Kurgan
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A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central Asia and Eastern, Southeast, Western and Northern Europe during the 3rd millennium BC.[1]
The earliest kurgans date to the 4th millennium BC in the
Etymology
According to the Etymological dictionary of the Ukrainian language the word "kurhan" is borrowed directly from the "Polovtsian" language (Kipchak, part of the Turkic languages) and means: fortress, embankment, high grave.[4] The word has two possible etymologies, either from the Old Turkic root qori- "to close, to block, to guard, to protect", or qur- "to build, to erect, furnish or stur". According to Vasily Radlov it may be a cognate to qorγan, meaning "fortification, fortress or a castle".[5]
The Russian noun, already attested in
Origins and spread
Some sceptre graves could have been covered with a tumulus, placing the first kurgans as early as the 5th millennium BC in eastern Europe. However, this hypothesis is not unanimous.[7] Kurgans were used in Ukrainian and Russian steppes, their use spreading with migration into southern, central, and northern Europe in the 3rd millennium BC.[8][9] Later, Kurgan barrows became characteristic of
Kurgan hypothesis
The
Scholars who follow Gimbutas identify a "Kurgan culture" as reflecting an early Proto-Indo-European ethnicity that existed in the steppes and in southeastern Europe from the 5th millennium to the 3rd millennium BC. In Kurgan cultures, most burials were in kurgans, either clan or individual. Most prominent leaders were buried in individual kurgans, now called "royal kurgans". More elaborate than clan kurgans and containing grave goods, royal kurgans have attracted the most attention and publicity.
Scytho-Siberian monuments
The monuments of these cultures coincide with the
Scytho-Siberian classification includes monuments from the 8th to the 3rd century BC. This period is called the Early or Ancient
Usage
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Architecture
Burial mounds are complex structures with internal chambers. Within the burial chamber at the heart of the kurgan, elite individuals were buried with grave goods and sacrificial offerings, sometimes including horses and
Common components
In all periods, the development of the kurgan structure tradition in the various ethnocultural zones is revealed by common components or typical features in the construction of the monuments. They include:
- funeral chambers
- tombs
- surface and underground constructions of different configurations
- a mound of earth or stone, with or without an entrance
- funeral, ritual, and other traits
- the presence of an altar in the chamber
- stone fence
- moat
- bulwark
- the presence of an entryway into the chamber, into the tomb, into the fence, or into the kurgan
- the location of a sacrificial site on the embankments, inside the mound, inside the moat, inside the embankments, and in their links, entryways, and around the kurgan
- the location of a fire pit in the chamber
- a wooden roof over or under the kurgan, at the top of the kurgan, or around the kurgan
- the location of stone statues, columns, poles and other objects; bypass passages inside the kurgan, inside tombs, or around the kurgan
- funeral paths from the moat or bulwark.
Depending on the combination of these elements, each historical and cultural nomadic zone has certain architectural distinctions.
Pre-Scytho-Sibirian kurgans (Bronze Age)
In the Bronze Age, kurgans were built with stone reinforcements. Some of them are believed to be Scythian burials with built-up soil, and embankments reinforced with stone (Olhovsky, 1991).
Pre-Scytho-Sibirian kurgans were surface kurgans. Wooden or stone tombs were constructed on the surface or underground and then covered with a kurgan. The kurgans of Bronze culture across Europe and Asia were similar to housing; the methods of house construction were applied to the construction of the tombs.[13] Kurgan Ak-su - Aüly (12th–11th centuries BC) with a tomb covered by a pyramidal timber roof under a kurgan has space surrounded by double walls serving as a bypass corridor. This design has analogies with Begazy, Sanguyr, Begasar, and Dandybay kurgans.[13] These building traditions survived into the early Middle Ages, to the 8th–10th centuries AD.
The Bronze Pre-Scytho-Sibirian culture developed in close similarity with the cultures of
Some kurgans had facing or tiling. One tomb in Ukraine has 29 large limestone slabs set on end in a circle underground. They were decorated with carved geometrical ornamentation of rhombuses, triangles, crosses, and on one slab, figures of people. Another example has an earthen kurgan under a wooden cone of thick logs topped by an ornamented cornice up to 2 m in height.
Scytho-Siberian kurgans (Early Iron Age)
The Scytho-Siberian kurgans in the Early Iron Age have grandiose mounds throughout the Eurasian continent.[15]
Gender
Females were buried in about 20% of graves of the lower and middle Volga river region during the
Archaeological remains
The most obvious archeological remains associated with the Scythians are the great burial mounds, some over 20 m high, which dot the Ukrainian and Russian steppe belts and extend in great chains for many kilometers along ridges and watersheds. From them much has been learnt about Scythian life and art.[17]
Excavated kurgans
Some excavated kurgans include:
- The Ipatovo kurgan revealed a long sequence of burials from the Maykop culture c. 4000 BC down to the burial of an elite woman of the 3rd century BC, excavated 1998–99.
- Kurgan 4 at Kutuluk near Samara, Russia, dated to c. 24th century BC, contains the skeleton of a man, estimated to have been 35 to 40 years old and about 152 cm tall.[18]Resting on the skeleton's bent left elbow was a copper object 65 cm long with a blade of a diamond-shaped cross-section and sharp edges, but no point, and a handle, originally probably wrapped in leather. No similar object is known from Bronze Age Eurasian steppe cultures.
- The Maikop kurgan dates to the 3rd millennium BC.
- The Novovelichkovskaya kurgan of c. 2000 BC on the Ponura River, Novotitorovka culturenomads.
- The N. I. Veselovski in 1897.[21]
- The Issyk kurgan, in southern Kazakhstan, contains a skeleton, possibly female, c. 4th century BC, with an inscribed silver cup, gold ornaments, Scythian animal art objects and headdress reminiscent of Kazakh bridal hats; discovered in 1969.
- Kurgan 11 of the Berel cemetery, in the Bukhtarma Rivervalley of Kazakhstan, contains a tomb of c. 300 BC, with a dozen sacrificed horses preserved with their skin, hair, harnesses, and saddles intact, buried side by side on a bed of birch bark next to a funeral chamber containing the pillaged burial of two Scythian nobles; excavated in 1998.
- The Dniproregion.
- The Ryzhanovka kurgan, a 10-metre-high (33 ft) kurgan 125 km south of Scythianchieftain, 3rd century BC, was excavated in 1996.
- The Solokha kurgan, in the Zaporizhzhia Oblastof Ukraine, Scythian, dates to the early 4th century BC.
- Mamai-gora, kurgan on the banks of Nogai people.
- The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak, near the town of Kazanlak in central Bulgaria, is a Thracian kurgan of c. the 4th century BC.
- The Aleksandrovo kurganis a Thracian kurgan of c. the 4th century BC.
- The Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari, Bulgaria, is a Thracian kurgan of c. the 3rd century BC.
- The Håga Kurgan, located on the outskirts of Uppsala, Sweden, is a large Nordic Bronze Agekurgan from c. 1000 BC.
- The Bulgarian ruler Kubratfrom c. AD 660.
- Hun confederation.[22]
- Scythian Kurgans tombs, located in Almaty, Kazakhstan
- The Melitopol kurgan near Melitopol was excavated and its assemblage included Scythian gold jewellery, which is not in the collection of the Melitopol Museum of Local History.[23]
Kurgans in Poland
Kurgan building has a long history in Poland. The Polish word for kurgan is kopiec or kurhan. Some excavated kurgans in Poland:
- Burial mounds of the Unetice culture include fourteen kurgans dated to 2000–1800 BC[24]
- Kraśnik Neolithic (Stone Age) kurhans
- Tombs at Pleśnik[25]
- Trawiasta Buczyna — hundreds of stone kurhans dated to 1200–1000 BC
- Skalbmierz has kurgans dated 4000 BC.[26]
- Zambrow[27]
- Mounds at Jawczyce were described by Bishop Nankerus in 1322. Kurgan mounds dated to the Neolithic or Bronze Age included a burial of an elderly person, probably male. Some weapons and pottery fragments were also found in the tomb.[28]
- Near Sieradz a tomb dated to the Trzciniec culture of c. 1500 BC contains a man and woman buried together.
- A kurgan burial site at Łubna-Jakusy and a kurgan cremation near Guciów are examples of Trzciniec culture of c. 1500 BC.
- The Krakus Mound is located in Kraków. Legend says it is the burial place of Krakus, founder of the city.
- Wanda Mound, burial place of the daughter of Krakus, is located in Kraków.
- Piłakno near Mrągowo, excavated in 1988, is an example of west Baltic kurhan culture.[29]
- In Bełchatow there is a pagan temple built upon a kurgan. Dating of this structure awaited results of carbon 14 tests in 2001.[30]
- The mound called Kopiec Tatarski at Przemyśl is triangular in shape, 10 meters in length, and pointing east. In 1869, T. Żebrawski found bones and ancient coins. In 1958, A. Kunysz found skulls and bones and medieval ceramics. a structure called Templum S. Leonardi was constructed around 1534 on top of the mound; it was destroyed in World War II.
- Kopiec Esterki was erected in the 14th century by Casimir III of Polandfor his deceased wife.
- Burial tomb of burial mound).
- Kościuszko Mound in Kraków was completed in November 1823 as a memorial to Tadeusz Kościuszko
- The Union of Lublin Mound was completed in Lviv in 1980. Artificial mound in modern-day Ukraine.
- A Mound of Immortality was constructed to honor poet Adam Mickiewicz in 1898.
- Kopiec Wyzwolenia (Mound of Liberation) commemorates the 250th anniversary of the passage of the Polish Hussars through the city of Piekary Śląskie under John III Sobieski. It was completed in 1937.[31]
- Piłsudski's Mound in Kraków honors Polish general and politician Józef Piłsudski.
See also
- Animal sacrifice
- Ashvamedha
- Kleczanów Forest
- Kurgan stelae
- Mamayev Kurgan, used during the Battle of Stalingrad.
- Newgrange
- Tarpan
References
- ^ Random House Unabridged Dictionary (2019). "Kurgan". Dictionary.com. Random House.
- ^ Kipfer 2000, p. 291.
- ^ Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 339.
- ^ Етимологічний словник української мови: В 7 т. / АН УРСР. Ін-т мовознавства ім. О. О. Потебні; Редкол. О. С. Мельничук (головний ред.) та ін. — К.: Наук. думка, 1983. Т. 3: Кора — М / Укл.: Р. В. Болдирєв та ін. — 1989. — 552 с. стр. 152
- ^ Acta philologica. Vol. 5. University of Warsaw. 1972. p. 175.
- ^ Vasmer, Max (1953–1958). Russisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. Heidelberg: Winter. p. 2424. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ^ Govedarica 2016, p. 85.
- ^ "Kazakhstan will provide tourists with an access to Saka kurgans". www.advantour.com. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
- ^ Turbat, Tsagaan. "First Excavation of Pazyryk Kurgans in Mongolian Altai".
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Akishev K.A., Kushaev G.A., Ancient culture of Sakas and Usuns in the valley of river Ili, Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences publication, 1963, pp. 121–36
- ^ "Ice Mummies: Siberian Ice Maiden". PBS – NOVA. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- ^ "Golden Mountains of Altai". UNESCO. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- ^ a b Margulan A.N., "Architecture of the ancient period" in the Architecture of Kazakhstan, 1956, Alma-Ata, (pp 9-95)
- ^ British Museum
- ^ "Salbyksky mound". unknownsiberia. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-691-05887-0.
- ^ John Boardman, I.E.S. Edwards, E. Sollberger, N.G.L. Hammond. It The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. (1992), p. 550[ISBN missing]
- ^ Rose, M., Cudgel Culture Archaeology, March/April, 2002[dead link]
- ^ Honour and Fleming, 124
- ^ Honour and Fleming, 123
- ^ Piotrovsky, 29
- ^ "Hsiung-Nu", Siberia, Hostkingdom, archived from the original on 2007-01-27, retrieved 2018-12-12.
- ^ "Мелитопольский городской краеведческий музей - MGK Мелитополь". www.mgk.zp.ua. Archived from the original on 2022-12-04. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
- ^ Polish Wikipedia
- ^ Mogily, PL: GDA, archived from the original on 2006-11-08, retrieved 2007-04-11
- ^ Skalbmierz, PL: Krakow.
- ^ Cieciorkami, PL: Ugzambrow, archived from the original (JPEG) on 2007-02-22, retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ^ Mounds in Jawczycach, Odyssei, archived from the original on 2016-03-03, retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ^ Historycy.
- ^ Odkrywca. nr1(25), 01.2001, Historycy, archived from the original on May 14, 2013.
- ^ Polish Wikipedia
Sources
- ISBN 0333371852
- Govedarica, Blagoje (2016), Conflict or Coexistence: Steppe and Agricultural Societies in the Early Copper Age of the Northwest Black Sea Area
- Kipfer, Barbara Ann (2000), Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology, Springer
- Mallory, J.P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (1997), Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, Taylor & Francis
- Piotrovsky, Boris, et al. "Excavations and Discoveries in Scythian Lands", in From the Lands of the Scythians: Ancient Treasures from the Museums of the U.S.S.R., 3000 B.C.–100 B.C. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 32, no. 5 (1974), available online as a series of PDFs (bottom of the page).
Further reading
- "In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology and Myth" by J. P. Mallory, ISBN 0-500-27616-1
- "The Kurgan Culture and the Indo-Europeanization of Europe: Selected Articles Form 1952 to 1993" von Marija Gimbutas u.a., ISBN 0-941694-56-9
- "ISBN 1-884964-98-2
- D. Ya. Telegin et al., Srednestogovskaya i Novodanilovskaya Kul'tury Eneolita Azovo-Chernomorskogo Regiona. Kiev: Shlyakh, 2001. Reviewed by J.P. Mallory, JIES vol. 32, 3/4, p. 363–366.
- "Reconstruction Of The Genofond Peculiarities Of The Ancient Pazyryk Population (1st-2nd Millennium BC) From Gorny Altai According To The mtDNA Structure" Voevoda M.I., Sitnikova V.V., Romashchenko A.G., Chikisheva T.A., Polosmak N.V., Molodin V. I http://www.bionet.nsc.ru/bgrs/thesis/99/.
- O. Ismagulov 'Population of Kazakhstan from Bronze Epoch to Present (Paleoanthropological research)', Science, Alma-Ata, 1970
External links
- Kurgan Culture Archived 2005-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
- excavated kurgans Archived 2005-01-25 at the Wayback Machine (archaeology.org).
- Ritual Sites, and Settlements: Eurasian Bronze and Iron Age book for download (www.csen.org)
- An extensive list of mounds in Poland