| Invasions of the Roman Empire | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Time | 300–800 AD (greatest estimate) |
| Place | Europe and theMediterraneanregion |
| Event | Tribes invading thedeclining Roman Empire |
TheChernyakhov culture,Cherniakhiv culture[1][2][3] orSântana de Mureș—Chernyakhov culture[4][5][6] was anarchaeological culture that flourished between the 2nd and 5th centuries AD in a wide area ofEastern Europe, specifically in what is nowUkraine,Romania,Moldova and parts ofBelarus. The culture is thought to be the result of a multiethnic cultural mix of theGothic,Geto-Dacian, andSarmatian populations in the area at that time.[7] "In the past, the association of this Chernyakhov culture with the Goths was highly contentious, but important methodological advances have made it irresistible."[8]
The Chernyakhov culture territorially replaced its predecessor, theZarubintsy culture. Both cultures were discovered by the Czech-Russian archaeologistVikentiy Khvoyka, who conducted numerous excavations aroundKyiv and its vicinity. With the invasion ofHuns, the culture declined and was replaced with thePenkovka culture (or the culture of theAntes).
Similarities have been noted between the Chernyakhov culture and theWielbark culture, which was located closer to theBaltic Sea.
The Chernyakhov culture encompassed regions of modern Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania.[9] The spellingChernyakhov is the transliteration fromRussian for an archaeological site in the vicinity ofKyiv, modern Ukraine. Other spellings includeCherniakhiv (Ukrainian),Czerniachów (Polish), and several others. The culture has also been named afterSântana de Mureș, a cemetery site inTransylvania,Romania, spelledSîntana de Mureș before 1993. This site is also known asMarosszentanna, the formerly officialHungarian name under which the first excavations took place.[10] The dual name reflects past preferential use by differentschools of history (Romanian andSoviet) to designate the culture.[citation needed]
In the earlier half of the 20th century, scholars spent much energy debating the ethnic affinity of people in the Chernyakhov zone. Soviet scholars, such asBoris Rybakov, saw it as the archaeological reflection of theProto-Slavs,[11] but western, especially German, historians, and Polish archeologists attributed it to the Goths. According toKazimierz Godłowski (1979), the origins of Slavic culture should be connected with the areas of the upperDnieper River basin (theKyiv culture) while the Chernyakhov culture with the federation of the Goths.[12] However, the remains of archaeologically visible material culture and their link with ethnic identity are not as clear as originally thought.
Today, scholars recognize the Chernyakhov zone as representing a cultural interaction of a diversity of peoples, but predominantly those who already existed in the region,[13] whether it be theSarmatians,[14] or theGetae-Dacians (some authors believe that the Getae-Dacians played the leading role in the creation of the culture).[15][dubious –discuss]
Both inhumation and cremation were practiced. The dead were buried with grave goods – pottery, iron implements, bone combs, personal ornaments, although in later periods grave goods decrease. Of the inhumation burials, the dead were usually buried in a north–south axis (with head to north), although a minority are in east–west orientation. Funerary gifts often includefibulae, belt buckles, bone combs, glass drinking vessels and other jewelry. Women's burials in particular shared very close similarities with Wielbark forms - buried with two fibulae, one on each shoulder. Like in the Wielbark culture, Chernyakhov burials usually lack weapons as funerary gifts, except in a few cremation burials reminiscent of Przeworsk influences.[16] Although cremation burials are traditionally associated with Dacian, Germanic and Slavic peoples, and inhumation is suggestive of nomadic practice, careful analysis suggests that the mixed burials were of an earlier period, whilst toward the end there was a trend toward inhumation burials without grave goods. This could be the result of the influences of Christianity, but could just as easily be explained in terms of an evolution of non-Christian beliefs about the afterlife.
Pottery was predominantly of local production, being both wheel and hand-made. Wheel made pottery predominated, and was made of finer clay. It was reminiscent of earlier Sarmatian types, refined by Roman andLa Tene influences. Hand made pottery showed a greater variety in form, and was sometimes decorated with incised linear motifs. In addition, Romanamphorae are also found, suggesting trade contacts with the Roman world. There is also a small, but regular, presence of distinct hand–made pottery typical of that found in western Germanic groups, suggesting the presence of Germanic groups.
The Chernyakhov people were primarily a settled population involved in cultivation of cereals – especiallywheat,barley andmillet. Finds of ploughshares,sickles andscythes have been frequent. Cattle breeding was the primary mode of animal husbandry, and the breeding ofhorses appears to have been restricted to the open steppe. Metalworking skills were widespread throughout the culture, and local smiths produced much of the implements, although there is some evidence of production specialization.
The Chernyakhov culture ends in the 5th century, attributed to the arrival of the Huns.[14] The collapse of the culture is no longer explained in terms of population displacement[dubious –discuss], although therewas an outmigration of Goths. Around 370, a series of events including the presence ofHuns at the eastern edge of the culture culminated with the death ofErmanaric, the leader ofGothic confederation, and his successor,Athanaric, found refuge south of Danube along with most of the Gothic population.[17] Rather, more recent theories explain the collapse of the Chernyakhov culture in terms of a disruption of the hierarchical political structure that maintained it. John Mathews suggests that, despite its cultural homogeneity, a sense of ethnic distinction was kept between the disparate peoples. Some of the autochthonous elements persist,[18] and become even more widespread, after the demise of the Gothic elite – a phenomenon associated with the rise and expansion of theearly Slavs.
Whilst acknowledging the mixed origins of the Chernyakhov culture,Peter Heather suggests that the culture is ultimately a reflection of the Goths' domination of the Pontic area. He cites literary sources that attest that the Goths were the centre of political attention at this time.[19] In particular, the culture's development corresponds well withJordanes' tale of Gothic migration fromGothiscandza toOium, under the leadership ofFilimer. Moreover, he highlights that crucial external influences that catalysed Chernyakhov cultural development derived from theWielbark culture. Originating in the mid-1st century, it spread from south of the Baltic Sea (from territory around laterPomerania) down theVistula in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Wielbark elements are prominent in the Chernyakhov zone, such as typical 'Germanic' pottery, brooch types and female costume, and, in particular, weaponless bi-ritual burials. Although cultures may spread without substantial population movements, Heather draws attention to a decrease in the number of settlements in the original Pomeranian Wielbark heartland as evidence of a significant population movement. Combined with Jordanes' account, Heather concludes that a movement ofGoths (and other east Germanic groups such asHeruli andGepids) "played a major role in the creation of the Cernjachove culture".[20] He clarifies that this movement was not a single, royal-led, migration, but was rather accomplished by a series of small, sometimes mutually antagonistic groups.[21]
However,Guy Halsall challenges some of Heather's conclusions. He sees no chronological development from the Wielbark to Chernyakhov culture, given that the latter stage of the Wielbark culture is synchronous with Chernyakhov, and the two regions have minimal territorial overlap. "Although it is often claimed that Cernjachov metalwork derives from Wielbark types, close examination reveals no more than a few types with general similarities to Wielbark types".[22] Michael Kulikowski also challenges the Wielbark connection, highlighting that the greatest reason for Wielbark-Chernyakhov connection derives from a "negative characteristic" (i.e., the absence of weapons in burials), which is less convincing proof than a positive one. He argues that the Chernyakhov culture could just as likely have been an indigenous development of local Pontic, Carpic or Dacian cultures, or a blended culture resulting fromPrzeworsk and steppe interactions. Furthermore, he altogether denies the existence of Goths prior to the 3rd century. Kulikowski states that no Gothic people, nor even a noblekernel, migrated from Scandinavia or the Baltic. Rather, he suggests that the "Goths" formedin situ. Like the Alemanni or the Franks, the Goths were a "product of the Roman frontier".[23]
Other influences, such as a minority of burials containing weapons, are seen from thePrzeworsk andZarubinec cultures. The latter has been connected withearly Slavs.[14]
In 2019, a genetic study of different cultures and periods on theEurasian Steppe, including the Chernyakhov culture, was published inCurrent Biology. Out of 31 ancient individuals tested, three samples which the authors identified with "Ukrainian post-Scythian Chernyakhiv culture" were analyzed. They "overlapped with modern Europeans, representing the most 'western' range of variation among the groups of this study". They had none of the East Asian component of ancestry and they had more Near Eastern ancestry than historically earlier samples from the region. The authors note that the Chernyakhov culture was "likely ethnically heterogeneous", but they suggest that their three samples "appear to represent its Gothic component". They reasoned that the samples were Gothic because their origins seem to be from further west in Europe, given that Near Eastern ancestry is associated in European populations with the immigration of the first Neolithic farmers. The mtDNA haplogroups of the three samples were H1n6, H1c and T2g1.[24]
Genetic makeup agrees with the Gothic source of post- Scythian Chernyakhiv culture
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