Unusual Context of Ceremonial Akinakai of Eurasia
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TOPAL, Denis. Unusual Context of Ceremonial Akinakai of Eurasia. In: Stratum plus, 2020, nr. 3, pp. 211-222. ISSN 1608-9057.
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Numărul 3 / 2020 / ISSN 1608-9057 /ISSNe 1857-3533

Unusual Context of Ceremonial Akinakai of Eurasia


Pag. 211-222

Topal Denis
 
High Anthropological School
 
 
Disponibil în IBN: 12 octombrie 2020


Rezumat

There are known at least 69 swords decorated with precious metals from 52 locations of Eurasia in 8th-4th centuries BC. The ceremonial swords and daggers are usually longer (than ordinary items) and older (than the rest of the grave goods). The overwhelming majority of finds of swords and daggers of the Iranian world are associated with aristocratic burials. The closest practice of conspicuous consumption for the Iranian nomads became the funeral one, for which the weapon turned into ceremonial (as a rule, it was covered especially with a thin gold leaf). It is easy to see that the Iranian ceremonial weaponry, found in isolation from the concentrations of graves: From Ziwiye, Oxus and Vettersfelde, is outside the nomadic world and possibly designates its borders for different periods. And the very tradition of ceremonial swords, placed in a funeral context, pulsates throughout the history of Iranian-speaking nomads. It appears in the finale of the pre-Scythian period. The context of its appearance is the fading practice of deposition of the swords and daggers in hoards, linked to the traditions of Late Bronze Age. Then the tradition of golden swords is actively manifested in the Scythian time and after a while, it is revived already in the Sarmatian period. In the Scythian time, the tradition of ceremonial swords is accompanied by chronological lacunae that run between the main links of the periodization chain (the early 7th, early 6th, the late 5th centuries BC). Even though the maximum number of Scythian swords and daggers (in full accordance with the Gauss's Law) falls on the Middle Scythian period, the bulk of ceremonial forms refers to the finale of the Classical Scythian culture, illustrating the thesis that such conspicuous consumption coincides with periods of political instability and crises. And indeed, after the period of maximum distribution of the ceremonial akinakai in the third quarter of the 4th century BC, after just one generation, we see the disappearance of the classical Scythian culture, along with its characteristic weaponry, horse harness, animal style and monumental funeral architecture.

Cuvinte-cheie
Akinakai, Daggers, Hoards, nomads, Scythian period, Swords