Some subjects of the votive copper figurines of Gorokhovo culture: Connections with Sarmatian world
https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6401-2025-4-202-217
Abstract
A series of copper figures of the “Sapogova type” from votive sets in sanctuaries in the north of the Chelyabinsk Region (Sapogova, Karino etc.) is considered. Today they are attributed to the end of the existence of the Gorokhovo Culture, the elite of which originated from nomadic Sarmatians. There is no reason to see them as an “illustration of the structure of society”, as is commonly thought. Many of their features are ritualistic or do not relate to humans. The schematic figure of a flying bird on the left shoulder (Figs. 2B; 3, 2) has a parallel on the male attributes of the Sarmatians (Yanchokrak) and is associated with the character’s high status. In the Iranian World there are analogues of two birds at the shoulders of the deity in the Itkul Culture (Fig. 4, 1). A.D. A.D. Tairov’s connection of a solitary bird on the left shoulder with the burial traditions of the Ugrians is weakly argued. The author emphasizes the similarity of the iconography to the statues in the Ustyurt sanctuaries. The figures of warriors with their knees bent (Fig. 2, A, Г, E, З) have two different poses. Those are probably the poses of dances dedicated to the god of war (like the Kafirs of the Hindukush).
About the Author
S. A. Yatsenko
Russian State University for the Humanities
Россия
Россия
Sergey A. Yatsenko, Dr. of Sci. (History), professor
bldg. 6, bld. 6, Miusskaya Square Moscow, 125047
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Review
For citations:
Yatsenko S.A. Some subjects of the votive copper figurines of Gorokhovo culture: Connections with Sarmatian world. RSUH/RGGU BULLETIN. Series Philosophy. Social Studies. Art Studies. 2025;(4):202-217. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6401-2025-4-202-217
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