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In the first half of the 3rd millennium BC in the steppe Ukraine, stone tombs with an entrance appeared which are similar in design to the burial structures of the Globular Amphora culture. Two were investigated in the Molochnaya River basin near the Kamyana Mohyla monumental site. These unique structures differ from the stone cists of the Yamnaya culture as well as the burial constructions of the preceding Eneolithic period. Probably, the distribution of stone tombs with an entrance in the North Pontic area is connected with the influence of the Globular Amphora culture.

Quiver sets and and their associated grave goods are extremely important for studying different aspects of the Early Scythian culture, and, in particular, for determining the chronology of the Early Scythian period. This article is devoted to an analysis of quiver sets found in the south of Eastern Europe together with imported Greek amphorae of the first half of the 6th century BC. Сагайдачні набори та інші категорії поховального інвентарю, що корелюються з ними, надзвичайно важливі для вивчення багатьох аспектів ранньоскіфської культури, і зокрема, визначення хронології її різних етапів. Cтаття присвячена розгляду сагайдачних наборів, виявлених на півдні Східної Європи разом з імпортними грецькими амфорами першої половини VI ст. до н. е. виробництва Мілета, Клазомен або Теоса (Лебеді V, курган 11 поховання 8; Новоолександрівка, курган 7 поховання 8; Бушуйка, курган 2 поховання 10; Хапри, курган 1 поховання 25; Китайгород; Реп’яхувата Могила, поховання 2). Поховальні комплекси, що включають ці предмети, локалізуються на території від Прикубання на сході до Дніпровського лісостепового Правобережжя на заході. Важливість згаданих вище комплексів, полягає не тільки в присутності в них надійних хроноіндікторов (амфори і деякі інші предмети), але і інформативності самих сагайдачних наборів, що робить їх надійним джерелом для вивчення особливостей розвитку скіфської стрілецької зброї VI ст. до н. е. Наконечники стріл, представлені, головним чином, бронзовими втульчатими виробами, що характеризуються значною різноманітністю. Кількість наконечників в сагайдаках в більшості випадків варіює від 42 до 155 екземплярів. Серед дволопатевих і трилопатевих наконечників стріл виділяються типологічні групи, поширення яких пов’язується безпосередньо з першою половиною VI ст. до н. е. Серед дволопатевих наконечників, це екземпляри з овальною голівкою і довгою виступаючою втулкою без шипів, а також шипасті наконечники зі склепінчастою формою пера, найбільша ширина якого знаходиться в його основі, а закінчення лопатей були косо зрізані. Серед трилопатевих, це наконечники без шипів з башнеподібною голівкою, а також вироби з голівками листоподібних обрисів, що мають максимальне розширення у нижній частині, а також високу втулку з шипом, яка становить близько половини довжини наконечника.

High mobility among Scythian populations is often cited as the driving force behind pan-regional interactions and the spread of new material culture c.700–200 bce, when burgeoning socioeconomic interactions between the Greeks, Scythian steppe pastoralists and the agro-pastoral tribes of the forest-steppe played out across the region. While interregional mobility central to warrior lifestyles is assumed to have been a defining feature of Scythian populations, strikingly few studies have investigated human mobility among communities located along the steppe and forest-steppe boundary zone. Here, we document movement and dietary intake of individuals interred at Bel'sk, a large urban settlement in Ukraine, through strontium, oxygen and carbon isotope analyses of human tooth enamel. The results provide direct evidence for limited mobility among populations from Bel'sk, demonstrating the movement into, and out of, urban complexes. Strontium and oxygen isotope analyses reveal that groups at Bel'sk remained local to the urban complex. Dietary intake, reflected in carbon isotopes, was based on domesticated crops and livestock herding. The combination of low mobility alongside dietary evidence suggests local groups engaged in sedentary agro-pastoral subsistence strategies that contrast sharply with the picture of highly mobile Scythian herders dependent on livestock portrayed in historical sources. Introduction Materials and methods - Establishing a local 87Sr/86Sr composition for Bel’sk - The Bel’sk archaeological complex: Settlements and cemeteries Results - Archaeological human 87Sr/86Sr values - Human δ18O - Human δ13C Discussion - Low Sr isotope variation indicates localized mobility - Difficulties of estimating mobility using O isotope variation - Millet consumption among pastoral populations based on C isotope values - Mobility and diet of urban populations Conclusions

The Scythians are frequently presented, in popular and academic thought alike, as highly mobile warrior nomads who posed a great economic risk to growing Mediterranean empires from the Iron Age into the Classical period. Archaeological studies provide evidence of first millennium BCE urbanism in the steppe while historical texts reference steppe agriculture, challenging traditional characterizations of Scythians as nomads. However, there have been few direct studies of the diet and mobility of populations living in the Pontic steppe and forest-steppe during the Scythian era. Here, we analyse strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope data from human tooth enamel samples, as well as nitrogen and carbon isotope data of bone collagen, at several Iron Age sites across Ukraine commonly associated with ‘Scythian’ era communities. Our multi-isotopic approach demonstrates generally low levels of human mobility in the vicinity of urban locales, where populations engaged in agro-pastoralism focused primarily on millet agriculture. Some individuals show evidence for long-distance mobility, likely associated with significant inter-regional connections. We argue that this pattern supports economic diversity of urban locales and complex trading networks, rather than a homogeneous nomadic population. Introduction Materials and methods - Cultural background - Radiocarbon dating - Bioarchaeological methods - Sampling for isotope analysis - Strontium isotope ratios of ancient humans - Geologic substrates and strontium isotope ratio estimation - Stable oxygen and carbon isotope values of ancient humans - Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of human bone collagen - Modern environmental and isotopic landscapes for carbon and oxygen isotope data - Statistical analysis Results - Individual mobility at Scythian cemeteries - Chronological variation in human mobility - Range of diets among Scythian era populations - Faunal and plant isotope references to understand human diet Discussion - Mobility strategies among Scythian era populations - Scythian diets: A complex Iron Age steppe Conclusions

Aim: We provide the first European-scale geospatial training set relating the charcoal signal in surface lake sediments to fire parameters (number, intensity and area) recorded by satellite moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors. Our calibration is intended for quantitative reconstructions of key fire-regime parameters by using sediment sequences of microscopic (MIC from pollen slides, particles 10-500 µm) and macroscopic charcoal (MAC from sieves, particles >100 µm). Location: North-south and east-west transects across Europe, covering the mediterranean, temperate, alpine, boreal and steppe biomes. Time period: Lake sediments and MODIS active fire and burned area products were collected for the years 2012-2015. Methods: Cylinder sediment traps were installed in lakes to annually collect charcoal particles in sediments. We quantitatively assessed the relationships between MIC and MAC influx (particles/cm2/year) and the MODIS-derived products to identify source areas of charcoal and the extent to which lake-sediment charcoal is linked to fire parameters across the continent. Results: Source area of sedimentary charcoal was estimated to a 40-km radius around sites for both MIC and MAC particles. Fires occurred in grasslands and in forests, with grass morphotypes of MAC accurately reflecting the burned fuel-type. Despite the lack of local fires around the sites, MAC influx levels reached those reported for local fires. Both MIC and MAC showed strong and highly significant relationships with the MODIS-derived fire parameters, as well as with climatic variation along a latitudinal temperature gradient. Main conclusions: MIC and MAC are suited to quantitatively reconstructing fire number and fire intensity on a regional scale. However, burned area may only be estimated using MAC. Local fires may be identified by using several lines of evidence, e.g. analysis of large particles (>Â600 µm), magnetic susceptibility and sedimentological data. Our results offer new insights and applications to quantitatively reconstruct fires and to interpret available sedimentary charcoal records.