Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

landscapes with people
skeletons from twelve cemeteries in the Samara region showed that there was almost
no dental decay present of the kind usually associated with cereal consumption, adding
further support to the conclusions that here, in the eastern part of the Srubnaya
zone, cereal growing was of little or no significance.
To the east of the Urals, in the region of the Andronovo continuum, permanent settlements
representing communities of 50–250 individuals were widespread. Cattle,
sheep or goats, and horses were reared providing the basic food needs, while cereals
were present but seem to have been a comparably minor component of the diet. There
was, however, much variation within the Andronovo continuum, which is hardly surprising
given the size of the region and the different ecozones represented within it.
Standing back from the mass of archaeological detail reflecting life on the steppe
throughout the second millennium one is impressed by the broad similarity of lifestyle
that had developed between the Altai and the Danube. It was a distinctive steppe
culture easily distinguishable from the sedentary states of the south and the huntergatherers
of the forest zone to the north. Although communities now lived in permanent
settlements, the well-being of the flocks and herds dominated existence, the
horse providing the mobility to husband them. There may well have been small-scale
folk movements caused by population pressure but no major migratory events can
be detected, nor is there much evidence in the burial record for great differences in
wealth or power. It was from this level playing field, in more senses than one, that the
predatory nomad warrior elites soon to dominate the steppe were to emerge.
The Final Bronze Age and the Roots of Change: 1200–850 bc
The comparative stability of the lifestyle enjoyed by the Andronovo and Srubnaya
communities began to be disrupted around 1200 bc by another change in the climate
as increasing aridity gripped the land. The effects were widespread, extending
from Central Asia to the east Mediterranean. In the steppe the decline of the forests
in the river valleys combined with increased annual flooding disrupted settlement
patterns and economic strategies. In the Samara valley the number of settlements
declined with a greater concentration now appearing in the lower parts of the valley
where woodland survived. At the same time the communities began to cultivate
grain—wheat, barley, and millet—reflecting the increase of cereal growing now evident
across the steppe.
It has been suggested that another consequence of the increasing aridity was that
flocks and herds, instead of being restricted to grasslands within easy reach of the
settlement, were now driven to more remote pastures in order to enable the livestock
population to expand. This may, in some regions, have created competition for terri-
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