Some reflections on the Eastern European and Central Asian helmets of the Early nomadic era

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52967/akz2024.1.23.27.61

Keywords:

archaeology, Early Iron Age, protective armament, nomads, Scythians, Sakas

Abstract

Among the defensive armament of the Early Scythian period, bronze cast helmets of the so-called Kuban type occupy a special place. Undoubtedly, they are one of the indicators of the Scythian material culture of the archaic era. However, the number of such helmets is small: only 18 are currently known in Eastern Europe and the North Caucasus, while the conditions for the detection of three of them are unclear. Of the remaining artifacts, half were found in the burials of the Early Scythian period, primarily in the Kuban region, the other half were accidental finds. All these helmets have a hemispherical shape. At the same time, in Asia, including Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia), a number of cast bronze helmets are also known, unfortunately, accidental finds (6 pieces). Some of them are of a similar hemispherical shape, others are hemispherical-conical. Both, the first and the second, have undoubted elements of similarity with helmets of the so–called Kuban type in Eastern Europe, primarily in the North Caucasus. The article discusses, to one extent or another, a number of topical issues: the genesis of cast bronze helmets, chronology, possible production centers, and the mechanism of distribution in the Eurasian area. The article substantiates the version about the synchronicity of Eastern European Scythian and Central Asian Saka helmets, the main time of their existence in the 7th century BC. At the same time, Eastern European helmets are secondary to Central Asian ones. Saka helmets genetically go back to the cast Chinese helmets of the Western Zhou era (A. Varenov). The Scythians had similar armor during contacts with the Sakas, who took part, along with other nomadic tribes of Eurasia, in campaigns in the Near East and Asia Minor. There was undoubtedly a center for the production of cast bronze helmets in the North Caucasus, as well as in Central Asia. The term “cast helmets of the ‘Kuban’ type”, applied to the entire Eurasian region, is not accurate and is not historical. Apparently, it is more correct to use other names. For Asia: Saka bronze cast helmets of the archaic era. For Eastern Europe: Scythian bronze cast helmets of the archaic era.

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Published

2024-03-31

How to Cite

Skoryi С. А. (2024). Some reflections on the Eastern European and Central Asian helmets of the Early nomadic era. Kazakhstan Archeology, (1 (23), 27–61. https://doi.org/10.52967/akz2024.1.23.27.61

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Section

Archaeology issues