Skythian

PRESTIGIOUS ECONOMY OF EARLY NOMADS AND NART EPIC
E. Vdovchenkov PhD (History) Southern Federal University 105, Bolshaya Sadovaya Str., Rostov-on-Don, 344006, Russia evvdovchenkov@sfedu.ru
A. Ivanesko PhD (History) Southern Federal University 105, Bolshaya Sadovaya Str., Rostov-on-Don, 344006, Russia aivanesko@sfedu.ru
The economy of the early nomads of the Eurasian steppes has traditionally been studied as the process of material production, distribution and consumption, but this angle does not allow us to consider the economy through the models embedded in the culture, to think over the symbolic aspects of production and specific forms of behavior. Analysis of a number of phenomena in the life of nomadic societies is possible within the framework of the prestigious economy complex. An adequate explanatory model and language of prestigious economy institutes description are developed within the confines of the substantive theory, which considers tribal and archaic economies as qualitatively different from the modern economy. Elements of the prestigious economy in the early nomadic societies are the main subject of this article. The traditional paradigm in the early nomads’ economy study is based on a certain sum of the sources used (written tradition, archeology, linguistics). Of great value for the study of the early nomads’ economy is the data of the Ossetian Nart epic, which carries on the Scythian and SarmatianAlanian epic tradition. The article analyzes the manifestations of the prestigious economy in the early nomads’ society as well as its reflection in the materials of the Ossetian Nart epic. Special attention is paid to the role of cattle as a universal value equivalent for the early nomads and in the epic world, institutions of burglarious raid (balc) and ritual feast (kₒyvd), gift exchange procedures (gifting friends and epic enemies) and redistribution of the spoils of war and sacral offerings. Specific behavior models, such as demonstrative destruction of prestigious objects, are analyzed using the epic material. The authors conclude that there is a principal propinquity between economic practices and related cultural inurements in the materials of the Ossetian Nart epic and that of the societies of Scythians and Sarmatians-Alans of the Western part of Eurasia. Keywords: nomadism, early nomads, substantivism, prestigious economy, gift exchange, redistribution, Ossetian Nart epic

The burial mounds of the warlike horse riding nomads
of Eurasia, so called “kurgans” are almost very complex
archaeological monuments of the Early Iron age.
These sites represent not only a single burial but consist
of further burials, hoards, offering complexes and
cultural installations, which we call “kurgan periphery”.
The Trans-Volga-Steppe forms a transit-corridor between
Asia and Europe housing thousands of kurgans.
However, so far, only very few of them could be surely
ascribed to the Sauromatian culture between 6–4th
century BC and even less kurgans of this époque where
archaeologically investigated. Moreover, the periphery
of these kurgans was never in the scope of archaeological
research. For the first time we undertake
geophysical prospection in this research area.
In the framework of a joint Russian-German research
collaboration, we undertook a high-resolution magnetometer
survey at a range of selected sites. The project
aimed to detect and to describe so far unknown
features and findings in the surrounding and the periphery
of kurgans. Hereby we were able to widen considerably
the knowledge about the spectra of findings.
We show that even the whole landscape changed
dramatically. Some kurgans show quadratic features
inside which were partly made from adobe (sundried)
bricks, some others where made from rammed earth
or adobe bricks.
Many findings that we discovered for the first time in
the Volga steppe have their parallels in similar cultures
like the ones of Kazakhstan, Central Asia or on the
western part of the Volga and in the Northern Caucasus.
This finding indicates the existence of a wide
communication network among the Iron Age horse
riding nomads of the Eurasian Steppe.