About the equestrian elite of the western koban society (based on the materials of the Kabardino-Balkarian cemeteries)

The article is devoted to the study of the highest social stratum of the Koba archaeological culture (the end of the Bronze Age – the beginning of the Iron Age) – the military cavalry aristocracy (Group I) – based on the analysis of burial equipment from the burial grounds of Kabardino-Balkaria. Drawing on the works of predecessors (Krupnov, Dudarev, Belinsky, etc.) and critically evaluating the existing models of stratification, the article proposes its own five-level structure of society, where Group I occupies the top of the hierarchy.

The work establishes the key criteria for classification into Group I: the presence of horse tack (bit, псалии), horse burials (entire or skulls), various and numerous weapons (including dozens/hundreds of arrowheads), protective armaments (armour, helmets), and luxury items (jewellery, imported vessels).

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