THE PERISHABLE MATERIAL CULTURE OF THE PONTIC STEPPE SCYTHIANS: SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF A FOURTH-CENTURY BC KURGAN BURIAL AT BULHAKOVO, UKRAINE

Abstract

Using the organic artefacts from the fourth-century BC grave at Bulhakovo in southern Ukraine, this article discusses the economics of the perishable material culture of the Scythians of the Pontic Steppe region. Thanks to the survival of organic materials (wood, leather, textiles), the burial provides important information about the complex networks of production and exchange that existed in European Scythia. Scientific analyses produced new data regarding materials and techniques used for the production of wooden, leather and textile objects, providing an opportunity for a more nuanced discussion of their production and consumption.