Ananinskaya culture is the archaeological culture of the Finno-Ugric tribes in the early Iron Age, which dates back to the VIII-III centuries BC. It flourished in the area of the Kama, Volga, Vyatka, Belaya rivers. They called the Ananyin culture of the Iron Age according to the burial ground excavated in 1858 in the villages of Ananyino near Yelabuga. Since then, the study of ancient settlements, villages, burial grounds and ritual places began.
general information
According to official data, Ananinskaya culture occurred as a result of the merger of the Kama population with the ethnic group of the Trans-Urals. Her fortifications were located on the headlands of rivers, they were strengthened by ramparts, ditches, surrounded by wooden walls. In the cultural layers there are many bones, for this reason they were given the name "bone-bearing". People who inhabited the territory of the Middle Volga region at that time lived in log ground and semi-dug houses. They had pockets of stone.
Ananinskie burial grounds were unpaved, sometimes very extensive - 1,100 burials each. The grave pits were both oval and rectangular, with the feet or head of the deceased laid down to the river. A ritual of corpses in the pits was spread, over which separate "houses of the dead" were built. Sometimes the dead were burned.
Weapons, tools next to men and jewelry next to women were discovered in the Ananyin burial grounds. For the most part, people were buried singly, but paired burials are found along with group ones - 3-16 bones each. In addition, excavations related to the Ananjing archaeological culture revealed that these ancient people performed memorial rituals. Traces of bonfires, animal bones, partial burials, repeated dismemberments were found in burial grounds. On the tombstones depicted dead soldiers, weapons.
About the population
People of Anan'inskaya culture were mainly engaged in cattle breeding, slaughtering, hunting, fishing. The processing of copper, iron, and bronze was very popular here. Weaving, spinning, processing of leather, bones were also common, wooden and clay dishes were actively made. In the Ulyanovsk region it was found many molded vessels, which were decorated with pits, cord prints, serrated stamps.
In the early years, bronze and iron tools, weapons coexisted. Trade relations between Anan'in culture and the Caucasian, Siberian tribes, Scythians are clearly traced. The Scythian influence is clearly traced after the study of the Chuvash burial grounds, where horse heads made of bronze and waist hooks were found.
About society
It is noted that the society here was patrimonial, patrimonial. To a large extent male roles prevailed. It was the beginning of social stratification. Representatives of this culture are considered the founders of the Udmurts, Komi-Permyaks, Ugric tribes. Around the 2nd century BC, the Pianobor culture began to develop at Kama, and descendants of Ananin residents also lived here.
About settlements
The earliest buildings of this culture were located from the mouth of the Belaya River to the city of Birsk. Here fortified settlements were built. They covered both high and low banks of the largest rivers. However, by the 7th century BC, most of the settlements were moved to the high banks of the rivers, they began to be protected by ramparts, ditches. A little later, as it was established, a stream of a new settlement began to come here - Mongoloid skulls began to appear.
About religion
Accurate information about the religion of ancient local settlers has not been established. It has been suggested that here in the Iron Age two cult traditions combined with different origins. One came from the southern world of Iran and the Caucasus, which is understandable when objects from those areas are discovered. The second line refers to the shamanistic cult, which was characteristic of the inhabitants of taiga zones.
Riddles
The fate of the Ananyans was mysterious. In the 7th century BC, an outflow of population was observed here, and in the 5th century BC, the Volga regions of Kazan were desolate. From the 4th century BC, people left the eastern regions. This is probably due to the increased incursions of the Scythians and Sauromats, which thus captured prey.
About industries
Mostly they were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. Moreover, there is evidence that the Ananin people were breeding almost all modern domestic animals. Many iron and bone hoes, axes, petioles, horse harnesses, and sinkers were discovered here.
The local residents were armed with arrowheads and spears of the Scythian type, swords, axes, daggers, maces. There are beautifully decorated axes, which were a symbol of power.
It is believed that representatives of this culture were mainly not Caucasians, they belonged to the Mongoloid type. However, a lot of European-type skulls were found here. By and large, a fragment of eastern peoples lived here accidentally making their way to this area. Despite the predominantly eastern appearance, these people led a Scythian life.
About language
Most likely, this people belonged to the Finno-Ugric language group. They are identified with the Tissagets, Argillies, about whom the ancient Greek historian Herodotus writes. He placed these peoples in the north-east of the Scythians and Sarmatians. He does not write anything about the appearance of the Tissageti, since, probably, they did not differ from the Caucasoid tribes, and he describes the Argilles as Mongoloids.
About Anan'in burial ground
This burial ground was located on the right bank of the Kama River, under the city of Elabuga. It was discovered randomly when spring spills brought here human bones with ancient objects.
The first excavation was carried out in 1858, the report states that the ancient things discovered here were so curious that they instantly attracted the attention of representatives of Russian science.
Soon, secondary excavations were carried out, during which it was possible to restore in parts the carved stone, which previously lay on the cemetery. The burial itself was a mound that reached 1 fathom in height, and in a circle - 219 steps. As the old-timers said, on its surface were stones with images. In the mound itself, a round shaft was found with 28 steps in a circle. Inside were 3 bones with scorched earth, clay and coals. In total, approximately 50 bones were found in the vicinity.
Noteworthy was the fact that the products found here were bronze, and stone, and iron. Everything indicated that the people who lived here lived at the junction of the Bronze and Iron Ages. The epochal remoteness of their life was indicated by the complete absence of a sign of writing and coins, which always had a place to be in later burials. In addition, the tools found here were made rather crudely, and the axes were a development of stone axes characteristic of the Stone Age of northern Russia.
At the moment, more than 100 monuments of Ananin culture are known. Settlements in the Volga region were seasonal. There were winter buildings - log houses with three to five crowns and summer ones - huts made of poles with birch bark and a log house with one crown. To insulate the home, a Zavalinka was erected along its perimeter. In such buildings, several families of 5-7 people could live.
The Shikhovsky burial ground is unique in the Komi Republic, which was discovered in the 1990s. 36 burials were found here, some of which were in boats. They found a lot of weapons, figures of lizards and bees, objects of the waist-set. Several cultural layers were highlighted here.
So, the cultural layers of Lasta, Perny, Charkabozh and Yashamor appeared on the basis of the Lebyazh culture in mixing it with the Trans-Ural and Prikamsky, Indo-European groups.
In the rock paintings of Anan'in culture, most often there are images of a person or a bird. They are found on metal products. This is probably a reference to the belief in the ability of the soul to fly into an unknown world.
Drawings of predators and livestock, flying birds from a human face are reflected in clothing and horse harness. Often come across drawings of a man with weapons and decorations that were knocked out on tombstones. There are many clay female statuettes. In some areas, such finds are especially frequent, which is associated with the strong traditions of the motherhood and the cult of women. In the Lower Prikamye, on the contrary, patriarchal relations were strengthened. There are many paired images with emphasized gender differences.
There are many images of women surrounded by animals. This is due to the veneration of the female mistress of animals. The animal style of the Scythian-Sarmatians is clearly evident in certain details.