Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

predatory nomads
The model, then, which seems to best fit the available archaeological data is to
see the Mezöcsát culture as the westernmost outpost of steppe culture, the result of
bands of pastoral nomads moving into the Great Hungarian Plain in the ninth and
eighth century but maintaining their links with the east—a reality demonstrated by
pottery imported from the valleys of the Bug, the Dniester, and the Dobrogea region
of the lower Danube. It was probably from these areas that horses were acquired to
be used for breeding and to provide stock for exchange. By trading horses with the
west the nomads of the Great Hungarian Plain would have been able to access an
array of commodities. It may have been in this way that they acquired their grain
rather than growing it for themselves.
Kimmerians in the Longue Durée
The arrival of the nomadic horse riders on the Pontic steppe in the ninth–eighth century
and their eventual penetration of the Great Hungarian Plain is part of an ageold
story. It had happened before in the twenty-eighth century bc with the westerly
movement of the Yamnaya culture (above, pp. 67–9) and it was soon to happen again
in the seventh and sixth centuries when the Scythians from Central Asia burst into
the Pontic steppe ousting the Kimmerians (if we are to accept the simple narrative
provided by Herodotus). But it was not to end there. Shortly after came the Sarmatians,
the Alans, and the Huns, to be followed eventually by the Mongols. In each case
they moved west into the Carpathian Basin where the puszta of the Great Hungarian
Plain represented the westernmost remnant of their familiar steppe; beyond lay
the forests, mountains, and agricultural lands which offered little attraction to those
whose lifestyle depended on the horse.
It is difficult to appreciate the complexities of these movements from the few historical
scraps available, which can only be augmented by the mute archaeological evidence.
Using names like Kimmerians and Scythians or the plethora of archaeological
cultural names on offer tends to oversimplify the fluid situation created by nomadic
mobility. How many people were on the move at any one time is impossible to say, nor
is it possible to be sure how the different groups related to each other politically. The
migration of nomadic peoples over great distances led to a breakdown in old tribal
systems, while kinship relations weakened as more competitive social structures
developed and the prowess of prominent individuals led to the forging of new alliances.
The new elites that emerged, having established their authority over local populations,
might have chosen to stay, leaving men of lesser status, and those displaced,
to move on to search out new pastures. It was a time of restless mobility, a vigorous
gusting east wind that sent ever-changing ripples across the swaying grasslands.
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