Exploring the lives of our ancestors allows us to learn more about the roots of modern civilization. Therefore, archaeologists, anthropologists, historians are constantly engaged in the study of ancient peoples, their way of life, way of life. Many ancient tribes lived on the territory of Russia, the history of which has not yet been studied enough. And people far from archeology generally know very little about the ancient peoples who lived in the Asian part of the country. Let's talk about what the Tagar culture of the early Iron Age of Siberia is, how its representatives lived, what they did and what these people are interested in.
Geography
In the region of the Yenisei, peoples have lived since ancient times. The Tagar culture was localized in the region of the Middle Yenisei, mainly on the Tagar Island, from which its name came. Now the Republic of Khakassia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory are located here. The area of this culture covers the Minusinsk Basin and the place where the Abakan River flows into the Yenisei, as well as along the Tuba, Yerba, Chulym, Sydy, and Uryula rivers. It is the convenience of the territory andwas the reason why people have long loved to settle here. A large island in the river with an area of about 30 km2 made it easy to defend against enemies. The forests were rich in game, the rivers gave a lot of fish, so life here was full. Although the harsh climate required endurance and a special organization of their life from the locals. However, culture covered a fairly large area. Monuments of the Tagar culture are found on the site of the Khakass-Minusinsk basin, as well as in the northeastern, modern Kemerovo region. The northernmost finds were made on the Chulym River, south of the modern city of Achinsk. The western border of the Tagar culture runs along the foothills of the Kuznetsk Alatau and the Abakan Range. The southernmost traces of this people were found near the borders of the Western Sayan and the Joya Range. There is also a site near present-day Krasnoyarsk, where burial mounds of the Tagar culture were found in the forest-steppe.
Dating
Researchers believe that the Tagar culture of Siberia existed from 10-9 to the 3rd century BC. The main monuments of this culture date back to the 7th-2nd centuries BC. e. However, scientists determine the indicated boundaries approximately; earlier than the 7th century, no monuments typical of this culture were found. And in the 2nd century, the Tagar culture was replaced by its successor, the Tashtyk culture, which dates accurately due to the fact that it widely uses iron tools, unfamiliar to the ancestors.
Anthropological characteristics
Scientists spend a lot of time trying to figure out what the representatives looked likeTagar culture of the early Iron Age of Siberia. Initially, there was a main version that the Tagars are representatives of the Mongoloid race. Numerous finds in neighboring regions, where the Mongoloids really prevailed, spoke in favor of this point of view. However, with the improvement of technologies for studying the remains and establishing their genotype, this version was refuted. It turned out that most of the Tagars belonged to the Caucasoid type. Their ancestors were representatives of the Andronovo culture. Paleogenetics proved that representatives of the Tagar culture belonged to the West Eurasian group. It also turned out that the Tagars are very close in their genes to the representatives of the Scythian world. Confirms the version of the European origin of the Tagars and the study of their language. It is assumed that they spoke one of the branches of the Indo-European language. Closer to the 2nd century BC. e. the number of remains of people of the Mongoloid type is increasing, which indicates the assimilation of peoples. Gradually, the population is approaching in its anthropological characteristics with representatives of the Tashtyk culture.
Study history
The real history of the Tagar culture is a consistent chain of discoveries and refutations made by scientists of different years. For the first time, attention to this culture was drawn in 1722, when the first excavations of the Tagar mound were carried out. A scientific expedition led by the "father of Russian archeology" D. Messerschmidt explored the Siberian lands and made the first excavations. Somescientists of German origin, who conducted the study of Siberia on behalf of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, decided that the mound found belongs to the grave of the Minusinsk basin. The artifacts found did not arouse much interest, and the local burial mounds were left without further study.
The second stage of the study of these territories dates back to the 19th century. Scientists V. V. Radlov, D. A. Klements, A. V. Adrianov and others excavated several burial mounds. But they still believed that the objects they found belonged to other cultures. And only in 1920, the Siberian historian, archaeologist S. A. Teploukhov reasonably proved that the finds in this region are a separate, independent culture. He gave her the name Minusinskaya. At the end of the 20s, S. V. Kiselev proposed a new term "Tagar culture", referring to the main island, where representatives of the discovered community lived. The term took root, and all subsequent expeditions were already engaged in this culture. In the Soviet period from the 30s to the 90s of the 20th century, many archaeologists were excavating in the Yenisei region. Over the years, about 9 thousand different bronze objects related to this culture have been found.
Approaches to periodization
All researchers agreed that the Tagar culture existed and had its own specific features. However, scientists did not have a single point of view on the periodization of this culture. In domestic archeology, three approaches have developed to determine the time limits of the culture of the Tagars.
The first theory belonged to SA Teploukhov. He believed that there were 4period of development of the Tagar archaeological culture:
- Bainovsky (7th century BC);
- Podgornovsky (6th-5th century BC);
- Saragashen (4-3 centuries BC);
- Tesinsky (2-1st century BC).
This concept has become a classic, and it is these periods that have become entrenched in archeology.
The second approach was developed by S. V. Kiselev, he distinguishes only three stages, without giving them names. The first - 7-6 centuries BC. e., the second - 5-4 centuries BC. e., third - 3-1 centuries BC. e. Kiselev refuted Teploukhov's ideas and argued that there were no grounds for finer fragmentation of the history of the culture under study.
The third approach was proposed by A. V. Subbotin already in the 21st century. He says that the early stage of the Tagar culture dates back to the end of the 8th-6th centuries BC. e., developed period - 5-3 centuries BC. e., the late period, the time of the change of cultures, - 2-1 centuries BC. e. Today, researchers say that the lower limit of culture is 3-2 centuries BC. e., and then we can talk about the transitional, Tagar-Tyshtyk culture that existed in the 2nd century BC. e. and 1st century AD. e. The debate about the late period of this culture continues and awaits a final decision.
Lifestyle
Tagarians lived in the south of Siberia at the foot of the Sayan Mountains. Scientists continue to argue about the origin and ancestors of this culture. The reasons for the disagreement are that anthropologists and paleogenetics prove that representatives of the Tagar culture of Siberia belong to the Caucasoid race. And ethnographers and archaeologists, studying monuments and sitesof this people, they talk about the eastern signs of this culture. Genetic studies have shown that the Scythians of the Black Sea region are closest to the Tagars. Representatives of the Tagar culture led a settled way of life, as evidenced by archaeological excavations. Scientists have found dwellings, burials and even fortified settlements. Forms of settlements of the Tagars are divided into two types. There are villages in the region of pastures and agricultural lands without special defensive structures. And also there are fortified settlements of a permanent and temporary nature. They are round shelters with a rampart and a moat. This suggests that from time to time the population had to hide from the invaders, and they prepared for defense in advance. Today, about 100 settlements of this culture have been discovered.
Livestock
The steppe and forest-steppe Tagar culture in Khakassia is characterized by a settled way of life. But at the same time, the Tagars, as inhabitants of the steppes, were engaged in nomadic animal husbandry. They raised cows, horses for riding, as well as horses for agricultural and draft work, and kept sheep and goats to provide themselves with food. They used branding to mark their herds. Dogs helped in the work of shepherds, which were also used to protect dwellings and livestock. To provide livestock with a residual amount of food, shepherds, sometimes with their families, roamed the steppes. In the drawings of representatives of this culture, images of horses carrying wagons with belongings were found. The Tagar people had not yet been engaged in the preparation of food for the winter, so the animals all year round obtained pasture for themselves. For this, we used the usualscheme: horses walked ahead, breaking the snow with their hooves and opening the grass. And then there were cows and small cattle. To support a family of 5, pastures of approximately 800 hectares were needed, they had to be kept intact. Therefore, the Tagars had to move a lot.
Agriculture
Despite the fact that animal husbandry was the main occupation for the Tagars, they were already engaged in agriculture. Archaeological finds prove that they arranged a system of irrigation canals for their fields, made dams to hold water. According to its agricultural traditions, the Tagar culture belongs to the group of sedentary tribes. This is no longer gathering and temporary land, but the constant cultivation of the land. The main crops grown were millet and barley. To cultivate the land, the Tagars had a whole arsenal of tools: hoes, sickles with bronze parts. Grain grinders and hand mills were used to process the crop.
Crafts
To hunt and organize life, the Tagars had to engage in various crafts. The discovered monuments of the Tagar culture prove that they were successful miners. They own the largest bronze foundry in the region, and they also developed copper mines. Among the finds were not only bronze items, but also ingots of this metal, which indicates the export of bronze to other regions. The Tagars significantly improved the quality of bronze alloys, and their metal was in great demand. Woodworking was also top notch.level. Not only residential and burial structures were built from wood, but also dishes and household items were made. Tagars made clothes and textiles for the home by simple weaving, as well as by dressing leather and fur, they were great masters in terms of knitting.
Weapons
Hunting and protecting your property were very important in the life of the Tagar people. Therefore, weapons were of great value, a lot of attention and effort was paid to their manufacture, they were often placed in graves. Therefore, today the history of the Tagar culture is being studied precisely on the basis of the weapons found. It was varied and well crafted. For long-range combat, the Tagars used a bow and arrows. The shape of the bow and arrow strongly resembles the traditional weapons of the Scythians, but the method of shooting is considered "Mongolian"; special thimbles for fingers were used for this. To protect the body from the arrows of the enemy, the Tagars made shields and armor. For close combat, as well as for butchering animals, knives were widely used in this culture. There are two main models of these tools: with a ring on the handle so that you can tie it to a belt or horse harness, and smooth knives with a wrapped belt or wooden handle. Knives were wedge-shaped and curved modifications. In the early and middle periods of the development of culture, they were bronze, and in later periods, iron tools began to appear. But the Tagarians continued to make bronze weapons longer than their neighbors.
Organization of life
There were four types of dwellings in the Tagar culture. These are temporary yurts made of skinsanimals, they could be put on sleds and transported from one pasture to another. Also, conical huts from tree branches were sometimes built for parking. Permanent dwellings were built of wood or stone and wood. Wooden pens were erected for livestock. Mud stoves and large open hearths were installed in the houses.
Utensils
The ancient Tagar culture in Transbaikalia did not know the potter's wheel, so rectangular and square jars, with and without ornaments, as well as various bowls and bowls, predominate among dishes. A lot of utensils were made of wood: crockery, cutlery, furniture. The life of the Tagars was simple and there was no great variety in dishes and household tools.
Funeral rites
Kurgans are what is largely preserved from the national Tagar culture. The most famous burials are:
- Safronov burial ground. This is a field with several graves, their age is about 2.5 thousand years. The mounds have a pyramidal shape, they are made of stone. Since the 18th century, they have been excavated by robbers, so many items have been lost.
- Salbyk barrow. The height of the burial is more than 11 meters. Several dozen smaller graves were found around the large barrow. Today, the archaeological museum "Ancient mounds of the Salbyk steppes" is open here.
The graves belong to noble members of the community, they buried people in vestments and jewelry, with weapons and a setdishes, utensils. This allows us to judge the way of life and the development of crafts in this culture.
Art
The main monuments of the Tagar culture are works of art, they allow us to talk about the continuation of the Scythian traditions. The decorations use the so-called "animal style", that is, they depict domestic and wild animals, most often horses. The most popular decoration is headbands. They were made of leather, on which bronze plaques with patterns were sewn. Earrings, belts, bracelets made of bronze were also found. The main monument of the Tagar culture is the Boyarskaya Pisanitsa. These are walls covered with petroglyphs, telling about the life of the Tagars.
Here there are images of dwellings, animals, people, utensils. This is a real encyclopedia of Tagar life. According to the researchers, the art of this culture is characterized by simplicity, monumentality, and the use of images of domestic animals. Most often there are relief images.
