Pyany Bor Culture Weapons According to Materials from Novo-Sasykul Burial Ground

Abstract

The article outlines results of weapon complex analysis of the PyanyBor culture population from Novo-Sasykul burial ground, dated back to the 1st – 2nd cc. BC. The main weapon of this population was ranged weapon e.g. bone and iron arrowheads. Features of archer’s burials are compared with all funeral complexes of the PyanyBor culture. As a result, some patterns of finding iron arrowheads and its certain types were revealed. Bony sleeve arrowheads were common during at the whole cultural stage from the 2nd c. BC. to the 2ndc. AD, petiolate arrowheads appeared later – in the 1st c. AD. Melee weapons (daggers, spears, swords) are insignificant in the Novo-Sasykul burial ground. All discovered swords and daggers are borrowed from the nomads. The exception is combat knives, which are found in large numbers. They are a kind of ethnocultural marker in the PyanyBor community. Bronze knife cases are considered by the authors as the same marker.