TOWARDS FUNCTIONAL INTERPRETATION OF THE HORN OBJECT FROM MOUND NEAR VARNA VILLAGE (CHELYABINSK REGION)

Abstract

The functional definition of archaeological artifacts is an important component in the reconstruction process of the economic, social, war and other life spheres of ancient people. This is especially true for societies that have left no written sources. The study aims at functional interpretation of the horn animal-style object based on a comprehensive analysis of the item. The item was found in the Early nomadic burial ground near the village Varna, in the mound of kurgan 2 (Chelyabinsk region, excavated by V. S. Stokolos). The artifact under study has been referred to in the archaeological literature as a “bone cheek-piece”, “fang-pendant”, or “horn” for many years. All these definitions raised certain doubts. The authors of the article revised the opinions suggested by scientists since the discovery of the object and then a different interpretation was proposed and proved. The article provides a detailed description of the morphology of the artifact. It made it possible to draw conclusions about its misinterpretation. The functional and visual characteristics of the object demonstrate, that the artefact was used as the horn top of some kind of staff, depicting feline predators. In the worldview of the nomadic communities of the Eurasian steppes in the 4th‒6th centuries BCE, the images of predators were considered as a symbol of power. Items of this kind could be markers of the high social status of the buried, and they possibly belonged to the ritual sphere.