The Archer’s Rings of Azerbaijan as a Symbol of Eastern Aesthetic Tradition
Abstract
The purpose of the research paper is to introduce new artifacts into scholarly circulation, as well as to examine and systematize information about previously discovered similar items identified at archaeological sites in Azerbaijan. The artifacts are analyzed against the broader background of comparable synchronous finds (12th–14th centuries) from the territory of Eurasia.
The scientific novelty of the article lies in the description of unique objects that have not previously been studied separately in archaeological scholarship, as well as in the compilation of a distribution map of archer’s ring finds from the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the studied period.
Conclusions. The archer’s ring was considered a symbol of a warrior and testified to its owner’s mastery of the bow and arrows.
In the course of this study, three bone artifacts were examined: 1) Sample No. 1 was discovered in a ‘Mongolian’ burial at Mingachevir and is displayed in the exhibition (AF 27450); 2) Sample No. 2 (AF 28248) was found at the Gyrkhchirag settlement (the medieval city of Mahmudabad); both objects are exhibited at the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan (Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan), and 3) Sample No. 3 is displayed at the Historical and Local History Museum of Shabran (Shabran District, Republic of Azerbaijan).
Sample No. 1 is decorated with five circular incised motifs. Samples No. 2 and No. 3 are plain. All artifacts are rounded in shape with an ellipsoidal projection and show traces of wear on the interior surface, indicating their use. The specimens belong to the type of rings with an elongated shield. The items from Azerbaijan find analogies among synchronous objects from Eurasia, both decorated with circles and undecorated. The dimensions of the examined items are nearly identical, suggesting that they were worn on the thumb of a man – professional warrior-archers. The archer’s rings from Azerbaijan should be dated to the chronological framework of the first half/end of the 13th century to the first half of the 14th century.
At present, four bone archer’s rings are known from the territory of Azerbaijan (including new materials). Two were discovered in burials (Sample No. 1 from Mingachevir and the ring from Burial No. 10 at Oren-Kala), and two were accidental finds (Shabran and Gyrkhchirag).
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