Ethno-cultural processes in the Middle Tom River region in the 11th-12th centuries

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide insight into the ethno-cultural situation in the Middle Tom region during the 11th-12th centuries by analyzing archaeological materials. To achieve this, the article outlines the main sites in the region during this period, such as the Gorodok site, Poryvayka cemetery, and Lyuskus III settlement. Additionally, the article presents the most likely political and ethno-cultural changes in the region based on cultural associations with previously identified settlements and burials in the Kuznetsk Hollow. The findings indicate that people from the Middle Chulym River region and potentially the Krasnoyarsk-Kansk variant of the Yenisei Kyrghyz culture settled on the right bank of the Middle Tom River region, followed by skilled craftsmen producing iron, bronze, and silver objects. The article also highlights the importance of the people of the roller ceramics assemblage and the Srostki population who were displaced by the Kipchak people from the Inya River region to the Tom River region. In terms of politics, the nomadic groups, directly or indirectly linked to the Kyrghyz people and Kyrghyz Khaganate, dominated the right bank of the Tom River.