Scythian Animal Style of Siverski Dinets Basin

The paper is focused on the Scythian animal style of the Siverskyi Donets basin (modern Kharkiv region of Ukraine). The authors managed to take into account 62 original images made in the traditions of the animal style, which decorate 55 objects — ceremonial weapons, horse equipment, costume details, cult and ritual objects. 17 images convey the image of a bird of prey, 16 — ungulates, 14 — predators; 4 images reproduce the limbs of predators, 5 — the image of a griffin; other images include hares, snakes, fish, and a hippocampus (6 images). A number of new artefacts that have not been published before are introduced into scientific circulation. The authors come to the conclusion about the derivative nature of the animal style of the Siverskyi Donets basin of the archaic period. The analysis of analogies points to the Vorskla basin as the territory from which the Scythian animal style spread to the Siverskyi Donets. A regional feature of the archaic and early classical period is the original embodiment of images in bone and a relatively large number of bird head images on the grips of iron knives. In classical times, the animalistic style of Siversky Donets reflects the general trends characteristic of Scythia, in particular the appearance of new images and decorative techniques. The image of a deer is gaining particular popularity, some images of which have clearly local features (deer in stride). Some of the images (mainly those related to horse harness) — a curled-up wolf predator, the face of a feline predator, the limbs of predators, protomes of birds and ungulates — are characterized by traditional features of Scythian art itself. But most of the images embodied in precious metals (deer, griffin, feline predator, hare) are significantly influenced by the Hellenic-Scythian artistic tradition, which, however, did not eliminate the original elements of the Scythian animal style itself

Structural basin · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Environmental and Biological Research in Conflict Zones · Eurasian Exchange Networks