Deriivka
48°54′53″N 33°46′52″E / 48.91472°N 33.78111°E Dereivka (Ukrainian: Деріївка) is an archaeological site located in the village of the same name in Kirovohrad Oblast, Ukraine, on the right bank of the Dneiper. The site dates to ca. 4500—3500 BC and is associated with the Sredny Stog culture.
This site is known primarily for its status as a site (and perhaps as the site) of early horse domestication. Radiocarbon dates of the most famous horse head, however, have been disappointing, due to contamination of the evidence (they range from the late third millennium BCE to the early first millennium BCE). Since the rest of the site is reliably dated, the earlier of these conflicting radiocarbon dates is compatible with a timeframe several hundred years older.
Of interest is some apparently equivocal evidence for fenced houses. Two cemeteries are associated, one from the earlier Dnieper-Donets culture and one from the aforementioned Sredny Stog culture.
As a part of the Sredny Stog complex, it is considered to be very early Indo-European, and probably, Proto-Indo-European, within the traditional context of the Kurgan hypothesis of Marija Gimbutas, though Sredny Stog is itself pre-kurgan as to burial rite.
See also
Sources
- J. P. Mallory, "Dereivka", Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.