The North-West frontier of the Black Sea steppe in the Early Bronze Age
The North-West frontier of the Black Sea steppe in the Early Bronze Age

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the possibility of interpreting the archaeological material according to the theory of the frontier. The historiography of the problem and the possibility of reconstruction of intercultural relations in the frontier according to archaeological data are considered. The North-Western frontier of the Black Sea during the Palaeometallic Age is analysed. The works of the American sociologist Frederick Jackson Turner (late 19th century) have long become classics, and the main ideas of his frontier theory are not only recognised worldwide, but have been further developed. In Turner’s concept, the frontier looks like a transitional zone, a dynamic moving boundary, where a clash between “barbarism” and “civilization” occurs. His theory was further developed in the works of American and European historians of the twentieth century. Now the majority of researchers on this subject interpret frontier as a special zone of interaction between different cultures. The frontier concept began to appeal to archaeologists, although in a rather narrow aspect, concerning social changes (in the context of anthropological archaeology). The system of intercultural communications depends on many factors, one of which is the history of the cultural landscape of the territory where the process of intercultural communications is taking place. The specificity of the base of sources of history and archaeology determines the possibilities (and differences) of research of the frontier by these sciences.

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