Archaeology and human rights

Department of Anthropology, NTU April 2024

Heritage issues during the 2022

Russian imperial invasion of Ukraine
Jan Turek & Roman Liubun

https://cuni.academia.edu/JanTurek
turekjan@hotmail.com
 REVIEW OF UKRAINIEN PREHISTORY
TRYPILLIA CULTURE
• Early (Pre-Cucuteni I–III to Cucuteni A–B, 5800 to 5000 BCE
Trypillia A to Trypillia BI–II):
• Middle (Cucuteni B, Trypillia BII to CI–II): 5000 to 3500 BCE
• Late (Horodiștea–Foltești, Trypillia CII): 3500 to 3000 BCE
It extended from the
Carpathian Mountains to
the Dniester and Dnieper
regions, centred on
modern-day Moldova and
covering substantial
parts of western Ukraine
and northeastern
Romania, encompassing
an area of 350,000 km2
(140,000 sq mi), with a
diameter of 500 km (300
mi; roughly from Kyiv in
the northeast to Brașov Čeněk Chvojka
in the southwest) Викeнтий Вячеславович
Xвойка 1850-1914
Mega-sites of Ukraine’s
Trypillia Culture
•Talianki, Ukraine – c. 3700 BCE – up to 21,000 inhabitants,
up to 2,700 houses, and covered an area of 450 hectares
(1100 acres). Talianki was the largest Trypillia settlement
around 3700 BC., after beginning of regular excavations at
1981 were explored more than 42 dwellings and few pits.
•Dobrovody, Ukraine – c. 3800 BCE – up to
16,200 inhabitants, and covered an area of 250 hectares
(600 acres, explored remains of 5 dwellings
•Maydanetske, Ukraine – c. 3700 BCE – up to
46,000 inhabitants, with 29,000 as the most plausible,
(probably between 6000 and 9000 inhabitants) near 3600–
3500 BCE, explored 34 houses and 12 pits (1972–1991) up
to 3,000 houses, and covered an area of 270 hectares
(660 acres).
•Nebelivka, Ukraine - c. 4000 BCE, up to 300 hectares
(740 acres) and 15,000 residents
The Trypillian giant-settlement of Maidanetske: redrawing of the plan of the magnetic survey; green and white – dwellings; light red – adjacent
dwellings of the primary plaza; red – mega-structures at the primary plaza; yellow – mega-structures in the ring-corridor; blue – mega-structures at
different positions of radial pathways.

Image credit: Hofmann et al, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222243.

 TEMPLES
Between 4100-3600 BCE, ‘giant-settlements’ with
thousands of buildings arranged in a very specific layout
emerged in a concentrated area in the eastern part of the
Trypillia area in Ukraine (mainly along the Dniepr river).

Large buildings of uncertain function — so-called ‘mega-

structures’ (the term was introduced by archaeologists for
a large construction that was unearthed in Nebelivka in
2012) — situated in highly visible positions in the public
space of the settlements.
THE PEOPLE OF VINČA CULTURE, ARE LIKELY
I2A1 IN HAPLOGROUP I, WHO MAY ALSO
FORMED THE CUCUTENI-TRYPILLIAN CULTURE
 FAR REACHING CONTACTS
ALONG THE FORREST STEPPE ZONE
OVER 500 KM CONTACTS BETWEEN
CUCUTENI TRIPYLYA CULTURE
&
YANGSHAO CULTURE
AROUND 3300 BC
 YANGSHAO CULTURE
5000 - 3000 BC

Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Östasiatiska museet), Stockholm

 Area of the Yangshao
culture (5000–3000BC)
in northern China,
based on Liu Li and
Chen Xingcan (2012)
MAJIAYAO
CULTURE
3300 – 2000 BC Upper Yellow river
Disease & Pandemic
in Prehistory

bacterium Yersinia pestis

Maria Spyrou research team
of the Maxe Planck Institute
isolated genome of
developer plague mutation
from male and female
skeleton of the Early Bronze
Age Srubna Culture (1800
BC). The double burial was
uncovered near Samara in
southwest Russia. The
bacterium Yersinia pestis
discovered in deceased
individuals teeths was
already able to spread by
fleace bites and more
effectivelly inficate greater
number of people and spread
fast over the continent.
 FAR REACHING CONTACTS
ALONG THE FORREST STEPPE ZONE
 4th–2nd millennium
Yamna and Catacomb Culture
Scythian kurgans
at SOLOKHA
Scythian gold comb with the image of a
battle scene, from the Solokha kurgan
(430-390 BC)
Kievan Rus

Yaroslav the Wise

(978 – 1054)

Sokol - trident
The name Rus is derived from the later assimilated
Viking Ruthenians, the surname Kievska was added by historians
in the 19th century after the capital Kiev, to distinguish the
period before the new power centre in Moscow. The Rurik
dynasty - the founder of the principality was, according to the
oldest chronicle Повість временних літ, Povesť vremennych let: 'Tale
of Bygone Years' Prince Oleg († 912).
Sviatoslav (962-972) consolidated power and expanded the
country, Vladimir (Waldemar) the Great (980-1015,
Christianization).
The first written law in these lands was created under the title
Russian Truth, the older part was written by the great prince
Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054).
In 1240 the Kievskaya Rus disintegrated due to Mongol
invasions. Its heirs were the Kingdom of Halych-Volhynia and
the Principality of Moscow, ruled by members of the Rurik family.
The attachment to Kievan Rus was more clearly declared by the
last Rurik prince of Moscow, Ivan IV. Terrible in 1547, when he
declared himself tsar of all Russia and thus became the founder
of the Russian Tsardom.
 Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra: Assumption Cathedral,
Dispute over autocephaly of
Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv and All Ukraine
 Epiphanius,
Metropolitan
Kirill,
of Kyiv and
Patriarch of
All Ukraine
Moscow and
all Rus'
German invasion 1941-1942
Kyiv - St. Martin
Kyiv – St. Sofia
1922 - 1991
1991
1994
2004
2014
2022
 2022 -2024
Russian imperial invasion of Ukraine

Besides genocidal damage to human

lives, the Ukrainian national heritage
is being damaged in an effort to
enforce Russian national cultural
dominance over common historical
roots and to falsely rewrite the
history of the entire region.
ZAPORIZHZHYA
MARCH 2022
Vasilevsky Castle & Popov Mannor Museum, March 2022
(source Oleg Tuboltsev)
Okhtyrka town Museum (Sumy district)
DESTRUCTION OF THE MARIUPOL MUSEUM
RUSSIAN WAR CRIME AT MARIUPOL THEATRE.
KILLING 600 PEOPLE ON MARCH 16 2022
In currently occupied city of Mariupol, the Russian
invaders destroyed the “Kalmius Settlement”
archeological site. "Invaders are doing their best in
order to erase any reminders about Ukrainian history
of Mariupol. Russian barbarian, who once bombed
the city, continue to erase historical, cultural and
archeological sites off the city’s map. They’ve come
here to destroy the history of other nations and
enforce their own – the typical “Russian World”
approach.

“Kalmius Settlement” archeological site is

a multi-layered settlement located on the
right bank of Kalmius River. The
settlement was discovered in 2010.
Excavations were arranged by
Archeological Expedition of Mariupol
Regional Natural History Museum led by
V.B. Horbov with participation of
volunteers in 2010 – 2012, 2014, 2015.
The researchers discovered a Neolithic
settlement on an area of 257 square meters
potentially connected with the world-
famous archaeological monument
"Mariupol Neolithic Cemetery" of the 5th
millennium BC
Ukrainian heritage in first half year of war, as presented by
Roman Liubun during WAC-9 in Prague, July 2022
Thank you for your attention!