Monuments of various cultures of the Early Iron Age have been traced in the forest-steppe territory of the Trans-Urals and Western Siberia. First of all, let us dwell on the materials of the Sargat culture, which occupied a vast area and played a large role in the life of the population of Western Siberia. The Sargat population was part of the Scythian-Siberian cultural and historical community and was settled from the eastern foothills of the Urals to the middle reaches of the river. Omi. Monuments of the Sargat culture were found on the banks of Ishim, Tobol, Irtysh and Omi. According to the modern administrative division, the main part of the territory occupied by the Sargat culture falls on Russia, and its southern periphery is located in Northern Kazakhstan.
Located on a vast territory and adjacent to various tribes, the Sargat culture was not united. Certain regional features of this culture can be traced in Priomye, Irtysh, Prytobol'e and Priishim'e. We will not dwell on them, but talk about common features that unite all carriers of the Sargat culture.
HISTORY OF RESEARCH
The culture got its name from the mounds near the village. Sargatka excavated in 1927 by V. P. Levasheva on the left bank of the Irtysh near Omsk. Later, the monuments of the Sargat culture were studied by V. I. Moshinskaya and V. N. Chernetsov. The latter attributed the tribes of this culture to the Ugrians. In the 1960s - 1970s. the monuments of the Sargat culture were intensively studied by expeditions of the Ural University, headed by V. F. Gening. V. A. Mogilnikov played a significant role in the study of culture. Recently, extensive research on the river. Ishim and in the Tobolye region were produced by N. P. Matveeva, and in the middle reaches of the Omi - N. V. Polosmak. Interesting excavations in the Omsk region were carried out by V. I. Matyushchenko. Generalizing works on the Sargat culture were written by L. N. Koryakova and N. P. Matveeva.
The question of the origin of the Sargat culture is debatable. All researchers note two elements that played a certain role in its composition: 1) the local population of the Bronze Age and the transition period; 2) groups of nomads from Northern Kazakhstan that penetrated the forest-steppe. Some authors believe (for example, N. P. Matveeva), the direct addition of the Sargat culture took place in the Irtysh region on the basis of the late Irmen culture. So, on the river. Omi is known for settlements of the 7th - 6th centuries. BC, where, along with the predominant pottery of the Late Irmenian type, there are fragments of Sargat vessels. Thus, it can be assumed that from the Irtysh region the population moved westward up to Tobol, where the earliest Sargat monuments date back to the end of the 5th century. BC. Alien tribes absorbed the local population.
According to other authors (V. A. Mogilnikov, L. N. Koryakov), the Sargat culture was gradually formed throughout its territory, but everywhere on the basis of local tribes of the Early Bronze Age and the transitional period.
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Currently, the Sargat culture dates back to the time from the 7th - 6th centuries. BC e. up to IV - V centuries. AD Based on changes in inventory and burial rites, the following conclusion can be drawn: in its development, this culture went through several stages. The earliest of them dates from the 7th - early 5th century. BC. This is a transitional period, the time of the formation of the Sargat culture. The monuments of this period are still known only in the Irtysh region (on the Omi river). The next (first) stage lasted from the end of the 5th to the beginning of the 3rd century. BC e. At this time, the Sargat culture spread over a wide area from the Trans-Urals to Priomye. This is followed by a period from the second half of the 3rd to the 1st century. BC. The last stage dates back to the 1st-4th-5th centuries. n. e. Many researchers attribute the population of the Sargat culture to the Ugrians. Anthropological data show that the Sargat population is Caucasian.
MONUMENTS
More than a hundred archaeological sites of the Sargat culture are known. These are fortifications, settlements and burial mounds.
The settlements of the Sargat culture have passed a certain path of development. The earliest of them are discovered on the river. Omi. They belong to the transition period and date back to the 7th - 6th centuries. BC. The settlement of Turunovka-4 has been investigated more fully than others in Baraba. Three semi-dugouts with an area of up to 180 m2 have been excavated. The depth of the pits reaches 120 cm. By their construction, such dwellings clearly go back to the premises of the Late Bronze Age. There are no such early settlements in the western and central parts of the spread of the Sargat culture. They appeared only in the 5th - 4th centuries. BC.
At the first stage of the existence of the Sargat culture, the settlements were long-term: there are traces of repeated rebuilding of dwellings. There are unfortified settlements and ancient settlements. Large unfortified settlements were usually located near the fortified settlements, where the bulk of the population lived.
The most interesting monument of this time is the Rafailovskoe settlement on the river. Iset (a tributary of the Tobol) in the Tyumen region. It consisted of two fortified sites located nearby, outside of which there was a large unfortified settlement. The living quarters of the citadel were single-chamber and had a small area. In them, apparently, the population was hiding during the attack of enemies. The dwellings outside the defensive structures (in the settlement) were multi-chamber and large. Numerous household chambers were attached to the main room, which were connected by covered corridors. This is how multi-chamber buildings arose, which became more and more complicated as a result of reconstruction. The dwellings were heated by open hearths. The defensive system, which consisted of a ditch and a rampart, was also rebuilt several times. The area of the monument was very densely built up. The cultural layer is full of finds that date back to the 5th - 3rd centuries. BC.
Equally impressive is the fully excavated settlement of Ak-Tau, located in the middle reaches of the river. Ishim in Northern Kazakhstan. It is dated to the 5th - 3rd centuries. BC. This is the southernmost outpost of the Sargat culture. The shaft was composed of loam mixed with clay. The height of the rampart reached two meters, the width of the base - 3.5 m. On its top, wooden structures (palisades) were erected, rising by another 2 m. Thus, the total height of the rampart reached 4 m. The outer inclined wall of the rampart was sheathed with horizontal blocks. A deep ditch was dug at the foot of the rampart. The entrance was securely defended: there was a gate tower and a complex labyrinthine system at the gate. The development of the settlement was very dense. A number of houses were adjacent to the defensive system and were part of its structure. The saturation of the cultural layer with finds is quite high. All this testifies to the long and lasting settlement of the Sargat population at the first stage of its existence.
The second and third stages are characterized by short-lived settlements: fortified settlements and unfortified settlements. The fortifications of the Sargat settlements are diverse. As a rule, they consisted of an outer ditch and an inner rampart, and sometimes a log wall. The development of the fortified settlements was more sparse compared to the settlements of the first stage. The dwellings were single-chamber and multi-chamber, with outbuildings connected to the main premises by covered walkways. The outbuildings were intended for storing stocks, keeping livestock and engaging in metallurgical production. The cultural layer is less saturated with finds than the monuments of the first stage. It can be assumed that the sedentary position was not strong.
An interesting settlement is Duvanskoe-2, which dates back to the turn of the eras. The production site where the forge was built was revealed here. Slags, pieces of oxidized iron, and coals were found on the floor of the building. This is the first evidence of the emergence of its own ferrous metallurgy in Western Siberia.
Burial monuments - burial mounds - are especially numerous. The funeral rite itself was very peculiar. Many of the excavated mounds were plundered. It is believed that a significant part of the "Peter's" gold collection came from these areas.
The burial rite is characterized by the presence of barrows. They were located in groups, which included up to 40 embankments. They are usually associated with specific settlements. Mounds were built from layers of turf. Initially, they looked like a truncated pyramid. Currently, the faces of the pyramids have swum.
A characteristic feature of most of the kurgans is the presence of a moat that surrounded the area around the graves. In plan, it was round or polygonal. When digging it, the earth (mainland) was thrown towards the center, as a result of which a low roller was obtained - the fence of the grave. In some cases, two or three concentric ditches were built. For many mounds of the Sargat culture, the presence of evidence of a cult of fire is typical: remnants of fireplaces, burnt walls of the chamber, making a fire on the ceilings of graves, carbonaceous or chalk bedding. In a number of graves, traces of fire have been marked on skeletons. A similar rite was known among the Sarmatians, but it was much more common. Another feature of the funeral rite, which was especially vividly represented on the pre-Obol'sk mounds, was the construction of wooden platforms around the central grave. The platforms consisted of two or three rows of logs,laid directly on the ground, and discharged from the grave pit. The bottom layer was folded in concentric circles. On top of it, there was a layer of radially directed long trunks, which also entered the ceiling of the grave. Sometimes an additional tier of thin logs was erected above, covering the cracks in the platform. If subburials were made, the structure was partially dismantled, then a grave was built.
In the early stages of the development of the Sargat culture, usually one, less often two, graves were located under the embankment. Let us consider them on the example of the Krasnogorsk mound, located in a mound group on the banks of the Iset river. Judging by the descriptions of the 19th century, the height of the mound reached 7 m. It was repeatedly plowed up, so by the time of the excavations carried out by N. P. Matveyeva, the height of the mound was 80 cm. It contained one grave and was surrounded by a polygonal ditch and an earthen fence from the discarded earth … A wooden platform up to 60 cm high was erected around the grave. It consisted of two rows of large logs and was a polygon. The grave with an area of more than Im2 had walls lined with boards and a floor covered with birch bark. The burial was robbed. More than a hundred bronze arrowheads dating back to the 5th - early 4th centuries have survived with the warrior's skeleton. BC.,a shell of bone plates, a bronze hatchet, a pendant and a large cauldron, a gold plaque with the image of a coiled predator. Apparently, before the plundering, this was a rich burial of a noble warrior.
From the II century. BC e. the custom of placing inlet burials around the central one became sharply dominant. In some mounds there were one or two graves. These were usually the burials of the nobility. There is one such mound with an unpolluted rich grave. It was dug up in the Omsk region near the village. V. I. Sidorovka Matyushchenko. The height of the mound reached 2.5 m, diameter - about 50 m. The central grave was robbed, and the second was well preserved. Its area was 3 × 5 m2, depth - 2.25 m. The burial was covered with three layers of birch blocks lying crosswise on top of each other. Above was the burial of a woman, which was completely looted. The robbers, apparently, decided that there was nothing deeper, and left untouched the rich burial of the warrior. Together with the warrior, an iron dagger, a battle ax, a spear, and plate armor lay in the grave. Found a bunch of arrowheads and gold jewelry. For example, paired belt buckles depicting a scene of a tiger fighting a dragon. The buckles were inlaid with stones. The floor of the grave was covered with a mat. IN AND. Matyushchenko dates the burial within the 3rd - 1st centuries. BC.
INVENTORY
The most complete is ceramics. It is of good workmanship. Its shape and ornamentation are stable. Ovoid and round-bottomed vessels with a straight or bent corolla are often found. According to their shape, they are divided into pots, jugs, bowls and dishes. The latter are a feature of Sargat ceramics. The ornament was most often applied in a narrow strip to the shoulders or neck of the vessel. There are vessels with ornamented bodies and bottom parts. The ornament consisted of rows of Christmas trees, inclined lines, scallops, etc. It was made in carved and pricked technique. There are comb imprints. Tableware is widely found in burials, and it is also found in settlements. As a rule, this type of tableware is carefully made and ornamented in various ways. A special place is occupied by small clay altar dishes, which have a round or oval shape. Traces of chalk and ocher have been preserved on their inner surface. Apparently, these altars served as paint-floats and had a ritual purpose. All the ceramics listed are made by hand molding. Along with it, a small number of imported Central Asian dishes made on a potter's wheel were found.
Offensive and defensive weapons are well represented. Offensive weapons include iron swords, daggers (akinaki) and numerous arrowheads: bronze of the Scythian type, iron, and bone. Attention is drawn to the large number of bronze arrowheads (up to 100 or more specimens) in individual graves. The defensive weapon is represented by armor. The carapace was bone, lamellar, occasionally with iron plates. From horse harness, iron bits, cheekpieces, bridle buckles and plaques were found.
The tools of labor are numerous iron knives and adzes. Interesting finds are such as a crucible and nozzles for blowing air into forges (for producing iron). The spinning wheel was most often made from the fragments of vessels. The needles are made of tubular bones. Bone punctures are widespread. Fishing is associated with stone sinkers for nets and floats for nets in the form of birch bark skeins.
Decorations and toilet articles are numerous. Beads were made from semi-precious stones, gold, silver and bronze, glass, amber and other materials. Bracelets were made of bronze or beads. Rings, mirrors, pendants, bone crests, hairpins and various plaques were found. According to researchers, many of the finds that are part of the "Peter's collection" are associated with the Sargat kurgans.
ECONOMY AND SOCIAL RELATIONS
Archaeological material makes it possible to restore in sufficient detail the economy and social relations of the population of the Sargat culture. The economy was complex. Its basis was cattle breeding. Approximately 90% of the found osteological material belongs to pets. At first, the herd consisted of approximately equal parts of cattle and horses. This fact, as well as the presence of long-term settlements, indicate that cattle breeding at the first and at the beginning of the second stage of the existence of the Sargat culture was pastoral. Cattle breeding was mainly localized, which did not exclude the removal of part of the herd in summer to remote pastures. Cattle breeding was of meat and dairy nature (the bones found most often belonged to old animals). Horses were bred mainly for meat (bones of young individuals predominated). The bones of older specimens probably indicate that they were riding horses. By the end of the second period, the number of horses in the herd increased, and the importance of distant-pasture cattle breeding increased sharply. It became mobile: in the summer, the herds were already driven over a considerable distance. Some researchers even talk about the nomadic nature of the cattle breeding of the Sargat population (L. N. Koryakova). But according to most researchers, this is not confirmed by archaeological material. It is interesting to point out the presence on the river. Tobol camels, the bones of which have been found at some sites (for example, in the Rafailon settlement). These were probably the key points of the caravan trade. According to N. P. Matveeva, the culling of animals that had weakened during a long journey took place here. By the end of the second period, the number of horses in the herd increased, and the importance of distant-pasture herding increased sharply. It became mobile: in the summer, the herds were already driven over a considerable distance. Some researchers even talk about the nomadic nature of the cattle breeding of the Sargat population (L. N. Koryakova). But according to most researchers, this is not confirmed by archaeological material. It is interesting to point out the presence on the river. Tobol camels, the bones of which are found at some sites (for example, in the Rafailon settlement). These were probably the key points of the caravan trade. According to N. P. Matveeva, the culling of animals that had weakened during a long journey took place here. By the end of the second period, the number of horses in the herd increased, and the importance of distant-pasture herding increased sharply. It became mobile: in the summer, the herds were already driven over a considerable distance. Some researchers even talk about the nomadic nature of the cattle breeding of the Sargat population (L. N. Koryakova). But according to most researchers, this is not confirmed by archaeological material. It is interesting to point out the presence on the river. Tobol camels, the bones of which are found at some sites (for example, in the Rafailon settlement). These were probably the key points of the caravan trade. According to N. P. Matveev, here the culling of animals that had weakened over a long journey took place. Some researchers even talk about the nomadic nature of the cattle breeding of the Sargat population (L. N. Koryakova). But according to most researchers, this is not confirmed by archaeological material. It is interesting to point out the presence on the river. Tobol camels, the bones of which are found at some sites (for example, in the Rafailon settlement). These were probably the key points of the caravan trade. According to N. P. Matveev, here the culling of animals that had weakened over a long journey took place. Some researchers even talk about the nomadic nature of the cattle breeding of the Sargat population (L. N. Koryakova). But according to most researchers, this is not confirmed by archaeological material. It is interesting to point out the presence on the river. Tobol camels, the bones of which are found at some sites (for example, in the Rafailon settlement). These were probably the key points of the caravan trade. According to N. P. Matveeva, the culling of animals that had weakened during a long journey took place here.these were the key points of the caravan trade. According to N. P. Matveev, here the culling of animals that had weakened over a long journey took place.these were the key points of the caravan trade. According to N. P. Matveeva, the culling of animals that had weakened during a long journey took place here.
The Sargat population had agriculture, hunting was developed. They hunted elk, wild boar, deer, roe deer and other animals, as well as waterfowl. The finds of fish bones and scales indicate the existence of fishing. The craft was of a domestic character, bronze casting was especially developed at the first stage of the Sargat culture, when iron had not yet firmly entered the life of the population. At the Rafailovskoye settlement, bronze-casting production sites with fragments of casting molds, a crucible and bronze scrap intended for remelting were identified.
It is especially necessary to dwell on ferrous metallurgy. Findings of iron slag, clay nozzles and the remains of forges speak of its development. It has already been mentioned above about the settlement of Duvanskoye-2, where the remains of a forge were found. An analysis of the iron products of the Sargat culture led N. M. Zinyakov to the conclusion that ferrous metallurgy was sufficiently developed. In general, iron, especially in the first half of the existence of the Sargat culture, was an expensive and prestigious material: it could be used to make iron jewelry using inlays of stone, silver and copper. Later, iron became widespread. Iron production among the Sargat population was distinguished by a high level for its time. The blacksmiths already had steel at their disposal, which surpassed soft iron. They also used cold water quenching. This is how many knives are made. Swords and daggers were made of steel.
The population of the Sargat culture had trade relations with Central Asia and Kazakhstan: pottery and jewelry came from there. In antiquity, the Great Silk Road functioned, going west through the steppes of Mongolia and Central Asia, branches from it, including to the north, departed. One of these branches went to the lands of the Sargat population. Beads of semi-precious stones, one-color and multi-colored glass, personal jewelry, bronze mirrors, silk fabrics, pottery, etc. were imported. It can be assumed that the Sargats exported leather and furs received as tribute from the northern taiga tribes.
The social relations of the Sargat population have been studied in detail by N. P. Matveeva. The property and legal heterogeneity of the population can be traced in the differences in dwellings and burials. The elite stratum stands out clearly - the leaders and the military elite. The differentiation of the nobility is evidenced by the complex designs of individual burials and such rich graves as in the Sidorovka barrow. It should be noted that the largest burial mounds (the so-called "royal") have not yet been excavated. Presumably, they stood out sharply from the groups of rich burials. According to N, P. Matveyeva, there were at least seven different social groups of the population: leaders, several groups of the elite, the wealthy, ordinary, poor and dependent population.
A certain specialization has developed in military affairs. The lower strata of society were unarmed. The army consisted of vigilantes headed by the leaders. The base of the militia was lightly armed horsemen with bow and arrow. The armament of the population elite is varied and rich. We can talk about the presence of a military squad equipped with melee and long-range weapons. There are swords, daggers, iron type-setting armor, there were no special worshipers. The rituals were performed by the members of society themselves, both men and women. Society was on the brink of statehood formation. It was a potestarian society that could be called a "chiefdom." Some researchers (N. P. Matveeva, L. N. Koryakova) believe that the Sargatans had an early form of statehood.
conclusions
The Sargat culture was part of the Scythian-Siberian cultural community, as evidenced by weapons, horse set, animal style and developed cattle breeding. Cultural ties with the western neighbors - the Savromats, and later - with the Sarmatians, were quite developed. This is especially pronounced in the presence of the cult of fire in the funeral rite. Researchers suggest the presence of several waves of migration from the Sarmatian environment.
Contacts with the nomadic population of Northern Kazakhstan and Central Asia, who took part in the formation of the Sargat culture, were especially close and difficult. Inventory and anthropological studies testify to the periodic penetration of entire groups of nomads into the territory of the Sargat tribes, who are considered to be Iranian-speaking. It can be assumed that they were part of the Sargat nobility. There is an exceptional closeness between the Sargats and the population of the Trans-Urals, belonging to the Gorokhov culture, which, in turn, was probably associated with the Ugrians. The materials of the monuments testify to cases of joint residence of the Sargat and Gorokhov population. In the eastern region (Priomye), the Sargat population came into close contact with the Bolsherechensk culture of the Upper Ob region. On the banks of the river. Omi, there is a stripe arrangement of the Sargat and Bolsherechensky monuments. N. P. Matveeva, given the waves of migration and close contacts with neighboring tribes, speaks of the multiethnic nature of the Sargat population.
The Sargat association was the largest in Western Siberia of the Early Iron Age. It possessed significant military power, and socially stood at a high level of development. It is likely that some of the neighboring tribes were in a dependent position.
Apparently, the highest level of development of the population and its stabilization fell on the II century. BC - II century. AD Sargat culture ceased to exist at the end of the 4th century. AD Apparently, the population, which by this time was on the verge of transition to nomadism, was easily involved in the Great Migration. Its main part moved to the west as part of the multiethnic Hunnic association, becoming one of the components of the ethnogenesis of the Hungarians. The remaining population was either exterminated or moved north. Small groups of the northern forest population settled on the territory of the former residence of the Sargat tribes, and later Turkic tribes appeared here.
Materials of the Sargat culture from the Sidorovka burial ground (mound 1, grave 2): 1, 2, 4 - bronze; 3 - iron; 5,6- gold (after: Matyushchenko V. I., Tataurova L. V. Sidorovka burial ground in the Omsk Irtysh region. - Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1997).
Dwellings of the Sargat culture (reconstruction): 1 - four-chamber dwelling, settlement Duvanskoe-2; 2 - two-chamber dwelling, settlement Ingalinka-1 (after: Matveeva N. P. Social and economic structures of the population of Western Siberia in the early Iron Age (forest-steppe and subtaiga zones). - Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2000).