The problem of ethnic interpretation of archaeological cultures and the ethnogenesis of the Abkhaz-Adygs

The article considers the problems of ethnic interpretation of archaeological cultures. The status of the concept of “archaeological culture” and the issue of the relationship between archaeological cultures and ethnic communities are analyzed because of both established theoretical approaches and modern ones. The system of ancient cultures of the Central and Western Caucasus is studied, which most adequately reflects the ethnic map of the Early Bronze Age. The problems of ethnogenesis and early stages of the ethnic history of the Abkhaz-Adyghe are considered in close connection with the archaeological cultures: Maikop and dolmen. This study addresses the issues of attributing archaeological cultures to specific ethnic groups, highlighting the deep roots of Abkhaz-Adyghe genesis and history, tracing them back not only to the Bronze Age but also to preceding eras. Various approaches and directions are analyzed, revealing the features of the origin and development of the Maikop and dolmen cultures, attention is focused on the presence of a large amount of scientific and factual material indicating the genetic and ethnocultural relationship of the bearers of the Early and Middle Bronze Age cultures with the proto-Abkhaz ethnic massif.

1. CHILDE G. Piecing Together the Past.– London: Routledge and Kegan Pau,1956. – 186 p.

2. TALLGREN A.D. Kupfer und Bronzezeit in Nord und Os-trussland // Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistyksen Aikakauskirja. Helsinki, 1911. – P. 88-91

3. ARUTYUNOV S.A., XAZANOV A.M. Problema arxeologicheskix kriteriev e`tnicheskoj specifiki [The problem of archaeological criteria of ethnic specificity]. In: Sovetskaya e`tnografiya. – 1979. – № 6. – P. 79-89. (In Russ.).

4. BGAZHNOKOV B.X. Majkopskaya kul`tura i problemy` drevnejshej istori iady`gov [Maikop culture and problems of the ancient history of the Circassians]. In: Izvestiya KBNC RAN. – 2011. – № 4. – P. 5-15. (In Russ.).

5. BGAZHNOKOV B.X. Preemstvennost` e`tnicheskogo razvitiya protoabxazo-ady`gskogo na-seleniya. [Continuity of ethnic development of the proto-Abkhaz-Adyghe population]. In: Arxe-ologiya i e`tnologiya Severnogo Kavkaza. – 2020. – № 10. – P. 5-15. (In Russ.).

6. BETROZOV R.Zh. Ady`gi: Istokie`tnosa [Adygi: The Origins of the ethnos.]. – Nal`chik: «E`l`brus», 1990. – 133 p. (In Russ.).

7. BETROZOV R.Zh. Proiskhozhdenie i etnokulturnye svyazi adygov [Origin and ethnocultural connections of the Circassians]. – Nalchik: «NarT», 1991. – 168 p. (In Russ.).

8. BETROZOVR.Zh. Ady`gi: vozniknovenie i razvitie e`tnosa [Adygi: the emergence and devel-opment of an ethnic group]. – Nal`chik: «E`l`brus», 1998. – 279 p. (In Russ.).

9. BOROV A.X. E`tnogenez i regionogenez v stanovlenii istoricheskoj Kabardino-Balkarii [Eth-nogenesis and regionogenesis in the formation of historical Kabardino-Balkaria]. In: E`lektronny`jzhurnal "Kavkazologiya". – 2023. – № 3. – P. 14-75. (In Russ.).

10. DAGUZHIEV R.M. Istoricheskij opy`t formirovaniya i razvitiya abazo-ady`gskogo istoriko-kul`turnogo tipa (IV ty`s. do n. e`. – 60-e gg. XIX v.)[ Historical experience of the formation and de-velopment of the Abazo-Adyghe historical and cultural type (IV millennium BC – 60s of the XIX century)] // Avtoref. ... diss. kand. istor. nauk. – Pyatigorsk, 2004. – 24 p. (In Russ.).

11. KAS`YAN A.S. Majkopskaya kul`tura, ee proisxozhdenie i yazy`kovaya identifikaciya: vzglyad lingvista. [Maykop culture, its origin and linguistic identification: a linguist's view] [E`lektronny`j resurs]// Genofond rf. sajt. URL http://genofond.rf/?page_id=28165 (data obrash-heniya 13.09. 2024). (In Russ.).

12. KAMENECZKIJ I.S. Arxeologicheskayakul`tura – opredelenie i interpretaciya [Archaeologi-cal culture – its definition and interpretation]. In: Sovetskaya arxeologiya. – 1970. – № 2. – P. 18-36. (In Russ.).

13. KLEJN L.S. E`tnogenez i arxeologiya. Teoreticheskie issledovaniya.[ Ethnogenesis and arche-ology] – Sankt-Peterburg: Evraziya, 2013. – 528 p. (In Russ.).

14. KORENEVSKIJ S.N. Drevnejshie zemledel`cy i skotovody` Predkavkaz`ya [The most ancient farmers and cattle breeders of the Pre-Caucasus]. – Moskva: Nauka, 2004. – 246 p. (In Russ.).

15. KRADIN N.N. Arxeologicheskiekul`tury` i e`tnicheskie obshhnosti [Archaeological cultures and ethnic communities]. In:Teoriya I praktika arxeologicheskix issledovanij. – 2009. – № 5. – P. 9-19. (In Russ.).

16. KRUPNOV E.I. Drevnejshij period v istorii Kabardy` [The earliest period in the history of Kabarda]. In: Sbornik statej po istorii Kabardy`. – Vy`p. 1. – Nal`chik: Kabard. kn. izd-vo,1951. – 190 p. (In Russ.).

17. KUZ`MINA E.E. Istorizm arxeologii: metodologicheskie problem [Historicism of archeology: methodological problems] – Moskva: Izd-vo Ak. Nauk SSSR. 1976. – 60 p. (In Russ.).

18. LOVPACHE N. G. Majkopskaya kul`tura i ady`gi [Maikop culture and the Adygs]. In: Vest-nik nauki Ady`gejskogo respublikanskogo instituta gumanitarny`x issledovanij imeni T.M. Kerasheva. – 2019. – № 19(43). – P. 75-83. (In Russ.).

19. MARKOVIN V.I. Dol`mennaya kul`tura i voprosy` rannego e`tnogeneza abxazo-ady`gov.[ Dolmen culture and questions of early ethnogenesis of the Abkhaz-Adyghe]. – Nal`chik; E`l`brus, 1974. – 56 p. (In Russ.).

20. MARKOVIN V.I. Dol`meny` Zapadnogo Kavkaza [Dolmens of the Western Caucasus]. – Moskva: Izd-vo Nauka, 1978. – 328 p. (In Russ.).

21. NAGOEVA L.N. Specifika rannego etapa kul'turogeneza abhazo-adygov [Specifics of the early stage of cultural genesis of the Abkhaz-Adygs ] // Diss. kand. kul't. nauk – Spb, 2022. – 139 p. (In Russ.).

22. REZEPKIN A.D. Severo-Zapadny`j Kavkaz v e`poxu rannej bronzy`[North-Western Cauca-sus in the Early Bronze Age] avtoref. diss…kand. ist. nauk. – Leningrad: 1989 – 24 p. (In Russ.).

23. SAFRONOV V.A. Indoevropejskie prarodiny. [Indo-European homelands] – Gor`kij: Volgo-Vyatskoe knizhnoe izdatel`stvo.1989 – 399 p. (In Russ.).

24. SMIRNOV A.P. K voprosu ob arxeologicheskoj kul`ture [On the question of archaeological culture]. In: Sovetskayaarxeologiya. – 1964. – № 4. – P. 3-10. (In Russ.).

25. SEDOV V.V. Rannij period slavyanskogo e`tnogeneza. [Early period of Slavic ethnogenesis.] – Moskva: Nauka, 1976. – 157 p. (In Russ.).

26. SIVER A.V. Voprosy` rannego e`tnogeneza ady`gov [Questions of the early ethnogenesis of the Adyghe] // Teoriya i praktika obshhestvennogo razvitiya. – Krasnodar: Izdatel`skij dom «Xors», 2014. – Vy`p. 16. – P. 246-250. (In Russ.).

27. TISHKOV V.A. Ot etnosa k etnichnosti i posle // [From ethnos to ethnicity and after] In: Etnograficheskoe obozrenie. – 2016 – № 5. – P. 5-23. (In Russ.).

28. FOMENKO V.A. Zapadnokavkazskaya kul`tura stroitelej dol`menov [West Caucasian culture of dolmen builders]. In: Sovremenny`e nauchny`e issledovaniya i razrabotki. – 2017. – № 9 (17). – P. 492-495. (In Russ.).

29. HOTKO S.H. Adygi. Etnogenez, istoricheskaya etnografiya, politicheskaya istoriya [Ethno-genesis, historical ethnography, political history]– Majkop, 2021 – 638 p. (In Russ.).

30. SHNIRELMAN V.A. Arheologicheskaya kul'tura i social'naya real'nost' [Archaeological cul-ture and social reality] – Ekaterinburg:UrO RAN, 1993. – 39 p. (In Russ.).