Linguists believe that the primitive tribes that settled Europe 10 - 12 thousand years ago spoke languages dating back to a relatively single language family, conventionally called Nostratic. However, as the tribes settled, linguistic alienation began to increase. From the Nostratic family, the Indo-European family of languages emerged, which included the ancestors of most of the peoples of Eastern Europe and the linguistically related peoples of Asia.
The differentiation of the Indo-European community turned out to be closely related to ethnic processes. Much remains unclear here. The fact is that the problems of the origin of peoples - ethnogenesis - are always among the most complex, rarely amenable to an unambiguous solution. The beginning of the formation of an ethnic community, as a rule, dates back to very distant eras of the primitive communal system. The researcher is almost deprived of the opportunity to judge the language spoken by the tribes that left archaeological monuments. Language is one of the most significant signs of an ethnic community. One should also keep in mind the numerous migrations of tribes and peoples and the processes of assimilation. When studying ethnogenetic problems, it is necessary to take into account data from a number of related scientific disciplines - archaeology, historical linguistics, anthropology, etc. There is practically no material that allows us to judge the linguistic and ethnic affiliation of the tribes of the Stone Age and partly the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages. Evidence for the study of ethnogenesis in the Iron Age is somewhat more widely presented, however, even here there are more questions than scientifically based answers. Therefore, researchers prefer to talk about the existence of certain ethnic groups. It is also clear that the peoples inhabiting Russia do not have a single ancestor - the ethnocultural processes that took place in Eastern Europe were so complex and diverse.
What tribes and peoples lived on the territory of Russia in the 1st millennium BC?
In Eastern Europe, tribes were formed that spoke Finno-Ugric languages (the ancestors of modern Sami, Estonians, Komi, Udmurts, Mari and Mordovians). It is believed that these tribes settled in the Eastern Baltic already in the Neolithic, and in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. spread throughout the entire forest belt of the Volga region and the Volga-Oka interfluve (the Dyakovo, Gorodets, and Ananyevsk cultures of the early Iron Age are associated with the Finno-Ugric tribes). Later, in the areas of Finno-Ugric settlement, tribes began to appear that spoke Slavic and Baltic languages.
North of the territory occupied by the Utro-Finns and Baltoslavs, as well as in Western Siberia and the ancestors of the Nenets, Enets, Nganasans, Selkups, Khanty and Mansi settled in the Yenisei basin. The ancestors of the Evenks, Lamuts, Udeges, Nanais, as well as the Chukchi, Eskimos, Koryaks, Itelmens, Aleuts and Nivkhs settled in Eastern Siberia and the Far East.
In the forest-steppe and southern taiga regions of Eastern Europe and the Trans-Urals lived tribes that belonged to the Iranian language group of Indo-Europeans (tribes of the Srubnaya culture). Ethnologists talk about the genetic connection between the tribes of the Srubnaya culture and the ancient Yamnaya Neolithic culture. Iranian languages were spoken by numerous tribes of Southern Siberia. To the south of Baikal lived the ancestors of the current Turkic-speaking and Mongol-speaking peoples, who later played a large role in the ethnic history of Siberia and Eastern Europe.
Let us dwell in some detail on the ethnic history of the Slavic peoples. In the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. to European territory future Russia Peoples who spoke ancient European languages, dating back to the Indo-European group, penetrated from Asia Minor. As they settled, large groups of tribes separated from them and settled on new lands. Thus, a huge territory - the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, a significant part of Central and Eastern Europe - was inhabited by tribes who spoke Balto-Slavic languages. The lands on which the ancestors of modern Slavs and Balts settled were limited in the west by the Dniester and Vistula rivers, in the east by the upper reaches of the Western Dvina and Oka.
Since these tribes constantly communicated with each other, their languages were very close. Dwellings, clothing, household utensils, and other items were similar material culture. Therefore, it has not yet been possible to establish exactly which archaeological monuments of the 2nd - 1st millennium BC. were left by the ancestors of the Slavs, and which ones were left by the ancestors of the Balts. In addition to hunting and fishing, they were engaged in forest cattle breeding and shifting agriculture.
Around the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The Baltoslavs split into Baltic and Slavic tribes. An extremely important process for ethnogenesis was completed: the Slavs realized their ethnic independence, differentiated themselves culturally and linguistically from other, non-Slavic tribes. From now on, both the Slavic and Baltic tribes will have different historical destinies.
However, the Slavic community did not remain united. Soon it divided into three large groups: southern, western and eastern. The South Slavs settled in the Balkans. They became the ancestors of modern Bulgarians, Slovenes, Macedonians, Serbs and Croats. Western Slavs, moving after the Germanic tribes, they reached the banks of the Elbe, Main and Danube rivers; The history of the Czechs, Slovaks and Poles is connected with them. And only the eastern group remained in the territories occupied by the Slavs for initial stage development of European lands. The Eastern Slavs became the ancestors of the Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.
The further formation of the ethnic map of our country turned out to be associated with the settlement of peoples, primarily the Eastern Slavs, who more intensively developed the expanses of Eastern Europe than other tribes. In addition, the ethnic picture in the 1st millennium AD. will be affected by the Great Migration.
The anthropological composition of the East Slavic peoples can be more accurately assessed if it is further examined against a broad background neighboring peoples speaking Baltic, Finno-Ugric and Turkic languages. Let us begin this consideration with the peoples of the Baltic states.The most representative data on Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, as well as Livonians, were collected during the Baltic anthropological expedition, carried out in 1952-54 under the leadership of the Moscow anthropologist N.N. Cheboksarov [Vitov et al., 1959], as well as during parallel works of the Riga anthropologist R.Ya. Denisova. These surveys provided data on 50 groups. All of them, as well as materials on 9 groups of northern Belarusians and groups of Lithuanian Poles examined by R.Ya. Denisova, were subjected to canonical analysis.
On the graph of the first two canonical variables (Fig. II-13), 7 small clusters can be distinguished, including population groups that are relatively similar in anthropological characteristics and are settled in compact territories. At the top of the graph you can see two clusters uniting groups of Estonians. On the right side there is an association of Estonians inhabiting the coastal zone from the Gulf of Finland to the Gulf of Riga (A), including the island of Saaremaa, as well as Livs. To the left of the graph is a cluster uniting Estonians living in the central and eastern parts of the country (B). It also includes the Setu Estonians, a special ethnographic group living in Russia in the west of the Pskov region. When comparing the cluster of coastal and continental Estonians, significant differences can be found. Thus, the former have an average of 2.5-3 cm greater body length, a slightly more elongated head shape (the cephalic index is on average 80.9% versus 81.2%), a noticeably taller and somewhat narrower face, lighter hair and higher growth* of beard. A similar picture can be seen for two clusters uniting groups of Latvians and located in the upper part of the graph. And here, the right cluster (C) unites groups settled along the Baltic coast. The second cluster (D) includes Latvians living in the central and northern zones of the country. At the same time, coastal Estonians and Latvians, as can be seen in the graph, are quite close to each other. The same can be said about continental Estonians and central-northern Latvians. Therefore, we can talk about the existence of two anthropological types: western - coastal and eastern - continental.
The head of the Baltic anthropological expedition, N.N. Cheboksarov, found analogies for Western Estonians and Latvians in the population living in Northwestern Europe, in the settlement zone of the so-called Atlanto-Baltic race. Of course, in the Baltic countries the anthropological properties of this race are not as clearly expressed as among the population of Sweden or Norway. This racial variant, widespread along the Baltic coast of Estonia and Latvia, was called Western Baltic by N.N. Cheboksarov. For eastern Estonians, central and northern Latvians, again, following N.N. Cheboksarov, the term East Baltic type can be used.
1 - Estonians; 2 - Estonians-Seto; 3 - Livs; 4 - Latvians; 5 - Lithuanians;
6 - Belarusians; 7 - Poles
On the right side of the middle part of the graph, the reader can see a special cluster (E), uniting Latvians living in Latgale - the eastern part of Latvia. Here, in comparison with the Western Baltic and Eastern Baltic types, there is greater brachycephaly (the cephalic index on average is 81.9%), the widest face among other clusters of Baltic population groups, the darkest pigmentation, strong beard growth, and an increased incidence of drooping nasal tip. These features indicate the presence of some features of southern Caucasians in Eastern Latvians. In addition, compared to the Eastern Baltic type, the Latvians of Latgale have a noticeably taller face, which is only slightly lower than that of the Western Baltic. This option can be called the Latgalian anthropological type.
Finally, to the left of the Latgalian cluster there is a union of groups of Lithuanians (F), and at the bottom of the graph there is a cluster (G), including Belarusians and Poles. The reader can see that the last cluster area includes several groups of Lithuanians who live in southeastern Lithuania. For northern Belarusians, as we have seen, the Valdai anthropological type manifests itself. Therefore, we can assume that this racial variant is also characteristic of southeastern Lithuanians and Poles living in Lithuania. Thus, the northern border of the distribution of the Valdai type passes through the territory of Lithuania.
For the bulk of Lithuanians, in comparison with Latvians and Estonians, one can note an increase in brachycephaly with a cephalic index of 82.5%, darkening of the pigmentation of hair and eyes, and an increase in the occurrence of a drooping nasal tip. The last two characteristics are expressed to an even greater extent in groups belonging to the Valdai type. For Lithuanians who do not belong to the Valdai racial variant, apparently, we can talk about a special Neman anthropological type.
Let us now turn to the population of the north and northeast of Eastern Europe. Before its development by the Slavs, this territory was inhabited by peoples who spoke languages of the Finnish group. Peaceful relations between aliens and natives led to long-term miscegenation between them. As a result, the Russian population was formed, in different groups which the ratio of racial types of colonists and local residents was different. In the northern zone of European Russia, in addition to the Russians, there are also peoples living - descendants of the pre-Slavic population, speaking Finnish languages: Karelians, Vepsians, Sami, Komi, Komi-Permyaks.
When considering the racial composition of Russians, we discovered in the north of their European territory the influence of a special anthropological variant. Northern Russians were distinguished by an increase in brachycephaly, somewhat widened cheekbones, lighter pigmentation of hair and eyes, decreased beard growth, and an increased incidence of concave nasal bridges. This phenomenon, in general, can be considered a consequence of the processes of miscegenation of Slavic colonists with the indigenous population. However, a more accurate judgment on this matter can be made by specially considering the anthropological composition of modern northern Russians in comparison with the Finnish peoples currently living there.
An excellent opportunity to do this is provided by the materials collected by M.V. Vitov. They include more than 80 groups, among which, in addition to the Russians, there is data on the Karelians, Vepsians, Komi, Sami, Udmurts, Besermyans and Tatars living in Udmurtia. By conducting a canonical analysis, one can get a clear idea of the racial components that manifest themselves in the north of Eastern Europe.
Canonical analysis based on the materials of M.V. Vitov made it possible to obtain a clear picture of racial variation for the territory of the north of Eastern Europe. The geographic distribution of the values of the first canonical variable reveals (Fig. H-14) two compact zones, relatively homogeneous in terms of complexes of anthropological characteristics. Its small values correspond to the combination of a relatively long head, a more rectangular face shape with a relatively wide forehead and lower jaw, a high nose with an increased bridge, increased beard growth. They are common in the settlement zone of the Ilmen-Belozersky type, and also among some Russian groups of the Northern Dvina basin. On the contrary, large values of the first canonical variable are presented among the Lapps, Karelians, Vepsians, Komi, Tatars, Udmurts and Besermyans. There is an increase in brachycephaly,
relative short stature, face shape with widened cheekbones, lowering of the nose and bridge of the nose, weakened beard growth.
Fig.II-14. Geographical distribution of average values of the 1st canonical variable in the Russian North (according to M.V. Vitov).
Values: 1 - large, 2 - above average, 3 - average, 4 - below average, 5 - small
Fig.II-15. Geographical distribution of average values of the 2nd canonical variable in the Russian North (according to M.V. Vitov).
1 - Russians of the Ilmen-Belozersky type; 2 - Russians of the Volga region; 3 - Russians of the Vyatka-Kama type; 4 - Russians of the northern zone; 5-Sami; 6-Karelians; 7-Veps; v-komi; 9-Udmurts; 10 - Besermyans; 11 - Tatars
The second canonical variable in the area of its large values describes the combination of relative short stature, small width of the forehead in relation to the zygomatic diameter, darkening of eye color, a decrease in the occurrence of concave bridges of the nose and its raised base, and an increase in the height of the nose. This combination is found mainly in the south and southeast of the territory under consideration (Fig. II-15).
The relationships between population groups from the materials of M.V. Vitov are more clearly visible in the graph of the combination of values of two canonical variables (Fig. II-16). Here the Sami occupy a special position. Among this people there is a special racial variant, usually called laponoid (after the old name of the Sami - Lapps). The body length is small (on average 155-156 cm in men), the head shape is brachycephalic, the face is very low, the pigmentation of the eyes and hair is dark, the growth of the beard is weakened, noses with a concave profile of the back and a raised tip are often found. Finally, among representatives of the laponoid race, epicanthus is found in 1-2%.
Also, a separate position on the right side of the graph is occupied by the Udmurts, Tatars and Besermyans. Without commenting on this circumstance, let us remember it.
The bulk of the groups on the canonical analysis graph form 5 clusters, four of which are well separated from each other, and the fifth connects three of them with its boundaries. The first cluster includes mainly Karelians and Vepsians. They are characterized by moderate brachycephaly (on average cephalic index - 82.1), a low and narrow face, a low nose with a very high (on average 30%) occurrence of a concave back and raised tip, very light pigmentation of hair and eyes, weakened beard growth. In approximately 1% of cases, epicanthus is found. Anthropologists have discovered this combination of traits, common among populations living from the northern part of the eastern coast of the Baltic to the shores of White Sea, called the White Sea-Baltic.
This cluster is opposed by the union of groups of Russians living in the Ilmen-Belozersky type zone, located in the lowest zone on the graph. Somewhat above it and to the right on the graph there is also a cluster that is clearly separated from the others, which includes Russians living south of the watershed of the Sukhona and Volga basins.
The areas of the three listed clusters on the graph overlap the boundaries of the fourth. It includes groups of Russians living in the Northern Dvina and Onega river basins. We have already said that this population is formed by immigrants from the more southern lands of Russia. Colonization took place in two major streams. The first and earlier one was directed starting from the 11th-12th centuries. from the region of Novgorod Land - the zone where the Ilmen-Belozersky type is now settled. It is easy to see from the graph that among modern northern Russians there are groups that fall into the Ilmen-Belozersky cluster, that is, anthropologically, they have retained their racial type. The second stream of colonists came from the territory of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' and subsequently from the Moscow Principality. On the graph you can find that some of the groups of northern Russians are located in the cluster zone that unites Russians of the Volga region and are anthropologically similar to them. Finally, it is not difficult to see that there are groups of northern Russians who find themselves in the zone of the cluster of Karelians and Vepsians. These are Russians who, in their racial type, are very similar to representatives of the White Sea-Baltic type.
However, the bulk of the Russian basins of the Northern Dvina and Onega are located between three clusters: the White Sea-Baltic, Ilmen-Belozersky and Volga. Most likely, this circumstance can be interpreted as evidence of past processes of crossbreeding. Thus, the anthropological composition of the modern Russian population of the north of Eastern Europe was formed as a result of the crossbreeding of the population of the Ilmen-Belozersky and some Upper Volga type with the aborigines belonging to the White-Baltic variant. At the same time, in some groups of formed modern northern Russians, the ratio of these three initial components turned out to be different: from the preservation of one of them to varying degrees of intermediateness between them.
The resulting graph allows us to make another important observation. To the right of the four clusters demonstrating the process of formation of the anthropological composition of northern Russians, one can notice another association, including groups of Russians living in the Vyatka-Kama zone. Here it should be remembered that the Vyatka-Kama type is one of the main ones in the Russian people. Now we can see that Russians of this type occupy an intermediate position between the Ilmen-Belozersky people and the cluster of Udmurts, Besermyans, and Tatars. Among the latter, a special racial variant is presented, bearing a slight Mongoloid character. Without touching on the discussion of this option for now, it can be noted that its speakers live in the same Vyatka-Kama zone as the Russians of the same name anthropological type.
A distinct shift in the graph of the cluster of Vyatka-Kama Russians to the Udmurts, Besermyans and Tatars can be interpreted as having arisen in the process of the Slavs’ development of this territory and as a consequence of the processes of cross-breeding of immigrants from more western regions with the local population bearing a special racial type, in which there is a slight Mongoloid element. We can once again recall that the main number of very rare cases of weak epicanthus among Russians falls precisely in the Vyatka-Kama zone. It should also be noted that the Russians inhabiting Pechora are similar in their anthropological type to the Vyatka-Kama Russians, and to the local Komi. Obviously, in the formation of the anthropological composition of the Russians of Pechora, the processes of miscegenation had a certain significance.
To examine the racial composition of the Finnish and Turkic peoples of Eastern Europe, one can analyze the data collected in different time G.F. Debets, P.I. Zenkevich, N.N. Cheboksarov, T.V. Trofimova, T.I. Alekseeva, K.Yu. Mark, M.S. Akimova, V.M. Vitov and others. In order to make the resulting picture clearer, in addition to these data, the analysis can also include materials collected by T.V. Trofimova and G.F. Debets on the Khanty and Mansi, Tatars and Kazakhs living in the Trans-Urals and Western Siberia.
The Khanty and Mansi speak Ugric languages and anthropologically belong to a special Ural race, which combines the characteristics of Caucasians and Mongoloids. Kazakhs are included in the analysis for the reason that they are characteristic representatives of the South Siberian race, which is known for sure to be the result of a mixture of Caucasians and Mongoloids who lived in the steppe zone. The process has been well studied, and it is known that it began in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. and continued intensively until the Middle Ages.
The graph (Fig. II-17) of the canonical analysis presents data for 114 groups of Finnish, Ugric and Turkic populations. You can easily see that this graph naturally divides into two parts. In the right of them, anthropological features form a characteristic combination: widening of the width of the cheekbones, darkening of the pigmentation of hair and eyes, a strong weakening of beard growth, flattening of the horizontal profile of the face and an increase in the occurrence of epicanthus. All this suggests that population groups are concentrated here, which are characterized by a very definite Mongoloid identity. These groups, located on the right side of the graph, naturally form three distinct clusters. The first of them includes the Khanty and Mansi - representatives of the Ural race. In the second - Karagash (one of the groups of Astrakhan Tatars), Nogais, Siberian Tatars and Kazakhs. It is known about these peoples that their anthropological composition shows features of the South Siberian race. The third cluster is formed by groups of eastern and southern Bashkirs, in whom the Mongoloid admixture is also quite strong, as is known to anthropologists, and they are often considered to belong to the South Siberian race.
The left side of the graph includes the bulk of the groups of Finnish and Turkic peoples of European Russia. They form a single cluster in which a certain structure can be seen. In the right zone of this large cluster there are population groups that are to some extent close to the Ural and South Siberian races. It can be noted that some groups of Komi, Mari, Chuvash, Udmurts and Tatars are shifted on the graph towards the cluster of the Ural race. On the other hand, the Western Bashkirs, Mari and Udmurts living in Bashkiria, some groups of Tatars, Chuvash, and Mishars are relatively close to the Eastern Bashkirs. It can be concluded that the Finnish and Turkic peoples of European Russia are clearly different from the representatives of the Ural and South Siberian races, but within their composition there are groups that have a Uraloid or South Siberian admixture, which, however, is of a relatively small magnitude.
Now we can consider the anthropological structure of that large cluster that we saw on the left side of Figure II-17. To do this, canonical analysis should be carried out only for those groups that are included in it. Based on its results, it is possible to construct geographical maps on which it will be clearly presented
territorial variation of the main directions of racial variability among the Finnish and Turkic peoples of European Russia.
1 - Karelians; 2 - Vepsians; 3 - Mordovian-Erzya; 4 - Mordovian-Moksha; 5 - Mordovians-Teryukhans; 6 - Komi; 7 - Komi-Permyaks; 8-Udmurts; 9-Mari; 10-Besermyans; 11 - Chuvash; 12 - Tatars; 13 - Kryashens; 14 - mishari; 15 - Bashkirs; 16 - Mansi; 17- Khanty; 18 - Siberian Tatars; 19 - Nogais; 20 - Kazakhs; 21 - karagashi
The first canonical variable gives a clear picture of the variation of its values (Fig. H-18). Its small values are concentrated in the north-west of the territory under consideration - in the White Sea-Baltic zone of settlement of Karelians and Vepsians. Large values of this variable can be found in the southeast of the Volga and Pokamye territories among the northwestern Bashkirs, Tatars, southern Chuvash, and Mishars. As the values of the first canonical variable increase, brachycephaly decreases, the width of the cheekbones increases in relation to the width of the forehead, the face becomes relatively narrower and taller, the hair and eyes become darker, a drooping tip of the nose is more common, a concave profile of its back is much less common, and more often a convex one . The intensification of these anthropological features corresponds to the increase in the features of southern Caucasians. Their maximum severity appears in the southeast.
In the north-west, in the White Sea-Baltic zone, a reverse combination of anthropological features appears, when, in general, brachycephaly is combined, a rather rectangular face with cheekbones that are not wide in relation to the transverse development of the forehead, very light pigmentation of the eyes and hair, a concave profile of the bridge of the nose is often found and its raised tip. Here is the settlement zone of the White Sea-Baltic anthropological variant, which is often considered a special Caucasian small race.
The geographic map of the values of the second canonical variable (Fig. II-19) represents the second pattern of racial variation among the Finnish and Turkic peoples of European Russia. Its greatest significance is concentrated in the Urals among the Komi groups, as well as among the Mari, Udmurts, and northern Chuvash. Here, beard growth weakens, the horizontal profile of the face becomes more flattened, and the occurrence of epicanthus increases. We have already encountered this combination of anthropological characteristics. It is precisely this that corresponds to the differences between the Ural and South Siberian races from the European Finnish and Turkic peoples. Therefore, we can assume that population groups that exhibit this complex of characteristics have some shift towards these races, primarily the Ural. So, the geographical distribution of the second canonical variable demonstrates the distribution in the north of the territory under consideration in the taiga zone of some anthropological sub-Ural component. It is most distinct in the eastern part of the taiga zone, but it can be found, although not so pronounced, even in the White Sea-Baltic territory. In the south of the region under consideration, the sub-Ural component is weakly manifested.
Values: 1 - small, 2 - below average, 3 - average, 4 - above average, 5 - large
Values: 1 - small, 2 - below average, 3 - average, 4 - above average, 5 - large
1 - Karelians; 2 - Vepsians; 3 - Mordovian-Erzya; 4 - Mordovian-Moksha; 5 - Mordovians-Teryukhans; 6 - Komi; 7 - Komi-Permyaks; 8 - Udmurts; 9 - Mari; 10-Besermyans; 11 - Chuvash; 12-Tatars; 13-Kryashens; 14-mishari; 15-Bashkirs
Anthropological variants that exist among the Finnish and Turkic peoples of European Russia can be seen on the graph, the vertical axis of which is the first canonical variable, the horizontal axis is the second (Fig. II-20). In his right zone - areas large values the second canonical variable - groups that have a strongly expressed Ural influence are located. These groups can be called subural. They form two clusters.
The first of them includes the bulk of the groups of Komi and Komi-Permyaks, the second - the Mari, Udmurts, Northern Chuvash, Besermyans, and Tatars of Udmurtia. If we compare these clusters with each other, we can note that in the second case, in general, the head is relatively longer (indicator 81.7% versus 82.3%), the face and nose are higher, the color of the hair and eyes is darker, and the beard growth is slightly more intense , a drooping tip of the nose is more common and its concave profile is less common. All this indicates the presence of a small southern European component among the Mari, Udmurts, Besermians, and Northern Chuvash, while among the Komi this effect is much weaker.
The first cluster, which unites the bulk of the Komi and Komi-Permyak groups, can be considered corresponding to a special anthropological type, which can be given the name Kama. The groups forming the second cluster, following T.I. Alekseeva, can be considered to belong to another anthropological type - the Volga-Kama. Both of them are characterized by the presence of some noticeable uraloid component (and they can be called suburalian), but the Volga-Kama type also contains a significant southern European admixture, which is less pronounced in the Kama type.
For groups of Finnish and Turkic peoples that were not included in the sub-Ural clusters, one can notice ordering along the vertical axis of the graph, which describes the severity of northern and southern Caucasoidism. In the upper zone of the graph there is a cluster consisting of groups of Karelians and Vepsians with their very light pigmentation of hair and eyes. In addition to the northern Caucasian basis, a certain sub-Ural racial influence can be found among them. It affects the weakening of beard growth, an increase in the occurrence of a raised tip of the nose and a concave profile of its back, and the presence of epicanthus in 1-2% of cases.
At the bottom of the graph you can see a cluster that includes groups of northwestern Bashkirs, Mishars, southern Chuvash, Tatars living in Chuvashia and Bashkiria. Here, an elongated head shape is observed (index 79.8%), dark pigmentation of hair and eyes, the highest frequency of drooping nasal tip, and we can talk about the presence of a significant admixture of southern Caucasians. At the same time, these groups also have a noticeable Mongoloid component. Thus, in the groups that make up this cluster, epicanthus is found in 3% of cases. T.I. Alekseeva called this racial variant steppe.
Between the White Sea-Baltic and steppe clusters one can find a number of transitional options. For example, in the Mordovian-Erzi groups, as well as in the northwestern and northern Komi, an elongation of the head shape is noted (indicator - 79.6% and 79.7%), an increase in the relative height of the face and nose, increased beard growth, an increase in the occurrence of drooping nasal tip and a reduction in the incidence of concave nasal dorsum. These features indicate the presence of Southern Caucasian traits. However, the pigmentation of hair and eyes in these groups is relatively light, although darker than that of the White Sea-Baltic people. The Mordovian-Erzya, northwestern and northern Komi, in general, belong rather to the circle of northern Caucasians.
The Mordovians-Moksha, compared to the Erzea, display more noticeably the features of southern Caucasians. The shape of the head turns out to be even more elongated (cephalic index - 78.7%), the face is relatively narrow, the pigmentation of the eyes and hair is noticeably darker, and the drooping tip of the nose is more common. True, Moksha has weaker beard growth and slightly flattened faces are more common. But we have seen that the steppe anthropological type also combines exactly the features of southern Caucasians with a slight Mongoloidity, which can be attributed to a decrease in the development of the beard and some flattening of the face.
Finally, we can identify a special cluster that contains many groups of Chuvash, Kazan Tatars, Mishars, Mari and Udmurts living in the north-west of Bashkiria. It occupies an intermediate position between the zones of clusters of the steppe and Volga-Kama types. Accordingly, it displays the anthropological features of southern Caucasians, expressed, however, in a less distinct form than in the steppe type, combined with some shift towards the Volga-Kama type with its sub-Ural racial position. Therefore, we can consider that these groups constitute a special Volga-Kama-steppe anthropological type.
If we now recall the results that we obtained for Russians, we can conclude that the main directions of racial variation among them and among groups of Finnish and Turkic peoples are fundamentally similar. Among the Russians, the main pattern of anthropological variation was the increase in the features of southern Caucasians from the northwest to the southeast. True, the northern expression of this pattern among Russians - the Ilmen-Belozersky type - does not coincide with the White Sea-Baltic type, differing from it in a number of features in the direction of a certain average Western Russian anthropological variant. Likewise, the “Eastern Great Russian” does not contain Mongoloid features, unlike the steppe type. One may also recall that in the south of the considered zone of Russian settlement, a special modification of their anthropological composition is revealed, which is expressed in the strengthening of the features of southern Caucasians and the simultaneous weakening of beard growth and widening of the cheekbones. It is not difficult to see that such a modification, in general, corresponds to the direction in which completely Caucasoid Russians differ from speakers of the steppe type, who have a small Mongoloid admixture. Therefore, most likely, the southern version of the Russians developed during the development in the 16th-17th centuries. steppe zone carriers of the Upper Oka and Lower Oka-Don-Sur types and their contacts with the population living there, which had a racial type, apparently close to the modern steppe.
The second direction of racial variation of Russians lies in the appearance in the northeast in the Vyatka-Kama zone of a special anthropological modification, which can also be traced to the west, right up to the Volga-Klyazma interfluve. Considering the data of M.V. Vitov, we saw that the Vyatka-Kama Russians show an anthropological shift in the direction of the Udmurts and Besermyans. But this population is precisely characterized by a special Volga-Kama type, characterized by suburaloidity. Thus, when the Russians settled the northeastern zone, they encountered the indigenous Finnish inhabitants - representatives of the Kama or Volga-Kama suburaloid types and to some extent mixed with them. Consequently, the specificity of the Vyatka-Kama Russians lies in the manifestation of a very small anthropological suburaloid “raid”.
Currently, some researchers associate with the Proto-Slavs, in addition to the Lusatians, another group of tribes that has been studied quite well over the years. last years. These tribes lived in the area between the middle Dnieper and the upper reaches of the Bug. They left behind a culture called by archaeologists Chernoleskaya. This culture, like the Lusatian one, dates back to the early Iron Age. It differs from the previous Belogrudov culture, widespread in the same territory, primarily in the disappearance of stone tools. True, the people of Chernoles still widely used bone as a raw material for the manufacture of their tools, which became much more diverse. In settlements one often comes across bone and horn hoes for working the land, dead ends for working leather, bone arrows, darts, and bone cheekpieces for bits. Casting molds are quite common. Thus, at the Subbotovskoye settlement, which belongs to this culture, more than two hundred fragments of foundry molds were found that were used for casting bracelets, maces and celts. Iron things appear. The material from the settlements of this time speaks of broad ties with the West and the East. During the same period, fortified settlements appeared, which indicates the accumulation of wealth within clan communities and the process of collapse of the clan system.
A large number of mounds are also associated with the Chernoles culture. Archaeologists find in them single and collective burials or collective burials of cremated dead in urns. In addition, in the same territory there are often unmounded ground burial grounds, where the cremated ashes of the dead were kept in urns. This group of burials is close to the burial monuments of the Lusatian culture, which apparently indicates the ethnic proximity of the creators of both cultures.
All these monuments date back to the 8th - first half of the 7th centuries. BC
The group of Proto-Slavic tribes also includes tribes Milograd culture, distributed in the territory of Southern Belarus along the right bank of the Dnieper, approximately from Zhlobin to the mouth of Pripyat. As a result of work on the monuments of this culture, two types of settlements were identified: some are located on high coastal capes, others - among swamps, in lowlands. At the settlements, square-shaped dwellings slightly sunk into the soil were discovered. Rich and varied materials found at the settlements allow us to imagine the economy of the Milograd residents. Agriculture and cattle breeding formed its basis, hunting and fishing were of secondary importance. The population knew the processing of iron and copper. Unmounded ground burial grounds were usually located near settlements. Like other proto-Slavic tribes, the Milograd people burned their dead. Thus, near the settlement of Goroshkov, in shallow pits, the remains of corpses were discovered and traces of a structure in the form of a pillar dwelling sunk into the ground, inside of which there were calcified bones. These are the remains of a kind of “house of the dead”.
To the south, in the Kiev region, tribes related to the Milograds lived at the same time Podgortsevskaya culture. To the north of the Milograd tribes lived tribes known in archeology as tribes Hatched Ware cultures associated with the Balts. And to the east lived the tribes of the so-called Yukhnovskaya culture, whose relationship to Slavic ethnogenesis is unclear. Apparently, much later, at the very end of the 1st millennium BC, the tribes of the Yukhnovskaya culture were Slavicized by the tribes of the Zarubintsy culture.
Considering the culture of the pre-Slavic population of Central Europe and the right bank of the Dnieper region, it should be noted the high level of development of productive forces and social order. Before us is a society that knows agriculture, settled cattle breeding, and metal processing. The nature of the fortified villages testifies to the tense relations between tribal communities. This is a patriarchal society.
Settlement and ethnolinguistic affiliation. The territories occupied by non-Slavic peoples in the European part of Russia are mainly located in the eastern and northwestern parts of the region. With rare exceptions, at present they do not form monoethnic areas anywhere, living in stripes. Moreover, the majority of the rural population in these areas is non-Slavic, while Russians predominate among urban residents.
The non-Slavic population of the European part of Russia, excluding later settlers, according to linguistic classification belongs to two language families: Altai and Ural-Yukaghir.
Representatives of the Altai family are concentrated in the regions of the Middle and Lower Volga region, as well as the Urals. The only people belonging to the Mongolian branch of this family are the Kalmyks, who first appeared in the Lower Volga region in the 30s. XVII century from Dzungaria, one of the regions located in the north-west of Central Asia. The Turkic branch of the Altai language family includes the Tatars, Bashkirs, Chuvashs, Kryashens and Nagaibaks. Tatars, Kryashens and Nagaibaks speak different dialects of the Tatar language. The languages of the Tatars and Bashkirs belong to the Kipchak subgroup of Turkic languages, and Chuvash belongs to the Bulgarian.
The peoples of the Ural-Yukaghir language family live both in the Middle Volga and Urals regions, and in the north-west of the European part of the country. The extreme northeast of Eastern Europe is occupied by the Nenets, a people whose ethnic territory also includes the northern regions of Siberia from the Urals to the Taimyr Peninsula. The Nenets speak the Nenets language of the Samoyed group of the Ural-Yukaghir language family.
The remaining peoples of the Ural-Yukaghir language family living in the European part of Russia belong to the Finnish group of the Finno-Ugric branch. In the Urals and Kama region live ethnic groups who speak the languages of the Permian (Finno-Permian) subgroup. The Komi-Zyryan language is native to two peoples - the Komi-Zyryans and the Komi-Izhemtsev. Most Komi-Permyaks speak the Komi-Permyak language. Only a small number of them ethnographic group- Komi-Yazvinians, living separately in the northeast of the Perm region, formed an independent language. The most southern people The Perm (Finno-Perm) subgroup are the Udmurts living in the interfluve of the river. Vyatka and Kama. Besermyans settled in the north-west of Udmurtia, speaking one of the dialects of the Udmurt language.
In the Middle Volga region live two peoples of the Volga-Finnish subgroup of the Finnish group. These include the Mari, most of whom speak the Meadow (Meadow-Eastern) Mari language, and the western group, occupying mainly the right bank of the Volga, speaks the Mountain Mari language. The Mordovians also developed two independent languages: Moksha and Erzya.
In the north-west of the European part of Russia live ethnic groups who speak the Baltic-Finnish languages of the Finnish group: Ingrian Finns, Vods, Izhoras, Setos, Vepsians, Karelians. The Karelian language is represented by three significantly different dialects - Karelian proper, Livvik and Ludik, which are more correctly considered independent languages. The Setos speak a dialect of the Estonian language. A special position within the Baltic-Finnish subgroup is occupied by the Sami language, which contains about a third of the original Dauphinian vocabulary.
Among other non-Slavic ethnic groups that began to actively settle in the European part of Russia since the 18th century, the most significant in number are Germans, Jews and Gypsies. For Germans and Jews, the native languages are the Germanic group of the Indo-European language family - German and Yiddish, although the majority uses Russian in everyday life. The Romani language belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages.
Among Eastern European gypsies, Russian-Roma (Northern Russian), Lovar (Carpatho-Gypsy) and Kotlyar (Kelderar) dialects of this language are common.
According to the 2010 All-Russian Population Census, the Tatars are the largest ethnic group in Russia after the Russians. Out of a total population of 5.3 million people. 2 million people live in the Republic of Tatarstan, and about 1 million people live in the Republic of Bashkortostan. and more than 1.2 million people. in other regions and republics of the Volga and Urals regions. The second largest Turkic people are the Bashkirs - 1.6 million people. They make up a significant part of the population of Bashkortostan - about 1.2 million people. The number of Chuvash exceeds 1.4 million people. More than half of them – over 0.8 million people. concentrated within the Chuvash Republic. 30 thousand Kryashsn out of a total number of 35 thousand people. are residents of the Republic of Tatarstan. Of the 8.1 thousand Nagaibaks, about 7.7 thousand people. live in the Chelyabinsk region. The overwhelming majority of Kalmyks are 163 thousand out of 183 thousand people. – are residents of the Republic of Kalmykia.
The Komi-Zyrians are predominantly settled in the Komi Republic. More than 202 thousand Komi-Zyryans are recorded here out of a total population of 228 thousand people. The majority of Komi-Izhma residents also live here - 13 thousand out of 16 thousand people. The number of Komi-Permyaks is 94 thousand people, of which 81 thousand people. – population of the Perm region. Of the 552 thousand Udmurts, 411 thousand people. - residents of the republic of the same name. Significant groups of the Udmurt population are also settled in neighboring regions. The total number of Mari reaches 548 thousand people, of which more than half are 291 thousand people. concentrated within the Republic of Mari El. Mordovians are the largest Finnish-speaking people Russian Federation, amounting to 744 thousand people. Less than half of all Mordovians live in the Republic of Mordovia - 333 thousand people.
Of the Baltic-Finnish ethnic groups, the largest in number are the Karelians - about 61 thousand people. Most of them are about 46 thousand people. – lives in the Republic of Karelia. Of the 20.3 thousand Ingrian Finns, 8.6 thousand people are concentrated in Karelia, in Leningrad region and St. Petersburg – 6.9 thousand people. The Vepsian population is more than 5.9 thousand people, of which over 3.4 thousand are residents of Karelia, about 1.4 thousand people. lives in the Leningrad region. The Setos mainly live in the Pskov region (123 out of 214 people). Of the 266 Izhorians, 206 people were recorded in the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg. Total 64 people. called themselves Vodya, 59 of them were residents of the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg. Sami – indigenous people Kola Peninsula. 1.6 thousand Sami live in the Murmansk region out of a total population of 1.8 thousand people.
The German population of the Russian Federation is 394 thousand people, but in the European part of the country its number is smaller than in Siberia. The number of Jews in Russia is 157 thousand people. About half of the Jewish population are residents of two largest cities– Moscow (53 thousand people) and St. Petersburg (24 thousand people). The Roma population of Russia is 205 thousand people, with a third of them (about 69 thousand people) living in four southern regions of the country: Stavropol, Krasnodar territories, Rostov and Volgograd regions.
Anthropologically, the non-Slavic peoples of the European part of Russia belong to both the Caucasoid and Mongoloid great races. Some groups of ethnic groups of the Finnish group of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Ural-Yukaghir language family, living mainly in the eastern and northern regions of the European part of Russia, have signs of the Mongoloid race, which distinguishes them into special transitional subarctic (according to V.V. Bunak) and Uralic races . The Sami belong to the subarctic race. Among the Finnish-speaking ethnic groups of the Urals and Volga region, there are widespread groups belonging to the Sub-Ural type of the Ural race (Komi-Zyryans, Komi-Izhemtsy, Komi-Permyaks, Udmurts, Mari, Mordovians-Moksha).
The Mordva-Erzya, northern and western groups of Komi-Zyryans, Baltic-Finnish ethnic groups (Ingrian Finns, Vods, Izhorians, Karelians and Vepsians) are more Caucasoid, having only a slight Mongoloid admixture and belong to the White Sea-Baltic small race, within which the East Baltic and White Sea types. Among them, the most common is the East Baltic type, and the White Sea type is characteristic of the northern groups of Karelians, Komi-Zyryans and Komi-Izhemtsy.
The complexity of the formation of the Turkic-speaking peoples of the European part of the country was reflected in their anthropological appearance. Most of the Chuvash, Tatars, Kryashens, Nagaibaks, and northwestern groups of Bashkirs belong to the Subural type of the Ural race. The south-eastern groups of Bashkirs are dominated by the features of the South Siberian race. The Astrakhan Tatars living in the Lower Volga region belong to the same race. Typical Mongoloid representatives of the Central Asian race are the Kalmyks.
Gypsies belong to the North Indian type of the Indopamirian small race of a large Caucasian family. Most Jews belong to the Armenoid (pre-Asian) race. But as a result of mixing with other Caucasians, among them there are representatives of various variants of the large Caucasian race.
Among the non-Slavic peoples of the European part of Russia there are adherents of different faiths. The only ethnic group for which the traditional religion is Buddhism in the form of Lamaism are the Kalmyks. The Bashkirs, as well as most of the Tatars, adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam. The national religion of Jews is Judaism. Christianity is represented by all three major denominations. Ingrian Finns are Lutherans. Among the Germans there are both Lutherans and Catholics. The majority of ethnic communities in the region are considered Orthodox. Among them, the Old Believers stand out, which includes part of the Karelians, Komi-Zyryans and Komi-Permyaks. Some Mari retain pagan beliefs. Elements of paganism can be traced to varying degrees in most ethnic groups professing Orthodoxy, but they are most pronounced among the Sami, Udmurts and Chuvash.
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Topic “SLAVIC PEOPLES OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE”
1.Introduction 3 1.1 History of the Slavs 4-5 1.2.Ethnogenesis of the Slavs 5-6 2.Languages 6 2.1. Craft 6-7 3. Religion 8 4. Epic of Mark Kralevich 9 5. Who treated diseases? 10
Introduction
SLAVS - the largest group European peoples, united by common origin and linguistic proximity in the system of Indo-European languages. Slavs, like everyone else modern peoples, arose as a result of complex ethnic processes and are a mixture of previous heterogeneous ethnic groups. The history of the Slavs is inextricably linked with the history of the emergence and settlement of Indo-European tribes. Four thousand years ago, the single Indo-European community began to disintegrate. The formation of the Slavic tribes occurred in the process of separating them from among the numerous tribes of the large Indo-European family. In Central and Eastern Europe, a linguistic group is separated, which, as genetic data has shown, included the ancestors of the Germans, Balts and Slavs. They occupied a vast territory: from the Vistula to the Dnieper, some tribes even reached the Volga, pushing out the Finno-Ugric peoples. In the 2nd millennium BC. The German-Balto-Slavic language group also experienced processes of fragmentation: Germanic tribes went to the West, beyond the Elbe, while the Balts and Slavs remained in Eastern Europe. The word “Slavs” did not exist in those ancient times. There were people, but they had different names. One of the names, the Wends, comes from the Celtic vindos, which means “white.” This word is still preserved in the Estonian language. Ptolemy and Jordan believe that the Wends are the oldest collective name of all the Slavs who lived at that time between the Elbe and the Don. Its representatives are divided into three subgroups: southern (Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Bosnians), eastern (Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians) and western (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatians). The total number of Slavs in the world is about 300. million people, including Bulgarians 8.5 million, Serbs about 9 million, Croats 5.7 million, Slovenes 2.3 million, Macedonians about 2 million, Montenegrins less than 1 million, Bosnians about 2 million ., Russians 146 million (of which 120 million are in the Russian Federation), Ukrainians 46 million, Belarusians 10.5 million, Poles 44.5 million, Czechs 11 million, Slovaks less than 6 million, Lusatians - about 60 thousand Slavs make up the bulk of the population of the Russian Federation, the Republics of Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, the State Community of Serbia and Montenegro, and also live in the Baltic republics, Hungary, Greece, Germany, Austria, Italy, the countries of America and Australia. Most Slavs are Christians. Data from archeology and linguistics connect the ancient Slavs with the vast region of Central and Eastern Europe, bounded in the west by the Elbe and Oder, in the north Baltic Sea, in the east - the Volga, in the south - the Adriatic.
History of the Slavs
The Slavs were engaged in arable farming, cattle breeding, various crafts, and lived in neighboring communities. Numerous wars and territorial movements contributed to the collapse by the 6th–7th centuries. family ties. In the 6th–8th centuries. many of the Slavic tribes united into tribal unions and created the first state formations: in the 7th century. The First Bulgarian Kingdom and the Samo State arose, which included the lands of the Slovaks, in the 8th century. - Serbian state Raska, in the 9th century. - The Great Moravian state, which absorbed the lands of the Czechs, as well as the first state of the Eastern Slavs - Kievan Rus, the first independent Croatian principality and the Montenegrin state of Duklja. At the same time - in the 9th–10th centuries. - Christianity began to spread among the Slavs, quickly becoming the dominant religion.
From the second half of the 19th century. The desire of many Slavic peoples to create their own, independent states became obvious. Socio-political organizations began to operate on the Slavic lands, contributing to the further political awakening of the Slavic peoples who did not have their own statehood (Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Poles, Lusatians, Czechs, Ukrainians, Belarusians). Unlike the Russians, whose statehood was not lost even during the Horde yoke and had a nine-century history, as well as the Bulgarians and Montenegrins, who gained independence after Russia’s victory in the war with Turkey in 1877–1878, the majority of Slavic peoples were still fighting for independence.
National oppression and hardship economic situation Slavic peoples in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. caused several waves of their emigration to more developed European countries in the USA and Canada, and, to a lesser extent, France and Germany. The total number of Slavic peoples in the world at the beginning of the 20th century. was about 150 million people (Russians - 65 million, Ukrainians - 31 million, Belarusians 7 million; Poles 19 million, Czechs 7 million, Slovaks 2.5 million; Serbs and Croats 9 million, Bulgarians 5 .5 million, Slovenians 1.5 million) At that time, the bulk of the Slavs lived in Russia (107.5 million people), Austria-Hungary (25 million people), Germany (4 million people) , countries of America (3 million people).
After the First World War of 1914–1918, international acts fixed the new borders of Bulgaria, the emergence of the multinational Slavic states of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia (where, however, some Slavic peoples dominated over others), and the restoration of national statehood among the Poles. In the early 1920s, the creation of their own states - socialist republics - was announced - Ukrainians and Belarusians joined the USSR; however, the tendency towards Russification of the cultural life of these East Slavic peoples - which became obvious during the existence of the Russian Empire - persisted.
At the turn of the 20th–21st centuries. The question of the common destinies of all Eastern Slavs: Ukrainians, Belarusians, Great Russians, as well as the Southern Slavs, again became relevant. In connection with the intensification of the Slavic movement in Russia and abroad in 1996–1999, several agreements were signed, which were a step towards the formation of a union state of Russia and Belarus. In June 2001, a congress of Slavic peoples of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia was held in Moscow; in September 2002 the Slavic Party of Russia was founded in Moscow. In 2003, the State Community of Serbia and Montenegro was formed, declaring itself the legal successor of Yugoslavia. The ideas of Slavic unity are regaining their relevance
After the February Revolution of 1917, attempts were made to create Ukrainian and Belarusian statehood. In 1922, Ukraine and Belarus, together with other Soviet republics, were the founders of the USSR (in 1991 they declared themselves sovereign states). Established in Slavic countries In Europe in the second half of the 1940s, totalitarian regimes with the dominance of the administrative-command system had a deforming effect on ethnic processes (violation of the rights of ethnic minorities in Bulgaria, the leadership of Czechoslovakia ignoring the autonomous status of Slovakia, the aggravation of interethnic contradictions in Yugoslavia, etc.). This was one of the most important reasons for the national crisis in the Slavic countries of Europe, which led here, starting from 1989-1990, to significant changes in the socio-economic and ethnopolitical situation. Modern processes of democratization of the socio-economic, political and spiritual life of the Slavic peoples create qualitatively new opportunities for expanding interethnic contacts and cultural cooperation that have strong traditions. The territory of modern Slavic states corresponds more or less to Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Northern Asia and consists of the following countries: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Transnistria (an unrecognized state), Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Ethnogenesis of the Slavs
This is the process of formation of the ancient Slavic ethnic community, which led to the separation of the Slavs from the conglomerate of Indo-European tribes. Currently, there is no generally accepted version of the formation of the Slavic ethnic group.
One of the major Slavic historians, the Czech scientist P.I. Safarik believed that the ancestral home of the Slavs should be sought in Europe, in the neighborhood of related tribes of Celts, Germans, Balts and Thracians. He believes that the Slavs already occupied vast areas of Central and Eastern Europe in ancient times, and in the 4th century. BC. under the pressure of the Celts they moved beyond the Carpathians.
However, even at this time they occupy very vast territories - in the west - from the mouth of the Vistula to the Neman, in the north - from Novgorod to the sources of the Volga and Dnieper, in the east - to the Don. Further, in his opinion, it went through the lower Dnieper and Dniester along the Carpathians to the Vistula and along the watershed of the Oder and Vistula to the Baltic Sea.
At the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries. acad. A.A. Shakhmatov developed the idea of two Slavic ancestral homelands: the region within which the Proto-Slavic language developed (the first ancestral home), and the region that the Proto-Slavic tribes occupied on the eve of their settlement throughout Central and Eastern Europe (the second ancestral home). He proceeds from the fact that initially a Balto-Slavic community emerged from the Indo-European group, which was autochthonous in the Baltic region. After the collapse of this community, the Slavs occupied the territory between the lower reaches of the Neman and the Western Dvina (the first ancestral home). It was here that, in his opinion, the Proto-Slavic language developed, which later formed the basis of all Slavic languages. In connection with the great migration of peoples, the Germans at the end of the 2nd century AD. moving south and liberating the river basin. Vistula, where the Slavs come (second ancestral home). Here the Slavs are divided into two branches: Western and Eastern. The western branch advances to the river area. Elbe and becomes the basis for modern West Slavic peoples; the southern branch after the collapse of the Hun Empire (second half of the 5th century AD) was divided into two groups: one of them settled the Balkans and the Danube (the basis of modern South Slavic peoples), the other - the Dnieper and Dniester (the basis of modern East Slavic peoples).
The most popular hypothesis among linguists about the ancestral homeland of the Slavs is the Vistula-Dnieper hypothesis. According to such scientists as M. Vasmer (Germany), F. P. Filin, S. B. Bernstein (Russia), V. Georgiev (Bulgaria), L. Niederle (Czech Republic), K. Moshinsky (Poland), etc. ., the ancestral home of the Slavs was located between the middle reaches of the Dnieper in the east and the upper reaches of the Western Bug and Vistula in the west, as well as from the upper reaches of the Dniester and Southern Bug in the south to Pripyat in the north. Thus, the ancestral home of the Slavs is defined by them as modern northwestern Ukraine, southern Belarus and southeastern Poland. However, in the studies of individual scientists there are certain variations. S.B. Bernstein supports A.A. Shakhmatov’s hypothesis about the initial division of the Slavs into two groups: Western and Eastern; from the latter at one time the eastern and southern groups emerged. This is precisely what explains the great closeness of the East Slavic and South Slavic languages and a certain isolation, in particular phonetic, of the West Slavic.
The problem of the ethnogenesis of the Slavs was repeatedly addressed by B.A. Rybakov. His concept is also connected with the Vistula-Dnieper hypothesis and is based on the unity of the territories inhabited by the Slavic ethnic group for two millennia: from the Oder in the west to the left bank of the Dnieper in the east.
Slavic languages, according to the degree of their proximity to each other, are usually divided into 3 groups: East Slavic, South Slavic and West Slavic. The distribution of Slavic languages within each group has its own characteristics. Every Slavic language includes literary language with all its internal varieties and its own territorial dialects. Dialectal division and stylistic structure within each Slavic language are not the same.
Branches of Slavic languages: East Slavic branch: Belarusian, Old Russian, Old Novgorod dialect, Western Russian, Russian Ukrainian, Rusyn
The ancient Slavs also developed handicraft production. They made household items from clay, wood, bone, and horn. They were familiar with textile production. The processing of metal from which agricultural tools and weapons were made was distinguished by a high level. The Slavs also knew how to make jewelry from non-ferrous metals. Those tribes who lived on the seashore and in general on waterways, knew how to build single-shaft boats that served for long journeys. The Slavs traded with non-Slavic peoples: they sold slaves-prisoners of war, bought weapons, jewelry, and precious metals. A coin of foreign origin was used for payments, but the small number of coins found during excavations indicates that the money was used irregularly. The Slavs lived in huts built of wood and covered with straw, reeds or wood. The dwelling had clay floors and stone ovens.
The Slavs of the 6th century had all the typical advantages and disadvantages of barbarians. Byzantine writers recognized the courage of the Slavs, their love of freedom, honesty, “democratic instinct,” hospitality, and pointed out the existence of patriarchal slavery among them. But in war the Slavs were cruel. Personal courage combined with ferocity replaced the Slavs with what they lacked in military art and weapons when confronted with the Eastern Roman Empire.
In area family life Eastern Slavs, the period of formation and development of the Old Russian people was characterized by the extinction of the clan and the strengthening of the monogamous family. Many tribal customs are a thing of the past. Russian Truth limited blood feud to only immediate relatives (parents, children, brothers, nephews), and the desire to replace it with monetary fines is already noticeable. Comes to the fore big family, which includes parents and their adult children with offspring. The property of a peasant family was apparently at the disposal of the father, after whose death it was divided between his sons. Daughters did not have the right to inherit, but when they got married, they brought their future husband into the family dowry. At the same time, the feudal clan was formed and strengthened, the economic basis of which was the ownership of land and serfs. The preserved ancient buildings and materials from archaeological excavations indicate the high development of wooden and stone architecture. Buildings built of wood were distinguished by the richness of their architectural forms. the complexity of the silhouettes of the houses, crowned with many intricate roofs and domes; stone buildings, mainly churches*, were first built according to Byzantine models from brick, but they also had a number of original Old Russian features. The picture of Slavic culture must be supplemented with data regarding their social organization from the Indo-European period. For unity, the Slavs endured developed family relationships, single marriages and types of blood, paternal, kinship. This is evidenced by the ancestral words: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, stry, father-in-law, brother-in-law, yatrova (brother-in-law’s wife), daughter-in-law. After the era life together, they developed terms to denote kinship through mother and wife (uy, maternal uncle, etc.). The patriarchal Proto-Slavic family, populating the whole, constituted a community united by ties of consanguinity, otherwise known as clan. The community-clan bore a common name from its ancestor (ending in ichi, ovichi, vtsy), owned property jointly and was governed by its elder (elder, ruler, gospodar), who maintained peace and harmony in the community, sorted out misunderstandings in its midst and gave orders the labor of its members. Initially, the elder was the natural head of the family - the father, grandfather, sometimes great-grandfather, and upon death his eldest or most capable (by choice) son. The clan, growing further, split into several clans, which, realizing their kinship, formed the next level of social organization - brotherhood (Montenegrins still retain traces of this organization in the form of brotherhoods celebrating the common church holiday of one saint who replaced the old ancestor - the forefather ). The brotherhood, growing further, or uniting with other brotherhoods, formed a tribe, headed by zhupans, governors, princes, who had the role of clan elders and leaders in war.
Religion: The religion of the ancient Slavs is a set of religious views and attitudes that developed in pre-Christian Slavic culture, as well as ways of organizing spiritual experience and behavior. Historically, the religion of the Slavs goes back to the religion of the ancient Indo-Europeans. It acquired relative integrity and originality during the era of Slavic unity, which lasted until the second half of the 1st millennium AD. Gradual settlement led to the emergence of differences in religious ideas and cults; in addition, some forms of religious life appeared, borrowed by the Slavs from neighboring peoples. Information about the religion of the ancient Slavs was preserved mainly in oral tradition. The only written source, the Book of Veles, raises great doubts among experts about its authenticity. Slavic ideas about the sacred were associated with ideas about superhuman power, life-giving and filling beings with the ability to grow. There was developed system concepts denoting supernatural forces. The highest rank were the gods. The concept of “God” means the giver of a share, inheritance, wealth. The gods, just like in ancient religion, were divided into heavenly, underground and earthly. The heavenly gods included Perun, the patron god of princely power, squads and military craft. He had the anthropomorphic appearance of a warrior, sometimes on horseback. Stribog is the god of atmospheric phenomena, and above all the wind. Dazh-god or Dazhdbog is a giving god who was associated with the sun. Khor (solar - compare Khor or Horus among the ancient Egyptians) and Simargl (mythological image of a huge eagle, correlated with the upper world). The underground gods include, first of all, the Earth, “Mother of the Cheese Earth”, “Breadbearer”, which among the Slavs does not have an erotic connotation and is subsequently identified with Mokosh. Mokosh is a female deity who is endowed with only positive qualities. However, the Slavs also had ideas about evil female deities to whom bloody human sacrifices must be made. The male underground god was considered Belee, who was also called the cattle god and was believed to bestow abundant offspring, and therefore wealth. Another property of Beles was considered clairvoyance. The earthly gods are the gods of the world inhabited by people. Their responsibility extends to cultural activities, social and family relationships, everyday life and the environment. This is, first of all, Svarog - the god of fire, placed at the service of man. The continuity of generations originating from common ancestors is personified in the image of the Family, next to which women in labor are mentioned - the maidens of fate, who determine the share, the fate of the newborn. There were ideas about gods associated with the professional occupations of people. Along with ideas about higher gods, there were beliefs in lower-level gods, spirits, and werewolves. A significant detachment was called demons, who were credited with malicious intent and destructive force. The demons included the spirits of places dangerous to visit: forest wilderness (goblin), swamps (poorweed, bogwort) and whirlpools (water). Polundnitsy lived in the field. Externally, demons were represented in human, animal or mixed form. The most dangerous group included half-demons of human origin - these are people who have not completed their life path - ghouls, ghouls, witches, mermaids. They harm the human race and must be feared. There was also the personification of diseases: mimohoda, fever, mara, kikimora, etc. The Slavs had a belief in the immortality of the soul, in its posthumous existence. During burial, it was necessary to observe all the subtleties of the ritual, and only in this case the soul will find peace and will subsequently help the descendants. The Slavs resorted to various forms of burial, often cremation. Water occupied a special place in the Slavs’ understanding of the world. They believed that water is an element that connects the living and other worlds
Epic by Mark Kralevich:
Marko Kralevich (1335 - May 17, 1395) - the last ruler of the Kingdom of Prilep in Western Macedonia (1371-1395), self-proclaimed: autocrat of all Serbs (Russian: autocrat of all Serbs), hero of the epic of the Serbian people, historical figure. In songs and legends he appears as a fighter against Turkish enslavers, a people's defender. The oldest recordings of songs about Marko Kraljevic date back to the 16th century. The epic image of Prince Marko is heavily mythologized; The features of Svyatogor are transferred to him. In the Serbian epic, Marko Korolevich plays a prominent role, everywhere being the defender of the Serbian people against the Ottomans, with whom he either fights or makes friends. Many Serbian epics or heroic (junior) songs are dedicated to him.
The people gave their favorite a mythical character: they gave him a vila as his sister, gave him a voice better than the voice of the vila, made him live 300 years and ride the horse Shartse, who sometimes speaks to his owner in a human voice and whom Marko-Korolevich loves more than his brother. The death of Marko-Korolevich is surrounded by mystery. According to some stories, Marko Korolevich was killed by some Karavlash governor with a golden arrow to the mouth when the Turks were fighting with HYPERLINK "https://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%D0%9A%D0%B0 %D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%B8&action=edit&redlink=1" \o "Karavlakhi (page missing)" Karavlakhi and Marko-Korolevich helped the Turks. Others say that Sharac somehow went into the water too deep, so that both horse and rider drowned, and they still show this place near Negotin. According to third stories, in one battle so many people were killed that both people and horses swam in blood. Marko-Korolevich raised his hands to the sky and exclaimed: “God, what should I do?” God had mercy and transferred him and his horse to one cave, where Marko-Korolevich sleeps to this day. His sword is hidden under a large stone, but little by little it moves out of the rock: the horse, standing in front of the master, chews a little wheat from a large bag. When the whole sword comes out and the horse chews up all the wheat, then Marko the King will wake up and go to the defense of his people. Finally, in V. Karadzic’s collection there is a song about the death of Marko Korolevich, which tells that he killed his Shartz, broke his sword and threw away his buzdovan (war club) so that they would not go to another, and he himself, having written his will, lay down under a tall tree and fell asleep. The abbot and the novice walking by fulfilled his will and buried him.
Marko Korolevich appears as a hero-defender only in the epic and in the mouths of the people in Serbia; in the same places where, according to epics, he acted (in Old Serbia, in the vicinity of Prilep and the Kosovo field), a bad memory has been preserved about him: there they call him Marko the rapist (Marko-zulumija), Marko the head-off (Marko -delhi-basha). According to Goethe, Marko-Korolevich. corresponds to the Greek Hercules and the Persian Rustem. We can say that Marko-Korolevich is the same folk hero as our Ilya Muromets.
Who treated the diseases?
In the treatment of diseases, healing was used and rituals were performed. This was done by healers, sorcerers, sorcerers, witches, trichs, sorcerers, magicians. They had knowledge and abilities that helped a person solve his physical illnesses and other problems
The most forbidden concept by the Christian church, “Magi” is also one of the oldest names for a person with supernatural powers. Magi and magicians were people of special rank who influenced state and social life. Since priests from ancient times were called magi by the Slavs, and their activities were called sorcery, later this word became synonymous with magic and sorcery. The Magi knew many meteorological signs, the power and effect of various herbs, and skillfully used hypnosis. In some cases, among the Slavs, princes were perceived as or were sorcerers, being both warriors and sorcerers. The Magi also had serious knowledge of alternative medicine. They successfully treated patients with medicines of plant and animal origin, and were well versed in medicinal plants. They treated with minerals, metals, ashes and secret remedies; knew diet therapy and reflexology earlier and better than the Chinese; were very good at acupressure and various types massage; chiropractic and manual therapy; mastered chiropractic care and the art of treating joints; were able to successfully treat wounds of various origins and injuries; mastered surgery, including energy surgery; mastered obstetric and gynecological methods; knew how to use physical and therapeutic means of treatment: moxibustion, acupuncture, bloodletting, energy massage, compresses and applications, mud therapy, mineral water and aerosols, clay therapy, hydrotherapy, cold therapy, etc.; originally treated rheumatism, radiculitis, muscle and ligament sprains, teeth and toothaches, blood pressure, eye diseases, heart and vascular diseases; effectively treated, even today still incurable, complex mental illnesses and much more. And the training of a knowledgeable person began with the study of the fundamentals of the universe, having learned which it was possible to understand the essence of various therapeutic techniques.