Scythian cultures

Horseman from the Pazyryk burials, c.300 BC, one of the most famous archaeological discoveries from the Scythian cultures.[1] Equestrianism is one of the chief characteristics of the Scythian cultures.

The Scythian cultures emerged on the Eurasian Steppe at the dawn of the Iron Age in the early 1st millennium BC. The origins of the Scythian cultures has long been a source of debate among archaeologists.[3] The Pontic–Caspian steppe was initially thought to have been their place of origin, until the Soviet archaeologist Aleksey Terenozhkin suggested a Central Asian origin.[2][4]

Recent excavations at Arzhan in Tuva, Russia have uncovered the earliest Scythian-style kurgan yet found.[5] Similarly the earliest examples of the animal style art which would later characterize the Scythian cultures have been found near the upper Yenisei River and North China, dating to the 10th century BC. Based on these finds, it has been suggested that the Scythian cultures emerged at an early period in southern Siberia.[2] It is probably in this area the Scythian way of life initially developed.[1][6] Recent genetic studies have however suggested an origin in the Srubnaya culture,[7] or in the eastern Pontic–Caspian steppe and the southern Urals.[4]

The Scythian cultures quickly came to stretch from the Pannonian Basin in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east.[8] There were however significant cultural differences between east and west.[4] Over time they came in contact with other ancient civilizations, such as Assyria, Greece and Persia. In the late 1st millennium BC, peoples belonging to the Scythian cultures expanded into Iran (Sakastan), India (Indo-Scythians) and the Tarim Basin.[9] In the early centuries AD, the western Scythian cultures came under pressure from the Goths and other Germanic peoples.[9] The end of the Scythian period in archaeology has been set at approximately the 2nd century AD.[1]

Horse attacked by tiger, Ordos culture, 4th-1st century BCE. Scythian cultures are characteristic for their art, which was made in the animal style.

The Scythian cultures are characterized by similar, yet not identical, shapes for horses' bridles, weapons, and art-types. Their art was made in the so-called animal style, and is referred to as Scythian art. The three characteristics are known as the Scythian trias.[10][15]

In the beginning of the 18th century, Russian explorers began uncovering Scythian finds throughout their newly acquired territories. Significant Scythian archaeological finds have been uncovered up to recent times. A major find are the Pazyryk burials, which were discovered on the Ukok Plateau in the 1940s. The finds are notably for revealing the form of mummification practiced by the Scythians.[1] Another important find is the Issyk kurgan.[6]

The Golden Man of Issyk Kurgan, ca. 4th-3rd century BC

The Scythians were excellent craftsmen with complex cultural traditions. Horse sacrifices are common in Scythian graves, and several of the sacrificed horses were evidently old and well-kept, indicating that the horse played a prominent role in Scythian society.[1] They played a prominent role in the network connecting ancient civilizations known as the Silk Road.[9] The homogeneity of patrilineal lineages and diversity of matrineal lineages of samples from Scythian burial sites indicate that Scythian society was strongly patriarchal.[15]

Numerous archaeological finds have revealed that the Scythians led a warlike life: the competition for territory must have been fierce. The numerous weapons placed in graves are indicative of a highly militarized society. Scythian warfare was primarily conducted through mounted archery. They were the first great power to perfect this tactic. The Scythians developed a new powerful type of bow known as the Scythian bow. Sometimes they would poison their arrows.[1]

In a 2015 study published in Nature, the remains of an individual from Samara Oblast, Russia, dated ca. 380–200 BCE and ascribed to the Scythian cultures, was analyzed. The individual was found to belong to haplogroup R1a1a1b2a2a.[21][22] This lineage is associated with earlier Srubnaya culture of the Pontic–Caspian steppe, which again traces its origin to the Yamnaya culture.[7]

In 2017, a genetic study of various Scythian cultures was published in Nature Communications. The study suggested that the Scythian cultures on the Pontic-Caspian steppe and the Eastern Steppe emerged independently of each other, and were a mixture of Yamnaya culture-related and East Asian ancestry. Much of this admixture probably happened during the earlier expansion of the Afanasievo culture and Andronovo culture onto the Eastern Steppe. The peoples of the areas of the Scythian cultures were more closely related to each other than modern populations in the same areas, and there appears to have been significant gene flow between them,[1] mostly mitochondrial lineages from east to west.[2] It was suggested that the source of this gene flow may have contributed to the uniformity of the Scythian cultures. Modern populations with a close genetic relationship to the peoples of the Scythian cultures were found to be those living in close proximity to the remains examined, suggesting genetic continuity.[2]

Another 2017 genetic study, published in Scientific Reports, reported similar results. It found and increasing number of east Eurasian mitochondrial lineages among the eastern Scythian cultures. The origins of presence of east Eurasian lineages in Scythian samples was explained as a result of admixture between migrants of European ancestry and women of east Eurasian origin. The authors of the study suggested that the Srubnaya culture was the source of the Scythian cultures of at least the Pontic steppe.[7]

In 2018, a genetic study of the earlier Srubnaya culture, and later peoples of the Scythian cultures, such as Cimmerians, Scythians and Sarmatians, was published in Science Advances. While members of the Srubnaya culture were found to be carriers of haplogroup R1a1a1, which showed a major expansion during the Bronze Age, the Cimmerian, Scythian and Sarmatian samples examined were found to be mostly carriers of haplogroup R1b1a1a2, which is characteristic of the earlier Yamnaya culture, although one Sarmatian studied carried haplogroup R1a1a1. Peoples of the Scythian cultures were also found to have a presence of east Eurasian mitochondrial lineages, which are completely absent among the Srubnaya. Groups of the Scythian cultures in the west showed close genetic affinities with the Afanasievo culture and the Andronovo culture, while groups in the east, such as those of the Aldy-Bel culture and Pazyryk culture, showed closer genetic affinities with the Yamnaya culture. Genetic data found negligible evidence of any mobility among populations in the Far East, suggesting the eastern Pontic–Caspian steppe and the southern Urals as the main source of origin of the western Iron Age nomads. Rather than being directly descended from the Srubnaya, the Scythian cultures probably had a shared origin in the Yamnaya culture. The study corroborated the contention that the peoples of the Scythian cultures did not consist of a single homogeneous group, but rather a number of diverse peoples with an earlier common origin.[4]

In 2018, a study of mtDNA from remains of the Tagar culture, which is considered a Scythian culture, was published in PLOS One. Remains from the early years of the Tagar culture were found to be closely related to those of contemporary Scythians on the Pontic steppe. The authors of the study suggested that the source of this genetic similarity was an eastwards migration of West Eurasians during the Bronze Age, which probably played a role in the formation of the Tagar culture.[23]

In 2019, a genetic study of remains from the Aldy-Bel culture, which is considered a Scythian culture, was published in Human Genetics. The majority of the samples (9 out of 17) were found to be carriers of haplogroup R1a, including two carriers of haplogroup R1a1a1b2-Z93. East Asian admixture was also detected, as 6 haplogroup Q-L54 (including 5 in Sagly culture) and 1 haplogroup N-M231 were excavated. The haplogroup of the remaining 1 sample is said to be uncertain in the paper Probably R). (The significant genetic differences found between Scythian groups of the Pontic Steppe and South Siberia suggest that these were of completely different paternal origins, with almost no paternal gene flowe between them.[lower-alpha 5]

In 2019, a genetic study of various peoples belonging to the Scythian cultures, such as Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians and Saka, was published in Current Biology. The remains of all groups were mostly found to be carriers of haplogroup R1a and various subclades of it. Haplogroup Q samples (2/Y-DNA identified 16) were also found. The samples were found to be more closely related to modern-day Europeans than Central Asian or Siberian populations [3]

• Eurasian nomads