Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 47 (4) 2019   DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2019.47.4.077-084

Annotation:  A Neanderthal Refugium in the Eastern Adriatic Ushbulak—A New Stratifi ed Upper Paleolithic Site in Northeastern Kazakhstan Archaeological Findings on Suchu Island (Excavation Area I, 1975) Burial with a Chariot at the Tabyldy Cemetery, Central Kazakhstan Objects of Portable Art from a Bronze Age Cemetery at Tourist-2 The Use of 3D-Modeling for Reconstructing the Appearance and Function of Non-Utilitarian Items (the Ceramic Protomes of Horses from Late Bronze to Early Iron Age Sites in the Southern Taiga Zone of Si “Portrait” Medallions from the Kazym Hoard A Runic Inscription at Sarykoby (Southeastern Altai) The Ussuriysk Tortoise—A 13th Century Jurchen Monument Turkic Inscriptions in Cyrillic on 14th–15th Century Eastern European Lithic Artifacts The Topography of Ritual Buildings in Villages of the Tobolsk Governorate (Late 19th to Early 20th C Mesolithic Human Teeth from Zamostye-2, Moscow Region The Physical Anthropology of the Odino People, Western Siberia A Study of Human Bones from a Dwelling at Ust-Voikar, in the Subarctic Zone of Western Siberia   

Ceramic Protomes of Horses from Late Bronze to Early Iron Age Sites in the Southern Taiga Zone of Siberia

A.P. Borodovsky¹ and A.Y. Trufanov²

¹Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

²Research and Analytical Center of Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Problems “AV KOM – Heritage”, Tokarey 24A, Yekaterinburg, 620028, Russia

This study introduces ceramic protomes of horses from the southern taiga zone of Siberia: specifically, from the Middle Irtysh region (Novotroitskoye I) and the Angara region (Strelkovskoye-2). These artifacts are part of a cross-cultural phenomenon. The analysis of their decorative elements suggests that they represent bridles. Close resemblance to Assyrian reliefs showing bridled horses makes it possible to identify the main details of Middle Eastern horse trappings, such as a bridle, a head-rope, and a breast-collar. Also, Siberian specimens display indirect parallels to the archaic classic tradition of using horse protomes in ritual ceremonies. The most important factor behind the appearance of ceramic horse protomes in the southern taiga zone of Siberia was the adoption of horse-breeding and eventually horse-riding, as evidenced by Late Bronze to Early Iron Age bits, cheek-pieces, and parts of harness from the same region. In the early first millennium BC, horse protomes become a common iconographic marker throughout Eurasia. They were a typical feature of Early Iron Age art, a prestigious symbol widely used in rituals, possibly associated with bronze casting.

Keywords: Late Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, transition, southern taiga zone, Siberia, protomes, ritual items, animal style