Evidence of War on the Settlements of a Scythian Era in the Middle Don Region

Introduction. Two groups of people, differing in social status and material culture, occupied the middle part of the Don basin, representing the eastern edge of the Forest-Steppe Scythia, in the 6th – 3rd centuries BC. One is known from the few barrow necropolises, the materials of which chara...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Yuriy Razuvaev
Format: Article
Language:Russian
Published: Volgograd State University 2024-09-01
Series:Вестник Волгоградского государственного университета. Серия 4. История, регионоведение, международные отношения
Online Access:https://hfrir.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/archive-en/1105-science-journal-of-volsu-history-area-studies-international-relations-2024-vol-29-no-4/nomads-of-the-volga-don-region/3171-razuvaev-yu-d-evidence-of-war-on-the-settlements-of-a-scythian-era-in-the-middle-don-region
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849235953896390656
author Yuriy Razuvaev
author_facet Yuriy Razuvaev
author_sort Yuriy Razuvaev
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. Two groups of people, differing in social status and material culture, occupied the middle part of the Don basin, representing the eastern edge of the Forest-Steppe Scythia, in the 6th – 3rd centuries BC. One is known from the few barrow necropolises, the materials of which characterize the nomadic and highly militarized way of life of the people buried there. The other one united sedentary farmers and cattle breeders, whose hillforts and not-strengthened settlements show evidence of predominantly peaceful occupations. Methods and materials. The article systematizes data to give an idea of the role of war in the lives of the main part of the population of the Don Forest Steppe. On 22 household monuments, only 77 objects of offensive arms (mainly arrowheads) and even fewer details of the equipment of the soldier rider are found. In the settlements of cemetery funeral complexes, the finds of weapons are single. Particular attention is deserved by the traces of fire recorded in defensive shafts in 25 hillforts. Analysis. Judging from the archaeological context, only some of the settlement finds were related to military clashes. Some things were part of the cult complexes. Fires, which led to the destruction and subsequent radical strengthening of fortifications, clearly occurred due to a few but catastrophic conflicts. Results. Clashes in the settlements of the Don Forest Steppe occurred episodically throughout the era and were obviously associated with periods of instability in Scythia. However, the sedentary population of the region was only to a small extent involved in the conflict processes of the past.
format Article
id doaj-art-895f038f1b644bcf89e6ecbd203b5afe
institution Kabale University
issn 1998-9938
2312-8704
language Russian
publishDate 2024-09-01
publisher Volgograd State University
record_format Article
series Вестник Волгоградского государственного университета. Серия 4. История, регионоведение, международные отношения
spelling doaj-art-895f038f1b644bcf89e6ecbd203b5afe2025-08-20T04:02:32ZrusVolgograd State UniversityВестник Волгоградского государственного университета. Серия 4. История, регионоведение, международные отношения1998-99382312-87042024-09-0129461910.15688/jvolsu4.2024.4.1Evidence of War on the Settlements of a Scythian Era in the Middle Don RegionYuriy Razuvaev0http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4865-3206Voronezh State Pedagogical University Introduction. Two groups of people, differing in social status and material culture, occupied the middle part of the Don basin, representing the eastern edge of the Forest-Steppe Scythia, in the 6th – 3rd centuries BC. One is known from the few barrow necropolises, the materials of which characterize the nomadic and highly militarized way of life of the people buried there. The other one united sedentary farmers and cattle breeders, whose hillforts and not-strengthened settlements show evidence of predominantly peaceful occupations. Methods and materials. The article systematizes data to give an idea of the role of war in the lives of the main part of the population of the Don Forest Steppe. On 22 household monuments, only 77 objects of offensive arms (mainly arrowheads) and even fewer details of the equipment of the soldier rider are found. In the settlements of cemetery funeral complexes, the finds of weapons are single. Particular attention is deserved by the traces of fire recorded in defensive shafts in 25 hillforts. Analysis. Judging from the archaeological context, only some of the settlement finds were related to military clashes. Some things were part of the cult complexes. Fires, which led to the destruction and subsequent radical strengthening of fortifications, clearly occurred due to a few but catastrophic conflicts. Results. Clashes in the settlements of the Don Forest Steppe occurred episodically throughout the era and were obviously associated with periods of instability in Scythia. However, the sedentary population of the region was only to a small extent involved in the conflict processes of the past.https://hfrir.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/archive-en/1105-science-journal-of-volsu-history-area-studies-international-relations-2024-vol-29-no-4/nomads-of-the-volga-don-region/3171-razuvaev-yu-d-evidence-of-war-on-the-settlements-of-a-scythian-era-in-the-middle-don-region
spellingShingle Yuriy Razuvaev
Evidence of War on the Settlements of a Scythian Era in the Middle Don Region
Вестник Волгоградского государственного университета. Серия 4. История, регионоведение, международные отношения
title Evidence of War on the Settlements of a Scythian Era in the Middle Don Region
title_full Evidence of War on the Settlements of a Scythian Era in the Middle Don Region
title_fullStr Evidence of War on the Settlements of a Scythian Era in the Middle Don Region
title_full_unstemmed Evidence of War on the Settlements of a Scythian Era in the Middle Don Region
title_short Evidence of War on the Settlements of a Scythian Era in the Middle Don Region
title_sort evidence of war on the settlements of a scythian era in the middle don region
url https://hfrir.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/archive-en/1105-science-journal-of-volsu-history-area-studies-international-relations-2024-vol-29-no-4/nomads-of-the-volga-don-region/3171-razuvaev-yu-d-evidence-of-war-on-the-settlements-of-a-scythian-era-in-the-middle-don-region
work_keys_str_mv AT yuriyrazuvaev evidenceofwaronthesettlementsofascythianerainthemiddledonregion