Multi-cordoned Ware culture or Multiroller ceramics culture, translations of the russian: Культура многоваликовой керамики, ''Kul'tura mnogovalikovoj keramiki'' (KMK), also known as the Multiple-relief-band ware culture, the Babyno culture and the Mnogovalikovaya kul'tura (MVK), are archaeological names for a

Middle 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 pri ...

culture of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

Distribution

From approximately the 22nd to 18th centuries BCE, it occupied an area stretching from the

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, including

Dnieper Ukraine The term Dnieper Ukraine (: "over Dnieper land"), usually refers to territory on either side of the middle course of the Dnieper River. The Ukrainian name derives from ''nad‑'' (prefix: "above, over") + ''Dnipró'' ("Dnieper") + ''‑shchyna'' ...

Right-bank Ukraine Right-bank Ukraine ( uk , Правобережна Україна, ''Pravoberezhna Ukrayina''; russian: Правобережная Украина, ''Pravoberezhnaya Ukraina''; pl, Prawobrzeżna Ukraina, sk, Pravobrežná Ukrajina, hu, Jobb p ...

, and part of the modern

Ternopil Oblast Ternopil Oblast ( uk, Тернопі́льська о́бласть, translit=Ternopilska oblast; also referred to as Ternopilshchyna, uk, Терно́пільщина, label=none, or Ternopillia, uk, Тернопілля, label=none) is an obl ...

, and was bordered by the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

to the east.

Origins

KMK succeeded the western

Catacomb culture The Catacomb culture (russian: Катакомбная культура, Katakombnaya kul'tura, uk, Катакомбна культура, Katakombna kul'tura) was a Bronze Age culture which flourished on the Pontic steppe in 2500–1950 BC.Parp ...

Characteristics

In 1929, the archaeologist Ya. Brik studied four

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 ...

s of this culture near Ostapye village, currently in

Ternopil Raion Ternopil Raion ( uk, Тернопільський район) is a raion in Ternopil Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Ternopil. It has a population of On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the n ...

, Ukraine. He found ceramics, flint tools, bone and bronze decorations. Bottoms, walls and ceilings of the graves are layered with rocks. Skeletons are laid in contracted position towards the east. The name of this culture is related to its

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

goods, such as pots, which were decorated with multiple strips of clay (cordons) before

firing Dismissal (also called firing) is the termination of employment by an employer against the will of the employee. Though such a decision can be made by an employer for a variety of reasons, ranging from an economic downturn to performance-related ...

. The culture also featured various other distinctive ornaments KMK tribes practiced

herding Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in ...

and made widespread use of

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...

s. According to Anthony (2007), chariotry spread from the Multi-cordoned ware culture to the Monteoru,

Vatin Vatin (; hu, Versecvát) is a village located in the municipality of Vršac, Serbia. A border crossing between Serbia and Romania is located in the village. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (53.2%) with a sizable Hungarian minority (26.8 ...

and Ottomány cultures in southeastern Europe. 200 or more Multi-cordoned Ware settlements have been documented, some with cultural deposits 1 metre thick (e.g. Babino III). Occasional fortified settlements are known, pointing to higher interregional conflict than in previous periods. Houses included sunken earth-houses and ground-level wooden-post buildings with a rectangular plan.

Physical type

The physical type of the Multi-cordoned Ware culture has been designated as

dolichocephalic Dolichocephaly (derived from the Ancient Greek δολιχός 'long' and κεφαλή 'head') is a condition where the head is longer than would be expected, relative to its width. In humans, scaphocephaly is a form of dolichocephaly. Dolichocep ...

Ethnicity

Circumstantial evidence links KMK to the spread of one or more

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...

Leo Klejn Lev Samuilovich Kleyn (; 1 July 1927 – 7 November 2019), better known in English as Leo Klejn, was a Russian Archaeology, archaeologist, anthropologist and philologist. Early life Klejn was born in Vitebsk, Belarus, to two Jewish physicians, ...

identifies its bearers with the early

Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. ...

. Other scholars suggest that KMK may have been connected to the

Bryges Bryges or Briges ( el, Βρύγοι or Βρίγες) is the historical name given to a people of the ancient Balkans. They are generally considered to have been related to the Phrygians, who during classical antiquity lived in western Anatolia. Bot ...

and/or

Phrygians The Phrygians (Greek: Φρύγες, ''Phruges'' or ''Phryges'') were an ancient Indo-European speaking people, who inhabited central-western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) in antiquity. They were related to the Greeks. Ancient Greek authors used ...

Successors

It was increasingly influenced, assimilated and eventually displaced by the Timber grave or Srubna/Srubnaya culture.Евразийская степная металлургическая провинция // БРЭ. Т.9. М.,2007. In – 1800 BCE bearers of KMK migrated southward into the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Notes

References

Sources

* *

Literature

Куштан Д.П. Памятники Культуры Многоваликовой Керамики В Среднем Поднепровье (По Материалам Разведок В Зоне Кременчугского Водохранилища)
* Тернопільський енциклопедичний словник. — Тернопіль, видавничо-поліграфічний комбінат «Збруч», том 1, 2004. * Тернопілля: сторінки історії. — X, 1995; * Словник-довідник з археології. — К., 1996. {{Authority control Archaeological cultures of Eastern Europe Archaeological cultures in Moldova Archaeological cultures in Russia Archaeological cultures in Ukraine Bronze Age cultures of Europe Indo-European archaeological cultures