Nomad Vs sedentary. Gender, production and social evolution in the Eurasian steppe peoples of the East Eurasian region between Chalcolithic and Bronze Age

Abstract

In this paper we analyse the data collected from excavations associated with the peoples who inhabited the eastern part of the Eurasian steppe from the 6th to the 1st millennium BC, in order to study the social and cultural changes that may have influenced the emergence of communities that adopted different subsistence modes (nomadic, semi-nomadic or sedentary) despite occupying the same territory at different periods of history. The results seem to indicate that there was no clear and common sequence in which a nomadic way of life would have prevailed initially until reaching a sedentary system as the only consequence of a linear and common development in ancient societies. Instead, successive peoples occupying the same territory over time adopted different modes of production depending on various factors related to climatic and demographic changes, military tensions, migrations, etc. We will also analyse the sedentary societies established in the region of northern China and their influence on the way of life of these steppe groups. Finally, we will try to show that one of the inherent characteristics of nomadic or semi-nomadic production systems was to organise themselves into societies that were more egalitarian than the rest, perhaps as a response to the need to improve control over ever larger groups of individuals and also as a means of coping with possible external threats.