Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

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bodies clothed in skins8.13 Leather bag from kurgan 2 at Pazyryk.8.14 Cart with spoked wheels from kurgan 5 at Pazyryk. The vehicle was built so that it could easily bedismantled to be transported across rugged ground. It was not well suited to the Altai environment andmay have been used only for ceremonial purposes.215
bodies clothed in skinsits delicacy of construction imply that it was for ceremonial use. It is closely similarto contemporary Chinese examples and may have been of Chinese origin, arrivingin the Altai Mountains perhaps as a diplomatic gift. Such a contraption would havebeen suitable for making grand gestures to enhance the status of its owner but wouldhave been of little use for hauling the family possessions from one pasture to another.Indeed, the fact that it could easily be dismantled meant that it could, itself, becomepart of the baggage when the family moved on.The idea of packing up the family home and having to move several times a yearmay seem arduous but this is how half the population of Mongolia lives today. Ittakes less than a day to dismantle the ger and to pack it and all the other belongingsinto a small lorry—the modern equivalent of the ox-drawn covered wagon—beforethe trek to the new pasture begins.Social StructureTo generalize about social structure based on the few scraps of evidence that survive isdangerous, not least since there must have been considerable variation from one partof the Scythian world to another. It is unlikely, for example, that the same social rulesapplied to communities living in the Altai as to those existing on the Pontic steppe.While Herodotus says that those whom he calls the ‘Royal Scyths’ adopted a formof hereditary succession to appoint their leaders, the archaeological evidence fromPazyryk suggests that this may not have been so in the eastern mountains, wherethe elite all seem to have been exceptionally tall, implying that physical prowess mayhave been a factor in the selection of a leader. At best, using the literary sources wecan create a generalized picture for the Pontic region but one must remember thatit may be biased by the behaviour of the leading tribe, the Royal Scyths, best knownto the classical world. Those who lived in the forest steppe and cultivated grain mayhave lived by different social rules, while the Sakā of Central Asia and the Altai dwellersmay have been different again.That said, the classical sources give a picture of the social hierarchy of the Ponticsteppe entirely consistent with the burial evidence. The Scyths seem to have beenruled simultaneously by three kings of different status, the chief king having thelargest kingdom. Succession was hereditary. Under the kings many different classeswere recognized, nomarchs (land owners) and other ranks called ‘noble’ and ‘distinguished’.Then came the class of skilled men such as sceptre bearers, spear bearers,and soothsayers. Below them were the ordinary people and at the bottom of thesocial scale, the slaves. Not much is heard of the slaves but Herodotus offers a ratherconfused account of the practice of blinding those slaves who were involved in the216
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the scythians
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Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, ox2
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prefacehistory exploring, with undi
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contentsviii
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discovering the scythiansinterest i
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discovering the scythians1.3 Peter
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discovering the scythiansmounds to
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discovering the scythiansÂantiquit
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discovering the scythians1.7 The ex
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discovering the scythians1.9 (Oppos
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discovering the scythiansKuban regi
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discovering the scythiansNChulymKur
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discovering the scythians1.16 The e
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After the Revolutiondiscovering the
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discovering the scythiansLate Bronz
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discovering the scythians1.18 The g
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discovering the scythiansin 1986-90
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the scythians as others saw themlan
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the scythians as others saw themScy
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the scythians as others saw themThe
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the scythians as others saw themGre
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the scythians as others saw themwou
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Mediterranean Sea0 500 milesPersian
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the scythians as others saw themAlt
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the scythians as others saw themtha
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the scythians as others saw themaud
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the scythians as others saw themcra
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the scythians as others saw themBey
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the scythians as others saw themwer
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the scythians as others saw themsee
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the scythians as others saw them2.1
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the scythians as others saw themset
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landscapes with people3.1 The lands
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landscapes with peopleThe steppe zo
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landscapes with peopletwo severe wi
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SeretBugDnieperlandscapes with peop
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landscapes with peopleSufficient wi
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landscapes with peopleMore direct e
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landscapes with peopleSrubnayaAndro
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landscapes with peopleskeletons fro
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landscapes with peopleAlongside the
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landscapes with people3.11 The elab
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landscapes with peopleBroadly conte
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predatory nomadshave tended to be i
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predatory nomads0Relative temperatu
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predatory nomads4.4 Tagar period br
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predatory nomads4.8 Bronze plaque i
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Deer stones (Olenniye Kami)Nsna iEl
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4.13 Plan and section of the Arzhan
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predatory nomads4.16 Bronze plaque
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predatory nomadsThe astonishing dis
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predatory nomadsan isolated later i
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Dnieperpredatory nomadssion no surp
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predatory nomadsbecoming the domina
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predatory nomadsies which concentra
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5THE RISE OF THE PONTICSTEPPE SCYTH
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the rise of the pontic steppe scyth
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crossing the carpathians6.1 Satelli
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crossing the carpathianslar materia
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crossing the carpathiansTransylvani
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DanubeOdercrossing the carpathiansB
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crossing the carpathiansnomads woul
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crossing the carpathians6.8 Large g
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crossing the carpathiansIt is not s
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crossing the carpathiansin its pred
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Page 179 and 180: scythians in central asiaThere is,
Page 181 and 182: scythians in central asiaAchaemenid
Page 183 and 184: 7.4 Carpet made from knotted woolle
Page 185 and 186: scythians in central asiaIn another
Page 187 and 188: scythians in central asiawere proba
Page 189 and 190: scythians in central asiaAncient ri
Page 191 and 192: scythians in central asiaCemeteries
Page 193 and 194: scythians in central asia7.11 Recon
Page 195 and 196: A l tscythians in central asiaOb’
Page 197 and 198: 7.16 Kurgan 5 at Pazyryk as it now
Page 199 and 200: scythians in central asiaby several
Page 201 and 202: scythians in central asia7.20 Recon
Page 203 and 204: scythians in central asiafrom the t
Page 205 and 206: scythians in central asiaChina duri
Page 208 and 209: 8BODIES CLOTHEDIN SKINSDifferent ob
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Page 212 and 213: bodies clothed in skins8.2 Silver v
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Page 221 and 222: bodies clothed in skins8.10 Petrogl
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Page 229 and 230: bodies clothed in skinsThis usually
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Page 238 and 239: 9BENDING THE BOWOne of the characte
Page 240 and 241: bending the bowtheir bodies with a
Page 242 and 243: bending the bow9.1a/b Two scenes fr
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Page 246 and 247: bending the bowA Pazyryk horse comp
Page 248 and 249: bending the bow9.9 The Scythian bow
Page 250 and 251: bending the bowParthians—the Part
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Page 266 and 267: bending the bowRealizing at the out
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of gods, beliefs, and artof the sch
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of gods, beliefs, and arthearth. Th
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of gods, beliefs, and artwould have
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of gods, beliefs, and artsacred gol
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of gods, beliefs, and art10.2 (Left
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of gods, beliefs, and artImages of
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of gods, beliefs, and art10.8 Gilde
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of gods, beliefs, and art10.10 Deta
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of gods, beliefs, and art10.13 Gold
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of gods, beliefs, and art10.14 Petr
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of gods, beliefs, and art10.20 Deta
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of gods, beliefs, and art10.22 Leat
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11THE WAY OF DEATHDuring the human
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the way of deathtism. Another backw
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the way of deaththis is clearly not
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the way of deathThe ProcessionsIn t
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the way of death11.3 (Right) Kurgan
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the way of death11.5 Kurgan 4 at Pa
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shaft 1the way of deathTOLSTAYA MOG
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the way of death11.8 The Elizavetin
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the way of deathIn relishing the de
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the way of deathThe Massagetae had
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scythians in the longue duréetion
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A l176 -160 bcYuezhi 140 -135 bcSak
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scythians in the longue durée12.2
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scythians in the longue duréeBospo
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scythians in the longue duréeOn tw
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scythians in the longue duréeAs th
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scythians in the longue duréeunend
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SNVolgaUralAlans c.370Hun area of s
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gallery of objects
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1 The Kul’-Oba gold beakergallery
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2 Chastye Kurgany beakergallery of
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3 Gaymonova mogila cupgallery of ob
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4 Solokha cupgallery of objects(Sta
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5 Solokha combgallery of objects(St
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6 Perederiieva mogila helmetgallery
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7 Solokha gorytosgallery of objects
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8 Sachnovka diademgallery of object
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9 Tolstaya mogila pectoralgallery o
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10 The Chertomlÿk amphoragallery o
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timeline
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Asia Minor Central Asia Altai-Sayan
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scythian kings and dynastiesDynasti
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further readingClassical TextsIn th
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further reading116-47. The creation
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further readingArchaeology’, Worl
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further readingwriters as ‘noble
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further readingThe impact of horse-
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further reading7 (2001), 307-39 he
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further reading2007), 135-44 and in
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further reading(pp. 368-70). These
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further reading‘Tuva during the S
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further reading(Cambridge, 2011), 7
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further readingScythes (Hérodote 4
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further readingobryadnost’ nasele
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illustr ation sourcesMaps were prod
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illustration sources5.7 Author: mul
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illustration sourcesКаталог
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INDEXNote: numbers in bold refer to
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coiled feline motif, Scythian 284-5
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bone cheek pieces, Karasukperiod 77
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wall hanging 213, 243, 280, 280wool
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horse burials, Arzhan 1 95-8horse g
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Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

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