Ocial and economic characteritics of blacksmith's craft in Abkhazia (2nd-7th centuries)

The paper provides social and economic characteristics (stratification) ofancient Abkhazian society in the 2nd-7th centuries AD through research of written sources,artifacts of blacksmiths' production (both iron and steel), the structure of the craft itself,related ethnological and folklore materials. Abkhazian society made a transition from‘military democracy' to early feudalism bypassing the slavery stage in the 8th century.