Mariupol culture
Encyclopedia
The Mariupol culture known as The Mariupol-type cemeteries was a transitional culture from Neolithic
to Eneolithic (Copper Age) of the second half of 5th millennium BCE at the Sea of Azov
and neighbouring regions along rivers Dnieper, Don
, Orel', Chir; Crimean peninsula
, reaching as far as North Caucasus
and Kuban Region
as well as river Volga. In older works is referred to as a part of wider Dnieper-Donetsk culture
or called Mariupol type.
As noted expert on Neolithic
and Eneolithic Eastern Europe
D.Ya. Telegin: The Mariupol-type cemeteries seem to have had their origins in the late Mesolithic
and endured into the Copper Age, a period of more than two thousand years (c. 6500–4000 cal BC). They were primarily fisher-hunter-gatheres familiar with livestock through exchange
or pastoralism
. Anthropologically
they belonged to massive hypermorphic type of large Europeoid race. Final stages of this culture are described as Post-Mariupol. It was superseded by Sredny Stog culture
.
, near the town of Mariupol
, on the shores of the Kalmius river
, archaeologist M. Makarenko unearthed a burial site. Distinctive ochre painting was visible on surface of naturally raised area over surrounding marshlands. Makarenko uncovered 122 burials in what seemed to be one trench used as community grave, where younger bodies were added to the older one with respect, what created theory of possible accessibility of grave construction over the time (roof?). The position of the bodies was extended supine with a southeast or northwest orientation.
, Dereivka
, Vovnigi (on the Dnieper), Dolinka (Crimea
), Staronizhesteblievskaya (Kuban
Region) and many others.
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
to Eneolithic (Copper Age) of the second half of 5th millennium BCE at the Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
and neighbouring regions along rivers Dnieper, Don
Don River (Russia)
The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov....
, Orel', Chir; Crimean peninsula
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
, reaching as far as North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
and Kuban Region
Kuban
Kuban is a geographic region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, Volga Delta and the Caucasus...
as well as river Volga. In older works is referred to as a part of wider Dnieper-Donetsk culture
Dnieper-Donets culture
Dnieper-Donets culture, ca. 5th—4th millennium BC. A neolithic culture in the area north of the Black Sea/Sea of Azov between the Dnieper and Donets River.There are parallels with the contemporaneous Samara culture...
or called Mariupol type.
As noted expert on Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Eneolithic Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
D.Ya. Telegin: The Mariupol-type cemeteries seem to have had their origins in the late Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
and endured into the Copper Age, a period of more than two thousand years (c. 6500–4000 cal BC). They were primarily fisher-hunter-gatheres familiar with livestock through exchange
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
or pastoralism
Pastoralism
Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and...
. Anthropologically
Biological anthropology
Biological anthropology is that branch of anthropology that studies the physical development of the human species. It plays an important part in paleoanthropology and in forensic anthropology...
they belonged to massive hypermorphic type of large Europeoid race. Final stages of this culture are described as Post-Mariupol. It was superseded by Sredny Stog culture
Sredny Stog culture
The Sredny Stog culture dates from the 4500-3500 BC. It was situated just north of the Sea of Azov between the Dnieper and the Don...
.
Mariupol site
In 1930, on the territory of the Ukrainian SSRUkrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
, near the town of Mariupol
Mariupol
Mariupol , formerly known as Zhdanov , is a port city in southeastern Ukraine. It is located on the coast of the Azov Sea, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Mariupol is the largest city in Priazovye - a geographical region around Azov Sea, divided by Russia and Ukraine - and is also a popular sea...
, on the shores of the Kalmius river
Kalmius
The Kalmius is one of two rivers flowing through the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The other river called the Kalchik flows into the Kalmius. The Kalmius flows into the Sea of Azov near the Azovstal steel manufacturing combine....
, archaeologist M. Makarenko unearthed a burial site. Distinctive ochre painting was visible on surface of naturally raised area over surrounding marshlands. Makarenko uncovered 122 burials in what seemed to be one trench used as community grave, where younger bodies were added to the older one with respect, what created theory of possible accessibility of grave construction over the time (roof?). The position of the bodies was extended supine with a southeast or northwest orientation.
Grave gifts
Numerous stone tools including microliths, flint axes, bone beads, necklaces of animal teeth, boar-tusks, bone tutuli and other objects of bone. Ceramics is usually lacking.Mariupol culture sites
In addition to the name site mentioned above, other sites are VasylivkaVasylivka
Vasylivka is a city in Zaporizhia Oblast in southern Ukraine. The city is situated on the banks of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper River. Population is 15,592 ....
, Dereivka
Dereivka
Dereivka is an archaeological site located in the village of the same name in Kirovohrad Oblast, Ukraine, on the right bank of the Dneiper. The site dates to ca. 4500—3500 BC and is associated with the Sredny Stog culture....
, Vovnigi (on the Dnieper), Dolinka (Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
), Staronizhesteblievskaya (Kuban
Kuban
Kuban is a geographic region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, Volga Delta and the Caucasus...
Region) and many others.
External links
- Basic facts in English
- The chronology of the Mariupol-type cemeteries of Ukraine re-visited. (by D.Ya. Telegin & co.) Antiquity 2002.
- Settlement and economy in Neolithic Ukraine: a new chronology. (by D.Ya. Telegin & co.) Antiquity 2003.
- Neolithic cultures of the Ukraine and adjacent areas and their chronology.(by D.Ya. Telegin) Journal of World Prehistory 1987.