Pages: 17-71

The monograph deals with the well-known motif of the Scythian animal style of the Eastern Europe — that of detached legs/paws of the wild predator or griffin. In total the author revealed and classified 131 special images (233 pieces with due regard for copies and “mirror reflections”). The images mainly mount harness elements (130 special images), i. e. strap plaques (126 special images, and the other four are used on psalia), among them cheek-pieces, much rarely — front/nose straps. Mapping of reliably located special images demonstrated that with rare exceptions the sites these images originate from are situated in the bounds of the “Scythian archaeological culture to wide extent” in the territories of the forest-steppe Dnieper basin, the forest-steppe Don basin, the steppe on the Northern Black-Sea littoral and, to a less degree, the Northern Caucasus.
The whole assemblage of the images was divided into two groups (depending on representation of the pair of legs or of one leg), then each group was further divided into two subgroups (1st — of standing/passing legs (in another viewpoint — horizontally oriented legs with bent paws), 2nd — of “drooped” legs (in another viewpoint — horizontally oriented legs with straightened paws). Within these divisions, 11 iconic types were revealed, and the chronology of every type was determined.
The conclusion was drawn that in the Scythian animal style of the Eastern Europe the motif was used in the bounds of the 5th—4th c. BC, not excluding the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 3d cc. BC for some images.
The evolution trend of the motif lies in transition from imitating corresponding elements of synchronous full-length images of carnivores and contaminating elements of naturalism with typically Scythian zoomorphic transformations towards schematizing and geometrical shaping, towards absolute separation of simultaneously modified motif of full-length images of carnivores, and, finally, to the whole collapse of zoomorphic background.

Keywords: Scythians, animal style, limbs of the carnivores

Information about author:

Anatoly Kantorovich (Moscow, Russia). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Moscow State University
E-mail: [email protected]