Pages: 89-96

After U. Kraft’s publication (2012), it is impossible to solve the problem of the origins of the stirrups without taking into account the linguistic material, which not only sheds light on the areas uncovered by material sources (for example, the supposed spreading of the strap loops aspandak/στρόφος from Iran to the west of Europe), but also allows more detailed consideration of the process and mechanisms of the spread of stirrup-like devices and the stirrups themselves. Sometimes we can relate the archaeological types and variants to the corresponding concepts of ancient societies reflected in the preserved lexics: e. g., the early nomadic stirrups are in correspondance to the image of the ring-shaped object dörüge. Especially interesting are the cases of discontinuity in the spread of innovation, expressed in the interruption of the genetic line, either in the sphere of the language only (B2: the East-Roman “scala” -> the early Lombard stirrup “staffa”; C1: Chinese footstep “deng” -> Xianbei stirrup “dörüge”), or in the sphere of both language and material culture (C2: the Ogur stirrup “*jüŋeŋgü” -> the East-Roman stirrup “scala”).

Keywords: Eurasian steppes, Europe, Middle East, 4th—7th centuries, stirrups, innovations, typology, lexics

Information about author:

Petr Shuvalov (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Saint Petersburg State University. Universitetskaya Emb., 7—9, Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]