The Maikop kurgan (), excavated by

Nikolay Veselovsky Nikolai Ivanovich Veselovsky (, November 1848 - 30 March 1918) was a Russian archaeologist and orientalist. Born in Moscow, Veselovsky went to school in Vologda, and then studied at Saint Petersburg State University. Reader in 1877, extraordinar ...

in 1897 near

Maikop Maykop (russian: Майкоп, p=mɐjˈkop Help:IPA/Russian, mɐj'kop); ady, Мыекъуапэ, Mıéquapə ) is the capital city of the Republic of Adygea in Russia, located on the right bank of the Belaya River (Kuban), Belaya River (a tribut ...

Southern Russia Southern Russia or the South of Russia (russian: Юг России, ''Yug Rossii'') is a colloquial term for the southernmost geographic portion of European Russia generally covering the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasian Federal ...

, is the eponym of the

Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

Maikop culture The Maykop culture (, , scientific transliteration: ''Majkop,''), c. 3700 BC–3000 BC, was a major Bronze Age archaeological culture in the western Caucasus region. It extends along the area from the Taman Peninsula at the Kerch Strait to ne ...

of the

Northern Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

. The

kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central Asi ...

had a height of about 10 m and a circumference of about 200 m. It revealed the burial of a supposed priest-king with rich grave goods, including golden and silver bull figurines, as well as two burials of women. The finds are conserved in the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

. According to

David W. Anthony David W. Anthony is an American anthropologist who is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Hartwick College. He specializes in Indo-European migrations, and is a proponent of the Kurgan hypothesis. Anthony is well known for his award winning book ...

, the author of the book ''

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language ''The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World'' is a 2007 book by the anthropologist David W. Anthony, in which the author describes his "revised Kurgan theory." He explores the or ...

'', the Maikop burial was contemporary with the first cities of Middle and Late Uruk-period Mesopotamia, 3700-3100 BCE.David W. Anthony
''The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World''
Princeton University Press, 2010 p290

Notes

Literature

*Philip P. Betancourt, The Maikop Copper Tools and Their Relationship to Cretan Metallurgy, American Journal of Archaeology (1970). *Philip L. Kohl, The Making of Bronze Age Eurasia, Cambridge World Archaeology (2007), , pp. 73ff. *Brian Murray Fagan, The Oxford Companion to Archaeology (1996), , p. 398.

External links

Bronze Age. Europe without borders. Fourth-first millennia BC

Archaeological sites in Russia Archaeology of the Caucasus Archaeology of Kuban Bronze Age Europe Kurgans Bronze Age Russia Cultural heritage monuments in Adygea Objects of cultural heritage of Russia of regional significance {{Europe-archaeology-stub