Sredny Stog culture
Encyclopedia
The Sredny Stog culture (named after the Ukrainian village of Seredny Stih
where it was first located, for which Sredny Stog is the conventional Russian-language designation) dates from the 4500
-3500 BC. It was situated just north of the Sea of Azov
between the Dnieper and the Don. One of the best known sites associated with this culture is Dereivka
, located on the right bank of the Omelnik, a tributary of the Dnieper, and is the most impressive site within the Sredny Stog culture complex, being about 2,000 square meters in area.
It seems to have had contact with the agricultural Cucuteni-Trypillian culture in the west, and was a contemporary of the Khvalynsk culture
. Yuri Rassamakin suggests that it should be considered an areal term, with at least four distinct cultural elements.
Inhumation was in a ground level pit, not yet capped by a tumulus (kurgan). The deceased was placed on his back with the legs flexed. Ochre
was used.
Expert Dmytro Telegin has divided Sredny Stog into two distinct phases. Phase II (ca. 4000-3500 BC) also knew corded ware pottery, which it may have originated, and stone battle-axes of the type later associated with expanding Indo-European cultures to the West. Most notably, it has perhaps the earliest evidence of horse domestication (in phase II), with finds suggestive of cheek-pieces (psalia).
In the context of the modified Kurgan hypothesis
of Marija Gimbutas
, this pre-kurgan archaeological culture could represent the Urheimat
(homeland) of the Proto-Indo-European language
. The Sredny Stog culture was succeded by the Yamna culture
.
Khortytsia
Khortytsia is a national cultural reserve located on one of the largest islands of the Dnieper river, in Ukraine.The island has played an important role in the history of Ukraine, specially in the history of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. This historic site is located within the city limits of...
where it was first located, for which Sredny Stog is the conventional Russian-language designation) dates from the 4500
5th millennium BC
The 5th millennium BC saw the spread of agriculture from the Near East throughout southern and central Europe.Urban cultures in Mesopotamia and Anatolia flourished, developing the wheel. Copper ornaments became more common, marking the Chalcolithic. Animal husbandry spread throughout Eurasia,...
-3500 BC. It was situated just north of 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...
between the Dnieper and the Don. One of the best known sites associated with this culture is 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....
, located on the right bank of the Omelnik, a tributary of the Dnieper, and is the most impressive site within the Sredny Stog culture complex, being about 2,000 square meters in area.
It seems to have had contact with the agricultural Cucuteni-Trypillian culture in the west, and was a contemporary of the Khvalynsk culture
Khvalynsk culture
The Khvalynsk culture was an Eneolithic culture of the first half of the 5th millennium BC, discovered at Khvalynsk on the Volga in Saratov Oblast, Russia. The culture also is termed the Middle Eneolithic or Developed Eneolithic or Proto-kurgan...
. Yuri Rassamakin suggests that it should be considered an areal term, with at least four distinct cultural elements.
Inhumation was in a ground level pit, not yet capped by a tumulus (kurgan). The deceased was placed on his back with the legs flexed. Ochre
Ochre
Ochre is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues...
was used.
Expert Dmytro Telegin has divided Sredny Stog into two distinct phases. Phase II (ca. 4000-3500 BC) also knew corded ware pottery, which it may have originated, and stone battle-axes of the type later associated with expanding Indo-European cultures to the West. Most notably, it has perhaps the earliest evidence of horse domestication (in phase II), with finds suggestive of cheek-pieces (psalia).
In the context of the modified Kurgan hypothesis
Kurgan hypothesis
The Kurgan hypothesis is one of the proposals about early Indo-European origins, which postulates that the people of an archaeological "Kurgan culture" in the Pontic steppe were the most likely speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language...
of Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas , was a Lithuanian-American archeologist known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of "Old Europe", a term she introduced. Her works published between 1946 and 1971 introduced new views by combining traditional spadework with linguistics and mythological...
, this pre-kurgan archaeological culture could represent the Urheimat
Urheimat
Urheimat is a linguistic term denoting the original homeland of the speakers of a proto-language...
(homeland) of the Proto-Indo-European language
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
. The Sredny Stog culture was succeded by the Yamna culture
Yamna culture
The Yamna culture is a late copper age/early Bronze Age culture of the Southern Bug/Dniester/Ural region , dating to the 36th–23rd centuries BC...
.
Sources
- J. P. Mallory, "Sredny Stog Culture", Encyclopedia of Indo-European CultureEncyclopedia of Indo-European CultureThe Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture is an encyclopedia of Indo-European studies and the Proto-Indo-Europeans. The encyclopedia was edited by J. P. Mallory and Douglas Q. Adams and published in 1997 by Fitzroy Dearborn...
, Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.