Seminar on the art of Eurasian steppes nomads: background and conclusions

International scientific seminar «Animal Style through the centuries: genesis,transformations and reminiscences. Art of Eurasian Steppes Nomads» took place at theInstitute of Archaeology Russian Academy of Sciences on December 13-14, 2016. It wasorganized by the Centre for PaleoArt Studies, Institute of Archaeology RAS and Dept. ofArchaeology of the Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University. It was thethird meeting on the topic of the Scythian-Siberian animal style and Sarmatian zoomorphicart. Specialists from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan have presented 26 presentations and4 posters. The basic principles of uniform approach to systematization, analysis andinterpretation of zoomorphic nomadic art (its images, motives and compositions) of theEurasian steppes in the I mill. BC - I mill. AD were elaborated. It will enable verification ofongoing archaeological and art studies in this sphere and to input the general understandingof the nomadic art of Eurasian steppes and adjacent territories in the I mill. BC - I mill.AD as common informative system with coexisting complicated and varied stylistic andsemantic interconnections (both synchronous and diachronous). Iconographic analysis ofworks of art combined with methods of absolute and relative dating can enable in futuretreat the zoomorphic images of art of the nomads of the Eurasian steppes in the I mill.BC - I mill. AD (and corresponding artefacts) as a reliable chronological indicator, so it isimportant for the further development of history and chronology of the Eurasian culturesand civilizations of this period.