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Region: Eastern European steppe
Location: steppe zone of Ukraine and Moldova
Dating: 12th–10th centuries BC
Bearers: Thracians, Cimmerians ^[1]
Economy type: transhumance pastoralism, agriculture
Researchers: Berezanskaya S. S., Krivtsova-Grakova O. A., Otroshchenko V. V., Terenozhkin A. I.
Continuity: ← Berezhnovka-Mayevka; ← Sabatinovka; ← Noua; Bilohrudivka→; Scythian→

Belozerka culture — an archaeological culture of the Final Bronze Age (12th–10th centuries BC), widespread in the steppe zone of Ukraine and Moldova, with individual sites represented in the Lower Don, Kuban region, and Crimea. In the 1980s, it was identified as an independent archaeological culture by researchers V. V. Otroshchenko, I. T. Chernyakov, and V. P. Vanchugov. Sites are represented by settlements, necropolises, workshops, hoards, and single finds. Dwellings — dugouts, semi-dugouts, and above-ground structures with stone foundations. Necropolises are represented by barrow and flat cemeteries. Sometimes they form a single complex. The burial rite involved placing the deceased in a rectangular pit covered with wooden planks, in a crouched position on the side, less often on the back, with hands in front of the face, oriented with the head to the south. Burial goods are represented by one or two round-bodied vessels, less often — metal items. The tribes of the Belozerka culture actively participated in the formation of the Cimmerian culture.

Research history

The first sites of the Belozerka culture were investigated as early as the late 19th century ^[2], but targeted study of the antiquities began only in the 1920s, when employees of the Kherson Historical Museum — V. I. Goshkevich and I. V. Fabritsius — studied materials of the Late Bronze Age on the Aleshkovsky Sands in the lower Dnieper region and excavated the Lukyanovsky barrow near Kakhovka. Later, A. V. Bodyansky, during salvage excavations in the DniproHES construction zone, discovered and investigated a number of Belozerka culture burial grounds under stone pavements ^[3]. In 1947, O. A. Krivtsova-Grakova discovered the eponymous site near the Belozersky estuary in the city of Kamenka-Dneprovskaya, Zaporozhye region ^[4]. Based on excavation materials, the researcher identified the Belozerka stage in the development of the Srubnaya culture [comm. 1] in the Northern Black Sea region, which, in her opinion, preceded the Sabatinovka stage [comm. 2] ^[5]. Later, in 1953-1955, V. A. Ilyinskaya and D. Ya. Telegin conducted excavations at the two-layer settlement of Ushkalka on the Dnieper. It was established that the Belozerka layer overlays the Sabatinovka layer ^[6]. Thus, the scheme of the sequence of development of the Srubnaya culture proposed by O. A. Krivtsova-Grakova did not stand the test of time and was significantly revised. In the 1960s, during salvage excavations in the zone of construction of the Krasnoznamensk irrigation system and the North Crimean Canal, a large number of Belozerka sites were discovered, which allowed A. I. Terenozhkin to develop their dating ^[7]. With the accumulation of archaeological materials, it became clear that the Belozerka culture has nothing in common with the Srubnaya cultural-historical community. In the 1980s, researchers V. V. Otroshchenko, I. T. Chernyakov, and V. P. Vanchurov identified the independent Belozerka culture of the Final Bronze Age ^{[3] [8]}.

Origin of the Belozerka culture

Before the identification of the independent Belozerka archaeological culture in the mid-1980s, researchers O. A. Krivtsova-Grakova, A. M. Leskov, and A. I. Terenozhkin considered its sites as a late stage in the development of the tribes of the Srubnaya cultural-historical community. In turn, I. N. Sharafutdinova and I. T. Chernyakov defended their belonging to the late sites of the Sabatinovka culture. At the current stage of research into the origin of the Belozerka culture, most researchers believe that it was formed on the basis of preceding cultures of the Late Bronze Age: the Berezhnovka-Mayevka Srubnaya culture, Sabatinovka, and the Noua culture. The formation of the culture itself occurs around the 12th century BC, when the cultures associated with the flourishing of the Bronze Age on the continent disappear, and the final period of the Bronze Age begins, which some researchers consider as a transitional period to the Iron Age. It is precisely to this time that the movement of the "Sea Peoples" belongs. According to a number of researchers, the tribes of the Sabatinovka culture could have been included in their composition. Evidence for this hypothesis may be the appearance of steppe roller pottery in Troy VII B, which lay on the route of the "Sea Peoples." Interestingly, approximately at this time, life ceases on almost all Sabatinovka settlements in the Northwestern Black Sea region. From the east, Srubnaya tribes penetrate into the free territories, mixing with a small part of the remaining Sabatinovka population, which leads to the formation of the Belozerka culture in the interfluve of the Molochnaya and Prut rivers ^[3]. The tribes of the Noua culture also played a certain role in the formation of the Belozerka culture ^[9]. There is another point of view, according to which the Belozerka culture is the result of the penetration of Thracian Hallstatt tribes into the region, but this hypothesis has not been confirmed ^{[3] [10]}.

Belozerka culture

The Belozerka culture was widespread in the steppe zone of Ukraine and Moldova, with few sites represented in the Don, Crimea, and Kuban region. The eponymous site is the Belozerka settlement of the Final Bronze Age, investigated in 1947 by O. A. Krivtsova-Grakova near the Belozersky estuary in the city of Kamenka-Dneprovskaya, Zaporozhye region. It is dated by sub-Mycenaean fibulae to the 12th–10th centuries BC. It was formed on the basis of the cultures of the Late Bronze Age: Sabatinovka, Berezhnovka-Mayevka Srubnaya, and Noua. The complexes of the Belozerka culture were identified in the mid-1980s by researchers V. V. Otroshchenko, I. T. Chernyakov, and V. P. Vanchurov. Sites are represented by settlements, necropolises, workshops, hoards, and single finds. Settlements are located predominantly on low floodplain terraces along the banks of rivers and estuaries. The most studied settlements are Belozerskoye, Kakhovskoye, Zmiyovskoye, Babino IV, and Kirovskoye. In most cases, residential and utility structures on the settlement form 1 or 2 lines along the edge of the terrace or elevation. The central part of the settlement had less dense construction. The number of dwellings on a settlement could range from 10 to 25. Dwellings are predominantly rectangular in shape, represented by above-ground structures with stone foundations, semi-dugouts, and dugouts of frame-and-post construction with gabled or shed roofs. Structures with stone constructions are most characteristic of the western area of the culture. Most dwellings are represented by single-chamber structures with an adjoining corridor. In the dwellings there were 1 or 2 open hearths, which were located in the center or in the corner of the room. Storage pits are also recorded inside the structures. Burial sites are represented by barrow and flat cemeteries, which sometimes form a single complex. Barrow necropolises are located predominantly on terraces or elevations along river banks, less often — on watersheds. Most barrows have a low mound, but monumental structures are also known. Flat cemeteries consist of more than 100 burials. Graves are arranged in rows. The deceased were buried in a crouched position on their side, sometimes on their back, with their heads to the south, predominantly in rectangular pits covered with wood. Sometimes fire, ochre, or chalk were used in the burial rite. Occasionally, traces of funeral feasts are recorded in the form of animal bones and broken vessels. Burials of tribal nobility are distinguished by the size of the burial pits and more complex burial structures: lining the pit with planks, post constructions, etc. Burial goods in most cases consist of 1-2 vessels, less often — metal items. Burials of nobility are characterized by more elaborate grave goods. The most studied cemeteries are Vasilyevsky, Pervomaysky, Stepnoy, and Shiroky. The ceramic complex of the culture is represented by kitchen, table, and storage wares.

Economy type

The basis of the economy of the Belozerka tribes was cattle breeding, agriculture, and metalworking; crafts were of auxiliary nature and were not widespread. Regarding cattle breeding, there is scarce information that allows only to say that in the 12th–10th centuries BC, an economic crisis is observed among the Belozerka tribes, associated with the gradual drying up of pastures and a reduction in livestock compared to the preceding era. The herd consisted of small and large cattle, pigs, and horses. The economic crisis contributed to the transition from a sedentary way of life to a nomadic economy. Gradually, the number of horses in the herd increased.

There is insignificant information about the agriculture of the Belozerka tribes, which does not allow for a full assessment of its level. Imprints of millet are found on pottery, indicating its cultivation. Tools for harvesting grain and for processing grain are widely represented: sickles and flint inserts for them, grain grinders, grinders, and pestles. Significant primitivization of agricultural tools also indicates a decline in agriculture.

Metalworking is the most studied branch of the economy of the Belozerka tribes and is characterized by a high level of development, although here too, compared to the preceding era, a significant decline is observed, caused by a shortage of raw materials. It was the shortage of copper that stimulated the transition to iron processing. Numerous workshops of foundry masters and individual hoards of bronze items are known. Metal tools are represented by celts, chisels, daggers, arrowheads and spearheads, awls, knives, cauldrons, and sickles. Jewelry — pins, fibulae, bracelets, pendants, and buttons. A specific feature is the relatively narrow range of products and their small size. Belozerka masters were the first among the tribes of the steppe Ukraine to establish serial production of iron and bimetallic tools of standardized forms.

Ethnic affiliation

Since the pottery and burial rites of the Belozerka culture are genetically close to the Chernogorovka culture, which is associated with the nomadic Cimmerians, most researchers associate the Belozerka culture with the early sedentary period of the history of the Cimmerians in the Northern Black Sea region. Since the Cimmerians, as well as the Scythians and Sarmatians, are attributed to the North Iranian tribes, it becomes possible to connect the Belozerka tribes with this ethnos ^{[11] [12] [13]}. The tribes of the Srubnaya cultural-historical community, which directly participated in the formation of the Belozerka culture of the Final Bronze Age, also belonged to the North Iranian ethnic mass.


Notes

^[1] The problem of dating the Trojan War in the context of the Great Migration of Peoples in the last quarter of the 2nd millennium BC. Safronov A.V. 2000
^[2] Hoards and antiquities of the Kherson province. Book one with artistic illustrations. Goshkevich V.I. 1903 — Book 1. — 225 p.
^[3] Berezanskaya S. S., Otroshchenko V. V., Cherednichenko N. N., Sharafutdinova I. N. Cultures of the Bronze Age on the territory of Ukraine. — K., 1986. — 163 p.
^[4] Krivtsova-Grakova O. A. Settlement of the Bronze Age on the Belozersky estuary // Brief reports of the Institute of History of Material Culture. — 1949. — Issue 26. — P. 76-85.
^[5] Krivtsova-Grakova O. A. The steppe Volga region and the Black Sea region in the Late Bronze Age // Materials and research on the archaeology of the USSR. — 1955. — No. 46. — 167 p.
^[6] Telegin D. Ya. Questions of relative chronology of Late Bronze Age sites of the Lower Dnieper region // Archaeology. — 1961. — Vol. 12. — P. 3-15.
^[7] Terenozhkin A. I. Fundamentals of archaeology of the pre-Scythian period // Soviet Archaeology. — 1965. — No. 1. — P. 63-85.
^[8] Vanchurov V. P. Belozerka sites in the Northwestern Black Sea region. — K., 1990. — 164 p.
^[9] Burials with awls and needles in the cultures of Eastern Europe of the Late Bronze Age and pre-Scythian period (steppe and forest-steppe). Podobed V.A., Tsimidanov V.V. 2010, 109
^[10] Novikova L. A. Western connections of the Northern Black Sea metalworking center in the Late Bronze Age // Soviet Archaeology. — 1976. — No. 3. — P. 25-57.
^[11] Roller pottery culture // BRE. Vol. 4. M., 2006.
^[12] Cimmerian period // BRE. Vol. 13. M., 2008.
^[13] Cimmerians // BRE. Vol. 13. M., 2008.


Comments

^[1] In the 1970s, researchers N. Ya. Merpert and E. N. Chernykh drew attention to local differences within the Srubnaya culture and identified the Srubnaya cultural-historical community, which emphasizes its cultural heterogeneity. Later, within the Srubnaya community, the Pokrovka and Berezhnovka-Mayevka Srubnaya cultures were identified.
^[2] In the 1950s, N. M. Pogrebova identified the independent Sabatinovka culture, which is not part of the Srubnaya cultural-historical community.[/hide]