Early Medieval "Calendars" of Northern Eurasia

The calendar purpose of some types of flat bronze cast products shaped as double concentric rings or plaques found in burial grounds and sanctuaries of Ryolka, Lomovatovo, Potchevashevo archaeological cultures are considered in this work. The lifted material (the Perm Vychegodskay ring calendar from Northern Priuralie) is also used. Methodological principles for reconstruction of calendar calculating system in the early Middle Ages are worked out. Distinctive features of these products are numerous calculating elements shaped as notches, convex hemispheres, and rays. Their diameter is about 6-8 cm. An important feature of presentation of calculating symbolism on these items is using the principle of ''a part instead of the whole''. This does away with a necessity of drawing a huge number of calculating elements, and makes them compact and easy to use. Zoomorphic and ornamental symbols are combined in the base of the second type. Four eagles with a meandered and grainy belt and a cross with hemispheres are depicted on the Ryolka plaque. There are 9 species besides calculating symbols on the Vychegodsky ring. The analysis of calculating and zoomorphic symbolism revealed different reckoning schemes of a calendar year. Earlier ones used rough length of a sidereal moon month (27 days). This scheme coexists with others, using 360-days annual cycle on later calendar articles. Such cycles last for two and more years. Unlike all the others, the number and location of calculating elements on the Ryolka plaque allow making calculations of the annual calendar cycle, using the rough length of a sidereal moon month (27 days) and its precise length (27.3 days). Eagles' presence in the structure of calendar symbolism, eagle's high role in the Selkup mythology, and an unusual place of ''a month of the eagle'' in the Selkup calendars after ''a month of crows'' (though the months are in reverse order in all known to the authors calendars of indigenous Siberian and Ural peoples) allow assuming that these images are relevant to an intercalation. The existence of a previously unknown way of intercalation is revealed. It is based on the use of number 13 and its divisible numbers (26, 52, 78). Besides these plaques and ring articles, similar calendar schemes were identified on the finds from archeological sites of the Urals and Prikamye. They are on the silver bowls of the Shacha-rov hoard, the Verkh-Sahinian burial ground, from the sanctuary in Shuryshkary area (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug). The items are of Iranian origin. The analysis of biological cycles of animals on the Vychegda ring (Komi calendar, previously named ''hunting'') showed that the hunting function attributed to it was neither only nor main. This annular article was a figurative, yet exact description of the annual climatic change, depicted by the zoomorphic and calculating symbolism. The obtained data characterize a high level of calendar and astronomic knowledge of Northern Eurasia population in the early Middle Ages.

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