The catacomb cultural circle: problem of the unity structure

The author presents a review of the views on the determination of Catacomb archaeological sites starting from their discovery by V. A. Gorodtsov till present, with special attention paid to the evolution of terminology reflecting the ideas on the nature of this unity: a single culture, a set of synchronous local variants, separate Catacomb cultures, Catacomb cultural and historical unity formed of several groups, Catacomb cultural circle. The present situation is considered as a crisis related to the variability of criteria used for determination of status of certain groups.