Komar O. The population of the steppen Northern Black Sea Region of 6th - beginning of 8th centuries AD.

The thesis analyses ethnocultural and historical situation in the steppen Northern Black Sea Region of 6th - beginning of 8th centuries. 65 sites of this time includes only 4 settlements and 73 burials and complexes of artifacts. Small number of sites and burials can be caused by the unfavorable climate situation. The very long hot and dry period (4-7th centuries) turned Northern Black Sea Region into the dry steppen zone, that couldn't feed such big mass of nomad population, as it was in other historical periods. Therefore Bulgarian period (480-559) is represented by only 4 burials, 2 complexes and a hoard of coins; the period of the Turkish Khaganates (570-631) - by 5 burials, and short Avarian period (560-569) left no burials. Features of the funeral rite and grave goods shows that burials of the Bulgarian period are different from the burials of the Huns period and were left by the new group of nomads, that can be identified as Kutrigurs. The same, culture of the Kutrigurs differs from burials of the period of the Turkish Khaganates. It marks appearance of the new population, related to Bulgarian tribes, and other part - to Western Turks (Suhanovo). New big group of nomads appeared in the steppen Northern Black Sea Region in the second half of 7th century. Sites of the Pereschepina culture are of several types: cemeteries and single inhumations in barrows or without it, cremations, funeral complexes of the Kelegei type, memorial buildings (Voznesenka). Also belongs to the Pereschepina culture two cultural types of settlements: Alans settlements of the Kantsyrka type and Turkish settlements of the Tau-Kypchak type. Area of the barrow burials of the Pereschepina culture includes not only Northern Black Sea Region. It has 3 other local groups: East Azov Sea Region, Lower Don Region, Lower Volga Region, but also sites with some elements of the Pereschepina culture are known in Western (Borisovo), Central (Mokraja Balka) and Eastern Caucasus (Chir-Yjurt), Ural Region (Ufa), Bulgaria (Madara). This culture marks frontiers of the big nomad state with definite stratification of its society. Many elements of funeral rite and material culture coincides with the culture of Turkish tribes of the West Turkish Khaganate. This allows to identify Pereschepina culture as the culture of the Early Khazarian Khaganate. Pereschepina culture of the Northern Black Sea Region has no chronological relation with Saltovo culture, because its population had left this region at the beginning of the 8th century and migrated to the Middle Volga Region.