Scythians

With the conquest of ancient Macedonia by the Romans, the first stage of the Roman expansion in the Balkans came to an end. A period of lull followed, which was briefly interrupted by a new advance of the expansion between 149 and 146 BC. The subsequent establishment of the provinces of Macedonia and Achaea launched a new phase of Roman policy in the region, which was aimed at strengthening the conquered positions and at a temporary cessation of the Roman expansion in the Balkans. A detailed analysis of the causes and events related to the preparation and development of an uprising led by Andriscus is important, because it will make it possible to trace the attitude of the Romans towards these events, this person and the actions taken by him, which in turn allows to detect trends and dynamics in them in terms of the goals and methods followed by the Romans in their expansion in the Balkans during the period under review.

Adults playing with gods, or toys for children?
“Prince” of the Steppe Scythia
Children from the Middle Don settlements
The Deer with the Golden Horns: story analysis
Capital city in the lower course of the Syr Darya
Wheel chariots in Zhongshan Kingdom
Grave of a “priestess” from Filippovka

Игры взрослых с богами или детские игрушки?
«Царевич» Степной Скифии
Дети среднедонских поселений
«Олень — золотые рога»: анализ сюжета
Столичный город в низовьях Сырдарьи
О колесничестве в царстве Чжуншань
Погребение «жрицы» из Филипповки

In 2019, the implementation of the first stage of the field investigations within the project «Podolia as a contact area in the 3rd millennium BC: Kurgans on the rivers Murafa and Riv» began. The project is financed by the National Science Centre, Poland, under no. 2017/27/B/HS3/01444. The main goal of the research is to identify the forms and intensity of the intercultural contacts in the region of the middle course of the Southern Buh and the Dnister interfluve. The burial mounds, located between the rivers Murafa (left-bank basin of the Dnister River) and Riv (right-bank basin of the Southern Buh River), are objects of the study. Professional archeological excavations of the burial mounds in the region have not been conducted before. There are only data about unauthorized excavations of several burial mounds by locals at the turn of the XIX—XX centuries, which perhaps contained burials with artefacts of the Globular Amphora culture. More than a century later, archaeologists condu...

Los conflictos militares fueron constantes a lo largo de toda la Antigüedad, hasta el punto de que traspasaron el contexto de la disputa real en el campo de batalla para alcanzar todos los aspectos de la sociedad, incluyendo la religion, el arte y hasta los roles de género. En este ambito, el universo mítico amazónico se convirtio en uno de los más destacados ejemplos sobre el uso de la guerra con carácter moralizante, de forma que fuera posible utilizarlo para fijar los valores aceptados en cuanto a la actividad de género en la sociedad, politica, etc., no solo en la cultura helena, sino más tarde también en la romana.
En su mentalidad patriarcal, era necesario mostrar que ni siquiera en el mejor de los casos la mujer podría aspirar a ocupar un papel destacado. Por ese motivo, los mitos amazónicos surgieron a partir de un grupo de féminas que, como hijas de Ares, encarnaban el deseo de lucha y la habilidad militar para convertirse en una amenaza, y cómo los griegos fueron capaces de eliminarla para mostrar su superioridad cultural, militar y de género (masculino) incluso cuando se trataba de expertas combatientes.
Los principales mitos amazónicos se crearon así para mostrar cómo la mujer era, por naturaleza, incapaz de superar al varón, encarnado por figuras heroicas como Heracles, Belerofonte, Aquiles o Teseo. Los mitos del noveno trabajo sobre Heracles e Hipólita, la conquista de Atenas protagonizada por las amazonas para rescatar a Antíope de su rey, Teseo, el combate entre Pentesilea y Aquiles a las puertas de Troya o la derrota de las amazonas frente a Belerofonte y Pegaso son claros ejemplos de ello. Sus representaciones alcanzaron todos los ambitos artísticos (pintura vascular, escultura, relieve, mosaicos, numismática, puntira, etc.) como reflejo de su importancia, y permanecieron vivos desde los relatos de Homero superar el s. V d.C. durante más de un milenio. En esta ponencia analizaremos los principales conflictos entre las amazonas y los helenos que se transmitieron como parte esencial para configurar el carácter, estructura y valores de la sociedad, a través del ambito militar.

Вводяться до наукового обігу матеріали археологічних досліджень групи насипів (зольники, курган), досліджених у 2017 р. на території м. Нетішин Хмельницької обл. в уроч. Базар. Місцевість розташована на першій надзаплавній терасі правого берега р. Горинь, ділянка вкрита сосновим лісом. Візуально виявлено сім насипів висотою 0,4–1 м, розташованих на площі близько 1 га. В результаті розкопок з’ясовано, що комплекс насипів складався з чотирьох зольників (№№ 3–5, 7), кургану (№ 2) та двох псевдонасипів (№№ 1 та 6).

До спорудження зольників на цій ділянці знаходилося багатошарове поселення. Життя на ньому тривало в часи фінального палеоліту (свідерська культура), середньої бронзи (городсько-здовбицька культура), пізньої бронзи (тшинецько-комарівська культура) та нам початку раннього заліза (могилянська група). Населення могилянської групи на бувшому своєму поселенні й спорудило зольники. При цьому використовувався ґрунт з культурного шару й таким чином до їх насипів потрапили численні поселенські матеріали: кості тварин, кремінь, фрагменти кухонних та столових посудин, керамічні пряслиця тощо.

Через деякий час після спорудження зольників територія пам’ятки була використана в якості могильника населенням милоградської культури, яке, вочевидь, сприйняло їх за кургани. Ними був насипаний невеликий курган над основним похованням, який зовні нічим не відрізнявся від зольників. Через властивості ґрунту кості скелета практично не збереглися – лише інвентар: два горщики, залізний ніж та бронзовий перстенець. Два розвали горщиків в насипі одного з зольників (насип № 7), ймовірно, маркують інше поховання милоградської культури – впускне.

Ключові слова: Південна Волинь, Мале Полісся, Нетішин, ранній залізний вік, могилянська група, милоградська культура, зольники, курган.

This short study suggests an etymology for Proto-Iranian *xšaita-'bright, ruler', which has not received any to this day. Suggesting a reanalysis of *axšaina-'dark blue, dark' as *a-xšaina-'not bright', speakers of Proto-Iranian would have thus believed it was made of a privative *a followed by a verbal adjective *xšaina-. A variant of this adjective would naturally be *xšaita-'bright'. Because of the resembling root *xšai-'to rule', the word *xšaita-would also have taken the meaning of 'ruler' which it had and has in some Iranian languages, sometimes alongside the meaning 'bright'. Finally, I propose a tentative connection of the expression hvarǝ.xšaēta-'bright Sun', designating the Sun, with the Tocharian compound *kaun-ñəkte 'Lord Sun'.

Volodymyr POLISHCHUK. ON THE HISTORY OF THE NOBLE FAMILIES OF EASTERN PODILLIA: CHERLENKOVSKYI, ZHYTYNSKYI, KHRUSLINSKYI (THE PUBLICATION OF THE 1626 ACT OF ESTATE RESALE IN VINNYTSIA COUNTY)
The article deals with the genealogy of three noble families in Eastern Podillia — Cherlenkovskyi, Zhytynskyi and Khruslinskyi — in the context of the publication of the 1626 private law deed of estate sale in Vinnytsia County (the village of Ivanivka and the village of Yaroshivka (Yaryshivka) by Stanislav Khruslinskyi in favour of Hordiy Zhytynskyi. The author carried out the diplomatic analysis of the document and published it according to the original, which is a unique source of studying the legal culture, sphragistics and genealogy of nobility in Vinnytsia County (Bratslav Voivodeship in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) during the first third of the 17th century. The utmost attention was paid to the genealogy of Cherlenkovskyis: it is known that the family belonged to the Ruthenian aristocratic family Voronovytskyi (Oleksandrovych), sharing the coats of arms „Three kerfs“ („Branches“), and „Gonfalons“. The researcher examined thoroughly the landed property of Cherlenkovskyis, as well as the offshooting process from the aristocratic family Voronovytskyi (Oleksandrovych) to the independent family Cherlenkovskyi which became extinct in the last third of the 17th century. The biographies of senior representatives of the family from the late 15th century to the early 17th century have been under study.

This paper begins as a critical review of the archaeology of the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age Eurasian steppe, primarily in seeking the distinctions of its postulated horse-riding nomadic inhabitants known variously as Cimmerians, Scythians, Sauromatians, Sarmatians, Saka, Alans, etc., within a dialogue of what defines archaeological evidence as opposed to historical evidence and the problem of conflating one with the other. Eschewing historical labels, archaeological evidence alone for LBA/EIA Eurasian steppe cultures has been primarily based on recognizing artefacts and ecofacts as assumed remnants of a pastoral nomadic adaptation to the steppe environment; however, such a presupposition requires reflection on how a nomadic lifeway may be ascertained with any degree of confidence from a particular residue of material culture and ecofacts. In addressing this question, the paper veers into a discussion of pastoral nomadism itself, whether it exists independent of other modes of subsistence, and if it can be specifically identified among the cultural and environmental residue constituting a particular archaeological site. From this question, the argument proceeds to a critical understanding of archaeology itself, its goals, its areas of expertise, its theoretical principles, its methods of discovery and evaluation, its relationship to anthropology and history, its strengths and limitations, and how archaeology may be identified as a distinct academic discipline.

The first excavations on this barrow were carried out in 1913 by the famous archaeologist Alexei Bobrinskoy. The central part of the mound was excavated by the pit. The base of rather large ground wooden tomb buried in antiquity has been discovered there. The surviving items (weapons, horse equipment, pottery, small gold jewelry) later made it possible to date this mound to the end of the 7th century BC or ca. 7th—6th centuries BC. Since the late 1980s, there has been a tendency — and, in our opinion, incorrect — of rather sharp aging of the Central tomb, and, accordingly, of whole barrow 524 near the village Zhabotin. It began to date ca. 8th—7th centuries BC, 750—700 BC, not later than the end of the 8th century BC, and finally, ca. mid- 8th century BC. The Zhabotin 524 barrow began to be interpreted as the basic funeral monument of the Scythian archaic period in the Dnieper Right-Bank Forest-Steppe. In 2019, the complete study of the barrow was made. By the time of the excavation...

Дослідження  історії українського козацтва у XVI–XVIII ст. не втрачає своєї
актуальності, попри те, що ця тема перебуває у полі зору вітчизняних та зару-
біжних дослідників з XVIII–ХІХ ст. Однією з маловивчених проблем є меш-
кання козаків на Подолі – історичному міському районі, який із часів пізнього
Середньовіччя і до 1811 р. був економічним, політичним та культурним
центром Києва. На тогочасному Подолі розташовувався головний осередок ки-
ївського міського самоврядування – ратуша (магістрат), зосереджувалася біль-
шість населення Києва, відбувалася діяльність ремісничих цехів, проводилися
найбільші міські ярмарки, розташовувалися численні церкви та монастирі. Бі-
льшість населення київського Подолу складали міщани та цехові ремісники, що
перебували під юрисдикцією міської ратуші. Певну частку мешканців Подолу у
різний час становило біле та чорне православне та католицьке духовенство, ви-
кладачі та учні Києво-Могилянської школи (яка на початку XVIII ст. набула
статусу академії), урядовці та військовослужбовці Київського замку, шляхта,
представники вірменської та грецької громад.

This preliminary study characterizes the bronze metalworking on a defensive settlement of the Lusatian culture in former Kamieniec (Chełmno land, Poland) as it is reflected through casting workshop recovered during recent excavations. Among ready products, the ones giving evidence of local metallurgy (e.g. casting moulds and main runners) were also identified. With the shrinkage cavities and dendritic microstructures revealed, the artifacts prove the implementing a casting method by the Lusatian culture metalworkers. The elemental composition indicates application of two main types of bronzes: Cu-Sn and Cu-Pb. Aside these main alloying additions, some natural impurities such as silver, arsenic, antimony and nickel were found which may be attributed to the origin of the ore and casting technology. The collection from Kamieniec was described in terms of its structure and composition. The investigations were made by means of the energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (ED-XRF...

The current state and issues facing universities in the Turkic Republics
were assessed in this study using empirical data based on the connection
between the information society and higher education. The research used a "case study" format, which is a type of qualitative research technique. A numerical analysis of the current state was also conducted using the "document analysis" method.
When we examine higher education in the Turkic Republics as a whole, we
discover that academic standards are not updated in line with education for the information society, academic research is not conducted in line with the philosophy of knowledge creation, academicians fail to guide university students in line with education for the information society, and graduate programs are unable to integrate information sector skills. Additionally, it is evident that universities in the concerned countries are unable to fulfill their obligations in accordance with the
needs of the information society when factors like the inability to update university curricula to meet those needs, a lack of academic study sharing, and a fall in the share of national income given to universities are added to the current situation.
The statistics are also negatively impacted by this situation. No university from the Turkic Republics is listed among the top 100 universities in the world, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) 2020 report, which is known as one of the most trustworthy university rankings in the world.
In the twenty-first century, modern society is moving towards a post-information society. During such a period, the Turkic Republics must not fall behind the times and must maintain a steady pace of development. To do this, they need to adapt to a new knowledge-based economic and social order, engage in the process of rapid technological change, and develop a new human model based on ideals that make continual learning a way of life based on the concept of "information person."
Keywords: Information society, university, challenges,Turkic Republics, student mobility, lifelong education,distant education

Discussion of the Helleno-Uralic etyma by their Uralic distributions and semantic categories, which are relied on to reconstruct the Helleno-Uralic horizon across northeastern Europe during contact in the Archaic period (ca. 800-500 BCE).  This sub-draft is to be incorporated into the second draft of "Helleno-Uralic Contact in the 1st Millennium BCE".

Статья вводит в научный оборот биметаллический чекан эпохи скифской архаики, найденный возле г. Ахтырка Сумской области (Украина), в бассейне р. Ворскла (Днепровское Лесостепное Левобережье). Место находки расположено примерно в 30 км от грандиозного Бельского городища скифской эпохи. Чекан из Ахтырки – второй достоверно обнаруженный экземпляр подобного ударного вооружения ближнего боя в Украине после чекана, что происходит из Орехово (Донецкая область). Публикация этого оружия послужила поводом для размышлений о месте биметаллических чеканов в кругу вооружения населения Евразии раннескифской эпохи, их генезиса, хронологии, путей распространения в огромном ареале – Прикубанье, Северный Кавказ, Закавказье, Малая и, возможно, Передняя Азия, Поволжье, Южное Приуралье, Центральная Азия (Приаралье), Юго-Западная Сибирь. Сегодня в этот ареал однозначно можно включить Северопричерноморскую Степь и Лесостепь современной Украины. Исследование подтверждает, что биметаллические чеканы являются надёжными маркерами маршрутов евразийских кочевников скифской эпохи, в том числе скифов периода знаменитых переднеазиатских походов.

The Erdel region, known today as Transylvania, is one of the oldest Turkish
homelands in Europe. In the region, which was ruled by the Hungarians in the historical process, there is a cultural continuity that is fed by history. Among the Romanian, Hungarian, German, and Gypsy minorities who have settled in this region for centuries; According to the Hungarian and Byzantine chronicles, they are the oldest inhabitants.

Although various theses have been put forward about the origins of the Székelys, the most acceptable thesis is the Hunnic-Hungarian thesis, based on the cultural transmissions of the Székelys and the consistent points in the chronicles. It has been observed that Székelys state that their origins are based on the Great Hunnic Empire and describe themselves as the descendants of Attila. They have kept their cultural heritage alive from the past to the present, both because of their protection from political assimilation due to being the strongest minority in the region, and their high devotion to their history and origins.

Symbols, which are the characteristic cultural elements of the Central Asian Turkish tribes and reflect the social life, beliefs, and worldview in the society, played a major role in the monitoring of this culture. In this study, firstly, Hungarians, the society from which the Székelys came from, were dealt with historically and culturally, based on the Hunnic-Hungarian thesis; Information was given about the ethnic origin, history and culture of the Székelys. Based on this information, the symbols in the cultural heritage that Székelys maintained until the 2000s were compared with the symbols determined in Central Asia in terms of meaning flow; The similarities were examined in terms of cultural aspects.

The article presents the characteristics of burial mounds of Timber-grave culture of Northern Azov. To analyze the structural features and scope of mound construction were involved only those mounds, the construction of which in one degree or another associated with the activity of Timber-grave culture tribes. The formation of most long barrows was associated with the construction of structural elements, as to their own barrows and the ancient mounds.

The article considers the bronze knives that have been found in the territory of Northern Azov in the burials ofTimber-grave culture. Metal production is one of the most studied categories of archaeological sources.The paper draws attention to the scarcity and the special importanceof this type of funeral inventory in the process of historical
constructions.Despite the fact that the range of bronze wares in the Late Bronze Age is wide enough, for settlements and burials ofTimber-grave culture of this region is a relatively rare category of finds.Are currently the fund of sources ofTimber-grave cultureof Northern Azov includes about 1,500 burials.It should be noted that the bronze objects were found only in the 44 burial complexes, which is about 2,9 % of the total number of taken into account graves.Mapping of the Timber-grave culture burials of Northern Azov containing the metal products, clearly demonstrated a tendency to decrease the proportion of burials with metal in moving to the south to the Sea of Azov.In this case, the fact of the presence of metal products in the funeral inventory of the Timber-grave culture burial sites in relation to the territory of Northern Azov can be considered as a sign of social unordinary.Complexes, containing the bronze knives, were used to determine the absolute chronology of burials of Timber-grave culture community.Analysis of the sources available to us, indicates that materials of burials can provide important information about the level of production of metal in the Late Bronze Age.Introduction to the scientific turn of evidence metal production of Timber-grave culture community as a whole andTimber-grave cultureof Northern Azov in particular greatly
complements the fund of sources.It is important for the structural and technological approach in understanding metal production as a system.

Забавин В.О. ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКА ПОГРЕБАЛЬНЫХ СООРУЖЕНИЙ СРУБНОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ СЕВЕРНОГО ПРИАЗОВЬЯ Реферат: В статье представлена развернутая характеристика погребальных сооружений срубной культуры Северного Приазовья, включающая в себя как набор статистических данных, так и описание отдельных элементов погребального сооружения, позволяющих говорить об устойчивости тех или иных проявлений и элементов обряда. Анализ погребального сооружения, рассматриваемого в качестве составной части погребального обряда, включает в себя описание формы и размеров могильной ямы, ее конструктивных особенностей, а также внутримогильных и надмогильных сооружений из древесины и камня. Данная тема специально не исследовалась, ее отдельные аспекты нашли отображение в трудах, которые либо охватывали более широкий круг вопросов, либо регионально не совпадали с очерченным ареалом, являясь достаточно сжатыми по объему. В настоящее время до сих пор отсутствует работа, в которой была бы представлена развернутая характеристика погребальных сооружений срубной культуры Северного Приазовья, которая включала бы в себя не только описание отдельных элементов погребального сооружения, но и набор статистических данных, позволяющих говорить об устойчивости тех или иных проявлений и элементов обряда. Ставшие доступными в последние годы материалы раскопок и расширение географических рамок исследования на все Северное Приазовье, позволяют внести определенные дополнения к выводам авторов. Выявленные закономерности позволяют с уверенностью утверждать, что конструктивные особенности могильных сооружений, как составная часть погребальных традиций срубной культуры Северного Приазовья, находятся в прямой зависимости от природно-географических условий обитания и обусловлены характером строительного материала, имеющегося в том либо ином регионе.

Essay of History of studying antiquities of Timber-Grave Culture
of the North Azov region in the XIX – early XX century.
This paper is the fi rst part of the voluminous article devoted to the questions of examines the history of archaeological research burials of Timber-Grave Culture in the North Azov sea region in the
XIX – early XX century. Covers the fi rst attempts to create an internal periodization of the Bronze Age and ordering produced during the fi eldwork material. Analysis questions the level of excavation
techniques, recording materials and state of the fi eld records.

The issue of Iranian sources used by Ctesias has always been disputed in the last two centuries. These sources can be study divided into two groups: written and narrative. The question of the possible use of Iranian sources by Ctesias has been analyzed in this paper from four points of view. First, we examined the Iranian sources of Ctesias. Then, the significance of the role of Balkh, Balkhians and Scythians in Ctesias's narrative was discussed. In the third step, we discussed the importance and role of the land of Media. In the fourth step, the three names of Oxyartes, Spitāmas and Damaspia was selected and studied from the personal names with Zoroastrian roots, that reached us through the traditions, handed down from Ctesias - such as Photius and Diodorus. In addition, historical documents were searched for witnesses or historical evidence for these personal names.These names are confirmed by many classical texts, Zoroastrian religious tradition and official documents of the Achaemenid administration. It is also mentioned the relationship between these personal names and the mentioned lands, namely Balkh and Media. Finally, the result of the present research show the existence of Iranian written and narrative sources used by Ctesias and prove that Ctesias was probably right in his claim that he used official documents and relied on oral sources.

Raiders, slavers, empire builders. Some thoughts on the Vettersfelde hoard
Amazingly, the most spectacular example of Archaic Graeco-Scythian art to have survived from antiquity was found in 1882 in a swampy field near the village of Vettersfelde/Witaszkowo, just 140 kilometres south-east of Berlin. In this paper, the gold hoard is presented as a coherent ensemble, the ostentatious, lavishly decorated regalia of a North Pontic warrior, probably made in a Milesian Black Sea colony in the later 6th century BC as a diplomatic gift. Excavations at the findspot in 2002 and 2004 revealed that the treasure had been intentionally deposited on the edge of a pond/spring in a region which was part of the north-westerly landscape affected by steppe warrior/“Scythian” raiding in the later 6th century BC. These raids affected large parts of central Europe and were extremely disruptive, depopulating a series of landscapes in the eastern Hallstatt region, and were probably linked to systematic slaving. In a final section, the paper explores the corrosive impact of this slaving by analogy with the structure and effects of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in 16th–18th-century West Africa.

The article presents the partial results of archaeological research carried out on the burgwall zolnik in Chotyniec, site 1. It aims to classify the historical objects discovered in terms of functional qualification – namely, the pins that were found in 2017-2019, and to introduce them into the scientific circulation. This interesting and relatively numerous series of artifacts complements and enriches our knowledge on many aspects of the zolnik’s function, including its chronology and cultural connections. In this sketch, an analysis of the typological and chronological position of the pins was carried out, and on its basis an attempt was made to estimate the dating of the zolnik (the usable levels that form it).

In 2017, an expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the University of Rzeszów (Poland) carried out excavations on a hillfort belonging to the Scythian cultural circle (its forest-steppe variant) in Chotyniec, in south-eastern Poland. The hillfort is the central and most important point of a large settlement cluster, which is the furthest north-western enclave of this cultural circle. In an excavated cult object – the so-called ‘zolnik’ – we made an interesting discovery. Here we show this unique finding for the first time: a Greek wine amphora, from the beginning of the sixth century BC. We were able to explore and reconstruct it almost entirely. Amphora is the only artefact of this type found in the present Polish borders. The amphora was subjected to archaeometric research with the use of PLM, SEM/EDS, TXRF and ToF SIMS. The massive fabric was made of high calcium clay enriched in quartz and volcanic lithoclasts. The lack of chromium and nickel among trace elements makes the ...