Andrey Chizhevsky

The article considers the origin of Anan’yino stelae from the Volga-Kama region. The images are concentrated in the low reaches of the Kama and adjacent areas of the Volga, within the limits of one the four cultures belonging to the Anan’yino cultural and historical area, – post-Maklasheevka, hence its it is more correct to speak of them as post-Maklasheevka stelae. The tradition of post-Maklasheevka (Anan’yino) stelae appeared in the 9th c. BC and reached its peak in the middle of the 8th – middle of the 7th cc. BC, fading out in the second half of the 7th–6th cc BC. The author comes to the conclusion that the forms of the post-Maklasheevka sculptured images are connected with the Central Asian tradition. The figural repertoire of the images also proves the influence of the traditions of stag stones and Cimmerian stelae. Nonetheless, it is not possible to say that the phenomenon was taken over at the level of ethnos. Most probably, the Volga-Kama population developed the tradition of erecting stone stelae as a result of not genetic but cultural influence from Central Asia. At the developed stage, it was influenced by the Cimmerian tradition, primarily in relation to the iconography of the images; however, the influence could have been reciprocal.