Problem of Ethnicity of Chiyalikskaya Culture Natives in Historiography

Abstract

The question of ethnicity of Chiyalikskaya culture natives, distinguished according to the materials of monuments in the lower reaches of the rivers Ik and Belaya is raised. The results of the comparative analysis of archeological data and written sources are presented. Despite the spread of Islam, the funeral rite chiliksky burial of 13th-14th centuries remained pagan relics characteristic of the Ugric peoples of the Urals. A review of the historiography showed that, being the part of the ethno-cultural habitat of Ugric peoples of the southern Urals, Chiyalikskaya culture was under strong influence of Volga Bulgaria. The findings are confirmed by data from written sources. As a result of gradual Turkification and Islamization the descendants of Chiyalikskaya culture natives became a part of Bashkirs. However, it is difficult to trace their history since the 14th century because of a lack of knowledge of archaeological sites and the lack of data of related sciences. It is proved that Ugric component in the ethnogenesis of the Bashkirs played not major, but rather local role: the descendants of natives of Chiyalikskaya culture considered to be the North-Western Bashkirs. Novelty of research consists in the fact that natives of Chiyalikskaya culture cannot be identified with the Bashkirs of written sources. Bashkirs could be the natives of monuments of seleukskiy type, synchronous to Chiyalikskaya culture and widespread in the southern Urals.