Co-Author: Wendy Leyn, Zonnebeke, Belgium
All photos by Dr. Maria Tendryakova
Dr. Maria Tendryakova[1] sent our frequent co-author Wendy Leyn an amazing email and photographs after her recent visit to the toys exhibition in the Museum of Archeology of Moscow. Dr. Tendryakova is Senior Researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of Russian Academy of Sciences (headquartered in Moscow), and Assistant professor of Russian State University for the Humanities also in Moscow.
Dr. Maria Tendryakova’s Email
At the toys exhibition of the in the Museum of Archeology of Moscow I have seen very old clay balls – very far ancient relatives of your marbles (the balls are in the attached photos). I thought it would be interesting for you. Sorry, the quality of the pictures is not very good, I had to make photos through the showcase.
Nobody knows the function of the clay balls; they were found among other artefacts. Whether they had ritual meaning or they were play objects? These clay balls are associated with [the] Dyakovskaya culture (it is an archaeological culture of the early Iron Age that existed in the 7th century. BC – 5th century AD on the territory of Moscow and some other cities north and west from Moscow. Supposedly the carriers of this culture were the Finno-Ugric tribes.From the Museum website:
We all found these artifacts astounding. And when we did the research we were also amazed with what we learned about the Archaeology Museum itself.
From the Museum Website
“The Museum of Archeology is gem of a museum sneakily hidden seven meters [just less than 23’] under the historical center of Moscow, which in fact also happens to be the site of ground breaking archaeological excavations during the 1990’s. The museum is not only dedicated to showing numerous archeological artefacts – which range from The Paleolithic times all the way up to the 19th century; but it also provides the visitor with information on archaeological methods and research. The museum’s unique structure paired with its wide range of artefacts and mind boggling virtual reality reconstruction, is sure to take any visitor feel like an architect on the journey of Moscow’s archaeological discoveries.”[2]
What a place to find ancient marbles! Sorry, but Professor Tendryakova could not provide a relative size of the balls. However, the next photograph does give some idea of relative size. This second photograph also shows several examples of different Finno-Ugric clay, to include remarkable figurines, for which the tribes are known to archaeologists.
Invisible Finno-Ugrics!
First, note that these clay balls are displayed in the toys exhibition. This is extremely encouraging. But second, note that Dr. Tendryakova asks the question whether or not the artifacts have “ritual meaning or were they play objects”? If you have read our story “Invisible Children” (https://thesecretlifeofmarbles.com/invisible-children/) then you know that when archaeologists discover artifacts which have no apparent purpose, even if dug in association with more easily identified objects, then the tendency has been to ascribe them to either ritual or war.
Who Were the Finno-Ugrics & What is Dyakovo?
There is both history and mystery about the riverine Dyakovo Culture which lived along the Valday, Upper Volga and Oka Rivers in the central Russian Uplands of the Moscow River Basin. We recommend that you see the haunting photograph on the website “Dyakovo Hillfort”. This same website also tells us the Hillfort archeological site gave its name to an entire archeological culture.[3]
Incidentally, locals call the Dyakovo Hillfort area “Devil’s Town” because of the strange “devil’s fingers” which visitors to the historical site still find!
What did the Dyakovo Culture tell us about themselves?
Scientists believe that the Dyakovo culture probably emerged from Finno-Ugric peoples. According to Microsoft Bing, these groups had their own unique spiritual beliefs and rituals. Because there are few written records from the time, either from the Dyakovo group themselves or from contemporaries about them, we know few specifics about their religion and comprehensive religious rituals. This makes the ascription of ceramic artifacts to ritual easier.[4] For example, isn’t it apparent that the black humanoid figure in the above photograph, upper right, is obviously a fertility ritual object? The bottom line: “it’s reasonable to assume that they had their own animistic, nature-based, or ancestor-worship beliefs, which were common among ancient cultures.”[5]
Detail of Item #11 From The Photo
From Jo & Larry
When Wendy first shared Dr. Tendryakova’s photographs with us we thought immediately about Native American game balls and marbles. We have photographs in our story “Native American Marbles & Games” (https://thesecretlifeofmarbles.com/native-american-marbles-games/) which are remarkably similar to the artifacts in these photographs. In fact, we have a punctuated clay ball, which we bought in Arcadia, Florida, and which we were told was dug in Florida. No one is certain what our ball is, but we have been told by archaeologists that it is probably some type rattle used in ritual.
But isn’t it possible that it is a child’s toy rattle? Perhaps it was made with some type seeds or pebbles inside and then punched with holes so the toy would rattle more loudly?
Notice that in this Moscow photograph there are more pin-prick holes. We have no idea why these toys were decorated in this manner, but if you look back at the cabinet again then you will see very a interesting pin-hole design on the topmost artifact. In fact these pin pricks along with characteristic notches are two things which distinguish the ceramics as uniquely Finno-Ugric.
“Textile” Ceramics in Dyakovo
In the absence of a written record, the archaeological record of the Dyakovo peoples relies even more heavily on the artifacts left behind. And certainly one of the critical artifact types is ceramics like we have in this story.
“The ceramics of this time, on the one hand, gave the name to the culture (or even more likely, to a group of cultures). Paradoxically, there is no detailed description of pottery complexes across various regions. Moreover, the terminology of the types [of ceramics] is not standardized. For the Final Bronze Age, the ‘mesh’ or ‘textile’ impression often becomes the basis of vessel typology, since their form at that time is inexpressive, and any other ornament may be absent. In Russia, the term ‘textile ceramics’ is often used, although the impressions look like they stem from fabrics. The discussion about the method of imprint application has lasted for more than 100 years (Gorodtsov 1900, 25; 1910, 373) and has given birth to such terms as “mesh ceramics” (Sizov 1897, 258), “false-textile” (Nikitin 1976, 69), “ruffled” and “string ceramics” (Folomeev 1975, 157–161). … the term ‘textile ceramics’ is confusing, but, at the same time, its use is an old tradition in Russia.
The recent work by Olga O. Lopatina, focused on trace evidence from the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age ceramics in the Moscow region, has demonstrated that some of the impressions that are traditionally called ‘false-textile’ were probably applied by rolling the core of a spruce cone without its scales over the surface of a vessel … She also suggested that ‘textile’ impressions that look like rows of string or cord … were obtained by rolling a tool wrapped with string over the surface of a vessel (Lopatina 2017). If Lopatina’s hypothesis is correct, these groups of impressions have nothing to do with textiles.”[6]
While we cannot be sure, we do find it significant that the first photograph in this story has a bright yellow string in the picture. Is this to indicate that the ceramic is cord marked?
More Confusion & Less Agreement
Since the discussion about clay imprint methods has lasted well over 100 years, can you imagine how long it may take to decide “yes” at least some of these balls are marbles and they were made strictly as toys? You have to consider that the Finno-Ugrics ceramics photographed by Dr. Tendryakova were made at a time when, while they did still hunt, they were experiencing a much more settled lifestyle than ever before. They were keeping cattle and growing crops.
And with more leisure time they could make toys, like the balls in the first picture in this story. While less decorated, these toys do show characteristics of cultural ceramics. And they express the motivation and skills of the individual craftsmen who made them.
We cannot imagine that many of our marble enthusiasts will ever have the opportunity to visit the Museum of Archeology of Moscow. And so, we all just wanted you to have a chance to see toys and ceramics from very special peoples who lived and died with little record except for archaeology and for the wonderful ceramics which they produced. And the toys and marbles they played with.
If anyone has ideas about what these artifacts may be, or if you want to comment, then please press the Contact button.
References
- Thank you very much Dr. Tendryakova! ↑
- https://mosmuseum-ru.translate.goog/en/museum-of-archeology/?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc 2/19/2024 ↑
- https://www.mgomz.ru/en/place/dyakovo-hillfort 2/20/2024 ↑
- If you want to dig a little deeper see Finno-Ugric religion – Institutions, Practices, Beliefs 2/20/2024 ↑
- Microsoft Bing in response to the question “What was the religion of Dyakovo people?” ↑
- Syrovatko, Aleksander. “The Transition from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age in the Forest Zone of Central Russia: How to Interpret the Material Basis.” In Elke Kaiser and Eolfram Schier, Eds. Time and Materiality Periodization and Regional Chronologies at the Transition From Bronze to Iron Age in Eurasia (1200-600 BCE). Verlag Marie Leidorf GambH.Rahden/Westf., 2021. ↑
