individuals from pit-grave burials . Specific demographic features of the alanian groups have been singled out: moderate or above-average death expectancy (around 37 years of age), a significant percentage of child burials (27–34 %), a marked difference in life expectancy for men and women . Study of the isotope composition of bone collagen made it possible to reconstruct the population’s diet: a mixture of vegetables and protein with the vegetable component predominating. Results of the analysis of strontium isotopes show the
population’s low level of mobility.
В салтовской археологии незаслуженно забытым оказалось Алексеевское (Дмитровское) городище, расположенное на правом берегу реки Тихая Сосна, на юго-западной окраине г. Алексеевка Белгородской области. Открывший его И.И. Турбин в 1926 г.... more
В салтовской археологии незаслуженно забытым оказалось Алексеевское (Дмитровское) городище, расположенное на правом берегу реки Тихая Сосна, на юго-западной окраине г. Алексеевка Белгородской области. Открывший его И.И. Турбин в 1926 г. сообщил о своей находке в ГАИМК и составил подробное описание этого памятника. В процессе подготовки официального ответа ГАИМК на письмо И.И. Турбина С.Н. Замятнин впервые сформулировал и ввел в научный оборот понятие «салтовская культура», кратко наметив научную программу по изучению памятников этой культуры. Она включала исследование Алексеевского, Верхнеольшанского, Маяцкого городищ, раскопки Подгоровского и Маяцкого катакомбных могильников, разведки с задачей поиска новых объектов этой культуры. В 1962 г. С.А. Плетнёва попыталась доказать, что этот памятник датируется не хазарским временем, а XVII–XVIII вв., но ее аргументы не выдерживают критики. Эпохе Хазарского каганата соответствует радиокарбонная дата образца бревна из Алексеевского городища – 767–847 гг. Приведенные автором статьи параллели строительным материалам и строительным приемам, конструкциям основания и стен, параметрическим характеристикам и метрологии Алексеевского городища показывают, что все они хорошо вписываются в имеющее византийские архитектурные и строительные традиции хазаро-аланское кирпичное и каменное фортификационное зодчество на Дону.
Статья посвящена исследованию вопроса обоснованности гипотезы о существовании маркирующих булгарские и хазарские этнические группы специфических типах кухонной посуды салтово-маяцкой культуры. Автор пришёл к выводу, что аргументов в... more
Статья посвящена исследованию вопроса обоснованности гипотезы о существовании маркирующих булгарские и хазарские этнические группы специфических типах кухонной посуды салтово-маяцкой культуры. Автор пришёл к выводу, что аргументов в пользу этой точки зрения высказано не было. Традиционно эти взгляды поддерживаются попытками совместить ареал распространения памятников салтово-маяцкой культуры с реконструируемыми по данным письменных источников границами Хазарского каганата. Теоретически, алгоритм определения этнической специфики керамики может состоять из следующих действий: 1. Определение ареала распространения изучаемой кухонной керамики. 2. Выявление мест производства данных сосудов. 3. Выявление специфики погребальной обрядности у населения, оставившего гончарные мастерские по производству таких сосудов. 4. Определение антропологического облика населения, оставившего гончарные мастерские, изготовлявшие рассматриваемые сосуды. 5. Поиск в письменных источниках этнонима населения, оставившего гончарные мастерские, изготовлявшие такие сосуды. При решении этой задачи необходимо учитывать, что определение этнической принадлежности населения по археологическому материалу это сложная методическая проблема, которая в значительной степени носит дискуссионный характер ввиду того, что само понятие «этнос» - многогранно и не все его составляющие могут найти отражение в археологическом материале.
The article covers the topic of Saltovo-Mayatsk kitchen ware (pots and cauldrons) as a possible marker of the settling of Turkic-speaking Bulgar and Khazar tribes in Southeastern Europe. Analysis of the methodological approaches and... more
The article covers the topic of Saltovo-Mayatsk kitchen ware (pots and cauldrons) as a possible marker of the
settling of Turkic-speaking Bulgar and Khazar tribes in Southeastern Europe. Analysis of the methodological
approaches and correlation of the pottery specimens with the anthropological characteristics of the population
allow assuming that the above hypothesis is untenable. The author concludes that the Alanic population of the
Middle Don basin and the early medieval population of the Central Caucasus had been manufacturing such
ware since and an earlier time.
settling of Turkic-speaking Bulgar and Khazar tribes in Southeastern Europe. Analysis of the methodological
approaches and correlation of the pottery specimens with the anthropological characteristics of the population
allow assuming that the above hypothesis is untenable. The author concludes that the Alanic population of the
Middle Don basin and the early medieval population of the Central Caucasus had been manufacturing such
ware since and an earlier time.
The article gives a critical analysis of the method which is used for proving the hypothesis that in the 8th – 10th cc. the Alanic-Asi population in the Middle Don basin practiced the rite of rendering the dead harmless. The author is... more
The article gives a critical analysis of the method which is used for proving the hypothesis that in the 8th –
10th cc. the Alanic-Asi population in the Middle Don basin practiced the rite of rendering the dead harmless.
The author is of the opinion that the occurrence of two “masses” of ground in the fi lling of the dromoi does
not prove the existence of such a rite. The signs of “systemic” fracturing of the skeletons (separation of the
skull, damage to phalanges and breastbone), instead of proving the existence of the rite, are part of the overall
taphological picture of the stages of a corpse’s disintegration. The catacombs of Mayatskoye cemetery are
shallow, and hence accessible. Metal inventory is to a large extent absent, which indicates robberies. The
archaic features of the funeral rite of Ossetians, descendants of the Alans, indicate that the ritual of rendering
the dead harmless could not have been applied within the community. The Alanic worldview as reconstructed
on the basis of the Nart epos does not indicate the existence of a ritual for rendering the dead harmless.
10th cc. the Alanic-Asi population in the Middle Don basin practiced the rite of rendering the dead harmless.
The author is of the opinion that the occurrence of two “masses” of ground in the fi lling of the dromoi does
not prove the existence of such a rite. The signs of “systemic” fracturing of the skeletons (separation of the
skull, damage to phalanges and breastbone), instead of proving the existence of the rite, are part of the overall
taphological picture of the stages of a corpse’s disintegration. The catacombs of Mayatskoye cemetery are
shallow, and hence accessible. Metal inventory is to a large extent absent, which indicates robberies. The
archaic features of the funeral rite of Ossetians, descendants of the Alans, indicate that the ritual of rendering
the dead harmless could not have been applied within the community. The Alanic worldview as reconstructed
on the basis of the Nart epos does not indicate the existence of a ritual for rendering the dead harmless.
The article considers the origins of the architecture at Levoberezhnoye Tsimlyanskoye, which some scholars believe to be the site of Sarkel. M.I. Artamonov, P.A. Rappoport and S.A. Pletneva have put forth several arguments in favor of... more
The article considers the origins of the architecture at Levoberezhnoye Tsimlyanskoye, which some scholars
believe to be the site of Sarkel. M.I. Artamonov, P.A. Rappoport and S.A. Pletneva have put forth several arguments
in favor of the assumption that it were local “Eurasian” and not Byzantine architects who had built
Sarkel for the Khazars. The arguments include the following: the walls of the fortress were built without any
foundations in the native soil, the bricks are not of Byzantine format, the fortress in not Byzantine in layout.
The author believes that the above arguments are unfounded. Calculations show that the ground could hold
the weight of the fortress even without underground foundations. The format of the bricks from Leveberezhnoye
has many parallels at Byzantine sites. The author is of the opinion that Roman-Byzantine fortifi cation
architecture from the 1st – 2nd cc. to the 9th c. offers analogies of the layout at Levoberezhnoye. Hence it is
possible to give credence to the Byzantine sources which mention a fortress that Byzantine architects built for
the Khazars by order of the Emperor Theophilus.
believe to be the site of Sarkel. M.I. Artamonov, P.A. Rappoport and S.A. Pletneva have put forth several arguments
in favor of the assumption that it were local “Eurasian” and not Byzantine architects who had built
Sarkel for the Khazars. The arguments include the following: the walls of the fortress were built without any
foundations in the native soil, the bricks are not of Byzantine format, the fortress in not Byzantine in layout.
The author believes that the above arguments are unfounded. Calculations show that the ground could hold
the weight of the fortress even without underground foundations. The format of the bricks from Leveberezhnoye
has many parallels at Byzantine sites. The author is of the opinion that Roman-Byzantine fortifi cation
architecture from the 1st – 2nd cc. to the 9th c. offers analogies of the layout at Levoberezhnoye. Hence it is
possible to give credence to the Byzantine sources which mention a fortress that Byzantine architects built for
the Khazars by order of the Emperor Theophilus.
Afanas’ev G.1, Wen Sh.2, Tong X.2 , Wang L.2, Wei L.2, Dobrovol’skaya M.1, Korobov D.1, Reshetova I.1, Li H.2, 1Institute of Archaeology, RAS, Moscow, Russia; 2MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life... more
Afanas’ev G.1, Wen Sh.2, Tong X.2 , Wang L.2, Wei L.2, Dobrovol’skaya M.1, Korobov D.1, Reshetova I.1, Li H.2,
1Institute of Archaeology, RAS, Moscow, Russia; 2MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, China.
Khazar's confederates in the Don basin (archaeological, anthropological and genetic aspects).
1Institute of Archaeology, RAS, Moscow, Russia; 2MOE Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, China.
Khazar's confederates in the Don basin (archaeological, anthropological and genetic aspects).
