Archaeology of the Eurasian steppes in the historical concept of L.N. Gumilyov

Abstract

The scientific heritage of the famous Turkologist, the author of the original concept of passionarity
L.N. Gumilyova continues to be in the sphere of historiographical interest. However, not all methods of his research have received an adequate assessment. The author considers Gumilyov`s attitude to archeology and its data in the study of the ethnic history of the Eurasian steppes. The method of consideration of this issue corresponds to the basic principles of historiographic research: the identification of the author`s content position by analyzing his works, the characteristics of the source study base and methods of criticism of the sources used. L.N. Gumilyov is a brilliant expert on written sources on the history of the peoples of the Eurasian steppes of Chinese, Iranian, Arab origin and scientific literature on this issue. Archaeological data, often borrowed, are also actively involved in the reconstruction of the ethnic history of Eurasia. We tried to match the attention of L.N. Gumilyov to these two groups of sources, to determine his scientific predilections and how this influenced the final conclusions and his historical concept. L.N. Gumilyov prefers written historical sources, in working with them he feels confident, trusts them more. As long as they are. The use of archaeological data is complementary, auxiliary, fragmented. In the absence of written sources, the scientist demonstrates the quick adaptation and qualitative analysis of analysis of archeology data. Ultimately, he advocates a synthesis of history and archeology.