The material culture of the Bashkirs in the second half of the 18th century (according to some written and archaeological materials)

Akhatov Al'bert Tagirovich PhD in History Researcher; R.G. Kuzeev Institute of Ethnological Research is a separate structural unit of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 6 Karl Marx St., Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan, 450077, Russia bertik@mail.ru Other publications by this author

The study of the material culture of any nation is one of the important directions in the field of humanities. It helps to significantly deepen and expand the understanding of the historical past and present of a particular ethnic group, identify its characteristic features, analyze the influence of various factors, cultural contacts, interactions, etc. on it.

The study of the material culture of the Bashkir people, which began in the first half of the 18th century, when the first attempts were made to systematize the available data, has now covered almost all aspects of this problem. In the course of the conducted historical and ethnographic research, scientists have studied the traditional settlements and dwellings of Bashkirs, objects of their daily life, tools, clothing, jewelry, etc. ^[5]; ^{[22, pp. 39-50]}.

However, it is worth noting that if, thanks to the existing corpus of written, ethnographic, archival, etc. If the everyday life and the related "material environment" of the Bashkir population in the 19th–20th centuries have been studied well enough, then science has limited opportunities for their research in earlier periods.

The second half of the 18th century occupies a special place in the study of Bashkir material culture. On the one hand, this is a period when, in conditions of subsistence farming, people for the most part provided themselves with necessary household items, clothes, shoes, tools, etc., which were made of wood, leather, wool, linen, etc. On the other hand, due to the expansion of economic and trade ties, factory-made goods are increasingly entering the life of the Bashkir population.

At the same time, the territory of the Southern Urals was visited by the famous scientific research Academic expeditions (1768-1774), whose participants paid great attention to the daily life, economic activities and culture of the Bashkir people.

Expedition diaries of scientists by P. S. Pallas ^{[11, 12, 13, 14]}, I. I. Lepekhina ^{[8, 9, 10]}, I. P. Falka ^[21], I. G. Georgi ^[6], N. P. Rychkova ^[15] were subsequently published as separate works, which formed the first group. sources when writing this article. They are joined by the works of the famous researcher of the Southern Urals P. I. Rychkov ^{[16, 17]}.

At the same time, these written materials provide only general information about certain branches of the economy and related tools, the presence or absence of a particular type of craft, household items, etc. In this situation, the second group of sources, represented by archaeological materials obtained as a result of excavations of Bashkir settlement complexes of Modern times on the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan (RB), the history of which was considered earlier, allows to deepen and expand knowledge about the material culture of the Bashkirs at this time ^[2].

It includes materials from the exploration and excavations of the Aznaevsky settlement (XVII – turn of the XVIII–XIX centuries, Ishimbaysky district), Berekovsky settlement (XVII – turn of the XVIII–XIX centuries; Meleuzovsky district) ^{[1, 3, 19]}. Tekeevo (XVIII century. Salavatsky district) ^[4], the village of Tukus (XVIII century., Karmaskalinsky district) ^[7], the village of Shemyak-2 (XVIII century., Ufa district) ^[18] which are kept in the collections of the National Museum of the Republic of Belarus, the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography of the Institute of Ethnological Research named after R.G. Kuzeev UFITS RAS and others .

The purpose of the research is to deepen knowledge about the material culture of the Bashkir people in the second half of the 18th century by integrating existing written sources and archaeological materials.

Since the concept of material culture includes a wide range of values created by man as a result of his vital activity, we will focus mainly on evidence, objects and materials characterizing the economic and everyday life of Bashkirs in the second half of the XVIII century.

All researchers and travelers who visited the Southern Urals during the time period under study noted that in most of the territory where Bashkirs lived, semi-nomadic cattle breeding was the predominant industry, an integral part of which was seasonal migration from place to place, accompanied by almost year-round grazing. Horses, large and small cattle, and sometimes camels were bred ^{[16, p. 128, 132-133]}; ^{[17, p. 292]}; ^{[11, p. 95-97]}; ^{[21, p. 321]}; ^{[6, p. 99]}.

The number of livestock in individual farms varied in a fairly wide range. For example, I. G. Georgi wrote that "it is rare for an ordinary person to have less than 30 or 50 horses; many have up to 500, while the rich have up to 1,000. And others up to 2000 and over; which corresponds to the number of other livestock" ^{[6, p. 98]}.

Each nomadic group, except for the winter camps, had several seasonal settlements in which they lived, gradually moving from place to place. According to I. I. Lepekhin, Bashkir summer nomads, which "as a rule" were visited by "relatives", could be located at remote distances – "a hundred miles" (more than 100 km) from villages ^{[10, pp. 42, 59]}. P. S. Pallas also recorded Bashkir villages left for the summer during his journey. and their summer nomads, ^{[11, p. 95-97, 106, 157]}; ^{[12, p. 8]}.

Bashkir nomads traveled along traditional routes, largely determined by the farming system. I. I. Lepekhin noted that Bashkirs with all their cattle "migrate from place to place" in such a way as to "leave the nearest fields... unharmed for autumn haymaking" ^{[10, pp. 41-42]}.

Speaking about Bashkir dwellings, I.G. Georgi pointed out that they had "single winter huts and light summer yurts" that were "3 to 5 fathoms across" (6.4 to 10.6 m), as well as "summer yurts covered with birch bark" ^{[6, pp. 96-97]}. N. P. Rychkov also He noted the presence of "homeless tents" and "bast huts" among the Bashkirs ^{[15, p. 155]}.

In the course of archaeological research conducted in the Abzelilovsky, Khaibullinsky, Ishimbaysky and other districts of the Republic of Belarus, blackened depressions of rounded shape with a diameter of 3 to 17 m were revealed, presumably representing traces of temporary dwellings – yurts located at seasonal sites of the XVII – early XX centuries. The same rounded depressions with a diameter of 4 to 10 m were studied during the excavations of the Aznaevsky settlement, which was a winter nomad, which later became the Bashkir village ^{[19, p. 15-16, 55-57, 62, 64, 91, 123, 134, 138-139, 147-150]}.

At the same time, during the excavations, D. Tekeeva N.A. Mazhitov identified a presumably residential excavation measuring (along the bottom) 5.6x4.6 m ^{[4, p. 86]}.

The cultural layer of almost all the studied complexes contains bones of domestic animals. Their species composition can be judged based on the study of osteological materials obtained during the excavations of the Shemyak-2 settlement complex, interpreted as the Bashkir summer settlement of the early 18th century ^{[18, p. 8]}. Analysis of animal bone remains (1160 bones, of which 593 were identified) showed their belonging to 6 species of domestic and 3 species of wild animals. In terms of the number of bones, the horse dominated (36.9%), followed by large (33.1%) and small cattle – sheep and goats (22.3%). Wild animals (4%) are represented by a fairly significant number of bones, but their poor preservation allowed us to identify only the skeletal remains of a hare, ermine and moose. Bones of pigs – 2.7% and dogs – 1% were also found. The researcher, paying attention to the presence of bones of a domestic pig in kitchen waste, suggested that they came by accident, or it was a question of lax observance of religious canons among the nomadic Muslim population of the Bashkir Urals ^[20].

Obviously, they ended up in the cultural stratum of the settlement complex by accident, since I. G. Georgi, describing Bashkirs, noted that "they revered pigs like Mugametans as filthy" ^{[6, p. 98]}.

The development of cattle breeding among the Bashkirs is also indicated by the Aznaevsky settlement found during excavations, etc. Tukus items of horse equipment – bits, scissors for shearing sheep, etc. A knife with a curved blade was found in the Beregovo settlement for stripping a horse's hoof before forging it.

Despite the fact that almost all the authors described the Bashkir economy of the second half of the 18th century. As semi-nomadic, however, they identified territories with developed agriculture, where the Bashkir population grew "barley, oats, winter and spring rye" ^{[15, p. 134]}; ^{[9, p. 24, 243]}; ^{[11, p. 65]}.

In written sources, saban is mentioned from agricultural tools, which the Bashkirs used to plow the land ^{[11, p. 8, 64-66]}; ^{[9, p. 24]}. For mowing hay, they used pink salmon scythes ^{[9, p. 245]}, which could also be used to harvest grain. Grain was ground with millstones, water mills, and mortars (kiles) were also used ^{[11, p. 57]}; ^{[6, p. 96-97]}.

Archaeological finds such as fragments of harvesting tools (scythes and sickles), grindstones, stone millstones found at the Aznaevsky settlement, the village of Tukus, and the Berekovsky settlement also serve as confirmation of the development of agriculture.

Such occupations as bee-keeping, gathering, hunting and fishing occupied an important place in the economic life of the Bashkirs, the level of development of which varied depending on the natural and geographical features of the area where they lived.

According to the testimony of travelers in the second half of the XVIII century. beekeeping was widespread among the Bashkir population ^{[11, pp. 26, 127]}; ^{[6, pp. 98-99]}. Thus, P. I. Rychkov pointed out that among them "there are many Bashkirs who have hundreds of up to five or more sides" ^{[16, p. 177]}. P.S. Pallas noted that Bashkirs used "special small and narrow axes" and tools "similar to flat and blunt ones" when making sides. chisel" ^{[11, pp. 21-22]}.

Collecting, as a form of economic activity of the Bashkir population of the region, was also noted in the works of researchers of the second half of the XVIII century. P. S. Pallas wrote about the Bashkirs' use of sverbiga, sourdough, hogweed, Siberian skerda, etc. ^{[11, pp. 26-27, 31-32]}. I. I. Lepekhin recorded their use of bird cherry and the collection of larch resin, which they used for medical purposes to treat both humans and animals and as a means of caring for their teeth ^{[9, pp. 95, 165]}. These industries were not reflected in the archaeological plan, however, during the excavations of the Aznaevsky settlement and the Berekovsky settlement, woodworking tools were identified, including knives and axes, which could be used in the manufacture of boards for keeping bees in them.

Also, researchers, passing through territories inhabited by Bashkirs, noted that hunting played a significant role in their lives, which, along with the extraction of furs and skins of wild animals, was also of food importance, providing additional meat. P.I. Rychkov pointed out "Bashkirs honor sanar for their fishery, that is, hunting", ^{[16, p. 184 Some of them even kept dogs on purpose, which, according to him, "naturally had a penchant for catching wolves and foxes" [17, p. 296]}.

They hunted martens, foxes, wolves, bears, squirrels, deer, moose, etc. using various techniques and methods – snares, traps, crossbows, skiing, etc. A special place was occupied by traditional steppe hunting with falcons and hawks ^{[11, pp. 15, 24-25]}; ^{[12, p. 14]}; ^{[6, p. 100]}; ^{[9, p. 4-5, 39-40, 61, 68-69]}; ^{[17, p. 284]}. During the hunt, both firearms and traditional bows and arrows were used ^{[17, p. 288]}; ^{[11, p. 24]}. At the same time, according to I. I. Lepekhin, Bashkirs hunted "solely relying on their agility and skill in shooting arrows" ^{[9, p. 4]}. Fishing often played an auxiliary role in the Bashkir economy, it is no coincidence that P. I. Rychkov pointed out that only "some of them" were engaged in fishing ^{[16, p. 184]}.

As already noted, a significant number of bones of wild animals were found in the cultural layer of the village of Shemyak-2, but their poor preservation allowed us to identify only the skeletal remains of a hare, ermine and moose. Dog bones were also found here ^[20]. Arrowheads, sinkers, a harpoon, fish hooks, scales and fish bones were found at the Aznaevsky settlement, the Berekovsky settlement, and the village of Tukus.

Some Bashkirs were engaged in trade, selling "their horses, cattle, honey and wax" ^{[16, p. 184]}. In addition, some of them transported rye to the Kama Distilleries, which produced alcohol and vodka ^{[14, p. 26]}, "or to the city for sale" ^{[11, p. 26]}. Coins of the 18th century found during archaeological excavations at the Aznaevsky settlement, village of Tukus, village of Shemyak-2. On the one hand, they provide additional information for dating monuments, and on the other hand, they testify to the trade relations of the population living here.

All researchers and travelers, describing in sufficient detail the Bashkir economy, the peculiarities of their nomads, dwellings, some customs, traditions, etc., practically did not touch on household items in their works, obviously perceiving them as elements of everyday life and did not pay much attention to them.

Among the household utensils mentioned in the works of travelers are mainly leather, wooden and birch bark products ^{[8, pp. 530-531]}; ^{[13, pp. 650-652]}; ^{[6, p. 97]}. Thus, according to I. I. Lepekhin, Bashkirs use leather to "make not only shoes for themselves, but also all household utensils, such as buckets, tubs, bottles" ^{[9, p. 44]}.

In the course of archaeological surveys of Bashkir settlement complexes, no traces of leather and wooden utensils were found, which were widespread among Bashkirs in the past due to their short-lived nature. Among the finds related to wooden tableware, one can single out a bronze plate with rivets, which probably fastened the cracked product at the Aznaevsky settlement. An iron handle-loop of a semicircular shape was also found in the Berekovsky village.

At the same time, archaeological materials show that despite I.G. Georgi's statement that "stone or crushware and other things are rare among them" ^{[6, p. 97]}, these table items were a significant element of the Bashkir material culture. In the course of archaeological research, fragments of black clay vessels, fragments of glass damask, porcelain dishes, fragments of cast-iron and bronze boilers were found in quite large numbers.

Iron products intended for household needs were also widely presented: knives, needles, locks and keys, chairs. In addition, tools for household crafts and everyday use, such as a spinning wheel, a thimble, needles, awls and bone punctures, were presented. It is worth noting that many artifacts found in Bashkir settlement complexes find analogies in collections in other regions. For example, fragments of glass damasks revealed during excavations are found in cultural strata of the same time period in settlements and cities of Siberia ^{[3, p. 253]}, etc.

Thus, the material culture of the Bashkirs of the second half of the 18th century was illuminated for a long period of time only on the basis of written evidence left by researchers and travelers who visited the Southern Urals during this period, who, due to their capabilities, could not reveal many features of the economic activity and way of life of the Bashkir people.

Archaeological materials revealed during the study of Bashkir settlement sites of the same time make it possible not only to confirm the data of written sources, but also to supplement and concretize their material basis. It seems that further work with the correlation of written, archaeological and other types of sources can significantly expand knowledge about the material culture of the Bashkir people in the past.