Bronze Flat Arrowheads with Stings from the North Black Sea Region

Abstract

The article considers the currently known bronze flat petiolate arrowheads with stings found in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the Northern Black Sea region, along with new finds. In total, 19 petiolate arrowheads with stings and 3 negatives of similar products on casting molds were taken into account. The distribution area of such items covers the entire western part of the region, between Danube-Carpathian region and the Dnieper basin. The finds are concentrated in the southern part of the Middle Dnieper region (9 items), the North-West Black Sea region (5 items), and the Upper Dniester region (3 items). One arrowhead was found in Podolia and another one was discovered in Northern Bukovina. All currently known casting molds for manufacturing petiolate arrowheads stings come from the North-Western Black Sea region, which allows to localize there one of manufacturing centers. Based on the design features of petiolate, it is proposed to divide all flat petiolate arrowheads with stings into five types. In addition, it is considered the possibility of selecting sub-variants if necessary: by the width of the feather, by the length of the petiole, by the presence of rib in the middle of the feather, by the asymmetry of the stings, by massiveness, etc. Arrowheads of the discussed type, with their archaeological context being reliably known (Magala, Novoselitsa, Volkovka, Gordeevka, Petrikov, Stary Buyukany), are associated with closed complexes of the BrD – HaB1 period (XIII–X centuries BC) in the North Black Sea region. All occasional finds from the region can be dated within these limits. The arrival of bronze petiolate arrowheads with stings in the Northern Black Sea region may have been influenced by contacts with the Balkan-Carpathian and Middle Eastern cultural centers. It cannot be ruled out that the regional manufacturing of such arrowheads could be based on imitating local flint implements of the same type, found in various Bronze Age cultures.