On October 24-26, 2005, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted a scientific conference "Antiquity: historical knowledge and the specifics of the source", organized by the Department of History and Culture of the Ancient East of the Institute and dedicated to the memory of its brightest representatives E. A. Grantovsky and D. S. Raevsky.

The conference was attended by scientists from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the State Museum of Oriental Arts, the Lomonosov Moscow State University, the Russian State University for the Humanities (Moscow), the Center for Archaeological Research of the GUOP of Moscow, the State Historical Museum (Moscow), the Institute of History and Archeology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Chelyabinsk) Karaganda State University named after E. A. Buketov (Kazakhstan).

The conference was opened by the Deputy Director of the Institute of Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences IV. Zaitsev. B. A. Litvinsky made an introductory speech, highlighting in detail all the versatility of scientific research and the depth of knowledge of E. A. Grantovsky and D. S. Raevsky.

The conference participants ' reports were devoted to various aspects of problems related to the scientific interests of E. A. Grantovsky and D. S. Rayevsky to varying degrees. Ancient Eurasia. Specifics of material culture and the phenomenon of migration. Modeling paths. Possibility of alternative options.II. Features of textual traditions of ancient societies in understanding the historical and cultural phenomena of the Ancient East.).

Report by V. I. Melnik (Institute of Archeology) " Migration processes in the Middle East and their connection with climate aridization in the 3rd-2nd millennium BC . BC" was dedicated to several waves of mass displacement of peoples, which took place in rather narrow periods of time. In the considered epoch, according to the author, they were as follows: the second quarter of the 3rd millennium BC, the end of the XXIII-XXII centuries. BC, second half of the XVIII-XVII centuries BC, end of the XIII-XII centuries. Comparing these data with the data of the climate state in various regions of the Middle East and the temperature curve of the regime for the Northern Hemisphere (according to V. V. Klimenko), taking into account arboretum grafts, the author demonstrated the following picture: aridization phase (XXVIII-XXVI centuries BC) (2400 - 2100 BC-non-calibre.) It is most pronounced in Mesopotamia, at which time the temperature peak in the Northern Hemisphere was increasing; the phase of humidification and temperature drop in the XXV-XXIII centuries BC (about 4000 years ago - nekalibr.); general aridization - clearly recorded for southern Turkmenistan (Namazga period V/VI) - XXII-XXI centuries BC. XVIII-XVII centuries BC - a new temperature peak in the conditions of falling humidity; then a decrease in temperatures and a slight increase in them by the end of the 2nd millennium BC. with increasing aridization; around 1300 BC, aridity is observed. The author considers it obvious that the recorded large population movements coincide with the deteriorating natural conditions. Thus, taking into account the climatic situation of these periods, it is possible to get an idea of the causes and nature of some migrations of ancient times.

L. T. Yablonsky (Institute of Archeology) in his report "Materials on the question of the linguistic affiliation of the Saks of the Aral Sea region (in connection with the problem of their origin)" noted that the problem of the Saks ' linguistic affiliation is more difficult to solve than the question of the Scythian language attribution, and the range of opinions on this problem turns out to be more multicolored. According to the author, the data of paleoanthropology present an even more contradictory picture. If you support

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The idea of a direct genetic succession between the Andronovites and the Early Saks suggests that the carriers of the Early Saka cultures, at least to some extent (taking into account the likely epochal variability), will show a craniological complex similar to the Andronovites. But this is not happening. In the Early Iron Age, a well-marked Mongoloid admixture is recorded in the Aral Sea region precisely in craniological materials originating from Saka-type burial grounds. The author notes two migration hypotheses about the origin of the Mongoloid admixture among the Saks of the Aral Sea region. One suggests the ancestral homeland of eastern migrants somewhere in Central Asia, on the territory of Mongolia or Northern China; the other does not exclude the possibility of genetic kinship of the Saks of the Aral Sea region with the population of the forest-steppe Trans-Urals and the Minusinsk basin. Archaeological materials of the Early Saka era obtained from the territory of the Amu Darya Prisarykamysh delta demonstrate elements of historically short-term cultural diffusion of two groups of migrants. This diffusion, according to the speaker, would be difficult if the representatives of both groups did not speak different dialects of the same language, but different languages. According to the author, the speed of approaching the solution of the problem depends on the arrival of new archaeological and paleoanthropological materials, including from the easternmost regions of the steppe and from the territory of Xinjiang.

S. V. Kullanda's report "On the etymology of the Iranian farnah" noted that in order to study the genesis of Iranian ideas about farnah/khwarna - royal splendor, an emanation of divine radiance that provides the sovereign with power, and his subjects with prosperity and prosperity, it is necessary to take into account the phonetic features of the transmission of this concept in various Iranian languages. The author drew attention to the fact that the concept (or at least the word for it) "farn" was not common Iranian, but spread from one source. S. V. Kullanda considers this source to be the language in which x v - passed into f -, which makes us return to the hypothesis of "Median" origin lexemes farnah: although it is impossible to prove strictly that the transition x y->f - took place in Median, or rather in any of the Iranian dialects on the territory of modern Iran, it is also impossible to prove the opposite, but it can be demonstrated that such a transition was not characteristic of any other ancient Iranian language that has come down to us. The comparative historical phonetics of the Iranian languages indicates, in the author's opinion, that the concept of "farn" entered the Scythian language during the stay of its native speakers in Near East Asia, which is important in the light of disputes about the genesis of the Scythian culture.

Report by S. Ya. Berzina (GMINV) "Achaemenid gems from Khorezm" was dedicated to gem seals found on the territory of ancient Khorezm. The author noted that it was in Khorezm that Achaemenid gems (although they are much smaller in quantity and less diverse than similar monuments from Sogd) in form and content became prototypes of the local Khorezmian glyptics, and the plots and images depicted on them gave a pictorial beginning to the Khorezm cosmogonic myth, embodied in reliefs of ritual flasks from the ancient city of Khorezm. temples of Kalaly-gar 2, Koi-krylgan-kala and Gyaur-kala 3. The author refers Achaemenid gems from Khorezm to two groups. The first - hanging seals with the image of a god-hero striking a lion or lion-headed griffin (the plot goes back to Assyrian cylindrical seals); the second-scaraboids with the image of a falcon-headed / eagle-headed griffin (the plot goes back to the monuments of the Asia Minor circle). The report noted the likelihood that the Achaemenid scaraboids in Khorezm were much larger than what was found, since they became the model for the first proper Khorezm seals that appeared in the VI century BC.

S. A. Zinchenko (RSUH) in her report "On the principle of non-identity as an important parameter of the artistic and figurative program of the Scythian animal style" came to the conclusion based on a detailed analysis of objects of Early Scythian art that incomplete identity is present in almost all works of animal style. It was noted that the obligatory presence of an indispensable variability in details removes the "uniformity" of the pictorial solution not only in images connected by one iconographic type (as D. S. Rayevsky noted), but also within the same pictorial complex in the case of repeated repetition of the pictorial motif. Compliance with the general scheme of the image does not require clarity of detailed, "verbatim" repetition, built on the principle of simple "circulation" of one model, but, on the contrary, highlights as one of the main tasks when creating the same image the transfer of variability or incomplete identity. Moreover, S. A. Zinchenko drew attention to the fact that the principle of non-identity is present not only in the framework of production processes.-

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The city of Denia belongs to the same iconographic type, represented by various monuments, but also within the same archaeological complex. The author suggested that the highlighted rule is not just an artistic feature of Scythian art, but is an important iconographic parameter, part of the invariable "formula" of animal-style images, which confirms the well-known thesis of D. S. Rayevsky.

Report by Yu. G. Kokorina (MSU) and Yu. A. Likhter (Center of Archeology. research. GUOP) "On some features of the Scythian pictorial tradition" was based on a sample of 255 items of weapons originating from the territory of the European steppe, forest-steppe and North Caucasus, traditionally included in the framework of the Scythian archaeological culture of the VII-IV centuries BC. In the decoration of Scythian weapons, the authors identified the Assyro-Urartian, Scythian, Scythian-Greek, Greek, Scythian - Greek-Persian, Persian, and Scythian-Eastern traditions. The tradition of decorating a number of items of Scythian weapons could not be determined. It is interesting that sometimes on one subject there are images made in different visual traditions. According to the authors, the study of this phenomenon can be helped by a systematic approach, in which the description of a thing can be divided into subsystems - morphology, material, technology, function. The morphology has its own subsystems-design and shape, decor, color, and dimensions. Fundamental in the study of the construction of a thing is the concept of "constructive element". Any structural element can be decorated, defined by the authors as a sign system. Analysis of the design of 255 items revealed 693 structural elements, images of which were applied in 425 cases. The share of Scythian pictorial traditions is 60.47%, Greek - 14.35%, Scytho-Greek - 11.76%, Assyro-Urartian - 5.41%, Scytho-Greek-Persian - 5.65%. The report focuses on the fact that 154 of the 425 decorated structural elements of Scythian weapons are decorated in the form of a figured form, which mainly belonged to the Scythian tradition. Decoration is more typical for non-cultural and mixed traditions. The development of the figure shape in time obeys the law of normal distribution, which indicates the natural nature of the process. The development of the decor goes differently, speaking of external influence. The largest number of structural elements with a figured shape falls on the V century BC, and with decor - on the IV century. This is due to the dominance of other cultural and mixed traditions in the decoration of Scythian weapons at this time, due to socio-political and cultural changes in Scythia of this period.

In the report of E. V. Perevodchikova (Gos. historical report. museum, Moscow) "On the name of the Scythian mound "Goat "" focused on the fact that the very act of naming in archaic cultures was a serious magical action aimed at mastering the surrounding reality. The mound as such, the author noted, is a man-made reproduction of the World Mountain, an almost universal figurative equivalent of the vertical Axis of the world. In the conditions of the steppe landscape, sacralization and development, in the author's opinion, is not a certain closed world, but the entire steppe, and the means of this development should be particularly effective, stronger, so you have to come into contact directly with the dominant of the area - either just with its highest point, or, even more effectively, with the highest point. a mound already built in ancient times. In reality, such contact is expressed in the performance of inlet burials, the installation of statues on the tops of mounds, as well as in naming mounds with names. The name of the mound "Goat" is written from the words of Russian-speaking peasants who moved to the steppe from the Chernihiv province. It is strangely combined, according to the author, with the attitude to the mound, which is described in IE. Zabelina, and stands out from a number of names of Scythian mounds of the Lower Dnieper region. The speaker draws attention to the proximity of the "Goat" mound with the large royal mound "Oguz" ("Bull" in Turkish) and to another, little - known name of the mound - "Sagyr" ("Deaf", "Small", "Orphan" - in dictionaries of different Turkic languages). If you consider that the name was written by ear, then variations of vowels in an unstressed syllable look quite acceptable, and the word itself may sound "sygyr". Words of this root in different Turkic languages can denote different horned animals. Thus, there is a possibility, according to E. V. Perevodchikova, to believe that the word "sagyr" ("sygyr") was extracted from their not completely separated meanings and subsequently translated as "goat".

L. I. Avilova (Institute of Archeology) in her report "Metal production in Iran and Mesopotamia in the Eneolithic - Middle Bronze Age (on the question of Near-Asian connections of the Maikop culture)" came to the following conclusions: 1. Developed character of early Iranian metal production-

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These properties are already evident in the Eneolithic, and there is almost no metal in the synchronous Ubaid monuments of Mesopotamia. The scale of Iranian metal production compared to Mesopotamia is even more impressive if we take into account the high degree of research of the latter and the low degree of Iran. 2.At the early stage of the Bronze Age (RBV), the Uruk society's need for metal led to the development of intensive contacts with the centers of its extraction and processing in Iran. Comparison of the model of metal production in Iran in the Republic of Belarus with the neighboring regions of Northern Mesopotamia and the North Caucasus indicates not only that they belong to a single cultural zone, but also that they belong to a single production tradition. 3. The Iranian model of metal production is characterized by a smooth development with a gradual increase in production from one period to another, as well as conservatism. The Mesopotamian model is characterized by a sharp rise in the number of metal products in the RBV and SBV (Middle stage of the Bronze Age). 4. There is no single cultural and industrial zone in the SBV, although there are contacts between Iran and neighboring Mesopotamia and more remote territories to the west (Anatolia, Syria, and the Levant) and to the northeast (Central Asia). Ties with the North Caucasus have been severed, and it is moving along the path of autonomous development during this period.

In conclusion of her report, L. I. Avilova emphasized the need to revise the already familiar "Mesopotamian-centered" model of cultural and industrial development of Western Asia, pointing out that it was from the territory of Iran in the Eneolithic that advanced skills and technological impulses that were perceived and developed in Mesopotamia, and introduced to the North Caucasus in the RBV.

In the report of E. V. Antonova (IB RAS) " The phenomenon of BMAC and migration. Search for cultural specifics " categorically disagreed with the definition of the BMAK (Bactrian - Margian archaeological complex)culture how eclectic. In the author's opinion, the Anau culture of the Eneolithic of the Namazga III period is of particular interest in connection with the phenomenon of BMAC. E. V. Antonova believes that starting at least from the Eneolithic, there is a vast zone of interaction through which things, materials, and images of world perception circulate. Communication led to borrowing, which was transformed, as is typical of traditional cultures, in accordance with their own traditions. The population of the Kopet-Dagh foothills played an important role in the formation of the BMAK. The report stated that the dynamics of settlement of the territory of Margiana and Bactria are still far from clear. The possibility of settlement prior to the Late Bronze Age was not excluded. The Harappan Emporium Shortugai is a direct indication of the possibility of an alien population living in the BMAK region. According to the author, there is no reason to believe that the development of the Murgab Delta and Bactria was the result of a one-stage disaster. Rather, it is a gradual advance, planned enterprises, and not a stampede in connection with it. Old and especially new finds in Margiana (Gonur) indicate a high role of the management function. There is no doubt that exchange plays an important role in the existence of BMAC societies. There is a civilization in the proper sense with a separate elite. Its existence, the report said, is associated with an increasing visualization of the image of the world - there are images of ritual actions of rulers (meals, hunting, plowing), probably tied to calendar holidays, signs of high status, in particular ceremonial weapons. New findings confirm the hypothesis of the existence in the second half of the 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC of the community of "Outer Iran" from the south of the Persian Gulf to the northeast and further through Kerman towards Afghanistan, southern Turkmenistan and the Gorgan Valley. Noteworthy are the signs of links between the coast of Oman, Bahrain, and the BMAK with the Syro-Cappadocian region of the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. In the last quarter of the 3rd millennium BC, the BMAK is in the zone of Elamite cultural influence, and a closer connection with the Elamite cultural world is not excluded. With the discovery of new monuments, the specific appearance of the BMAC becomes more and more obvious. The author of the report emphasized that new finds require breaking with the stereotype: the era of great discoveries in the field of archeology did not end with the discovery of Troy, the Harappan culture and Sumer. The peculiarity of this formation, according to E. V. Antonova, makes us take a closer look at its distinctive features. Contacts with close and distant neighbors served to reveal the potentials inherent in the cultures of the region of its distribution. The marginality in relation to the most ancient civilizations contributed to the preservation of ancient features that are traditionally considered archaic. It is suggested that the native speakers of BMAK were familiar with the written language, and their language belonged to Proto-Elamodravidic, as well as the languages of peoples from the Susa to the Indus Valley. However, so far there have been

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only individual characters are detected. This is also a sign of a specific culture. It is unlikely that this should be called archaism from the point of view of modern ideas about the features of transformations in the development of societies, the report said. It's just a different culture.

The report of T. A. Gabuev (GMINV) and V. Yu. Malashev (Institute of Archeology) "New monuments of the Early Alanian culture of the Central Ciscaucasia (on the problem of the Early Alanian culture of the region)" was devoted to the results of a joint expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the State Museum of Oriental Arts (2002-2003) on one of the reference monuments of the Early Alanian culture - the barrow burial ground of the Brutsky settlement. In total, about 50 burial complexes were examined. The authors of the report consider it an important result of their work to obtain the earliest burial complexes (burials in T-shaped underground catacombs) of the Early Alanian culture, dating from the objects of belt sets and fibulae of the second half of the second century AD. In addition, a series of somewhat later burials of the turn of the second-third - beginning of the third century was obtained. This circumstance allows us to conclude that the Early Alanian culture of the North Caucasus in all its components (relating to both settlement monuments and funerary sites) was formed at least by the second half of the second century AD. The initial phase of culture formation in this case, according to the authors, refers to The burials studied generally cover the time interval from the second half of the second to the beginning of the seventh century and give a continuous line of evolution of the funeral rite in the foothills of the Central Caucasus from the beginning of the Late Sarmatian period to the early Middle Ages. The investigated burials were left by the population who lived on the Brutsky hillfort. Around the ancient settlement, as well as on its synchronous site, the nearby Zilginsky ancient settlement, huge mound fields are recorded in terms of area. A similar pattern is observed in other areas of the Ciscaucasia. Since the middle of the third century, funerary monuments, which are genetically related to the Central Caucasian ones, have also been distributed on the Lower Don. They should be associated with the movement of the population from the Ciscaucasia. Thus, in the central regions of the North Caucasus in the first centuries of our era, a cultural and historical phenomenon is observed: a single culture spreads over a huge territory in a relatively short time, and a sharp population growth is recorded compared to the previous time. The report suggested that different ethnic components, both local and foreign, played a role in the formation of the Alan culture. However, questions remain: what is the correlation between these cultural and ethnic components and with which groups of the steppe population to relate migrants. The authors of the report hope that at least some of the questions raised will be answered after analyzing all the excavated materials, as well as taking into account the results of anthropological research.

L. A. Chvyr (IB RAS) in her report "Migrations in the Mirror of Ethnography" identified two stages in the study of migration by Russian ethnographers: (a) throughout the XX century, they were considered "diachronically", i.e. mainly as an element of the ethnogenesis of peoples; (b) in the 1980s - 1990s, the situation changed, and migrations began to change. the subject of a "synchronic" analysis of the contemporary life of traditionalist societies. This different vision of the" migration theme " has given, in the author's opinion, a special relevance to the study of the cultural consequences of migration. Such problems as the formation of multiethnic cultural communities, the functioning of the diaspora, etc. came to the fore. According to L. A. Chvyr, the consideration of the currently fashionable topic "meeting with the Other" on the basis of ethnographic material led to a number of paradoxical conclusions: for example, about the huge role of children and women in the process of getting used to a foreign culture, about various transformations of ethno-cultural identity among deported peoples, etc. It was noted in the report that the tradition of old-timers always wins in culture (rituals that have not been preserved among old-timers also disappear among new immigrants).

The report of A. Yu. Skakov (Institute of Archeology) "Some problems of the history of North-West Transcaucasia in the Late Bronze - Early Iron age" focused on the unfounded talk about the ethnic unity of the population of Western Transcaucasia in the 2nd-1st millennium BC. A. Yu. Skakov noted that the territory occupied by the Kolkhas proper according to Pseudo-Skilak coincides with the Inguri-Rion (or Megrelian) version of the Colchian culture; the Gelon region corresponds to the Bzyb version of the Colchian culture, and monuments such as the Gagra burial ground can be associated with the Melanchlens; in VNU-

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In the extreme part of Western Georgia, they distinguish the Lechkhumo-Imereti variant of the Colchis culture. All these variants or independent cultures, which are distinguished by a bright originality, were formed independently, although they were in constant interaction. The report emphasized that for the Lechkhumo-Imereti variant, funerary monuments are almost unknown (probably due to the peculiarities of the funeral rite), and the culture of the population of this region can be judged almost exclusively by treasures, which were rather cult offerings or cenotaphs. The report also noted that the metal of the upper layer of the Escher dolmens of the first half-middle of the 2nd millennium BC, as well as a number of random finds from the territory of Abkhazia, finds parallels in proto-Albanian materials of the Central Caucasus; materials of the second half of the 2nd millennium BC allow us to speak about the continuity of the In the X-IX centuries, the material culture of Bzyb Abkhazia, as well as the culture of the surrounding regions, changed dramatically. In the field of metalworking, an important role, according to the author, was played by an impulse from the Central Caucasus, from the territory of the central variant of the Koban culture. Under this influence, in the IX century BC, a peculiar Abkhazian version of the Kabano-Colchis graphic style was formed, which flourished in the VIII century BC. However, in the VII-VI centuries BC, the number of monuments decreases, the culture of the region largely loses its specificity, approaching the culture of the more southern regions of Colchis. The author attributes the reason for this to the movements of the Cimmerians (the author believes that their path passed through the Klukhor Pass, connecting the Kislovodsk basin and the territory of Abkhazia, and the Gebeaftsag and Gurdziaftsag passes, connecting Digoria and Racha, and not along the difficult coast between Gelendzhik and Gagri) and other nomadic groups. It was only in the second half of the sixth century BC that a peculiar variant of the Late Kolkhid culture was formed in Bzyb Abkhazia, which flourished in the fifth and fourth centuries BC, but in the second half of the fourth century. Some catastrophic events are taking place on the territory of Abkhazia. In the complexes of the III-II centuries BC, the local culture loses its distinctive features, becoming part of the Hellenistic culture of Western Georgia.

The speech that caused, perhaps, the longest discussion was the report of S. A. Grigoriev (Institute of History and Archeology of Ur.O RAS, Chelyabinsk) "The Middle East and Northern Eurasia: the Problem of migration and interaction in the Middle Bronze Age". According to the author of the report, the role of migrations that have permeated our continent since ancient times remains underestimated in cultural development. The author considers direct contact to be the main form of communication in ancient times, so numerous migrations took place, and this is clearly seen in the Middle Bronze Age of Eastern Europe and the Trans-Urals. To illustrate his thesis about the introduction of a whole complex of features of material culture and ritual practice (which can only be explained by migrations), the author chose the appearance of a series of catacomb cultures in Eastern Europe at the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age. The author sees an even more definite situation in the formation of the Sintashta culture in the Trans-Urals (during the SBV II period) and the re-formation of catacomb cultures and the formation of the culture of polyvalic ceramics in Eastern Europe. Special emphasis was placed in the report on Sintashta's metalworking and metallurgy technologies, which have analogues in Eastern Europe, but are more extensive and accurate in the Middle East. According to the author of the report, the adoption of metallurgical technologies through large barren areas is unthinkable, and therefore it can only be about migrations. This is supported by the rest of the material culture complex. The fact of very rapid transfer of the complex of material culture and ritual practice from the Front Asia to the Trans-Urals was noted. However, S. A. Grigoriev noted that, having found parallels to all the features of the Sintashta culture in the Middle East, he has not yet been able to identify a culture there in which all these features would be fully combined. The author considers the territory of Turkish Kurdistan, namely Diyarbakir province, to be the most promising area for further searches. Further, the report suggested that two additional impulses to Sintashta played a major role in the design of the Late Bronze Age cultures of Northern Eurasia, one of which, in the author's opinion, should be sought not in Anatolia, but in Northwestern Iran. The author suggests considering other subjects on the basis of the problems of cultural genesis at the turn of the late and final Bronze Age in Central Asia. In conclusion, the hope was expressed that with the involvement of serious scientific forces, the significance of the Middle East in the cultural genesis of Eurasia in ancient times will be fully demonstrated.

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In the report of A. S. Balakhvantsev (MSU) "Alexander the Great and the Dakhs" it was noted that researchers have different answers to the question of which areas of Central Asia were occupied by the Dakhs in 331-328. In the first century BC, when they put up a fierce resistance to the troops of Alexander the Great. In the author's opinion, the key point for solving the question of the territories occupied by the Dakhs is Arrian's remark about them as" living on this side of the Tanais". A. S. Balakhvantsev specifically focused on this circumstance, since a very annoying inaccuracy crept into the translation of M. E. Sergeenko, widely used by researchers: instead of" on this side of the Tanais", the text " on this side of the the Russian text says "beyond Tanais". After analyzing several cases of using the expression feu xase, taken both from Arrian himself and from other sources, the author came to the conclusion that this expression could only apply to those territories whose borders were known to the reader either from the context of the work itself or from other sources. Therefore," this side of Tanais " in Arrian's work is equivalent to the left bank of the Syr Darya. At the same time, we can only talk about the areas known to Alexander's historians, located on the route of the Greek-Macedonian army after its crossing of the Oka River. The author of the report considers the Zeravshan Valley between Samarkand and Bukhara to be the main habitat of the dakhs known to Alexander and his historians, paying special attention to the latter. However, in his opinion, there is evidence to suggest that the Polytimeta Valley was not the only area where the Dakhs lived. The Dakhs are not only mentioned together with the Khorasmians, but also along with the Massagets are included by Curtius Rufus in the list of tribes whose submission to Alexander was declared in 328 BC by the king of Khorezm Frataphernes. These Dakhs may have been allies of Khorezm and, of course, could not possibly be Dakhs-inhabitants of Sogd: the latter were subordinate not to the Khorasmian king, but to the Bactrian satrap of the Achaemenids, and the Macedonians would fight them for several more months. Therefore, taking into account the data of archaeological sources, A. S. Balakhvantsev came to the conclusion that the Dakhs lived on the outskirts of the Left-bank Khorezm.

M. N. Pogrebova (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) made a report " White-inlaid ceramics of Eastern Transcaucasia (late 2nd-early 1st millennium BC) (ornament as a possible evidence of migration)". The author considers it obvious that the nature, directions, distance of migrations, the cultural background in which migrants found themselves, largely determine the material traces left by them. The report made an attempt to interpret as such traces the ornamentation of ceramics, reflecting ideas that are especially important for people who find themselves in a new place. This meant dishes with a cut pattern filled with white paste, made in the late 2nd-early 1st millennium BC in the basin of the Ganjachay River, a right tributary of the Kura River (modern Northwestern Azerbaijan). Establishing the relative chronology of the earliest monuments of Ganjachai ware, according to M. N. Pogrebova, allows refuting the thesis about the simultaneous addition of all its constituent elements, which was repeatedly noted earlier. The author noted that the white-inlaid ceramic ornament consists of a combination of almost universal signs, It is extremely widespread both in time and in space. Therefore, based on them, it is impossible to deduce white-inlaid ceramics from a particular region or archaeological culture. At the same time, it was noted in the report that a special concentration of universal signs and their combinations is a distinctive feature of Ganjachai tableware. It was repeatedly noted that such figures as a cross, a square, a rhombus represented the image of a limited space, oriented among the cardinal directions and separated from the outside world. The desire to especially limit and allocate its territory could be characteristic of a team that has settled in a new place that previously did not belong to it. There is no answer to the question of where the people who created white-inlaid ceramics in the new conditions could have come from. Perhaps, according to M. N. Pogrebova, the model of this movement is represented not by the movement of a group of people from one place of residence to another, but by the gradual filling of a relatively free territory from several hardly particularly remote centers.

E. E. Kormysheva (IB RAS) in her report "Calendar holidays in Kush" made an attempt to reconstruct calendar holidays in the temples of Kush under the XXV dynasty and the Napati kings. Based on a comparative analysis of the inscriptions, the author concluded that the text describes the festivals of Opet, which were timed to coincide with the coronation of the kings of Kush.

In the report of G. Y. Kolganova (IB RAS) "Once again on the question of time orientation of ancient man", it was shown that it is reasonable to place a time vector in a spatial network of coordinates based on the material of the Akkadian language (as it does in Indo-Iranian ma-

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teriale A.V. Lushnikova) is not possible. At the same time, a distinctive feature of the Akkadian language is the stable numerical marking of the four main cardinal directions: south-east.1, north - IM.2, east-IM. 3, west-IM.4. Assyrian kings traditionally called themselves the kings of the four cardinal directions (sar kibrat erbetti). Acc. kibratu has, among other things, the meaning of "coastline", and acc. kibru (kipru), from which kibratu is derived, means primarily "seashore". It would be logical to assume that there are specific geographical landmarks. Ideally, they should be four seas that consistently mark specific cardinal directions, but in Akkadian sources, as shown in the report, only two are mentioned: "the Upper Sea, where the Sun sets" (usually Mediterranean) and "the Lower Sea, where the Sun rises" (usually Persian the bay). The first, of course, marked the west, the second-the east. There are no analogous constructions for north and south, and there is no way to compare them convincingly with the concepts of" past "and"future".

Unfortunately, for various reasons, a number of authors: E. R. Usmanova (Karaganda State University named after E. A. Buketov, Kazakhstan) - " An inverted pot in the system of Andronovo ritual values (based on the materials of the Lisakovsky I burial ground)"; A. N. Gay (Institute of Archeology) - " On the nature, criteria and vectors of migration processes of the Bronze Age of the Circum-Pontic zone"; I. A. Ladynin and O. B. Kolobova (both MSU) - "Fantastic animals in the visual programs of private tombs of the Middle Kingdom"; V. R. Ehrlich (GMINV) - "Tengin mounds in the Trans-Kuban communication system in the second half of the IV century BC") were not able to attend the conference, but in the course of its preparation, they received detailed abstracts of reports, which everyone could read in a working order.

In general, the work of the conference continued the tradition of a comprehensive and large-scale approach to the study of sources, laid down by E. A. Grantovsky and D. S. Raevsky. Scientists of various fields (historians, archaeologists, cultural scientists, philologists, ethnographers, art historians) worked fruitfully for several days, trying to open the door to new historical knowledge about long-gone peoples.

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