The First Images in the Scythian “Animal Style”

The author addresses the origin of the oldest images of the Scythian “animal style” of the transitional Zhabotin period, which were found in three remote regions — the North Caucasus, the Lower Don and the Ukrainian Dnieper forest-steppe. There is a close relationship between them, which can only be explained by the fact these images were simultaneously spread from a common external source. All images appeared during the period of the Cimmerian invasion in Transcaucasia in the first half of the 7th century BC. The already developed corpus of systemic images of “animal style” art was brought from the east of Eurasia. The complexes where they were found reflect the intercultural integration of a new small group of eastern nomads with the local military elite. Particular attention is paid to images with solar symbols and “double” images. At the same time, the early examples of the “animal style” are connected with the art of the “animal style” of the Kelermes period, which began during the reign of Ashurbanipal in Assyria

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Elite · Geography · Political science · Reign · Ancient Near East History · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History