Bakay Kornél: Scythian rattles in the Carpathian Basin and their eastern connections (Budapest, 1971)

KORNÉL BAKAY SCYTHIAN RATTLES IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN AND THEIR EASTERN CONNECTIONS The type of object discussed in this book had a very special place in the Scythian culture which flourished in the 6th —3rd centuries B.C. Its author, an expert archeologist who has studied the history of Eastern equestrian peoples for nearly a dec­ade, investigates in the first place those Scythian rattles and pole-ends which came to light in the Carpa­thian Basin. His conclusion, the result of several years’ research and a complex analysis which includes, besides the traditional methods of archeology, also spectro-analytical and musical examinations, is con­trary to earlier hypotheses: these ob­jects have a ritual significance, and are material evidences of Scythian shamanism. This is corroborated by a thorough survey of finds of this type from the territory of the Soviet Union, based on the author’s own collection of material and on the complete Russian and Soviet litera­ture. The book contains several photographs and graphic illustra­tions as well as a detailed bibliog­raphy of the subject. AKADÉMIAI KIADÓ PUBLISHING HOUSE OF THE HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Budapest

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