Iron Age dating. The onset of the Iron Age: the chronology and geography of the process, the main cultural and historical consequences

The abundance of secrets is hidden in world history, and until now, researchers do not give up hope to discover something new in the known facts. The moments seem exciting and unusual when you realize that once on the same lands that we now walk on, dinosaurs lived, knights fought, set up camps. World history he lays down two principles that are relevant for the formation of the human race as the basis of his periodization - the material for the production of tools and manufacturing technology. In accordance with these principles, the concepts of " stone Age”, “Bronze Age”, “Iron” Age. Each of these periodizations has become a step in the development of mankind, the next round of evolution and knowledge of human capabilities. Naturally, there were no absolutely passive moments in history. From time immemorial to today there is a regular replenishment of knowledge and the development of new ways to obtain useful materials.

World history and the first methods of dating time periods

The natural sciences have become a tool for dating time spans. In particular, one can cite the radiocarbon method, geological dating, and dendrochronology. Rapid development ancient man made it possible to improve existing technologies. Approximately 5 thousand years ago, when the written period began, other prerequisites for dating arose, which were based on the time of existence of various states and civilizations. It is tentatively believed that the period of separation of man from the animal world began about two million years ago, until the fall of the Western Roman Empire, which happened in 476. new era, was the period of antiquity. Before the Renaissance, there were the Middle Ages. Until the end of the First World War, the period of New History lasted, and now the time of the Newest has come. Historians of different times put their "anchors" of reference, for example, Herodotus Special attention devoted to the struggle of Asia with Europe. Scientists over late period considered the main event in the development of civilization, the establishment of the Roman Republic. Many historians agree in their assumption that for the Iron Age, culture and art of great importance did not have, since the tools of war and labor came to the fore.

Metal era background

AT primitive history the Stone Age is distinguished, including the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic. Each of the periods is marked by the development of man and his innovations in stone processing. At first, the most of the guns wide use got a hand axe. Later, tools appeared from the elements of the stone, and not the whole nodule. During this period, the development of fire, the creation of the first clothes from skins, the first religious cults and housing arrangements took place. During the period of a semi-nomadic lifestyle of a person and hunting for large animals, more advanced weapons were required. A further round of development of stone processing technologies occurred at the turn of the millennium and the end of the Stone Age, when agriculture and cattle breeding spread, and ceramic production appeared. In the era of metal, copper and its processing technologies were mastered. The beginning of the Iron Age laid the foundation for work for the future. The study of the properties of metals consistently led to the discovery of bronze and its spread. The Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages are a single harmonious process of human development based on mass movements of peoples.

Era Length Evidence

The distribution of iron belongs to the primitive and early class history of mankind. Trends in metallurgy and the production of tools become characteristic features of the period. Even in the ancient world, an idea was formed about the classification of centuries according to the material. The early Iron Age was studied and continues to be studied by scientists in various fields. In Western Europe, voluminous works were published
Görnes, Montelius, Tischler, Reinecke, Kostshevsky, etc. In Eastern Europe, Gorodtsov, Spitsyn, Gauthier, Tretyakov, Smirnov, Artamonov, Grakov published the corresponding textbooks, monographs, and maps. Often consider the spread of iron as a characteristic feature of tribes that lived outside civilizations. In fact, all countries at one time survived the Iron Age. The Bronze Age was only a prerequisite for this. It has not occupied such a vast amount of time in history. Chronologically, the Iron Age spans from the 9th to the 7th century BC. At this time, many tribes of Europe and Asia received an impetus to the development of their own iron metallurgy. Since this metal remains the most important material of production, modernity is also part of this century.

period culture

The development of the production and distribution of iron quite logically led to the modernization of culture and the whole public life. There were economic prerequisites for working relationships and the collapse of the tribal way of life. Ancient history marks the accumulation of values, the growth of wealth inequality and the mutually beneficial exchange of parties. Fortifications spread widely, the formation of a class society and state began. More funds became the private property of a select minority, slavery arose and the stratification of society progressed.

How did the age of metal manifest itself in the USSR?

At the end of the second millennium BC, iron appeared on the territory of the Union. Among the most ancient places of development, one can note Western Georgia and Transcaucasia. Monuments of the early Iron Age have been preserved in the southern European part of the USSR. But metallurgy gained mass fame here in the first millennium BC, which is confirmed by a number of archaeological artifacts made of bronze in Transcaucasia, cultural relics of the North Caucasus and the Black Sea region, etc. During excavations of Scythian settlements, priceless monuments of the early Iron Age were discovered. The finds were made at the Kamenskoye settlement near Nikopol.

History of materials in Kazakhstan

Historically, the Iron Age is divided into two periods. This is the early, which lasted from the 8th to the 3rd century BC, and the late, which lasted from the 3rd century BC to the 6th century AD. Each country has a period of iron distribution in its history, but the features of this process are highly dependent on the region. Thus, the Iron Age on the territory of Kazakhstan was marked by events in three main regions. Cattle breeding and irrigated agriculture are widespread in South Kazakhstan. Climatic conditions did not imply farming. And Northern, Eastern and Central Kazakhstan was inhabited by people adapted to the harsh winter. These three regions, radically different in living conditions, became the basis for the creation of three Kazakh zhuzes. South Kazakhstan became the place of formation of the Senior Zhuz. The lands of Northern, Eastern and Central Kazakhstan have become a haven. Western Kazakhstan is represented by the Younger Zhuz.

Iron Age in Central Kazakhstan

Endless steppes Central Asia have long been a place of residence for nomads. Here, the ancient history is represented by burial mounds, which are priceless monuments of the Iron Age. Especially often in the region there were mounds with paintings or "whiskers", which, according to scientists, perform the functions of a lighthouse and a compass in the steppe. The attention of historians is attracted by the Tasmolin culture, named after the area in the Pavlodar region, where the first excavations of a man and a horse were recorded in a large and small mound. Archaeologists of Kazakhstan consider the burial mounds of the Tasmolin culture to be the most common monuments of the Early Iron Age.

Features of the culture of Northern Kazakhstan

This region is distinguished by the presence of cattle. The locals moved from farming to sedentary and the Tasmolin culture is revered in this region as well. Birlik, Alypkash, Bekteniz mounds and three settlements: Karlyga, Borki and Kenotkel attract the attention of researchers of early Iron Age monuments. On the right bank of the Esil River, a fortification of the early Iron Age has been preserved. The art of melting and processing of non-ferrous metals was developed here. Produced metal products were transported to Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. Kazakhstan was several centuries ahead of its neighbors in the development of ancient metallurgy and therefore became a communicator between the metallurgical centers of its country, Siberia and Eastern Europe.

"Guarding the Gold"

The majestic mounds of East Kazakhstan mainly accumulated in the Shilikty valley. There are more than fifty of them here. In 1960, a study was made of the largest of the barrows, which is called the Golden. This peculiar monument to the Iron Age was erected in the 8th-9th century BC. The Zaisan region of East Kazakhstan allows you to explore more than two hundred largest mounds, of which 50 are called Tsar's and may contain gold. In the Shilikty valley there is the oldest royal burial in Kazakhstan, dating back to the 8th century BC, which was discovered by Professor Toleubaev. Among archaeologists, this discovery made a noise, just like the third "golden man" of Kazakhstan. The buried person was wearing clothes decorated with 4325 golden figurative plates. Most interesting find is a pentagonal star with lapis lazuli rays. Such an object symbolizes power and greatness. This became another proof that Shilikty, Besshatyr, Issyk, Berel, Boraldai are sacred places for performing ritual rites, sacrifices and prayers.

Early Iron Age in the culture of nomads

Not much documentary evidence of the ancient culture of Kazakhstan has been preserved. Mostly information is obtained from and excavations. Much has been said about the nomads regarding song and dance art. Separately, it is worth noting the skill in the manufacture of ceramic vessels and painting on silver bowls. The spread of iron in everyday life and production was the impetus for the improvement of a unique heating system: a chimney, which was laid horizontally along the wall, evenly warmed the whole house. Nomads invented many things that are familiar today, both for domestic use and for use in war time. They came up with trousers, stirrups, a yurt and a curved saber. Metal armor was developed to protect horses. The protection of the warrior himself was provided by iron armor.

Achievements and discoveries of the period

iron age became the third in line for stone and bronze. But by value, no doubt, it is considered the first. Until modern times, iron has remained the material basis of all inventions of mankind. All important discoveries in the field of production are connected with its application. This metal has a higher melting point than copper. AT pure form natural iron does not exist, and it is very difficult to carry out the process of smelting from ore because of its infusibility. This metal caused global changes in the life of the steppe tribes. Compared with previous archaeological epochs, the Iron Age is the shortest, but the most productive. Initially, mankind recognized meteoric iron. Some original products and decorations from it were found in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Chronologically, these relics can be attributed to the first half of the third millennium BC. In the second millennium BC, a technology for producing iron from ore was developed, but for quite a long time this metal was considered rare and expensive.

Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Transcaucasia and India began to engage in a wide production of weapons and tools from iron. The spread of this metal, as well as steel, provoked a technical revolution that expands the power of man over nature. Now the clearing of large forest areas for crops has been simplified. Modernization of labor tools and improvement of land cultivation were carried out promptly. Accordingly, new crafts were quickly learned, especially blacksmithing and weapons. Shoemakers, who received more advanced tools, did not stand aside. Stonemasons and miners began to work more efficiently.

Summarizing the results of the Iron Age, it can be noted that by the beginning of our era, all the main varieties of hand tools were already in use (with the exception of screws and hinged scissors). Thanks to the use of iron in production, the construction of roads became much simpler, military equipment advanced a step forward, and a metal coin entered circulation. The Iron Age accelerated and provoked the collapse of the primitive communal system, as well as the formation of a class society and statehood. Many communities during this period adhered to the so-called

Possible ways of development

It is worth noting that it existed in small quantities even in Egypt, but the spread of the metal became possible with the start of ore smelting. Initially, iron was smelted only when such a need arose. So, fragments of metal inclusions were found in the monuments of Syria and Iraq, which were erected no later than 2700 BC. But after the 11th century BC, the blacksmiths of Eastern Anatolia learned the science of systematically making objects from iron. Secrets and subtleties new science kept secret and passed down from generation to generation. The first historical finds confirming the widespread use of metal for the manufacture of tools were recorded in Israel, namely in Gerar near Gaza. A huge number of hoes, sickles and coulters made of iron dating back to the period after 1200 BC have been found here. Smelting furnaces were also found at the excavation sites.

Special metal processing technologies belong to the masters of Western Asia, from whom they were borrowed by the masters of Greece, Italy and the rest of Europe. The British technological revolution can be attributed to the period after 700 BC, and there it began and developed very smoothly. Egypt and North Africa showed interest in mastering the metal around the same time with the further transfer of skill to the south side. Chinese craftsmen almost completely abandoned bronze, preferring turned iron. European colonists brought their knowledge of metalworking technology to Australia and the New World. After the invention of blower bellows, iron casting became widespread on a massive scale. Cast iron has become an indispensable material for creating all kinds of household utensils and military equipment which was a productive impetus for the development of metallurgy.

Archaeological era from which the use of objects made from iron ore. The earliest iron-making furnaces dating back to the 1st floor. II millennium BC found in western Georgia. In Eastern Europe and the Eurasian steppe and forest-steppe, the beginning of the era coincides with the time of the formation of early nomadic formations of the Scythian and Saka types (approximately VIII-VII centuries BC). In Africa, it began immediately after the Stone Age (there is no Bronze Age). In America, the beginning of the Iron Age is associated with European colonization. In Asia and Europe it began, almost simultaneously. Often, only the first stage of the Iron Age is called the early Iron Age, the boundary of which is the final stages of the era of the Great Migration of Peoples (IV-VI centuries AD). In general, the Iron Age includes the entire Middle Ages, and based on the definition, this era continues to this day.

The discovery of iron and the invention of the metallurgical process were very complex. While copper and tin occur in nature in their pure form, iron occurs only in chemical compounds, mainly with oxygen, but also with other elements. No matter how much you keep iron ore in the fire of a fire, it will not melt, and this way of "accidental" discovery, possible for copper, tin and some other metals, is excluded for iron. Brown loose stone, which is iron ore, was not suitable for making tools by upholstering. Finally, even reduced iron melts at a very high temperature - more than 1500 degrees. All this is an almost insurmountable obstacle to a more or less satisfactory hypothesis of the history of the discovery of iron.

There is no doubt that the discovery of iron was prepared by several thousand years of development of copper metallurgy. Especially important was the invention of bellows for blowing air into melting furnaces. Such furs were used in non-ferrous metallurgy, increasing the flow of oxygen into the hearth, which not only raised the temperature in it, but also created conditions for successful chemical reaction metal recovery. A metallurgical furnace, even a primitive one, is a kind of chemical retort in which not so much physical as chemical processes. Such a furnace was made of stone and covered with clay (or it was made from clay alone) on a massive clay or stone base. The wall thickness of the furnace reached 20 cm. The height of the furnace shaft was about 1 m. Its diameter was the same. There was a hole in the front wall of the furnace at the bottom level, through which the coal loaded into the mine was set on fire, and through it the cracker was taken out. Archaeologists enjoy old Russian name furnaces for "cooking" iron - "domnitsa". The process itself is called cheese-making. This term emphasizes the importance of blowing air into a blast furnace filled with iron ore and coal.

At cheese process more than half of the iron was lost in the slag, which at the end of the Middle Ages led to the abandonment of this method. However, for almost three thousand years this method was the only way to obtain iron.

Unlike bronze objects, iron objects could not be made by casting, they were forged. The forging process at the time of the discovery of iron metallurgy had thousand years of history. Forged on a metal stand - an anvil. A piece of iron was first heated in a forge, and then the blacksmith, holding it with tongs on an anvil, hit the place with a small hammer-handbrake, where his assistant would then strike, hitting the iron with a heavy hammer-sledgehammer.

Iron is first mentioned in correspondence Egyptian pharaoh with the Hittite king, preserved in the archive of the XIV century. BC e. in Amarna (Egypt). From this time, small iron products have come down to us in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Aegean world.

For some time iron has been very expensive material, used for the manufacture of jewelry and ceremonial weapons. In particular, a gold bracelet with iron inlay and a whole series of iron items were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Iron inlays are also known elsewhere.

On the territory of the USSR, iron first appeared in Transcaucasia.

Iron things began to quickly replace bronze ones, since iron, unlike copper and tin, is found almost everywhere. Iron ores occur both in mountainous regions and in swamps, not only deep underground, but also on its surface. At present, swamp ore is not of industrial interest, but in ancient times it was of great importance. Thus, the countries that occupied a monopoly position in the production of bronze lost their monopoly on the production of metal. Countries poor in copper ores, with the discovery of iron, quickly caught up with countries that were advanced in the Bronze Age.

Scythians

Scythians - exoethnonym Greek origin applied to a group of peoples living in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Siberia in the era of antiquity. The ancient Greeks called the country where the Scythians lived Scythia.

In our time, the Scythians in the narrow sense are usually understood as Iranian-speaking nomads who in the past occupied the territories of Ukraine, Moldova, South Russia, Kazakhstan and parts of Siberia. This does not exclude other ethnicity some of the tribes, which ancient authors also called the Scythians.

Information about the Scythians comes mainly from the writings of ancient authors (especially the "History" of Herodotus) and archaeological excavations in the lands from the lower reaches of the Danube to Siberia and Altai. The Scytho-Sarmatian language, as well as the Alanian language derived from it, were part of the northeastern branch of the Iranian languages ​​​​and probably was the ancestor of the modern Ossetian language, which is indicated by hundreds of Scythian personal names, names of tribes, rivers, preserved in Greek records.

Later, starting from the era of the Great Migration of Peoples, the word "Scythians" was used in Greek (Byzantine) sources to name all peoples of completely different origin who inhabited the Eurasian steppes and the northern Black Sea region: in the sources of the 3rd-4th centuries AD, "Scythians" are often called and the German-speaking Goths, in later Byzantine sources, the Eastern Slavs were called Scythians - Russia, the Turkic-speaking Khazars and Pechenegs, as well as the Alans, related to the most ancient Iranian-speaking Scythians.

Emergence. The supporters of the Kurgan hypothesis are actively studying the underlying basis of the early Indo-European, including the Scythian, culture. The formation of a relatively generally recognized Scythian culture, archaeologists date back to the 7th century BC. e. (Arzhan burial mounds). There are two main approaches to the interpretation of its occurrence. According to one, based on the so-called “third tale” of Herodotus, the Scythians came from the east, expelling what can be interpreted archaeologically as coming from the lower reaches of the Syr Darya, from Tuva or some other regions of Central Asia (see Pazyryk culture).

Another approach, which can also be based on the legends recorded by Herodotus, suggests that the Scythians by that time lived on the territory of the Northern Black Sea region for at least several centuries, standing out from the environment of the successors of the Srubna culture.

Maria Gimbutas and scientists of her circle attribute the appearance of the ancestors of the Scythians (horse domestication cultures) to 5-4 thousand BC. e. According to other versions, these ancestors are associated with other cultures. They also appear to be the descendants of the bearers of the Srubnaya culture of the Bronze Age, who advanced from the 14th century. BC e. from the Volga region to the west. Others believe that the main core of the Scythians came thousands of years ago from Central Asia or Siberia and mixed with the population of the Northern Black Sea region (including the territory of Ukraine). The ideas of Marija Gimbutas extend towards further research origins of the Scythians.

Grain farming was of considerable importance. The Scythians produced grain for export, in particular in Greek cities, and through them - to the Greek metropolis. Grain production required the use slave labor. The bones of murdered slaves often accompany the burials of Scythian slave owners. The custom of killing people at the burial of masters is known in all countries and is characteristic of the era of the emergence of the slave economy. There are known cases of blinding slaves, which is not consistent with the assumption of patriarchal slavery among the Scythians. On the Scythian settlements they find agricultural tools, in particular sickles, but arable tools are extremely rare, probably all of them were wooden and did not have iron parts. The fact that the agriculture of the Scythians was arable is judged not so much by the finds of these tools, but by the amount of grain produced by the Scythians, which would be many times less if the land was cultivated with a hoe.

Fortified settlements appear relatively late, at the turn of the 5th and 4th centuries. BC e., when the Scythians received sufficient development of crafts and trade.

According to Herodotus, the royal Scythians were dominant - the easternmost of the Scythian tribes, bordering the Sauromatians along the Don, also occupied the steppe Crimea. To the west of them lived Scythian nomads, and even to the west, on the left bank of the Dnieper - Scythian farmers. On the right bank of the Dnieper, in the basin of the Southern Bug, near the city of Olbia, the Callipids, or Hellenic-Scythians, lived, to the north of them - the Alazons, and even to the north - the Scythians-plowmen, and Herodotus points to agriculture as differences from the Scythians the last three tribes and specifies that if the Kallipids and Alazons grow and eat bread, then the Scythian plowmen grow bread for sale.

The Scythians already fully owned the production of ferrous metal. Other types of production are also presented: bone carving, pottery, weaving. But so far only metallurgy has reached the level of craft.

There are two lines of fortifications on the Kamensky settlement: external and internal. Archaeologists call the inner part the acropolis by analogy with the corresponding division of Greek cities. On the acropolis traced the remains of stone dwellings of the Scythian nobility. Ordinary dwellings were mainly ground houses. Their walls sometimes consisted of pillars, the bases of which were dug into specially dug grooves along the contour of the dwelling. There are also semi-dugout dwellings.

The oldest Scythian arrows are flat, often with a spike on the sleeve. They are all socketed, that is, they have a special tube where the arrow shaft is inserted. Classical Scythian arrows are also socketed, they resemble a trihedral pyramid, or three-bladed - the edges of the pyramid seem to have developed into blades. The arrows are made of bronze, which has finally won its place in the production of arrows.

Scythian ceramics was made without the help of a potter's wheel, although the circle was widely used in the Greek colonies neighboring the Scythians. Scythian vessels are flat-bottomed and varied in shape. Scythian bronze cauldrons up to a meter high, which had a long and thin leg and two vertical handles, were widely used.

Scythian art is well known mainly from objects from burials. It is characterized by the depiction of animals in certain poses and with exaggeratedly noticeable paws, eyes, claws, horns, ears, etc. Ungulates (deer, goat) were depicted with bent legs, predators of cat breeds curled up into a ring. In Scythian art, strong or fast and sensitive animals are represented, which corresponds to the desire of the Scythian to overtake, to strike, to be always ready. It is noted that some images are associated with certain Scythian deities. The figures of these animals, as it were, protected their owner from trouble. But the style was not only sacred, but also decorative. The claws, tails and shoulder blades of predators were often shaped like the head of a bird of prey; sometimes full images of animals were placed on these places. This artistic style was called the animal style in archeology. AT early time in the Trans-Volga region, animal ornamentation is evenly distributed between representatives of the nobility and privates. In IV-III centuries. BC e. the animal style is degenerating, and objects with similar ornaments are presented mainly in the graves. Scythian burials are the most famous and best studied. The Scythians buried the dead in pits or in catacombs, under mounds. lol know. The famous Scythian mounds are located in the area of ​​the Dnieper rapids. In the royal burial mounds of the Scythians, gold vessels, artistic items made of gold, and expensive weapons are found. Thus, a new phenomenon is observed in the Scythian burial mounds - a strong property stratification. There are mounds small and huge, some burials without things, others with huge amount gold.

The Iron Age is a period of time in the history of mankind, when iron metallurgy was born and began to actively develop. The Iron Age came immediately after and continued in time from 1200 BC. before 340 AD

Processing for ancient people became the first type of metallurgy after. It is believed that the discovery of the properties of copper happened by chance, when people mistook it for a stone, tried to process it and got an incredible result. After the copper came the Bronze Age, when they began to mix copper with tin and thus get new material for the manufacture of tools, hunting, jewelry and so on. After the Bronze Age, the Iron Age came, when people learned how to extract and process such material as iron. During this period, an increase in the manufacture of iron tools was noticeable. Self-smelting of iron spreads among the tribes of Europe and Asia.

Iron products are found much earlier than the Iron Age, but earlier they were used very rarely. The first finds date back to the 6th-4th millennium BC. e. Found in Iran, Iraq and Egypt. Iron products dated to the 3rd millennium BC have been found in Mesopotamia, the Southern Urals, and Southern Siberia. At this time, iron was predominantly meteoritic, but there was very little of it, and it was intended mainly for the creation of luxury items and ritual items. The use of products from meteoric iron or by mining from ore was noticed in many regions in the territories of the settlement of ancient people, however, before the beginning of the Iron Age (1200 BC), the spread this material was very scarce.

Why did ancient people in the Iron Age begin to use iron instead of bronze? Bronze is a harder and more durable metal, but inferior to iron in that it is brittle. In terms of brittleness, iron clearly wins, but people have had great difficulty working with iron. The fact is that iron melts at much more high temperatures than copper, tin and bronze. Because of this, special furnaces were needed where the right conditions for melting could be created. Moreover, iron in its pure form is quite rare, and to obtain it, preliminary smelting from ore is necessary, which is a rather laborious task that requires certain knowledge. Because of this, iron was not popular for a long time. Historians believe that the processing of iron became a necessity for ancient man, and people began to use it instead of bronze due to the depletion of tin reserves. For the reason that at the time bronze age active mining of copper and tin began, the deposits of the latter material were simply depleted. Therefore, the extraction of iron ores and the development of iron metallurgy began to develop.

Even with the development of iron metallurgy, bronze metallurgy continued to be very popular due to the fact that this material is easier to work with and the products made from it are harder. Bronze began to be forced out when a person came up with the idea of ​​​​creating steel (iron-carbon alloys), which is much harder than iron and bronze and has elasticity.

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iron age- the third major archaeological period after the Stone and Bronze Ages. Its first stage is called the Early Iron Age.

This was the name of the most important era in the history of mankind, the beginning of which coincides with the beginning of the widespread use of this metal. From the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. up to the present time, iron is the basis of the material culture of all mankind. All important discoveries in the field of production technology of this time are associated with this metal.

Iron is a special metal. It has a higher melting point than copper. In its pure form, iron does not exist in nature, and the process of smelting it from ore is very difficult because of its infusibility.

The beginning of the early Iron Age in Kazakhstan falls on the VIII-VII centuries. BC.

With the onset of the early Iron Age, in the expanses of Eurasia, truly global changes in the life of the steppe ethnic groups. This era coincided with the transition of pastoral, pastoral and agricultural tribes living in the steppes from Mongolia in the east to the Danube in the west, to mobile forms of pastoralism, which are based on a strict system of seasonal regulation of pastures and water sources. These special forms The management of the steppe pastoral economy in the Eurocentric science of modern and recent times is called "nomadic", "semi-nomadic economy".

The transition to new forms of cattle breeding was the result of the development of the economy of the tribes of the Bronze Age, who lived in the special conditions of the steppe ecosystems. The foundations of this form of management were already formed during the final Bronze Age, in the Begazy-Dandybaev era. According to experts, not only internal development population of the steppes, but also the drying up of the steppes due to gradual climate change. For that era, this transition was a progressive phenomenon, it made it possible to make the most of Natural resources steppes.

Kurgan Nurken, (corridor-dromos (view from the west)

With the beginning of the Early Iron Age in the steppes of Eurasia, large tribal associations. The clash of their interests, specific relationships with the surrounding settled agricultural peoples give rise to a certain militarization of their societies. On the historical arena there are peoples that the Greeks and Persians will call "Scythians", "Saks", "Sauromates" Due to ethnic kinship, the same level of development and way of life, close ties, close cultures are created. In the Scythian-Saka era in material culture tribes, special types of weapons, horse equipment appeared, a kind of art, called the "Scythian-Saka animal style," became widespread. Sometimes these three aspects of the material culture of the steppe population of the early Iron Age are called the "Scythian triad".

The steppe population of the early Iron Age is developing rapidly, metallurgy and trade are flourishing. Representatives of the rich tribal elite appear: "kings", the military nobility. Large “royal” burial mounds, complex tombs are spreading, where items of significant value are buried with the deceased representatives of the nobility, including jewelry, weapons, etc.

In modern science, opinions are expressed about the achievement of the society of the steppe population of the early Iron Age at the early state level. Regarding the level of development of the steppe peoples of the 1st millennium BC. e. Siberian scientists proposed the term "Steppe civilization".

Tasmolin culture

On the territory of Central Kazakhstan, this era is represented by monuments Tasmolin archaeological culture. The famous Kazakh archaeologist M.K. Kadyrbaev determined its chronological framework by the 7th-3rd centuries BC, distinguishing two stages in its development. A characteristic type of monuments of the Tasmolin culture are the so-called barrows with a mustache". These are complex burial and memorial complexes built of stone. They usually consist of three parts: a large mound, a small mound and stone paths in the form of semi-arcs (“whiskers”), 60 to 200 m long. These “whiskers” adjoin the mounds and always face east. Under a large mound in a soil pit, about two meters deep, there is a human burial. In a small mound, as a rule, there are the remains of horses - skeletons, or parts of them, clay vessels. And sometimes only traces of fire in the form of coals and burnt soil.

Why were mounds with "moustaches" built? There is a well-known hypothesis of the astronomical purpose of mounds with "whiskers". According to the biologist and archeology enthusiast P.I. Marikovsky, mounds with "whiskers" were ancient observatories and served to monitor starry sky, sun and moon, to determine the seasons. It is possible that complexes with "whiskers" could be used for astronomical determinations, but this was hardly the main thing in their construction. Sometimes such burial mounds are located at a distance of several kilometers from each other, on some burial grounds there are two burial mounds with "whiskers". Why build two "observatories" when one is enough to observe the sky? The opinion of M.K. Kadyrbaev, who believed that complexes with stone "whiskers" were structures for funeral and ritual purposes and reflected the ideas of the solar cult that existed among the Tasmolin tribes.

Kurgan Nurken. Karkaraly region

To date, the main area of ​​mounds with "whiskers" has been conditionally determined. According to temporary data, over 300 monuments have been discovered on the territory of Kazakhstan. These data are updated annually. The main range covers the Central and Northern Kazakhstan(Kokshetau), as well as the steppe spaces of the western part (Abyraly, Shyngystau, Shubartau) of the modern East Kazakhstan region. Over 80% of the total number mounds with "whiskers" of Kazakhstan.

The geography of this main mass of mounds with "whiskers" is associated with the area of ​​the Tasmolin culture.

Tasmolin culture

Generally, tasmolin culture studied on the basis of burial mound materials. The data that formed the basis of the characteristics of this culture form three well-known blocks: a) weapons; b) horse harness; c) cult items, jewelry and household items. In the Tasmolin society there were excellent masters of bronze casting. It is from bronze that all the leading categories of material culture are made. Iron products (knives, cheek-pieces, plaques) appear already at the first stage (7th-6th centuries BC). Tasmolin Arrowheads early stage- two-finned socketed and three-finned with a relatively long petiole - genetically ascend to the tips of the Begazy-Dandybaev culture. Daggers with bar-shaped, mushroom-shaped pommel and figured hilt are characteristic; combat type-setting belts. The horse bridle includes bits with stirrup-shaped ends, bronze or horn cheek-pieces with three holes. Among the objects of worship there are disk-shaped bronze mirrors with a loop handle on the back, stone altars-altars, flat or on 4, 6 low legs. Applied arts are typical of golden figurines of tigers, bronze sculptures of tauteke, figures of a wild boar and an elk engraved on a bronze mirror, horn buckles in the form of coiled wild boars. The handle of one massive mirror with a figured border is molded in the shape of a wild boar. By the end of the early stage, multi-figured compositions appeared in the style of the so-called "zoological puzzle". One of them - a plot on a horn buckle - finds a surprising analogy in the Aldybel monuments of Tuva. Jewelry items decorated with granulation and inlay techniques have been found. At the second stage, changes in material culture take place: the standard form of bronze three-bladed socketed arrowheads comes, mirrors are reduced, iron is used much more widely, etc. The third, Korgantas stage, is the period of completion of the Tasmolin culture. Along with the preservation of some old elements of culture (arrowheads, bridle plaques, etc.), a number of innovations appear, especially in the funeral rite (intra-grave head altars).

Tasmolin culture of the early Iron Age existed throughout the territory of the Kazakh uplands. The studied monuments define the western border of culture in the region of the Ulytau mountains, the southern - along the Northern Betpakdala and Northern Balkhash, the eastern - along the Shiderta and Bayanaul steppes and further south to Shubartau. It is within these limits that the open and famous burial mounds of the Tasmolin culture are located. There are adjacent territories where the discovery of monuments of this culture is expected in the future (steppe spaces up to the Shyngystau ridge).

On this large territory, the tribes of the early Iron Age settled unevenly. The main part of the population was concentrated in the mountain-steppe regions.

In the early Iron Age, when the Tasmolin tribes lived, a new progressive type of management was widespread - nomadic cattle breeding. For almost three millennia, it has become the main occupation of the inhabitants of the steppes. The nomads mastered the entire territory of the steppes, created powerful nomadic associations, which became the prototypes of future nomadic empires.

The Early Iron Age is the archaeological era from which the use of objects made from iron ore begins. The earliest iron-making furnaces dating back to the 1st floor. II millennium BC found in western Georgia. In Eastern Europe and the Eurasian steppe and forest-steppe, the beginning of the era coincides with the time of the formation of early nomadic formations of the Scythian and Saka types (approximately VIII-VII centuries BC). In Africa, it began immediately after the Stone Age (there is no Bronze Age). In America, the beginning of the Iron Age is associated with European colonization. In Asia and Europe it began, almost simultaneously. Often, only the first stage of the Iron Age is called the early Iron Age, the boundary of which is the final stages of the era of the Great Migration of Peoples (IV-VI centuries AD). In general, the Iron Age includes the entire Middle Ages, and based on the definition, this era continues to this day. The term "Iron Age" is used by archaeologists to refer to the period of human history during which iron became a commonly used material for the manufacture of tools and weapons. Meteoritic iron was used in small quantities for a very long time - even in pre-dynastic Egypt - but the end of the Bronze Age in the economy became possible only with the development of iron ore smelting. It is likely that at first iron was accidentally smelted in furnaces used for firing high-quality ceramics - and indeed, pieces of smelted iron have been found on sites in Syria and Iraq dating back to no later than 2700 BC. But only after twelve or thirteen centuries, blacksmiths learned to give the metal elasticity, alternating hot forging with water quenching. It can be said with almost complete certainty that this discovery was made in Eastern Anatolia, which is especially rich in iron ore. The Hittites kept it a secret for about two hundred years, but after the fall of their state ca. 1200 BC the technology has spread and bloomery iron has become a publicly available material. One of the oldest finds, testifying to the use of iron for the manufacture of everyday tools, was made in Gerar near Gaza (Palestine), where in a layer dating back to ca. 1200 BC, smelters were excavated and iron hoes, sickles and openers were found. Iron processing spread throughout Asia Minor, and from there to Greece, Italy and the rest of Europe, but in each of these regions the transition from the former way of life based on bronze processing took place in different ways. In Egypt, this process extended almost to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, while outside of those areas ancient world, where bronze was widely used, the iron craft established itself relatively quickly. From Egypt, it gradually spread to almost all African continent, and in most areas directly replaced the Stone Age; in Australia and Oceania, as well as in the New World, the practice of iron smelting penetrated with the discovery of these regions by Europeans. Early iron products were made only from bloomery iron, since the casting of this metal was not widely used until the introduction in the 14th century. forges with bellows driven by water. However, the development of bloomery iron brought to life whole line technical innovations - for example, articulated tongs, lathes and planers, a mill with rotary millstones - the introduction of which, facilitating the clearing of overgrown land and providing a leap in development Agriculture laid the foundations of modern civilization.