The Ukrainian Horizons of the North Black Sea Area: Historical and Archaeological Observations

Abstract

The important role in the history of Ukrainian lands belong to the North Pontic Area. Last decades the revision of old position from one side and the growing of the attention towards the problems of this region take place. The beginning of own ethnical development of Slavs tribes, known by «Ants» name or «Okrainni» by Indo-Iranian language. On the next stage of history, the tribes of Russ chronicle: Ulichi and Tyvertsy settled on Black Sea region. Colonization of this area by the Slavs lasted through more than 500 years, which created the fundamental ethnical base of autochthone population. With formation of Kyiv Russ the North Black Sea area take the important place in political, economic, ethno cultural and trade fields of the new country. The numerous settlements fixed on the Lower Dnieper and other rivers in spite of numerous nomadic tribes: every society occupy the own part of the landscape in connection from their economic type. In the of Post Kyiv Russ and Lithuanian-Russ federation, the South Russ principalities preserved their traditions and continue the progressive development. At the end of the XIV — at the beginning of XV centuries the new fortification line built under the chief of the Great Prince Vitovt in the North Black Sea Area, which opened the new stage of fortification: stone fortresses. The brilliant example of this kind is the first stone fortress Tyagin of the South part of the Lithuanian-Russ principality, as a part of the early Ukraine. In the time of Crimean-Ottoman administration in region, the Christiania autochthone population with Ukrainian part also, continue to live in the North Black sea area and became the region of Cossack colonization. The artefacts of Ukrainian culture founded in the course of the archaeological excavation (Akkerman, Ochakiv) even in the Ottoman fortresses. The anthropological investigations support the existence of great part of the settled population, which take the considerable morphological contacts with Ukrainians of the South, Central and West regions of the XVII—XIX centuries. The important factor of the living of Christian population, including Ukrainians, was the existence and activity of the Brailiv metropolis of the Konstantinopol patriarchate in the middle of the XVI—XIX cent., which escape the large area from Braila to Tyagin. The archaeological investigation of the South Ukraine increase the possibility of the knowledge of the Ukrainian history from the new modern position.