- Zarubintsy culture
The Zarubintsy culture was one of the major
archaeological culture s which flourished in the area north of theBlack Sea along the upperDnieper andPripyat River s, stretching west towards the Bug River from the 3rd or 2nd centuries BC until the2nd century AD. It was identified ca1899 and is now attested by about 500 sites. It is regarded as the eastern version of thePrzeworsk culture , with which it is usually joined as a single archaeological complexLike its successor, the
Chernyakhov culture , it was of mixed origins, influenced by theCelt icLa Tène culture and thenomad s of thesteppe s (theScythians and theSarmatians ). Later it was also influenced by theRoman Empire 's communities on theDanube . The Scythian-Sarmatian influence is evident, especially inpottery ,weaponry , domestic objects and personal ornaments.The bearers of the culture engaged in agriculture and livestock raising as well as hunting. There is evidence they also traded wild animal skins with Black Sea towns. They practiced cremation burials, with the ashes placed in an urn or pit.
Their ethnic identity has been much discussed, though the dispute continues to be marred by political and ideological motives. Slavic scholars have argued that the Zarubintsy culture was
Proto-Slavic . German scholars have tried to connect the culture to the migrations of certain Germanic tribes such as theScirii , which are recorded by Latin and Greek authors. TheBastarnae , a tribe which came into repeated, often violent contact with the Roman empire from about 200BC, corresponds especially well - both geographically and chronologically - with the Zarubintsy culture. It is uncertain to which linguistic group the Bastarnae belonged.It is possible that the Proto-Slavic people emerged out of this cultural mix; a hypothesis which is supported by Ancient Slavic
hydronym s (river-names) in the region.From the
3rd century and onwards, the culture was overrun by theGoths and became part of theChernyakhov culture .ources and external links
*
J. P. Mallory , "Zarubintsy Culture", "Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture ", Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.
* [http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/content/BPL_Images/Content_store/Sample_chapter/1405117141/Todd_sample%20chapter_The%20early%20germans.pdf The Early Germans]
* [http://www.rastko.org.yu/arheologija/vsedov-slavs.html The Slavs in Antiquity]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.