bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
BRONZE SCABBARD-CHAPE AND BIMETALLIC SWORD FROM M. F. SUMTSOV KHARKIV HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Authors: Babenko L. I. 
Published: November 2021

In M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum archaeological collection a bronze scabbard-chape can be found, which has a form of a rhomb-shaped plug that ends with a head of a carnivorous bird. The bird’s head is conveyed by three expressive elements — an eye in the eyesocket, a beak, and a tonguelet. Chapes of such type count a bit more than twenty exemplars, which are located preferably on the Caucasus and Northern Black Sea coastal area territories. Chape was included in the so-called «Kharkiv treasure». This treasure was supposedly found by two teenagers in their yard in 1957; they gave it to the museum. The treasure is very variegated by its content and counts 236 objects of different epochs — from the Neolithic Age to the Middle Ages and modern ages. By the range of symptoms the treasure can be linked to the Archaeological exhibition opened in occupied Kharkiv in 1942 and which was demolished by the fire in February 1943. The exhibition was based on the materials of the Historical Museum collections and the Archaeological Museum of the Kharkiv University; it demonstrated as wide chronological period as the content of the «Kharkiv treasure» was — from the Stone Age to the Cossacks times. So, apparently before the war, the chape belonged to the collection of one of these museums. The loss of the accounting records of both museums prevents from determining the more precise origin of the chape.
In the Archaeological exhibition remnants after the fire a bimetallic sword with an iron blade and bronze handle was also found. The sword and the chape belong to the same cultural and chronological context and are tied with each other functionally. At the same time, they are quite rare findings. It allows admitting a possible connection between them and their belonging to the same complex. Visually the Kharkiv chape is the closest to the findings from the Northern Black Sea coastal area, which allows defining the possible territory of origin of this complex, which is just hypothetic for now.
SWORDS AND DAGGERS IN THE FUNERAL RITUAL OF THE UST-ALMA NECROPOLIS
Authors: Medvedev G. V. 
Published: November 2021

In terms of the number of weapons the Ust-Alma necropolis stands out among the Late Scythian sites of the Crimea.
The paper deals with burials accompanied by swords and daggers. Their types, quantity and chronology are defined in the paper. The main role of the bladed weapons in the funeral rite played its functional purpose but besides this it could have the sacred meaning or play the role of the social indicator in the military elite, female and children burials. The analysis of the burial assemblages showed that the large role in the burial rite of the Ust-Alma necropolis was played by bladed weapons.
From the mid-1st century AD. the number of bladed weapons in the burial assemblages of Ust-Alma necropolis increased. In the 1st century AD. Chersonesos and most of the Crimea (including the Late Scythian state) were controlled by the Bosporan kingdom. Crimean Scythia participated in the Roman-Bosporan war as the ally of Bosporus. In the 2nd century AD. the military actions of the Bosporan army also took place on the territory of the Crimean Scythia. This phenomena was reflected in the funeral rite.
In the first centuries AD. the traditions of the funeral rite characteristic for the Sarmatian Age population of the steppe regions of Northern Pontic area and the Volga region have appeared at the necropolis. This was reflected in a number of single but special features of the rite. In addition, there are changes in the ethnic and social structures of the population of the Ust-Alma Late Scythian settlement. Together with the public elite, the military one had formed whom graves are distinguished by rich grave goods (precious metal, bronze dishes, amphorae, horse bridle).
The funeral rite of the Ust-Alma necropolis has many similarities with the funeral rite of the Sarmatians in the Don and Kuban regions and the Asian Bosporus.
MASCULINE WOMEN OR FEMININE MEN? WEAPON FINDS IN SARMATIAN FEMALE GRAVES OF THE GREAT HUNGARIAN PLAIN
Authors: Istvánovits E. , Kulcsár V 
Published: November 2021

When building up a database of Sarmatian burials in the Great Hungarian Plain (Alfцld), that presently includes the complete material of 3949 burial features, we noticed some cases of the presence of typically «masculine» pieces of grave-goods in burials determined as female ones. The article deals with this phenomenon widely known in different cultures, observed in the burial rite. These are the findings of weapons or their fragments in female graves. It is difficult to determine the precise number of such burials in the case of the Alfцld Sarmatians because of the high number of looted burials and the inaccuracy of anthropological data. In this study, we collected five cases from four sites, among them the two largest published cemeteries (Madaras: arrowhead, Budapest-Pйceli ъt: arrowhead), and one under publication (Nyнregyбza-Felsősima-Gyebrбs-tanya: sword fragments in two graves) and two less-known grave groups (Szeged-Szőreg: sword fragment, Ъjszentivбn: sword fragment). We do not think that — usually with one exception — fragmented weapons found in female graves could have been used in their original function; nor do we connect this element of burial rite with the phenomenon of the armed women, the «Amazons» well-known in the barrows of the Volga-Ural region in the Sauromatian and Middle Sarmatian Age. These cases are very distant in time and space, however, some traces of archaic traditions cannot be completely excluded. Based on the material at our disposal, we would rather suggest the existence of the rite called the «transfer of objects to the otherworld» the analogies for which are known both in the archaeological — including Sarmatian (such a case was published by O. V. Symonenko from the elite burial of Vesnyanoe) — and ethnographical material.
RESEARCH METHODS FOR THE WOMEN’S BURIES WITH WEAPONS ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE SARMATIAN BURIAL GROUND «NOVY»
Authors: Shevchenko E. B. 
Published: November 2021

The universal methodology for the study of nomadic female burials with weapons is proposed in the paper. The methodology is based on a comparative analysis of female burials containing weapons with the control group which are synchronous male burials of the corresponding burial ground. The comparative analysis is carried out according to the following criteria: the set of weapons, the type of each individual weapon, and also the place of fixation. If most of the signs coincide, then the female burial is recognized as military (utilitarian function). If deviations are predominantly detected, then the semantics of the weapon are recognized as ritual.
To demonstrate the operability of the technique, the large Sarmatian burial ground «Novy» on the Lower Don was selected. As a result, 2 out of 23 female burials were confidently recognized as military, which is 8.6 % of the total female population included in the sample, and 4.5 % of all military burials. Whereas among 44 men there were 35 soldiers, which is 85.3 %. For this group, the percentage of female warriors turned out to be quite high, but, of course, the marker of aggressiveness of the male population is significantly higher than the female. It should be recognized that the vulnerability of the methodology is the quality problem of the control group itself. That is, whether all male burials containing weapons should be considered military.
The important observation is the fact that in two of the three burials, women were buried with infants. Thus, it cannot be ruled out that participation in hostilities did not block the possibility of motherhood from a woman. On the other hand, the assumption involuntarily arises whether the placement of weapons in a female burial is connected with the death of her and her child. Moreover, four female burials with infants containing weapons did not fall into the sample due to the fact that they were robbed.
The author is fully aware that the proposed study is not the last true in the issue of the semantics of weapons in the female burials of nomads. Many aspects still raise questions. It is possible that if modern researchers will accept the proposed methodology positively, then over time, with the advent of new facts, the spread of genetic research, the work will become only a historiographic link. And this is a completely natural process in any scientific field. The issue of the semantics of weapons in female burials, the issue of the participation of women in hostilities is extremely complex and controversial. It must be understood that if the study is gender-based, it is almost impossible to completely exclude the personal preferences of the study itself. These are creative questions, but if there is a universal methodology, there is an opportunity to circumvent the threat of subjective influence. A universal technique will allow for a qualitative comparative analysis. It is necessary to completely withdraw from the intuitive level.
THE FIBULA FROM BURIAL 4 IN THE HOLMSKE BURIAL GROUND AT NORTH-WEST PONTIC REGION
Authors: Kropotov V. V. 
Published: November 2021

The metal fibula found in the grave 4 in the Holmske burial ground is comprehensively analyzed in the paper. This entombment is characterized in the majority of generalizing works as one of the Earliest Sarmatian sites of North-West Pontic Region. At the same time its absolute dating is remained debatable up to now. Researchers dates this assemblage to the beginning / first half of the 1st century BC, or to the end of this century, or even more later time, interpreting this fibula the derivate of the smooth clamped fibula of Middle La-Ten scheme of the 1st century BC. Watching the original stored in Odessa Archaeological Museum of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine has allowed us certainly identify this object. Such distinctive features as the low direct hull, the rectangular section of the backrest, the free end of leg not fixed on the hull, the receiver in the form of a uvula-ledge etc., pull together this sample with the oldest fibulae of the Early La Ten scheme that existed in the second half of the 2nd century BC. Apparently, the fibula from burial No. 4 in the Holmske burial ground must be dated to this time interval. Other grave goods from this assemblage does not contradict such attribution.
Is of interest that the nearest synchronous undoubtedly Sarmatian graves are known only on the inverse part of North Pontic Region — in Sea of Azov region and on the Lower Don area and have absolutely other cultural looking. On the contrary, burial 4 in the cemetery of Holmske has straight analogies among the graves of so-called Tiraspil barrows which are geographically close to it and for which the similar graves goods and funeral constructions are characteristic. Thus though burial 4 is not made in a catacomb, peculiar for Tiraspil sites, it nevertheless should be included into this cultural group.
СHRONOLOGY OF THE ARMLETS WITH CONICAL CONE ENDS FROM THE MАEOTIAN SITES OF THE KUBAN REGION
Authors: Limberis N. Yu. , Marchenko I. I. 
Published: November 2021

Currently there is a need to develop of regional chronological schemes for certain categories and types of archaeological finds. The bronze armlets with the conical cones at the ends can be quite reliable chronological indicators for the assemblages of the first centuries AD in case of lack of other possibilities for dating. The assemblages with armlets from the Maeotian burial grounds of the Kuban region are analyzed in the paper. The published materials from the Don Maeotians burials are also used in order to compare and clarify the chronology. The analysis was mainly carried out basing of the burials with fibulae which are the base for chronology of the armlets. The types of fibulae are quite diverse: the Early Roman type «Aucissa», the «ocular» of Almgren 53 type, the provincial-Roman not enameled brooch, with a hinge of two racks, a round brooch with a clasp of a bow construction, highly profiled fibulae of the Black Sea types, lamellar fibulae with a S-prominent curl and with a button at the end, as well as bow garter fibulae. In separate burials glass vessels and Terra sigillata plate have been found which helped to clarify the dating.
In total, 38 burials from the Maeotian burial grounds of the Kuban and the Lower Don were analyzed. Among them 10 assemblages belong to the first half of the 1st century AD., 17 — to the second half of this century, 8 — to the 1st — beginning of the 2nd century AD., 1 — to the first half of the 2nd century AD. and only 2 burials date widely — the 2nd century. The main period of existence of the armlets with the conical cones at the ends among the Kuban Maeotians, as, however, on the Don, within the 1st to beginning the 2nd centuries AD. The burials of the 1st century BC. with such armlets are not yet known to us. Perhaps this is due to the difficulties in distinguishing assemblages of this time due to the small amount of imported items and the lack of reliable chronological indicators.
UNUSUAL BURIAL IN THE BARROW OF SCYTHIAN AGE NEAR ZHABOTIN VILLAGE
Authors: Kozak O. D. , Slobodуan T. I. 
Published: November 2021

The funeral rite is a complex ritual process. It combines traditional worldview norms and rituals, includes various stages — the preparatory, process of burial and post-funeral actions as the funeral fest etc. From the archaeological point of view, the funeral rite is considered as the system of interrelated features which includes the funeral method, type of burial, form of the burial structure, grave goods and the remains of the buried people or animals.
Mostly the reconstruction of the funeral rite is quite simple. However, there are the burials, practically having no analogies in archaeological culture and literature. Unusual postmortem transformations on the bones that appear during the preparation process or at the time of burial are sometimes hard to be seen, even more difficult to interpret. Recently, thanks to the spread of research methods, gaining the experience and opportunities to international consultations as well as fruitful cooperation with archaeologists we began (albeit very slowly) to collect the database of «unusual» cases of rites. The vast majority of such cases can be traced at the populations of Scythian Age. The examples are decapitated accompanying persons; skull fragments with signs of scalping and deliberate destruction; possibly boiled human bones found on the ash hills of the Bielsk hill-fort etc.
From this point of view the Early Scythian grave in the barrow 524 near Zhabotin village in the basin of the Tyasmin River is undoubtedly interesting. The primary burial (N 1) was completely destroyed and has no traces of any skeleton. Our paper is focused on the anthropological study of human remains from the other grave.
This is the burial of teenager aged 13—15 with the body of very gracile structure. Features on the skeleton indicate poor health from early childhood. The teenager suffered from frequent prolonged illnesses or starvation.
The process of preparing the body for burial in this case is very complicated. The body and a wooden platform located near grave were exposed to low-temperature fire (100—200 °C). One can assume that the body was placed on the platform. There are no reasons yet to determine the motive of such rite — the ritual cleaning the wooden structure or body by fire or the purposeful process of mummification by low-temperature drying of the body on a smoldering fire. Spectrometric analysis of the black plaque on the skull fragments confirms the presence of mummified organic tissues of the human body. Cases of this type of mummification are known from ethnographic sources. The incision in the skull may have been caused by a procedure to clean the bones of soft tissue or by cutting certain tendons before burial.
Until other similar cases would be found in similar cultural milieu the purpose and exact nature of the manipulation with the child’s body in the barrow near Zhabotin remain unknown.
TREPANATION IN THE SARMATIANS OF THE LOWER VOLGA REGION (Revisiting its Causes and Origins)
Authors: Pererva E. V. 
Published: November 2021

Skull trepanation of the is one of the most frequently performed operations on human skull by modern and ancient surgeons. Trepanation is often associated in the scientific literature with such widespread manipulations in ancient peoples’ bodies as deliberate head or extremities deformation, scalping, artificial scarification, decapitation and truncation of limbs, etc. Nowadays, it is known that trepanation is therapeutic or ritual manipulation done in vivo or posthumous. Also skull trepanation is performed by various techniques. The definition of all these criteria allows anthropologists to evaluate the nature of the development of medical knowledge of ancient societies, to determine the degree of technical sophistication of ancient doctors, to understand the traditions and customs of peoples who lived on earth in the distant past.
The paper is an attempt to summarize and consider cases of craniotomy on craniological materials dating back to the Sarmatian era. Evaluation of the described fixed manipulations from the point of view of the technique of carrying out the operations and the reasons for their conduct is also given in the study. An attempt was made to find the sources of the spread of the tradition of skull trepanation in the nomadic peoples of the Early Iron Age who inhabited the Lower Volga region.
HORSE FRONTLET PLATES FROM HORSE FRONTLETS FROM NOVOLABINSKY GRAVE 71 AND KURGANS NEAR THE VILLAGE OF GLINOE AS AN INDICATOR OF CONTACTS BETWEEN THE LOWER DNIESTR REGION AND THE KUBAN REGION
Authors: Raev B. A. 
Published: November 2021

This publication presents an assemblage from a horse burial excavated in 2011 in the cemetery of the 4th Novolabinsky settlement in the Kuban region. Six horses placed in a pit, were accompanied by several sets of riding harness. It included one bit with straight check-pieces, C-shaped check-pieces, bridle decorations, breastgirth ornaments and three frontlets, each with a hook, two of them have zoomorphic ends. The closest parallels to the horse frontlets from the Bolshoi Kurgan of Vasyurinskaya Gora allow us to attribute the Novolabinsk grave to the 2nd century BC.
A series of eight similar frontlets without zoomorphic dйcor was found in kurgans near the village of Glinoe in Transnistria. The excavators dated the assemblages to the period from the first half of the 3rd century ВС to the first half of the 2nd century BC. Meanwhile, during this period there was a significant gap in 20—30 years when frontlets were not found in the graves. Considering the typological closeness of the Transnistrian and Kuban frontlets, the chronological gap looked questionable. Re-evaluation of the data of the Tiraspol kurgans, and an analysis of the grounds for their dating revealed that the authors of their initial publication assigned the materials to 15—90 years older. Assemblages with frontlets from kurgans near the village of Glinoe, according to the revised dating, make up a compact group, and a time period between the earliest and latest burials was no more than 50—60 years, from the first decade to the third quarter of the 2nd century BC.
The revision and specification of the dates of the Tiraspol kurgans reduces to a minimum the time gap between the graves with frontlets in the Transnistria and the graves with frontlets in the Kuban region. Such a chronology confirms the possibility of a hypothesis formulated in 2016 by A. V. Symonenko, according to which a part of the Tiraspol elite returned to the native lands of the North-Western Ciscaucasia. It was in the Kuban region, when zoomorphic decorative elements, as a result of an influence of the antique centers of the Black Sea region, appeared on frontlets with hook. The high quality of the frontlets from Kuban region, expressed not only in the dйcor but in the complicated technique of combining several metals (iron, silver, bronze, and gold) in the same object, was due to their manufacturing in the Bosporus workshops.
IRON AGRICULTURAL TOOLS FROM REVNE
Authors: Gorbanenko S. A. , Mykhailyna L. P. 
Published: November 2021

Iron agricultural tools from the Revne agglomeration of Slavs of the 8th—10th centuries is analyzed in the paper. The complex is one of the outstanding sites of the Eastern Croats Slavic tribal group in the Ukrainian Carpathian region (fig. 1). During ca. 50 years of stationary and supervisory explorations almost complete set of agricultural tools for primary and secondary tillage and for harvesting has been accumulated.
The paper provides detailed description of the tools. Comparative analysis of the materials in geographical environment was carried out both in the area of Raiky culture and synchronous and chronologically close cultures and sites. Iron parts of plow-type tools certify a high level of technical equipment for tillage. Asymmetrical heads are inherent in bow ard. This plow-type tool had the head with iron wide-bladed tip posed horizontally to the ground and also knife coulter and mouldboard. Arable tools of this type cutted and turned the soil. Their use indicates the highest level of development of technical capabilities of tillage in the area of Raiky culture and synchronous archaeological cultures (fig. 2—4, 9). Hoes of two types are presented: the socketed items with a vertical open socket and those with a horizontal solid socket. Both types are well-known (the first type is much more common) but functionally there is no difference between them. Their analogies are common in the area of Raiky culture and synchronous surrounding (fig. 5, 6, 9).
The harvesting process can be considered traditional for the people of Raiky culture. However there are insignificant differences comparing to the aggregate data. Thus, scythes with a curved handle (mainly used for haymaking and possibly for harvesting cereals with a tight ear) have not yet been occurred in Revne. However, such findings are generally much less common than sickles (fig. 7—9).
The complex of iron agricultural tools shows the highest level of development of agriculture in the people of Raiky culture. Comparative analysis with other cultural and ethnic groups of the late 1st millennium AD in Central and Eastern Europe also shows that the level of agriculture is close to the achievements of the Saltiv culture.