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History of the Scythians and their art. Presentation on the theme "art of the Scythians" Totems and a totemic view of the Scythian animal style

Yes, we are Scythians! Yes, we are Asians! With slanting and greedy eyes.(Alexander Blok).

In ancient times, from about the beginning of the 8th century BC. That is, in the vast territories of Eurasia from the northern Black Sea region and right up to Altai, a freedom-loving and warlike tribe lived, or even rather tribes that went down in history under the common name of the Scythians. Who were the ancient Scythians, what is their history, religion, culture, read about all this further.

Where did the Scythians live?

Where did the ancient Scythians live? In fact, the answer to this question is not as clear and simple as to who these Scythians are in general. The fact is that various historians enrolled a variety of tribes and peoples to the Scythians, including our ancestors of the ancient Slavs. And in some medieval manuscripts even Kievan Rus called Scythia. But, in the end, historians came to a consensus that the Scythians should still be called one specific people, who lived, however, on a very wide territory, from the Don to the Danube, the northern Black Sea region in the south of our country Ukraine and right up to Altai.

Other tribes related to the Scythians, for example, Savromats, Saks, Meots, should be called the peoples of the Scythian world, since they have many common features both in the structure of life and in culture, tribal way of life, rituals and worldview.

Map of archaeological finds of the Scythian mounds. As we can see, despite the wide territories where this ancient people lived, most of the Scythians lived in the Northern Black Sea region and there is reason to believe that it was here that the center of their civilization was.

Origin of the Scythians

In fact, the origin of the Scythians is mysterious, the fact is that the Scythians themselves did not have a written language, and the information about them from other peoples is very contradictory. The main source of historical information about them are the works of the historian Herodotus. According to one of the legends mentioned by the "father of history", the nomadic Scythians came from Asia to the territory of the northern Black Sea region, having driven out the local Cimmerian tribes living there. But the same Herodotus in his other work "History" mentions another legend of the Scythians, according to which they always lived in the Black Sea region.

But legends are legends, but what does Her Majesty archeology say about the origin of the Scythians? Archaeological excavations also, unfortunately, do not give an exact answer to the question and the origin of the Scythians. So most of the Scythians led a nomadic lifestyle, and could move long distances in a relatively short period of time. And it is also very difficult to distinguish their ancestors among the many tribes with a similar culture.

Still, a number of scientists believe that the Scythians came to Europe from Asia as an already formed people. Proponents of another theory argue that the Scythians, on the contrary, have lived in the steppes of the Black Sea since ancient times, and acquired some of their Asian features during their campaigns for the Caucasus Range, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, which took place in the 7th century BC. e. Unfortunately, we don’t know how it was in reality.

History of the Scythians

The heyday of the Scythian civilization falls on the 7th century, it was at this time that the Scythians dominated not only the steppes of the Black Sea region, but also the whole of Asia Minor, where they created the Scythian state of Ishkuza, although by the beginning of the 6th century they were forced out of Asia Minor. At the same time, traces of the Scythians were found in the Caucasus.

In 512 B.C. e. all the tribes of the Scythians rallied to repel the conquest undertaken by King Darius I. An attempt to conquer the lands of the Scythians failed, the Persians were defeated. The unsuccessful campaign of Darius against the Scythians is described in detail by the same Herodotus, the Scythians used very original tactics against the conquerors - instead of giving the Persians a general battle, they lured them deep into their territory, avoiding a general battle in every possible way and constantly exhausting the Persian troops. In the end, it was no longer difficult for them to defeat the weakened Persians.

After some time, the Scythians themselves attacked neighboring Thrace (the territory of modern Bulgaria) and successfully conquered these lands. Then there was a war with the Macedonian king Philip, who inflicted a crushing defeat on the Scythians, again throwing them into the steppes of the Black Sea region.

Approximately in the III-II century BC. e. Scythian civilization begins to decline. The territory inhabited by the Scythians was also significantly reduced. In the end, the Scythians themselves were conquered and destroyed by their distant relatives - the nomadic tribes of the Sarmatians. The remains of the Scythian kingdom for some time continued to be preserved in the Crimea, but from there they were soon forced out by the tribes of the Goths.

Scythian culture

The whole culture of the Scythians, their life, their way of life is literally saturated with military affairs, obviously otherwise in those harsh conditions in which they lived, it was impossible to survive. Warriors in the Scythian society were not only all men, but also most women. It is with the harsh Scythian warriors that ancient legends about the tribe of Amazons, brave female warriors, are associated. At the head of the Scythian society was the so-called military nobility - the royal Scythians, who in turn were led by the Scythian king. However, the power of the Scythian king was not absolute, he was rather the first among equals than a sovereign with unlimited power. The functions of the king included the management of the army, he was also the supreme judge, dealt with the resolution of disputes between his subjects and performed religious rituals. But the most important matters were discussed at democratic people's meetings, known as the "Council of the Scythians." Sometimes the council of the Scythians even decided the fate of their kings.

An objectionable king could also be easily thrown off and killed, as, for example, happened with the Scythian king Anarcharsis, who, after marrying a Greek woman, became addicted to Greek culture and the Greek way of life, which the rest of the Scythians perceived as a betrayal by the king of the Scythian customs and the punishment for this was the death of the king.

Speaking of the Greeks, the Scythians for centuries conducted intensive trade with them, especially with the Greek colony cities in the Black Sea region: Olbia, Chersonese. The Scythians were frequent guests there, and, of course, some cultural influence of the Greeks did affect the Scythians, Greek ceramics, Greek coins, Greek women's jewelry, even various works the art of the Greek masters. Some especially enlightened Scythians, like the Scythian king Anarcharsis already mentioned by us, were imbued with the ideas of Greek philosophers, tried to bring the light of knowledge of Antiquity to their fellow tribesmen, but alas, the sad fate of Anarcharsis says that this was not always successful.

Scythian customs

In the writings of Herodotus, one can find many references to harsh, like the Scythians themselves, Scythian customs. So, when killing the first enemy, the Scythian was supposed to drink his blood. The Scythians also had like American Indians a bad habit of scalping defeated enemies, from which they then sewed cloaks for themselves. To get their share in the booty, the Scythian had to present the severed head of the enemy, and bowls were made from the heads of especially fierce enemies. Also, every year the Scythian nobility organized feasts, in which only a Scythian who had killed an enemy could participate.

Divination was popular in the Scythian society, special soothsayers divined with the help of bundles of twigs or with the help of linden bast. The Scythians secured friendly ties with a special ritual - the blood of both friends was poured into a bowl of wine, then after the oaths were pronounced, this wine with blood was drunk by both friends.

Most interesting works art, discovered by archaeologists in the Scythian mounds are objects decorated in animal style. These are arrow quivers, sword hilts, women's necklaces, mirror handles, buckles, bracelets, hryvnias, etc.

In addition to images of animal figures, there are often scenes of the struggle of different animals. These images were made using forging, chasing, casting, embossing and carving, most often from gold, silver, bronze or iron.

All these art objects were indeed created by Scythian masters, a sign of their belonging to the Scythians is a special way of depicting animals, the so-called Scythian animal style. Animals are always depicted in motion and from the side, but at the same time they have their heads turned towards the viewer. For the Scythians themselves, they served as the personification of animal totem ancestors, various spirits, and played the role magical amulets. It is also believed that various animals depicted on the hilt of a sword or a quiver with arrows were meant to symbolize the strength, dexterity and courage of the Scythian warrior.

Warfare of the Scythians

All Scythian warriors were excellent riders and often used cavalry in battle. They were also the first to successfully use the strategic retreat against the Persians, greatly exhausting the Persian forces. Subsequently, the military art of the Scythians became significantly outdated, and they began to suffer military defeats, whether from a close-knit Macedonian phalanx, or mounted Parthian archers.

Religion of the Scythians

The religious life of the Scythians was dominated by the cult of fire and the sun. An important rite was the veneration of the royal hearth. Religious rites were performed by the kings, and the Scythian king was also at the same time the religious head of the community. But besides him, various magicians and soothsayers also played an important role, whose main task was to search for the enemy of the king, to prevent the magical intrigues of enemies. The disease, both of the king and of any other Scythian, was explained precisely by the magical intrigues of some enemy, and the task of the soothsayers was to find these enemies and eliminate their intrigues in the form of an illness. (Such a kind of ancient Scythian medicine)

The Scythians did not build temples, but had special sacred places where they performed their religious rites of worship of the Sun and fire. In exceptional cases, the Scythians even resorted to human sacrifice.

Scythians, video

And in conclusion, we offer you to look at an interesting documentary about the skiffs.

Clarity of conception, purity of forms, balance and rhythm of drawing, and, what is important, understanding of the material from which the thing is made - all these were characteristic features of the style of the Eurasian nomads.

The economy of these communities was necessarily based on pastoralism, so the members of the tribe developed an insight into the animal world and a much deeper understanding of it than many of us can now realize. This interest shaped their artistic view of things, which led to the development of art associated mainly with animalistic forms.

Most of the animals that appear in the art of the Scythians played an important role in the art of the civilizations that flourished in Egypt and the Ancient East from the 4th millennium B.C. e. Different animals, real or imagined, were thus portrayed by artists of all races, but in a style specific to each region. In the Near East, images remained strongly naturalistic until the Sumerian era, when heraldic compositions began to appear. Hunting scenes began to come to the fore in Central Asia at about the same time. Fairy beasts appeared gradually, but approximately from the 3rd millennium BC. e. their unusual forms are conspicuous in the art of Mesopotamia. In the 2nd millennium, aggressive lions with ferocious muzzles began to guard the entrances to the fortresses, palaces and temples of the Hittite Empire. On the southeastern outskirts of Eurasia, griffins with the heads of lions and eagles continued to guard the precious gold treasures of Siberia and Tibet.

By this time, northern Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, most of Anatolia, the entire region of Armenia and the Caucasus, and most of Persia formed a single cultural union. Attempts to trace the source of the animalistic style in the art of the Scythians proved fruitless, since the traces are numerous and lead in many directions.

Mounds are the main sources of Scythian works of art

Three of the earliest burials - mounds in the village of Kostroma, in the village of Kelermesskaya in the Kuban and Melgunovsky mound in southern Russia, as well as a treasure discovered relatively recently in Sakiz in Urartu, at the site of the likely location of the first capital of the Scythians, are of particular importance.

The Persian influence is reflected in the gold items found in the village of Kelermesskaya. The sword sheath from this burial is almost identical to the find from the Melgunov kurgan. The figurine of a leopard in the center of a round shield with Persian-style enamel inlay looks absolutely stunning.

The kurgan in the village of Kostromskaya is notable for some unusual construction details, but it is known mainly for the significance of its contents. Among other magnificent objects, iron scaly chain mail with shoulder scales of copper was found in it, and - this is the most charming find - a golden figurine of a lying deer, which is one of the most magnificent achievements of Scythian art.

The use of multi-colored enamel was the means that was resorted to in the distant times of the heyday of Ur, in Persia during the Achaemenid dynasty. The Scythians must have learned this subtle technique from the Persians, since the objects are somewhat more early period from Siberia are usually still decorated with inset stones rather than enamel. A fine early example of enamel is represented by a golden leopard found in the village of Kelermesskaya, whose forms are full of the same graceful force as the practically contemporary deer from the village of Kostroma.

Single animal figurines such as

like these, they are masterpieces of Scythian art, but the compositions in which animals are depicted in combat are hardly less characteristic of him or less beautiful. The plot, in itself very ancient, became very popular in Scythia. One of these finds was found in the burial mound of the Seven Brothers in the Kuban - this is a wooden rhyton of the beginning of the 5th century. BC e., decorated with four gold plates. Each depicts a bird of prey or animal attacking a herbivore.

Bone carving probably reflects the national style more clearly than metal products. The head of a ram from the village of Kelermesskaya and the head of a predatory animal, probably a wolf, from the Black Mountains of the Orenburg region show how little change was needed to adapt the bone or wood carving technique to such a material as metal. The inhabitants of Pazyryk liked to cover their wood carvings with chased gold or lead foil, but even when working with simple wood, they made things that are real masterpieces of their kind, such as the head of a mountain goat or the head of a stone goat. Whatever their size, the figures remain superbly proportioned, and the less expensive material is worked skillfully and thoughtfully, as if the most precious, so that the bronzes are artistically no worse than those made of gold, and the felt designs are no less good, than carved from wood.

The contribution of the Scythians to the world treasury of art is very significant. The Scythians bridged the gap between the ancient world and Slavic Russia and left behind a style that influenced the development of some species. European art. Among other things, they managed to create authentic folk art. Only a small number of human communities have been given the opportunity to develop this type of art. The fact that the Scythians and kindred tribes managed to achieve this is shown by the objects that they took with them to the graves.

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The Scythians lived in the Black Sea region, between the Danube and the Don. Of the modern languages, the Ossetian language is closest to Scythian. In their appearance, as well as in the numerous definitions of skulls from excavated burials, the Scythians were undoubted Caucasians.

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Nomadic tribes, close to the Scythians in language and culture, occupied a much larger territory - the entire belt of steppes from the Don to the Baikal region. The Black Sea Scythians were several tribes that had their own names mentioned by Herodotus (Meots, Gelons, Kallipids, Scythians-plowmen, etc. .). Thracians and Dacians lived on the territory of modern Bulgaria and Romania.

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Since the Scythians led a nomadic or semi-nomadic way of life, the main knowledge about their material culture was formed from the results of excavations of burial mounds, which are conditionally called "royal", since it was in them that the most luxurious, precious things were found. In each large Scythian mound, servants and concubines of the deceased were buried, as well as up to several dozen bridled and saddled horses. In one of the large burial mounds, about 400 horse skeletons, a whole herd, were found.

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Among the numerous finds in the burial mounds of European Scythia, along with objects bearing elements of Greek and ancient Eastern artistic traditions, one can also see a "purely" Scythian style, the same in its stylistic features as in the images found in Central Asia and in southern Siberia.

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characteristic hallmark Scythian art is the so-called "animal style". Many gold decorations of the Scythians were made in the form of some animals - a deer, a panther, a leopard. These figurines are full of dynamism and expression. The technique of their execution is distinguished high level stylization characteristic of true art. The masterpieces of the Scythian "animal" style include emblems that were attached to shields. These items were found in the Kuban mounds, the burials in which date back to the 7th century. BC e.

Protective plaque in the form of a panther (7th century BC)
Gold, inlay. Length 32.6 cm. Kelermes barrow I.

A brilliant example of the Scythian animal style. The power and aggressiveness of the predator is conveyed, the sharpness of its hearing, sight and smell is emphasized. To enhance the magical power of the image, 10 more small, curled up predators are placed on the paws and tail - a typical motif of Scythian art.

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The "animal" style was characteristic not only for the art of the Scythians. Works of this kind are also characteristic of the Sarmatian and other nomadic tribes that inhabited the Great Steppe in the first half - the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. Some art historians believe that Scythian art with its "animal" motifs developed during the Scythian campaigns in Asia Minor. Others tend to think that Scythian art developed in the depths of the steppes of Eurasia.

Protective plaque in the form of a deer (7th century BC)

Found in a barrow near the village of Kostromsky (Kuban region). The place of the find gave the second name to the monument - "Kostroma deer". One of the masterpieces of Scythian art. The aptly captured silhouette, laconicism and generalization of forms give the figure an amazing dynamism, a feeling of inner energy and strength.

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Sword in a sheath from the Kelermes burial mound (7th century BC)

Presumably, it was made on the territory of the Scythian state in Western Asia. The motifs typical of the Scythian animal style are combined with the Middle Asian techniques and compositions.

Detail of scabbard lining.

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Ax (battle ax). 7th century BC.

Found in Kelermes mound I. It was used in the sacrificial ritual. Shows a mixture of Western Asian motifs ("tree of life") with Scythian proper (stylized animals with bent legs - Scythian animal style).

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A plaque depicting a goat (6th century BC)

Plate in the form of a lying goat with a head turned back, topped with long horns with relief stripes dividing the surface of the horns into separate planes.

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Bridle plaque in the form of a figure of a lying deer (Mid. 5th century BC) Bronze. 4.7x4.7 cm. Krasnodar region, Semibratsky kurgan.

Bronze bridle plaque in the form of a figure of a lying deer with huge stylized antlers.

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The history of the Scythian people has always been shrouded in mystery, fascinated, delighted and inspired.

Vasnetsov "battle of the Scythians with the Slavs"

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Come up with and draw a sketch of a plaque - the decoration of a Scythian warrior. Further work is carried out in the technique of metal-plastic. It is necessary to transfer the image onto a thin sheet of metal (a cut and pre-flattened can of aluminum). To do this, a newspaper is placed under the sheet of metal in several layers, white gouache mixed with PVA is applied to the working surface of the metal, the sketch is transferred to the metal using an ordinary ballpoint pen, then from the main lines of the image recede by about 3-5 mm and repeat the lines with the intended offset, this will give the necessary thickness, then the back (blunt) side of the handle “pulls out the volume.” The finished work should be covered with bronze.

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Cover sheet

The presentation is intended for students of the 5th grade of art schools. The time to complete the task is 90 minutes.

Purpose of the presentation:

1. introduce students to the art of the Scythians, aesthetic development, increase in general erudition.
2. Presentation contains interesting task designed to teach children the basics of metal-plastics.

Completed by a 3rd year student of KhGF, MSGU
Nerezenko Lidia Andreevna
Supervisor: Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor
Svetlana Ivanovna Gudilina
Moscow 2009

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View all slides

Master on the badge skillfully
Terrible dog and mighty
Claws at him young
Doe sculpted; like alive
She was trembling and scared
The dog looked furious.

Scythian material culture clearly distinguishes the so-called animal style from other cultures or, in other words, the art of the animal style. These are images on various objects of animals, birds, as well as their parts (head, claws, beaks, etc.). Animals are both real and fantastic, and sometimes a combination of both is bizarre (like a griffin). This bright art presented in the mounds of the Ostrogozhsky region. We will return to these images from the Dubovsky, Mastyuginsky burial grounds, mounds near the villages of Kolbino-Ternovoe, look at them through the eyes of people of that time. But first, let's clear up a few questions.

How does the Scythian animal style differ from the depiction of animals from other eras? When we talk about Scythian art animal style, the question arises: haven’t animals and birds been depicted before? Paleolithic caves with images on the walls of mammoths, wild horses, bison come to mind ... It can be seen that Scythian art is also Scythian, which differs from everything previous. With what?

Firstly, Scythian animals differ from others in the way they depict the body of the animal and its individual parts. Deer antlers, beaks of birds of prey, head of a predator, etc. composed as if of separate planes, which converge with each other at angles. Sharp edges with ribs are obtained, and as a result, a picture of the play of light and shadow on flat surfaces is created. Let us imagine a warrior with a shield on which is depicted a golden panther or a golden deer. Under the rays of the sun, the deer burns! Here the warrior slightly turned the shield, and a deer, similar to a living one, shone with new highlights ...

Secondly, the Scythian animal style was characterized by the allocation of any one part of the body, its exaggeration. Deer antlers, for example, are unrealistically large. They branch out along the entire length of the back and end only at the tail. The eye of a bird of prey is depicted in such a way that it has the dimensions of almost the entire head. The claws of predators are unnaturally large - both animals and birds. The desire of the artist to single out one or another part of the beast is clearly visible.

Third, in this art, images of various animals, birds on cereals, deer shoulder blades, and predators are often found. And the claws of predators often end in the heads of birds of prey. This is something like the reincarnation of one animal into another.

fourth, Scythian animals and birds very rarely make up any plot compositions, like a grazing herd of deer, etc. Animals and birds themselves. They are detached from the environment and are not associated with any action. Here lies a deer, a wild boar stands, a bird flies, everyone has “his own business” and they don’t care about anyone.

Fifth, in the Scythian animal style, it was popular to depict not a whole animal or bird, but their parts - the head of an elk, deer, griffin, claws of a bird of prey, etc. This feature - to replace the part with the whole - was common in the art of the Scythians and Sarmatians.

The features noted above are not all immediately present in all images. Somewhere some signs are prominent, somewhere else.

These are the main features of the Scythian art of the animal style. You can single them out, but finding out why is much more difficult. Since here we have to intrude into the unfamiliar jungle of the views of the creators themselves, and the creators have left us nothing but the images themselves.

What is "beautiful" among the Scythian nomads?

Before singling out the opinion of researchers of the animal style about its purpose, let's keep in mind that beauty here had a completely different meaning: behind today's beauty of animal style products lies another beauty, beauty in the understanding of those people.

Today we admire the images of the Scythian animal style, not thinking that the Scythians, like other peoples of antiquity, the concept of beauty was very different from the one we have today. And today these concepts are completely different among different peoples.

The beauty of the thing itself was determined in antiquity for the most part by its practical need - beautiful is what is useful! Swords, arrows and cute animal-style animals should help in some way, help out. Even jewelry was worn not for the purpose of being beautiful in our understanding, but mostly because of the need to shield oneself from evil spirits, sorcerers, to show people, especially foreigners, their belonging to one or another tribe, clan. Let us note how far these ideas are from our present ones.

Further, we take into account that the ancient people had a special attitude to weapons, jewelry, dishes - everything that they took from nature. The common view was this: nature is alive; everything from it is also alive. Therefore, it is necessary to treat objects as if they were alive. They talked with them, read spells, punished for a mistake. And today, echoes of those views, no, no, yes, and appear in a developed society. It is difficult to say whether such judgments prevailed among the Scythians and related tribes, or simply "took place." But they were more than likely.

Totems and a totemic view of the Scythian animal style

For a long time, the answer to the question about the purpose of the Scythian animal style was simplistic, which was associated with views on the underdevelopment of the Scythian society. He was assigned a primitive stage, in best case at its final stage. It was assumed that the images of animals and birds are nothing more than evidence of the remnants of totemism. In this regard, the followers of this point of view turned to a shining example- the image of a deer. Many tribes related to the Scythians and living in Central Asia, Siberia, are characterized by the names "Saka" or names with this root.

Linguistic studies by V.A. Abaev, a well-known specialist in this field of linguistics, led him to the conclusion: "Saka" - itself - the name of not only Asian Saks, but also European Scythians; in the Ossetian language there is a word "sag", which translates as "deer". The deer is an animal revered by the ancient Iranian-speaking ancestors of the Ossetians, and it could be a totem animal; the name "Saki" and "Scythians" comes from the name of the deer as a totem animal (Abaev, 1949). This hypothesis was based on the only evidence (“saka is a deer”) and turned out to be the only one for supporters of the “totemic theory”. No other (written, linguistic) data was found.

But that's not the point. The recognition that the animals and birds of the Scythian art were the totems of the Scythian clans means the recognition that the Scythians did not go beyond the limits of primitiveness in their development. After all, totemism, as a system of views, characterizes the early history of mankind, but not the history of a developed society of pastoralists with signs of classes. The totem theory cannot explain many features of the animal style, for example, the selectivity of objects depicting animals and birds - weapons, horse harness, military harness accessories.

Magic in the art of the Scythians

The idea that Scythian deities stand behind the animals and birds, which are characterized by reincarnation from one image to another, did not find support. But studies of the animal style led to the conclusion that animals and birds were associated with magic, which was the most important part of the general worldview of the Indo-Iranians. There is no doubt that the Scythians were followers of the magical actions of those who worshiped the precepts of the Rig Veda and Avesta. There are sacrifices to the drying of nature, sacred objects, a sacred drink. The same is attested among the Scythians. Herodotus reports, for example, about the sacrifice of horses at the burial of the king. A year later, another 50 horses are sacrificed at the wake.

The magical power inherent in animals and birds, apparently, was supposed to enhance the effect of weapons, horse harness, accessories of military equipment, on sacred objects (metal goblets, rhytons, etc.). Thus, the image of the claws of a bird of prey was supposed to enhance the effect of the sword, on the handle of which claws were depicted. The bared mouth of a predator on a horse harness was supposed to frighten the enemy, make him retreat from his plans (Khazanov, Shkurko, 1976). All Indo-Iranians had a magical idea that a part replaces the whole (Kuzmina, 1976, p. 59). It also existed among the Scythians, related tribes. It is not for nothing that the animal style is presented on weapons, horse harness, warrior's harness accessories.

However ... It seems unlikely that magic would have such significance that in a developed Scythian society it would play the role of art serving the interests of its elite and the entire army. Magical acts exist today and existed in antiquity, but to exist is one thing, and to dominate the ideology through art in the minds of people is another.

Military and hunting look at the Scythian art

Attempts to find out the meaning of the word "saka" began to bring new data. So it arose from the pen of V.A. Korenyaki military-hunting hypothesis. "Saki" - "dogs" were not so much guardians of the herds as hunters and warriors. The name "Saki" had many meanings, among which were not only "warriors-hunters", "hunters-catchers", "hunting dogs", "warriors like dogs", but also others ... endowing carriers with "power", "courage", the ability to "watch sharply", "shoot accurately" and "move quickly" (Korenyanko, 2002). Numerous written documents testify to the great importance of hunting in the life of nomads.

Hunting required remarkable abilities from a person. He must be brave, dexterous, despise adversity, deprivation. Riding without saddles and stirrups was impossible without long training, and not everyone could cope with this difficult task.

The art of the animal style began to fade and died out with the advent of hard saddles and stirrups. They appeared at the beginning of the Middle Ages, at the earliest in the 4th century AD. As a result, clear boundaries social groups warriors blurred.

Thus, the military hunting theory of the origin of the Scythian animal style is based on the proof that animals and birds, which were the object of constant military hunting training, received art form. There are both kneeling deer and bound predators. The social stratum of society that created the animal style is not so much the aristocracy as the hunters-warriors. Those who were engaged in battue, driven hunts. This occupation required great skill, dexterity, strength. By manifesting it, the warriors became respected and revered. To serve their ideology, the animal style arose.

The military-hunting hypothesis is original, has solid evidence and weaknesses. So, it is not clear what place in it is occupied by various fantastic creatures, all sorts of complications, such as images on one animal of several, images of parts of animals.

Myths and animal style

There is another opinion about the origin of the animal style. It can be called "mythological theory". The essence of the view of this approach lies in attempts to link the images of animals and birds with the myths about the structure of the cosmos that existed among the creators of the animal style (Raevsky, 1985).

According to this view, the world of animals and birds can be easily divided into groups. The first group are predators. Predators in the eyes of the ancients brought death, therefore they displayed the underground, other world. Ungulate animals are peaceful. They have horns that grow like trees. Once a year they disappear, which is consistent with the ideas of the ancients about the natural cycle. Often deer antlers are unnaturally large, like a tree. Ungulates reflect the world of the living, now existing world. Birds, especially eagles, fly high in the sky, reflecting the upper world, the world of the gods. The three-stage vertical scheme of the structure of the world is characteristic of the views of the previous time - the Bronze Age. Thus, the Scythian animal style is a system designed to describe the world order.

In this scheme, a special place is occupied by a wild boar. On the one hand, he is an ungulate animal and is close to fallow deer, deer, elk, rams, goats. On the other hand, the boar is a predator. He is always dangerous, can attack a person, eats different foods without understanding. This behavior of the boar has long led to a cautious attitude towards him. It is always dangerous, it can attack a person, eat different foods without disassembling. This behavior of the boar has long led to a cautious attitude towards him. He seemed to be "stuck" between two worlds, and therefore was an "unclean" animal. Not because he loves to fall in a puddle, but precisely because, as they say, he has a dual nature - “herbivorous-predatory” (Perevodchikova, 1994, pp. 46-48). This position of the wild boar led to the fact that already in the Bronze Age in the Southern Urals it was almost not hunted, and the meat of pigs was not eaten.

It is precisely because of its dual nature that the boar is often a guide to the realm of the dead. Although such a role was assigned not only to him.

The three-level system must find matches in images, i.e. if birds are the upper world, then they should be depicted above ungulates, and even more so predators. As it turns out, it's not that simple. Often deer were depicted at the very top, the heads of lions above the birds. And such cases are quite numerous. The mythological view fails.

Where is the birthplace of the Scythian animal style? And was she?

At first glance, the question posed at the beginning of the paragraph seems strange. If something has appeared, then it must have a point, a place of birth.

Archaeologists and historians have long and stubbornly searched for the homeland of the Scythian animal style. The difficulty was that this style appears immediately, suddenly, already in its current form. Nothing like this was known in the Bronze Age.

There have been attempts to explain the origin of the animal style by the fact that the art of carved wood has not come down to us due to poor preservation. Therefore, we, they say, do not know this layer of art, but it has yet to be found. P.D. Liberov was sure that the roots of the animal style were at the heart of the cultures of the Bronze Age. But we do not find it, because it was presented on wood and bones, which have not been preserved (Liberov, 1976). It should be noted that from the Bronze Age, a lot of surviving bone items and even wooden bowls are known. But there are no animals on the bones or on the bowls. And if something was depicted, then these are geometric compositions.

The search for the "homeland" continues, but the idea that it is not very promising to look for this "point on the map" is becoming more and more obvious. More and more researchers of the Scythian animal style are embarking on a new way of explaining the confusing situation.

If you look at the problem from the other side: since the search for "motherland" did not lead to anything, isn't it time to admit that this art appears as a result of a "revolutionary explosion". The sharp, sudden appearance of the Scythian animal style is the result of huge changes in the life of the entire steppe population (transition to nomadism), its culture. Researchers are looking for transitional stages of evolution, but they did not exist, and do not exist.

Probably, it is no longer possible to find out what is more, what is less. But the new art, having fused everything into a single and new one, quickly conquered huge spaces, became part of the worldview of many and for a long time ...

Scythian animal style in the mounds of the Ostrogozhsky region. Who was portrayed

The animal style appears in the burial mounds of the Middle Don only with the appearance of mounds left alien times. In the Bronze Age, none of the cultures in this area had a tradition of depicting animals and birds. There are no signs of the animal style on the existing finds of the Pre-Scythian period. The time of the appearance of the first burials is the 5th century BC. BC. Until the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd century. BC. items of the animal style are found mainly, often in burial mounds - in about 50% of the graves. Given the repeated robbery of mounds, it can be assumed that in reality this percentage was higher. Finds of products in the animal style in the settlements are very rare.

On the sword from the Blizhnestoyanovskiy burial mound, the pommel was probably decorated in the form of curved claws of a bird of prey. This design of the pommel is well known. It remains only to regret that the ending was poorly preserved. On the sword of one of the mounds near the village. Kolbino's hilt is bound with gold plates depicting a lying deer with bent legs and lowered head. The head of the animal is crowned with huge branched horns. The oval pommel depicts some kind of animal, apparently sitting with its head turned back.

Sewn-on and overlaid plaques, most often made of gold, decorate funeral clothes. Sometimes they are attached with small nails to wooden objects. In 1908 N.E. Makarenko during the excavation of mounds near the village. Mastyugino in mound 2 found a gold overlay on the gorit - a case for carrying a bow and arrows. On the Mastyuginsky gorite, a seated griffin with raised wings is depicted on a plate. The Greeks called griffins winged monsters with a lion's body and an eagle's head. The Greeks believed that these animals really exist somewhere on Far North and protect the gold of Zeus from the one-eyed people - the Arimaspians.

In the mounds of the same burial ground, plaques depicting a lying deer and griffins were found. Two griffins stand on their hind legs facing each other in the so-called "heraldic" pose ( in detail often at a later time - in the Middle Ages, lions were depicted on the coats of arms of knightly families). A "walking" griffin is depicted on a plate from Russian Trostyanka. The plate is poorly preserved, but the importance with which the griffin comes, and the stern contemptuous look from above, is well preserved.

In the mound burial ground Kolbino-Ternovoe, the expedition of V.I. Gulyaev, sewn-on gold plaques in the form of boar heads were found in a female burial. The foil is very thin and it is unlikely that such a garment can be worn even on very important holidays. Poetmou Valery Ivanovich believes that for the funeral rite there were specially prepared objects, decorations that were not created for Everyday life namely for funerals.

The animal style is also represented on bone items, such as, for example, on a horn cheek-piece from a burial ground near the village. Ternovoe. The head of a wolf is depicted on the left at the end, the head of a boar is depicted on the right.

One of the characteristic images of the animal style of the Middle Don population was a bear. In percentage terms, there are few images of the beast, but these finds are bright, although they are similar. About ten bears are depicted on belt hooks-clasps along with the head of an "eared griffin". In other cases, bear figurines adorn the horse's bridle.

Researchers of the Middle Don burials drew attention to the fact that these animals, despite the opening of their mouths, look somehow peaceful. These are not terrible owners of the forest, but good-natured little animals. Particularly interesting in this respect is a bear on a hook-clasp from mound 6 of the Dubovsky burial ground. If we evaluate it by the standards of "peacefulness", then it is the most peaceful and even somewhat comical. The bear seems to have found something and, sniffing, carefully examines the find.

Images of a wolf are present on belt hooks-clasps, bridle plaques and on bone cheek-pieces. It is possible that this beast is depicted on the end of a gold earring from the Blizhnestoyanovka burial mound. Unlike bears, which are easily recognizable at first sight, the wolf is more difficult. Here ancient artist less concrete and accurate in the depiction of the beast.

The depiction of a cheetah on a bone crest from the burial ground of Terovoe I looks foreign in Middle Don art. Gulyaev and E.I. Savchenko, who discovered this find, did not find an analogy to it, or at least a close and similar image. Unique item!

Sometimes, as on the bone crest of one of the Mastyuginsky burial mounds, animals are not identified at all in terms of their species. Below - clearly predators with cat's paws. In the center of the fish, and on top of the neck are the heads of some strange animals.

Animal style is constantly present on the horse bridle. So, on the bridle from the Russian Trostyanka, animal heads are depicted on cheek-pieces.

Takov in in general terms animal style of the Middle Don of the Scythian time. Studying it allowed us to come to the following main conclusions.

Animal style appeared on the Middle Donku in the 5th century. BC. along with the advent of the kurgan burial rite. According to the most proven hypothesis to date, the creators of the Middle Don mounds appeared on the Middle Don from the territory of the Dnieper region - its right-bank and left-bank parts. Research specialist in the field of animal style A.I. Shkurko showed that the earliest products of the animal style repeat those samples that were characteristic of the kurgans of the Dnieper forest-steppe Right and Left Bank. But already in the IV century. BC. on the Middle Donku, original local art is being formed. Its creation is influenced by the traditions of the steppe Scythia, the Bosporan kingdom (Shkurko, 1976; Goncharova, 2001). How this influence was carried out is no longer known, unfortunately. But it was in the 4th century BC. most predators lose their formidable appearance and turn into calm and peaceful animals. The eagle, like a parrot in a cage, calmly cleans its claws. Nothing tells us in his image about a vigilant and formidable predator with steel claws. The heads of the horses look like toys for children. We have already spoken about the "king of the forest".

The paths of art are complex. But if you look closely, you involuntarily see the obvious - art almost always, if you look at it as a whole, reflects the life of society. The search for new ideas, answers to questions give rise to certain artistic images that are reflected in art monuments. Maybe the relatively peaceful life of the Middle Don barrow makers led to a rethinking of artistic images? When the war, the development of new territory, then the beasts of prey and terrible, corresponding to a fierce struggle on the principle of "who wins." And when is relative calm? Maybe that's why the animals calmed down and calmed down?

Sources

Vinnikov A.Z., Sinyuk A.T. - Roads of millennia: Archaeologists on the ancient history of the Voronezh region. - 2nd ed., corrected. and additional - Voronezh: Voronezh State University Publishing House, 2003.

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Introduction

Any works of art reflect the worldview, the spiritual essence of their creators, being a specific carrier of ideological information. The existence of man for many centuries was directly dependent on nature, an inseparable part of which was the animal world, therefore, in the art of almost every nation there was a period that would be characterized by the presence of elements of the "animal style". This "style" reached unprecedented prosperity and perfection in the Scythian and Hun-Sarmatian times, when throughout the entire territory of the steppe zone of Eurasia, on the basis of the pastoral economy, the formation of early nomadic societies with a complex social hierarchy took place.

The purpose of this work is to highlight the jewelry art of the Scythians, its evolution and symbolism, as well as to identify the stylistic patterns of its image on the objects of the funerary cult. From the goal set follow such tasks as to trace the general trend in the development of style, to explain the interpretation of the form, to consider various examples on which this work will be based.

A whole chapter of the work is devoted to the semantics of the images of the animal style of the Scythian era.

The work was based on finds obtained as a result of archaeological research on the territory of the Eurasian steppe. First of all, these are the collections of the State Hermitage (St. Petersburg), the State Historical Museum(Moscow), the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin (Moscow) and the Biysk Museum. Bianchi V.V. (Biysk).

1. Jewelry art of the Scythians

jewelry art scythian animal

A huge amount of jewelry, household items and other household utensils made of gold was found during excavations of Scythian graves. The most interesting thing is that not only the deceased noble Scythian, but also an ordinary Scythian was decorated with gold. Yes, undoubtedly, the tombs of the Scythian kings surprised archaeologists with their luxury and the number of gold items. Coins, cups, belts, bracelets and necklaces, amulets and earrings. What was not found in the graves of the Scythians. The Scythian kings were sure that all the jewels would accompany them in the afterlife, granting power and wealth there as well.

The main component of the Scythian-Siberian art is a certain stable set of pictorial elements and images of animals reproduced in traditional, canonical poses using special techniques on items of horse equipment, weapons, various decorations of clothing, belts, tools and mirrors. All zoomorphic images can be conditionally divided into four groups: birds, predators, herbivores and fantastic creatures.

The love of the Scythians for gold today is known to almost everyone. Many have heard about the mythical gold of the Scythians, which either appears or disappears again, has some magical properties.

Judging by the jewelry that has been found to date and is kept in museums, we can safely talk about jewelers with a capital letter and their unique skill in creating magnificent jewelry from gold, copper, bronze and iron. The Scythians surrounded themselves with jewelry everywhere. Even the simplest objects were turned into works of art. So, for example, mirrors, sabers, knives, the handles of which have a rich gold decor depicting animals, heroes and their victories, are not uncommon during excavations (Appendix No. 4).

Where did the Scythian animal style come from? Archeology is accustomed to such questions - after all, one of its tasks is to clarify the origin of a particular culture or its individual phenomena. It is not always easy to answer such questions, because archaeological cultures, as well as their individual elements, often appear suddenly, thereby confusing researchers. A similar situation exists around the Scythian culture, in particular the Scythian animal style. Indeed, this art appears unexpectedly ready-made and, as we can now judge, organized into a single system. The art of the steppe of the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age of the Pre-Scythian period knows neither the zoomorphic images themselves, nor even the style in which they are embodied. From that time, a fundamentally different art has come down to us, in which the main place was occupied by various kinds of geometric ornaments, decorating ceramics, items of horse equipment, etc.

The Eurasian steppe, as we know, coexisted with cultures and civilizations that had developed pictorial traditions since ancient times. And of course the most simple way there was a borrowing of pictorial techniques from various surrounding traditions.

One of the largest modern specialists on the art of ancient Iran V. G. Lukonin.

Scythian art went through several stages of its development. D.S. Raevsky gives the following periodization of Scythian art:

1) the era of great campaigns in Asia Minor - VIII - VII centuries. BC e.;

2) era self-development- VI - V centuries. BC e.;

3) the era of Greek influence - from the 5th century. BC e.

The animal style of the Scythian-Saka era has specific features that distinguish it from the entire set of zoomorphic images created by artists of the Old and New Worlds in different periods. These features are closely related to the uniqueness environment, early nomadic economy, life, social structure, social psychology and worldview.

Scythian jewelry is unique in its form. They captivate with their beauty and luxury.

Already in those distant times, Scythian craftsmen made stunning coinage, unsurpassed gold openwork, were familiar with patal, mastic and enamel, decorations were not only flat, but also voluminous. Jewelry was not only minted, but also cast, forged, extruded and carved. On coinage, one can observe pictures from the life of the Scythians - heroic events, mythical creatures.

Among the found jewelry of the Scythians there are quite a lot of items with precious stones. Earrings, necklaces, necklaces were decorated with agates, pearls, garnets. The poorer tribes of the Scythians who lived in the southern regions often used shells, amber, carnelian, rock crystal in their jewelry.

The main features of the animal style of the early nomads include the following:

· Firstly, animalism reigns supreme among them - images of animals decisively prevail in all arts and crafts. This applies not only to objects made of well-preserved materials - metal, stone, bone, horn. As excavations in Altai have shown, where the preservation of archaeological finds is ideal in permafrost conditions, in soft organic materials- wood, leather, fabric, felt - mainly zoomorphic images and plots were also reproduced.

Further, zoomorphic images, as a rule, are small in size. Exceptions are petroglyphs and deer stones, but these monuments are beyond the definition of " applied art". Animalistic images were applied mainly to utilitarian items, except for the relatively few bronze tops and things that had primarily a ritual function, such as vessels made of precious metals. Researchers have repeatedly noted the close relationship between the image and the functionally defined form of the product.

Thirdly, those artistic features early nomadic monuments, which can be called stylistic in the narrow sense of the word. Images made in the Scythian-Siberian animal style are distinguished by their decorativeness (ornamentality), conventionality and more or less pronounced schematization of the interpretation of both the animalistic image as a whole and its individual details. Typical are the special methods of schematization: planar articulation of the body of the animal; transfer of claws, ears, eyes, details of the muzzle of animals with geometric elements; giving animal figures purely conditional turns and poses that are perceived as unnatural and deforming.

These features (and only the most striking and predominant ones are listed) are characteristic of the commonality of the works of early nomadic decorative and applied art, which is observed archaeologically in the arid-steppe, forest-steppe, and partly mountainous zone of Eurasia.

An indispensable component of this art is a certain set of motifs that carry a clearly determined semantic load, which, of course, is a zoomorphic code that conveys the developed worldview system inherent in this cultural layer.

Such a set necessarily includes several categories of animals: hoofed herbivores of different species (deer, elk, camels, antelopes, rams, goats, wild boars), predatory animals (bears, cat predators, wolves), birds of prey, as well as monsters that combine the features of different animals. Other zoomorphic motifs (waterfowl, roosters, hares, hedgehogs, fish, etc.) make up less universal categories of motifs in the animal style of the Scythian era. Images of some animals (for example, camels) appear on the territory associated with the range species, which served as a prototype for the creation of zoomorphic pictorial motifs.

More than half a century ago, the remarkable Russian historian and archaeologist M. I. Rostovtsev singled out the main features of the Scythian animal style, and the accuracy of his conclusions on this matter has not been denied to this day. Scythian animals differ from others primarily in the way they model the surface of the body. Both the body of the animal as a whole and its individual parts - legs with hooves or claws, deer horns, the beak of a bird of prey, eyes, ears, mouths of animals - are composed of planes converging at an angle. These planes form large faces with sharp edges, on which a unique play of light and shadow, characteristic only of the Scythian animal style, is created.

The Scythian animal style is characterized by a strictly limited set of canonical poses (Appendix No. 3) - the legs of animals can be bent under the body and laid one on top of the other, bent at a right or obtuse angle, or lowered. Predators are also often depicted curled up in a ring, birds - with outstretched wings.

Animals made in the canons of the Scythian animal style, as a rule, are isolated from the environment, they exist on their own, without any background and rarely form plot scenes. Moreover, these animals are not only cut off from the environment, but also not connected by any action.

Undoubtedly, the famous golden panther from the Kelermes burial mounds, which adorned the gorit or the shield of a powerful leader, belongs to the best creations of Scythian art (Appendix No. 5). Characteristic is the pose of a predator following the trail, laconic light and shade modeling of body shapes, as well as zoomorphic ornamentation of the tail and paws, filled with figures of cat predators curled up in a ring. There are ten of them, and, obviously, according to the ideas of the people of that time, it increased by the same amount. Magic force golden panther. In the beast, the eye and nostril are conventionally depicted in Scythian circles. However, in the departure from the strict profile of the image characteristic of Scythian art - the panther is shown in a small foreshortening with four legs - the influence of ancient Eastern style is felt. The naturalistic interpretation of the grinning toothy mouth, as well as the use of the technique of colored cloisonné inlay to highlight the eye and ear of the panther, also goes back to the same source. The triangular cells on the predator's ear were filled with inlays of red amber.

Although alien influences somewhat violate the Scythian concept of understanding the image of a feline predator, it is these minor deviations from the classical canon that give a certain individuality to the appearance of the Kelermes panther, distinguishing it from the huge mass of other images of this purely Scythian motif.

"Scythian Baroque"

A new stage in the history of art of the Eurasian steppes opens in the 5th century BC. The art of this time is sometimes called "Scythian Baroque", referring to the extraordinary splendor and pretentiousness of his works. Indeed, in comparison with the strict, devoid of any intricacy images of animals of the era of the Scythian archaic, things of the 5th-4th centuries. BC e. amaze with external complexity, loading with numerous details.

Examples of the Scythian Baroque can be seen in Appendix No. 6 of this work.

The most characteristic feature of the animal style of this time is the intensification of ornamentation and schematization, leading to the loss of those features of conditional and generalized realism that were inherent in it in the archaic period. Along with this, a clearly expressed naturalistic direction appears, largely associated with the influence of classical Greek art. Both of the noted directions are characterized by the expansion of the range of images used.

In the IV - III centuries. BC e. in Scythia, significant changes are also observed in the set of objects decorated in the animal style and in their material. The ratio of gold and bronze changes in favor of gold, the bone disappears altogether. The number of sewn-on plaques and plates for decorating clothes and headgear increases, while the relative number of items of horse harness decreases. In addition, items of the animal style are much more common than before in the burials of noble women (Appendix No. 1). All this testifies to the fact that the ceremonial and decorative function of the animal style is increasing, and its connection with purely military life is decreasing.

The more sophisticated taste of people had to meet new trends in the late Scythian animal style, refined, sometimes even pretentious, distinguished by such grace and harmony and the same total absence realistic features, on the one hand, and growing naturalism, on the other.

2. Semantics of images

The art of the Scythian-Siberian world and its basis - the "animal" style - were a historical neoplasm; were an indicator of the existing unity of the economy, public relations, ideology. Art was an expression of ideological and aesthetic foundations worldview of the tribes and peoples of the steppe Eurasia.

Considering the art of the Scythian-Siberian world as a whole, we can note two main territorial layers of traditions in it. One of them can be called Scythian-Tagar. It is determined by the leading image of a herbivore - a flying deer with a stylized hypertrophied fluttering horn. This tradition was spread on the territory of the steppes from Scythia to Central Asia. The art of the Sauromatian-Saka world (from the Urals in the northwest to the Altai Mountains in the southeast) is characterized by the image of a predator and scenes of its struggle with herbivores, a peculiar stylization of images of predators.

The art of the Scythian-Siberian world, although it is represented by highly artistic works, carries a certain style of depiction and certain repetitive plots, but it was not art proper in its purpose and aesthetic design. Those archaeological objects of the Scythian-Siberian societies that we are considering were polysemantic symbols of the society, expressing its spiritual essence. They expressed some worldview idea, in addition, were features of the social hierarchy.

Attitude ancient man to the things around him, in principle, it is difficult to understand a person of modern culture with its purely utilitarian view of this issue. In ancient times, man-made things were intended not only to perform certain practical functions due to their purely material properties (although they had this purpose) - their help to man was thought of much more broadly.

With such an attitude towards purely everyday objects at first glance, each of them should be decorated accordingly. After all, placing this or that image on things, the master, in fact, supplemented, strengthened the meaning of the thing itself with the meaning of the image on it. Therefore, the combination of things with the image was taken very seriously, it simply could not be accidental.

Most researchers are inclined to think about the connection of zoomorphic images with the deities of the Scythian religious pantheon, who personified, judging by the data of Herodotus, cosmic and natural phenomena. As you know, among the Egyptians, Sumerians, Greeks and other peoples of the Ancient World, revered deities were symbolized by wild animals. The same views were characteristic of the Indo-Iranian tribes related to the Scythians. Moreover, according to their ideas, the same animal could mix different gods and, conversely, each deity had the ability to transform into different animals.

While admitting the ability for such a reincarnation of the Scythian deities, we, nevertheless, are deprived of the opportunity to confirm this assumption with the data of Scythian mythology itself.

There is also an opinion that Scythian art was called upon to reflect through zoomorphic signs, that is, in the pictorial language of its era, a holistic panorama of the universe. This hypothesis is based on the idea of the universal role of tripartite structures in the mythological picture of the Universe, created by the concrete-figurative thinking of the Indo-Iranians. The cosmos was presented to them in the form of a world tree, the main parts of which - the crown, trunk and roots - symbolized the heavenly, earthly and underground spheres. It is with them, according to the observation of researchers, that the three leading motifs of Scythian art are steadily correlated - birds, ungulates and predatory animals.

Horizontal and vertical structures and the sun occupied a central place in the representations of the Universe.

Three can be distinguished graphic groups images of the sun on petroglyphs: 1 - separately drawn solar signs; 2 - signs of the sun, embossed directly on the figures of animals (on the croup, belly); 3 - shining solar horns.

Conclusion

Scythian art is, of course, the brightest and in many ways still mysterious artistic phenomenon of the Ancient World. Already in the early Scythian period, the animal style was an organic fusion of an original pictorial tradition and individual foreign influences, mainly ancient Eastern ones.

The jewels of the Scythians gave a considerable impetus to the development of jewelry art in history. The use of many techniques and materials has brought diversity to the history of jewelry. No wonder Scythian jewelry received the status of the most beautiful jewelry Ancient World.

Scythian art was a social, spiritual and aesthetic phenomenon at the same time. Satisfying the needs of the nomadic nobility in richly finished weapons, horse harness and other prestigious attributes, this arts and crafts, mythological in its content, reflected the worldview and ethical ideals of the entire society.

The main plot and stylistic features of early Scythian art are already familiar to us from a series of highly artistic bridle ornaments made of carved bone and items of military equipment made using the technique of gouging and embossing on gold. No less vivid artistic talent of the Scythians manifested itself in bronze casting with the loss of the wax model.

In the Scythian animal style, certain ideological ideas were expressed through zoomorphic images - i.e. the image of the beast acted as an element of the code - a sign with a certain meaning.

The depiction of animals in Scythian art was subject to strict rules. Canonical not only poses of animals. Even in the interpretation of details, standard stylistic devices were used: the eyes, ears, nostrils, ends of the paws and tails of predators were conditionally indicated by circles. The ears of deer were, as a rule, leaf-shaped outlines, and the lips were oval in shape. Masters consciously emphasized and even exaggerated the most typical traits inherent in a particular type of animal. The emphasis was usually on one or two distinguishing features.

In this work, produced comprehensive study Scythian jewelry art, its evolution, symbolism, as well as the semantics of images, based on the objects of the burial mounds. The general trend in the development of the style is traced (from the early nomadic period to settled life).

In addition to general conclusions and analysis of the Scythian animal style, a number of archaeological finds are presented and analyzed, some of which are considered masterpieces of the Scythian style (Kelermes panther).

The work was complemented by very informative tables, samples of Scythian jewelry and drawings of archaeological finds, placed in the appendix.

Bibliography

1. www.acsessuari.ru article History in jewelry. Scythian gold.

2. Galanina L.K. Scythian Antiquities of the North Caucasus in the Hermitage Collection. Kelermes barrows. - St. Petersburg: State Hermitage Publishing House, 2006. - 80 p.

3. Korenyako V.A. Art of the peoples of Central Asia and the animal style. - M.: Ed. Eastern Literature, 2002. - 327 p.

4. Korolkova E.F. Animal style of Eurasia. The art of the tribes of the Lower Volga and Southern Urals in the Scythian era. - M.: Nauka, 2006. - 272 p.

5. Melyukova A.I., Moshkova M.G. Scythian-Siberian animal style in the art of the peoples of Eurasia. - M: Nauka, 1976. - 274 p.

6. Martynov A.I. Scythian-Siberian world. Art and ideology. - Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1987. - 182 p.

7. Translator E.V. The language of animal images. Essays on the art of the Eurasian steppes of the Scythian era. - M. - 1994. - 205 p.

Annex 1

Headpiece of a Scythian woman.

Gold Scythian bracelet.

A table of postures of various animals and their eye forms.

Jewelry set of a Scythian woman.

Kelermes panther. Collection of the Hermitage.

Examples of "Scythian baroque". Images of predators from the 1st Filippovsky barrow and analogies to them.

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