History of Ukraine: Beginnings Quiz

Answer: Homo neanderthalensis

Neanderthals have been viewed as being cavemen for quite some time, and they probably did rely on the use of caves for housing, especially during cold weather. The area around Molodova, Ukraine, has been studied since the 1980s, and many Neanderthal artifacts have been found there. The more recent discovery of a house has changed scientific thinking regarding the Neanderthal people. The structure was 26 feet across at its widest point, and was able to accommodate a larger group than was expected. There is also evidence that the home was inhabited over a long period of time, as 25 different hearths have been discovered.

At the present time, scientists believe that Neanderthals lived in Eurasia from approximately 400,000 years ago (sources differ here) to 40,000 years ago. Originally pictured as being simple minded brutes, archaeological evidence has painted a different picture - one of people who made simple clothing, buried their dead, used plants for medicinal purposes, made stone tools, as well as jewelry, and even decorated the mammoth bones used for building their homes with ocher and engravings.

Answer: Copper

The Copper Age lasted from approximately 6000 BC-3500 BC, although the dates vary according to area. During this time, people who had already settled down for farming began to discover the techniques associated with metallurgy. The Cucuteni-Trypillia culture existed in western Ukraine from 5500 to 2750 BC; some of the sites show a surprisingly large population for the time, with the Talianki site, in modern day Cherkasy Oblast, being home to some 15,000 people.

They made copper awls, adzes, sewing needles, and fish hooks, while continuing to use stone and bone to make other items. Located east of the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture, the site of the Sredny Stog culture also shows evidence of items made of copper.

Answer: Honor the dead

In Ukraine alone, about 300 of these stelae have been found. Made over a period of hundreds of years, the stelae were constructed by a variety of cultures to honor their dead. Called Kurgan stelae, these figures were first constructed sometime during the Neolithic Age.

They are found in areas where burials took place and typically depict some sort of simple figure, such as a warrior or woman. Some stelae show only the face, while others show figures with jewelry, weapons, or other embellishments.

Answer: Yamnaya Culture

The Yamnaya Culture lived in Ukraine during the late Copper/early Bronze Ages, as it evidenced from items that have been found in their pit grave burials. The name "Yamnaya" is derived from the Russian "yamnaya", which means "related to pits". Their pit graves included animal offerings, and some were marked with large stelae.

It is believed that the graves found with the most metal objects belonged to highest ranking individuals in the society. Probably semi-nomadic, the people did know how to farm and had some permanent villages. Scientists believe, after conducting genetic studies, that the Yamnaya - more men than women - migrated in many different directions, bringing elements of their culture, as well as their genetic composition, to others.

Answer: Horse

Horses have been important to mankind for thousands of years - first as a source of meat in the case of wild horses that were hunted, and eventually as a means of transportation and a work force. Many zoologists agree that large herds of the tarpan horse lived in the area that is Ukraine today; genetic studies suggest that even after the domestication of the tarpan, the horse continued to be bred with wild mares.

Historians are continuing to debate where the horse was actually first domesticated; a long-time theory gave credit to the Yamnaya culture in Ukraine, however, others credit the Botai in Kazakhstan.

Answer: Carthage

Carthage, of course, was a city founded by the ancient Phoenicians in the 9th century BC that grew rich and powerful on the North African side of the Mediterranean Sea; it was ultimately destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC.

Panticapaeum was the first of the Greek colonies established on the Black Sea coast sometime during the 7th or 6th century BC. It became an important area for the manufacturing of pottery and other crafted goods. Theodosia had an important location for trade, which was fortuitous considering that it bordered fine agricultural lands and were able to send badly needed grain back to Greece. Olbia, one of the largest of the Greek cities on the Black Sea, exported grain, fish, and slaves to Greece. All three of these colonies were founded by Miletus, a wealthy Greek city in Ionia on the west coast of modern Turkey.

Answer: Crimea

During Roman times the Crimean Peninsula was called Taurica. By the first century BC, many of the Greek colonies in the Black Sea were under the control and protection of Mithridates, the King of Pontus in Asia Minor. When Mithridates was defeated in 65 BC by Pompey the Great, the area of Taurica became a suzerainty, a feudal state with some self-government, controlled by the Roman Empire.

The Romans lost control of the area in the 300s AD, but Byzantine Emperor Justinian regained the land during his reign.

Answer: Ostrogoths

The Goths were tribes of Germans; historians, however, still do not agree on their origin. While most believe they came from Scandinavia, their exact ancestry is still unknown. Ancient Greek and Roman authors' accounts generally claim that Goths were Germans, which to them meant that they lived in the Rhine River region.

In broad terms, there were many tribes of Goths, but by the late 300s AD they were classified within two major groups - the Visigoths, or West Goths, who lived in modern-day Hungary and Germany. The Ostrogoths, or East Goths, who settled in the region of Ukraine, Romania, and Russia. Historians believe the Ostrogoths mixed with other groups who were already living in the area, which they called "Oium".

Over time, the Ostrogoths were driven west into the Roman Empire by a series of invasions. They are credited with forcing the last western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, to leave the city of Rome in 476 AD, and establishing their own kingdom in Italy. This date is considered to be the end of ancient times and the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Answer: Huns

The Huns, horsemen who are believed to have originated in China, began a series of migrations after being defeated by the Han dynasty. They moved to the steppes of Central Asia sometime between the 3rd century BC and 2nd century AD. By 370 AD further migrations of the Huns began to push tribes of Goths into the Roman Empire, which had a devastating affect on an already declining system; eventually the Huns themselves began their own invasion of the once mighty empire.

In Ukraine, many of the ancient cities and states around the Black Sea were destroyed by the Huns, along with the Kyiv culture further north. Surprisingly, scholars today are still trying to piece together information about this destructive group, who quickly disappeared from history in 453 after the death of their famous leader, Attila.

Answer: Scythia

Historians believe today that the Scythians were a group of nomadic horsemen who originally came from Siberia. Although they left behind no writing, they came into contact with people who did - like the Greeks, Persians, and Assyrians, who seem to have been in awe, and, sometimes, fear of their military prowess. The mighty Assyrians even married one of their princesses to one of the Scythians kings in order to make an alliance.

After the invention of a new bow, mounted Scythian archers were almost invincible, and they were described by others as being relentless in battle. The only look into their lives is found today in their burial mounds, which contain mummies, made both by the climate of the area and humans, along with grave goods, metal items, food, and slaughtered horses.