- Email: [email protected]
Prestigious Afanasyevo Wooden Metal-bound Ware from the Sayan-altai
ARCHAEOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY & ANTHROPOLOGY OF EURASIA Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 41/4 (2013) 119–122 E-mail: [email protected]
119
THE METAL AGES AND MEDIEVAL PERIOD
A.P. Borodovsky Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia E-mail: [email protected]
PRESTIGIOUS AFANASYEVO WOODEN METAL-BOUND WARE FROM THE SAYAN-ALTAI
Metal plates, which probably decorated wooden vessels from Afanasyevo burials, are described. The plates bear punched designs and were clearly related to female symbolism, implying that they were probably used for ritual purposes. Their expansive distribution area from the lower Katun in Gorny Altai to the middle Yenisei in Khakassia points to the similarity between the two local variants of the Afanasyevo culture across the Altai-Sayan region. These vessels might have marked the high social status of the women in whose graves they were placed. Keywords: Sayan-Altai highlands, Afanasyevo culture, metal-bound wooden vessels, prestigious ware, Early Bronze Age.
Metal plates from Afanasyevo burials in the Altai-Sayan highlands have been interpreted as elements of wooden ware for some time. In southern Siberia, such objects were recorded in the area from the lower Katun River (Borodovsky, 2006) to the middle Yenisei (Vadetskaya, 1986: 19, Plates 2–7; Gryaznov, 1999: 49, ¿g. 6–8, 20, 21, 25; Polyakov, 2010: 154, ¿g. 9). These copper plates are mostly ovoid in shape and have several fastening holes along the edge. The plates from the middle Yenisei (Itkol II) are furnished with small copper nails ¿xed in the fastening holes. The exterior surface of some plates is decorated with lines of punched nodes (Fig. 1, 1). One edge of the metal plate is bent, seemingly to ¿t the mouth of a spherical bowl or cup. The plain plate with dented edges (Fig. 1, 2) was likely attached to the vessel bottom (Polyakov, 2010: 154, 155). Two paired copper plates with punched design (Fig. 1, 3) from the Afanasyevo burial at Barantal in the middle Katun (Borodovsky, 2006: 90) have even edges that are also typical of metal plates ¿xed to the mouth or walls of wooden vessels (bowls).
Similar decorative elements of wooden ware are known from Early and Middle Bronze archaeological collections of the Ukraine (Remeslo…, 1994: 145, 146, fig. 43). Metal-bound wooden vessels are often encountered in burials of the Timber Grave (Srubnaya) culture in the Dnieper region (Otroschenko, 1984). The shape of these plates differs from that of the Afanasyevo plates (Fig. 2, 1), however some Dnieper artifacts also bear punched ornamentation. In A.V. Polyakov’s view, the fact that these plates were made of valuable copper suggests that they were used not only for repairing wooden vessels; indeed, certain Chalcolithic burials contain metal braces specially destined for repairing such vessels (Remeslo…, 1994: 146, ¿g. 43, 3). Therefore the metal plates most likely point to the prestigious nature of the vessels (Polyakov, 2010: 155). The punched design present on some plates supports this assumption. Their wide distribution from the lower Katun (Gorny Altai) to the middle Yenisei (Khakassia) evidences the similarity of the two local variants of the Afanasyevo culture across the Altai-Sayan region (Stepanova, 2010:
© 2013, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.aeae.2014.07.012
120
A.P. Borodovsky / Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 41/4 (2013) 119–122
0
4 cm 0
1
2
2 cm
3
Fig. 1. Metal plates of Afanasyevo wooden vessels from grave 1 of kurgan 24 at the Itkol II burial ground in the middle Yenisei (1, 2) (Polyakov, 2010: 152, ¿g. 7, 1; 154, ¿g. 9, 1) and from Barantal in the middle Katun (3).
0
4 cm
1
2
Fig. 2. Wooden vessel with metal plate decorated with punched design of the Timber Grave culture (Dnieper region, Ukraine) (Remeslo…, 1994: 146, ¿g. 43, 8) (1) and golden ¿gurines from Alaca Höyük (Asia Minor) (2).
180), although previously these artifacts were interpreted as attributes of Afanasyevo burials exclusively in the middle Yenisei area (Ibid.: 182). It should be stressed that making wooden vessels plated with copper or bronze is a long-lasting tradition in Gorny Altai. A fragment of such a vessel was found inside the Ancient Turkic enclosure of the Kudyrge type attributed to the Early Middle Ages at Ak-Kooby (Kubarev, 2011: 231, 232, ¿g. 13). Wooden bowls with metal decorative plates were encountered in Altai ethnographical materials as late as at the end of the 19th and early 20th century.
Plates with punched ornamentation that decorated wooden vessels are often encountered among Early Iron Age Scythian antiquities of the Northern Pontic Region (Ilinskaya, Terenozhkin, 1983: 115, 130). These parallels to the metal plates of south Siberian Chalcolithic vessels would only initially seem too obscure. Some vessels made of organic materials (wood, antler, leather, and birch bark) of the Scythian period have prototypes in the Bronze Age collections of southern Western Siberia. Early Iron Age Àat dishes made of antler encountered in the vast territory from the Northern Caucasus (Petrenko, Maslov, 1999: 252, ¿g. 2; 259, ¿g. 3) and the Southern Urals (Smirnov, 1964: 64, ¿g. 1, ɨ; 1981: 78, ¿g. 6, 3) to the Ob–Irtysh interÀuve (Polosmak, 1987: 77, ¿g. 70, 1) and the Upper Ob region (Mogilnikov, 1997: 94, ¿g. 63, 1) serve as examples. However, one of the earliest dishes of this type made of an elk antler palm was recovered from the Andronovo-type burial of the Middle Bronze Age at Tartas-1 in the Baraba forest-steppe (Molodin et al., 2007: 330, ¿g. 1, ɛ; 333). In distinction from similar artifacts of the Early Iron Age (Novotroitskoye-1 and Markovo-1), the Tartas dish retains the natural position of the antler branches. It is the oldest dish of this type preceding similar artifacts of the Scythian (Novozavedennoye II) and Sarmatian (Mechet-Sai) periods. The shape of Afanasyevo ovoid metal plates from Barantal and Itkol II as well as the feature of punched ornamentation enable us to hypothesize about their semantics. In traditional cultures, vessels often symbolize the womb (Neumann, 2004). On this basis, the shape of the metal plates used on wooden vessels and the decorative motif could well symbolize the female womb or pubis. In the Middle East, similar images are present on 2nd millennium BC metal female sculptures (Istoriya…, 1988: 43, ¿g. 10, ɛ) and terracotta (Istoriya…, 1983: 403, ¿g. 107ɚ; Neumann, 2004: ill. 11). The pairing of metal plates with punched ornamentation on the Afanasyevo wooden vessel from Barantal (Fig. 1, 3)
A.P. Borodovsky / Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 41/4 (2013) 119–122
as a symbol of femininity can be correlated with other Bronze Age images such as the paired female ¿gurines of the Hittites (Fig. 2, 2) on which the wombs are rendered and decorated in a similar manner. If this assumption is correct, the wooden vessel with the paired metal plates can well be associated with twin myths. A Hittite myth, for instance, tells of two twins who were placed in a vessel and later were engaged in an incestuous marriage with their twin sisters. The Hittites also practiced the ritual killing of twins upon birth by placing them in pots (Mify…, 1991: 174, 175). In the Chalcolithic miniature sculptures of the Middle East and Europe, paired female images are known that are interpreted not only as the characters of twin myths, but also as representations of mother and daughter (Palaguta, 2011: 112). Traditional cultures commonly associated vessels with women (Neumann, 2012). Interestingly, Afanasyevo ceramic vessels of the Altai-Sayan often bear the decorative element of a triangle with its vertex turned down and ¿lled with relief impressions (Esin, 2010: 57, 58, ¿g. 4, 6–9). This element can also be interpreted as a female symbol. The Afanasyevo metal-bound wooden vessels with punched decoration on metal plates may be among the earliest manifestations of this variety of female symbolism. During the Scythian period, plates with punched designs that decorate wooden vessels from the Northern Pontic Region and the Southern Urals demonstrate a greater variety of imagery. These include representations of ¿sh, grif¿ns, and horses (Korolkova, 2006: 170, Plate 1, 9, 10; 186, Plate 17, 1–3; 190, Plate 21, 3, 14, 16). Plates decorated using other techniques (carving, engraving) bear representations of wild boar, deer, saiga, tiger, and horseman (Ibid.: 172, Plate 3, 8; 174, Plate 5, 1–9, 12; 179, Plate 10, 1; 182, Plate 13, 10; 188, Plate 19, 1; 203, Plate 34, 6). Prestigious wooden ware with metal plates can well be regarded as a specific type of (“rich”) grave goods marking socially important Chalcolithic burials (Eneolit…, 1982: 239). Importantly, metal plates with punched ornamentation from wooden vessels have been recovered from female Afanasyevo burials both in Gorny Altai (Barantal) and in the middle Yenisei (Itkol II). The age of the woman buried in grave 1 of kurgan 24 at Itkol II was estimated to be 40–50 years (Polyakov, 2010: 148). This perfectly corresponds to the age of a mature woman of high social rank who might have been symbolized by a wooden vessel with metal plates. This fact is signi¿cant, because previously, primarily male burials in large Afanasyevo kurgans containing stone rods among other grave goods were considered socially signi¿cant (Shulga, 1993: 88). In sum, females might indeed have been members of the Afanasyevo elite, raising the issue of its gender duality. Chalcolithic metal-bound wooden vessels probably belonged to a category of symbolic ware manufactured
121
across Eurasia including the Altai-Sayan highlands and the Pontic steppes –– peripheral areas with regard to ancient civilizations. However, this feature is not universal. For instance, wooden vessels with metal plates are absent in the Chalcolithic of the Transcaucasia (KuraAraxes culture). Copper and bronze vessels appeared in that region in the 3rd–2nd millennia BC. However, in northern piedmont regions, wooden vessels with metal plates were used not only in the Bronze Age but also in the Early Iron Age. Such vessels may testify to a Àow of ideas between the centers of civilization and peripheral areas in the Chalcolithic. In this sense, the territory of Ancient China is demonstrative, since metal appeared there relatively late, and it is unlikely that bronze ceremonial vessels had wooden prototypes. No wooden replicas of such vessels have been recorded. No metal vessels imported from the territory of Ancient China have been recorded in the Early Iron Age collections of the Scythian-type cultures of Siberia. In this regard, elite burials of the Scythian period in southern Siberia differ from the Scythian burials proper in the Northern Pontic Region and from Sarmatian burials in the Southern Urals, where metal vessels imported from Greece, Iran, and Rome are present. In sum, metal-bound wooden vessels, which appear very traditional, might indeed serve as a marker of high-ranking female burials. References Borodovsky A.P. 2006 Afanasevskiye pamyatniki nizhnei Katuni. In Pogrebalnye i poselencheskiye kompleksy epokhi bronzy Gornogo Altaya. Barnaul: Izd. Altai. Gos. Univ., pp. 84–95. Eneolit SSSR. 1982 Moscow: Nauka. (Arkheologiya SSSR). Esin Yu.N. 2010 Problemy vydeleniya afanasyevskikh izobrazhenii v naskalnom iskusstve Minusinskoi kotloviny. In Afanasyevskii sbornik. Barnaul: Azbuka, pp. 53–73. Gryaznov M.P. 1999 Afanasyevskaya kultura na Eniseye. St. Petersburg: Dmitrii Bulanin. Ilinskaya V.A., Terenozhkin A.I. 1983 Ski¿ya VII–IV vv. do n. e. Kiev: Nauk. dumka. Istoriya Drevnego Vostoka: Zarozhdeniye drevneishikh klassovykh obschestv i pervye ochagi rabovladelcheskoi tsivilizatsii. 1983 Pt. 1: Mesopotamiya. Moscow: Gl. red. vost. lit. Istoriya Drevnego Vostoka: Zarozhdeniye drevneishikh klassovykh obschestv i pervye ochagi rabovladelcheskoi tsivilizatsii. 1988 Pt. 2: Perednaya Aziya, Egipet. Moscow: Gl. red. vost. lit. Korolkova E.F. 2006 Zverinyi stil Evrazii: Iskusstvo plemen nizhnego i yuzhnogo Povolzhya v skifskuyu epokhu (VII–IV vv. do n.e.). St. Petersburg: Petersburg. vostokovedeniye.
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Kubarev G.V. 2011 Ogradki kudyrginskogo tipa v urochische Ak-Kooby (YugoVostochnyi Altai). Vestnik Novosib. Gos. Univ., Ser.: Istoria, ¿lologia, vol. 10. Iss. 7: Arheologiya, etnogra¿ya: 219–235. Mify narodov mira: Entsiklopediya. 1991 Vol. 1. Moscow: Sov. entsiklopediya. Mogilnikov V.A. 1997 Naseleniye Verkhnego Priobya v seredine – vtoroi polovine I tys. do n.e. Moscow: Puschin. nauch. tsentr RAN. Molodin V.I., Parzinger H., Grishin A.E., Novikova O.I., Soloviev A.I., Garkusha Yu.N., Marchenko Zh.V., Piezonka H., Kazakova E.A. 2007 Rezultaty polevykh issledovanii pamyatnika Tartas-1 v 2007 g. In Problemy arkheologii, etnogra¿i, antropologii Sibiri i sopredelnykh territorii: Materialy Godovoi sessii Instituta arkheologii i etnogra¿i SO RAN 2007 g., vol. XIII. Novosibirsk: Izd. IAE SO RAN, pp. 329–333. Neumann E. 2004 The Great Mother: An Analysis of the Archetype. White¿sh: Kessinger Publishers. Otroschenko V.V. 1984 Derevannaya posuda v srubnykh pogrebeniyakh Podneprovia. In Problemy arkheologii Podneprovya, iss. 1. Dnepropetrovsk: Dnepropetrov. Gos. Univ., pp. 84–97. Palaguta I.V. 2011 Mir iskusstva drevnikh zemledeltsev Evropy: Kultury balkano-karpatskogo kruga v VII–III tys. do n.e. St. Petersburg: Aleteya. Petrenko V.G., Maslov V.E. 1999 Rogovye blyuda mogilnika Novozavedennoe II. In Evraziiskie drevnosti: 100 let B.N. Grakovu: Arkhivnye publikatsii, stati. Moscow: IA RAN, pp. 250–259.
Polyakov A.V. 2010 Pamyatniki afanasyevskoi kultury na severnom beregu ozera Itkol (Respublika Khakasia). In Afanasyevskii sbornik. Barnaul: Azbuka, pp. 144–158. Polosmak N.V. 1987 Baraba v epokhu rannego zheleza. Novosibirsk: Nauka. Remeslo epokhi eneolita–bronzy na Ukraine. 1994 Kiev: Nauk. dumka. Shulga P.I. 1993 Raskopki afanasyevskogo kurgana u s. Cheposh. In Okhrana i izucheniye kulturnogo naslediya Altaya: Materialy nauch.praktich. konferentsii. Barnaul: pp. 86–89. Smirnov K.F. 1964 Savromaty: Rannaya istoriya i kultura sarmatov. Moscow: Nauka. Smirnov K.F. 1981 Bogatye zakhoroneniya i nekotorye voprosy sotsialnoi zhizni kochevnikov Yuzhnogo Priuralya v skifskoye vremya. In Materialy po khozaistvu i obschestvennomu stroyu plemen Yuzhnogo Urala. Ufa: Bashkir. ¿l. AN SSSR, pp. 70–82. Stepanova N.F. 2010 Afanasyevskaya kultura gornogo Altaya i Eniseya: Pogrebalnyi obryad i keramika (skhodstvo i razlichiye). In Afanasyevskii sbornik. Barnaul: Azbuka, pp. 177–187. Vadetskaya E.B. 1986 Arkheologicheskiye pamyatniki v stepyakh srednego Eniseya. Leningrad: Nauka.
Received May 20, 2013. Received in revised form June 17, 2013..
119
THE METAL AGES AND MEDIEVAL PERIOD
A.P. Borodovsky Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia E-mail: [email protected]
PRESTIGIOUS AFANASYEVO WOODEN METAL-BOUND WARE FROM THE SAYAN-ALTAI
Metal plates, which probably decorated wooden vessels from Afanasyevo burials, are described. The plates bear punched designs and were clearly related to female symbolism, implying that they were probably used for ritual purposes. Their expansive distribution area from the lower Katun in Gorny Altai to the middle Yenisei in Khakassia points to the similarity between the two local variants of the Afanasyevo culture across the Altai-Sayan region. These vessels might have marked the high social status of the women in whose graves they were placed. Keywords: Sayan-Altai highlands, Afanasyevo culture, metal-bound wooden vessels, prestigious ware, Early Bronze Age.
Metal plates from Afanasyevo burials in the Altai-Sayan highlands have been interpreted as elements of wooden ware for some time. In southern Siberia, such objects were recorded in the area from the lower Katun River (Borodovsky, 2006) to the middle Yenisei (Vadetskaya, 1986: 19, Plates 2–7; Gryaznov, 1999: 49, ¿g. 6–8, 20, 21, 25; Polyakov, 2010: 154, ¿g. 9). These copper plates are mostly ovoid in shape and have several fastening holes along the edge. The plates from the middle Yenisei (Itkol II) are furnished with small copper nails ¿xed in the fastening holes. The exterior surface of some plates is decorated with lines of punched nodes (Fig. 1, 1). One edge of the metal plate is bent, seemingly to ¿t the mouth of a spherical bowl or cup. The plain plate with dented edges (Fig. 1, 2) was likely attached to the vessel bottom (Polyakov, 2010: 154, 155). Two paired copper plates with punched design (Fig. 1, 3) from the Afanasyevo burial at Barantal in the middle Katun (Borodovsky, 2006: 90) have even edges that are also typical of metal plates ¿xed to the mouth or walls of wooden vessels (bowls).
Similar decorative elements of wooden ware are known from Early and Middle Bronze archaeological collections of the Ukraine (Remeslo…, 1994: 145, 146, fig. 43). Metal-bound wooden vessels are often encountered in burials of the Timber Grave (Srubnaya) culture in the Dnieper region (Otroschenko, 1984). The shape of these plates differs from that of the Afanasyevo plates (Fig. 2, 1), however some Dnieper artifacts also bear punched ornamentation. In A.V. Polyakov’s view, the fact that these plates were made of valuable copper suggests that they were used not only for repairing wooden vessels; indeed, certain Chalcolithic burials contain metal braces specially destined for repairing such vessels (Remeslo…, 1994: 146, ¿g. 43, 3). Therefore the metal plates most likely point to the prestigious nature of the vessels (Polyakov, 2010: 155). The punched design present on some plates supports this assumption. Their wide distribution from the lower Katun (Gorny Altai) to the middle Yenisei (Khakassia) evidences the similarity of the two local variants of the Afanasyevo culture across the Altai-Sayan region (Stepanova, 2010:
© 2013, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.aeae.2014.07.012
120
A.P. Borodovsky / Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 41/4 (2013) 119–122
0
4 cm 0
1
2
2 cm
3
Fig. 1. Metal plates of Afanasyevo wooden vessels from grave 1 of kurgan 24 at the Itkol II burial ground in the middle Yenisei (1, 2) (Polyakov, 2010: 152, ¿g. 7, 1; 154, ¿g. 9, 1) and from Barantal in the middle Katun (3).
0
4 cm
1
2
Fig. 2. Wooden vessel with metal plate decorated with punched design of the Timber Grave culture (Dnieper region, Ukraine) (Remeslo…, 1994: 146, ¿g. 43, 8) (1) and golden ¿gurines from Alaca Höyük (Asia Minor) (2).
180), although previously these artifacts were interpreted as attributes of Afanasyevo burials exclusively in the middle Yenisei area (Ibid.: 182). It should be stressed that making wooden vessels plated with copper or bronze is a long-lasting tradition in Gorny Altai. A fragment of such a vessel was found inside the Ancient Turkic enclosure of the Kudyrge type attributed to the Early Middle Ages at Ak-Kooby (Kubarev, 2011: 231, 232, ¿g. 13). Wooden bowls with metal decorative plates were encountered in Altai ethnographical materials as late as at the end of the 19th and early 20th century.
Plates with punched ornamentation that decorated wooden vessels are often encountered among Early Iron Age Scythian antiquities of the Northern Pontic Region (Ilinskaya, Terenozhkin, 1983: 115, 130). These parallels to the metal plates of south Siberian Chalcolithic vessels would only initially seem too obscure. Some vessels made of organic materials (wood, antler, leather, and birch bark) of the Scythian period have prototypes in the Bronze Age collections of southern Western Siberia. Early Iron Age Àat dishes made of antler encountered in the vast territory from the Northern Caucasus (Petrenko, Maslov, 1999: 252, ¿g. 2; 259, ¿g. 3) and the Southern Urals (Smirnov, 1964: 64, ¿g. 1, ɨ; 1981: 78, ¿g. 6, 3) to the Ob–Irtysh interÀuve (Polosmak, 1987: 77, ¿g. 70, 1) and the Upper Ob region (Mogilnikov, 1997: 94, ¿g. 63, 1) serve as examples. However, one of the earliest dishes of this type made of an elk antler palm was recovered from the Andronovo-type burial of the Middle Bronze Age at Tartas-1 in the Baraba forest-steppe (Molodin et al., 2007: 330, ¿g. 1, ɛ; 333). In distinction from similar artifacts of the Early Iron Age (Novotroitskoye-1 and Markovo-1), the Tartas dish retains the natural position of the antler branches. It is the oldest dish of this type preceding similar artifacts of the Scythian (Novozavedennoye II) and Sarmatian (Mechet-Sai) periods. The shape of Afanasyevo ovoid metal plates from Barantal and Itkol II as well as the feature of punched ornamentation enable us to hypothesize about their semantics. In traditional cultures, vessels often symbolize the womb (Neumann, 2004). On this basis, the shape of the metal plates used on wooden vessels and the decorative motif could well symbolize the female womb or pubis. In the Middle East, similar images are present on 2nd millennium BC metal female sculptures (Istoriya…, 1988: 43, ¿g. 10, ɛ) and terracotta (Istoriya…, 1983: 403, ¿g. 107ɚ; Neumann, 2004: ill. 11). The pairing of metal plates with punched ornamentation on the Afanasyevo wooden vessel from Barantal (Fig. 1, 3)
A.P. Borodovsky / Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia 41/4 (2013) 119–122
as a symbol of femininity can be correlated with other Bronze Age images such as the paired female ¿gurines of the Hittites (Fig. 2, 2) on which the wombs are rendered and decorated in a similar manner. If this assumption is correct, the wooden vessel with the paired metal plates can well be associated with twin myths. A Hittite myth, for instance, tells of two twins who were placed in a vessel and later were engaged in an incestuous marriage with their twin sisters. The Hittites also practiced the ritual killing of twins upon birth by placing them in pots (Mify…, 1991: 174, 175). In the Chalcolithic miniature sculptures of the Middle East and Europe, paired female images are known that are interpreted not only as the characters of twin myths, but also as representations of mother and daughter (Palaguta, 2011: 112). Traditional cultures commonly associated vessels with women (Neumann, 2012). Interestingly, Afanasyevo ceramic vessels of the Altai-Sayan often bear the decorative element of a triangle with its vertex turned down and ¿lled with relief impressions (Esin, 2010: 57, 58, ¿g. 4, 6–9). This element can also be interpreted as a female symbol. The Afanasyevo metal-bound wooden vessels with punched decoration on metal plates may be among the earliest manifestations of this variety of female symbolism. During the Scythian period, plates with punched designs that decorate wooden vessels from the Northern Pontic Region and the Southern Urals demonstrate a greater variety of imagery. These include representations of ¿sh, grif¿ns, and horses (Korolkova, 2006: 170, Plate 1, 9, 10; 186, Plate 17, 1–3; 190, Plate 21, 3, 14, 16). Plates decorated using other techniques (carving, engraving) bear representations of wild boar, deer, saiga, tiger, and horseman (Ibid.: 172, Plate 3, 8; 174, Plate 5, 1–9, 12; 179, Plate 10, 1; 182, Plate 13, 10; 188, Plate 19, 1; 203, Plate 34, 6). Prestigious wooden ware with metal plates can well be regarded as a specific type of (“rich”) grave goods marking socially important Chalcolithic burials (Eneolit…, 1982: 239). Importantly, metal plates with punched ornamentation from wooden vessels have been recovered from female Afanasyevo burials both in Gorny Altai (Barantal) and in the middle Yenisei (Itkol II). The age of the woman buried in grave 1 of kurgan 24 at Itkol II was estimated to be 40–50 years (Polyakov, 2010: 148). This perfectly corresponds to the age of a mature woman of high social rank who might have been symbolized by a wooden vessel with metal plates. This fact is signi¿cant, because previously, primarily male burials in large Afanasyevo kurgans containing stone rods among other grave goods were considered socially signi¿cant (Shulga, 1993: 88). In sum, females might indeed have been members of the Afanasyevo elite, raising the issue of its gender duality. Chalcolithic metal-bound wooden vessels probably belonged to a category of symbolic ware manufactured
121
across Eurasia including the Altai-Sayan highlands and the Pontic steppes –– peripheral areas with regard to ancient civilizations. However, this feature is not universal. For instance, wooden vessels with metal plates are absent in the Chalcolithic of the Transcaucasia (KuraAraxes culture). Copper and bronze vessels appeared in that region in the 3rd–2nd millennia BC. However, in northern piedmont regions, wooden vessels with metal plates were used not only in the Bronze Age but also in the Early Iron Age. Such vessels may testify to a Àow of ideas between the centers of civilization and peripheral areas in the Chalcolithic. In this sense, the territory of Ancient China is demonstrative, since metal appeared there relatively late, and it is unlikely that bronze ceremonial vessels had wooden prototypes. No wooden replicas of such vessels have been recorded. No metal vessels imported from the territory of Ancient China have been recorded in the Early Iron Age collections of the Scythian-type cultures of Siberia. In this regard, elite burials of the Scythian period in southern Siberia differ from the Scythian burials proper in the Northern Pontic Region and from Sarmatian burials in the Southern Urals, where metal vessels imported from Greece, Iran, and Rome are present. In sum, metal-bound wooden vessels, which appear very traditional, might indeed serve as a marker of high-ranking female burials. References Borodovsky A.P. 2006 Afanasevskiye pamyatniki nizhnei Katuni. In Pogrebalnye i poselencheskiye kompleksy epokhi bronzy Gornogo Altaya. Barnaul: Izd. Altai. Gos. Univ., pp. 84–95. Eneolit SSSR. 1982 Moscow: Nauka. (Arkheologiya SSSR). Esin Yu.N. 2010 Problemy vydeleniya afanasyevskikh izobrazhenii v naskalnom iskusstve Minusinskoi kotloviny. In Afanasyevskii sbornik. Barnaul: Azbuka, pp. 53–73. Gryaznov M.P. 1999 Afanasyevskaya kultura na Eniseye. St. Petersburg: Dmitrii Bulanin. Ilinskaya V.A., Terenozhkin A.I. 1983 Ski¿ya VII–IV vv. do n. e. Kiev: Nauk. dumka. Istoriya Drevnego Vostoka: Zarozhdeniye drevneishikh klassovykh obschestv i pervye ochagi rabovladelcheskoi tsivilizatsii. 1983 Pt. 1: Mesopotamiya. Moscow: Gl. red. vost. lit. Istoriya Drevnego Vostoka: Zarozhdeniye drevneishikh klassovykh obschestv i pervye ochagi rabovladelcheskoi tsivilizatsii. 1988 Pt. 2: Perednaya Aziya, Egipet. Moscow: Gl. red. vost. lit. Korolkova E.F. 2006 Zverinyi stil Evrazii: Iskusstvo plemen nizhnego i yuzhnogo Povolzhya v skifskuyu epokhu (VII–IV vv. do n.e.). St. Petersburg: Petersburg. vostokovedeniye.
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Received May 20, 2013. Received in revised form June 17, 2013..