The economy of the Eastern Slavs and what our distant ancestors did. How our distant ancestors lived
Marina Katakova
Lesson summary “How our Slavic ancestors lived” (senior group)
Target classes: Shape performance about the life of the ancient Slavs.
Cultivate interest in the history of your people, develop interest in subject. To consolidate knowledge about bread as one of the greatest riches on earth. Continue to introduce the traditions of the Russian people. (Tell the children about the rituals associated with the harvest in Rus' and the baking of the first bread of the new harvest). To cultivate respect for people’s work, careful attitude towards the products of labor, towards bread as a product especially revered by people. Develop attention, memory, oral speech, logical thinking, enrich vocabulary.
Equipment: selection of illustrations, presentation on the topic.
Progress of the lesson.
Greetings: Hello, my dears. Today we begin the study of our Fatherland. Let's go with you on a journey to distant times, when our ancestors lived, find out in what conditions they lived and what they did. So, today we will learn about the life of the ancient Slavs.
Let's listen. Slavs are a vast group of tribes and peoples belonging to the same language family, i.e. their language was very similar. The Slavs lived in tribes. Each tribe consisted of a clan. Rod is family. This means that the tribe consisted of several families. Several tribes formed tribal associations. (Slide show)
Settlement. (Slide show). The time was restless, residents of neighboring villages often fought among themselves, so the Slavs usually settled in places surrounded by steep slopes, deep ravines or water. They erected earthen ramparts around the settlements, dug ditches, and erected palisades. And it was convenient to build houses on such land. Inside the settlement there were huts, premises for livestock, and a paddock for livestock.
Housing and life. (Slide show). The houses of the ancient Slavs were sunk into the ground. They were built from thin layers of trees - poles, cleared of branches and bark, the roof was also made of poles and covered with thatch. Inside such a house it was always cool, dark and damp. The windows were covered with boards or straw at night; there was no glass. In the corner there was a stove made of stone, which heated the house and cooked food on it. The stove was burning "in black", this means that there was no chimney, and the smoke came out through windows, doors, and holes under the roof. There was a table and benches in the house. The bed was replaced by straw covered with animal skins.
Later, huts were built. Look, here's the hut (Slide show). In such huts many years ago our ancestors lived. The hut is made of wood, how beautiful it is! The hut contained the largest room, which was called a hut. In the most honorable place in the hut was the Red Corner, where the icons were located. The family prayed in front of the icons. The main thing in the house was the stove - mother. She was very loved. She gave warmth. They baked bread, pies and cooked cabbage soup and porridge in the oven. The children and grandmother were sleeping on the stove. Everyone who was sick was treated on the stove. Here they also told fairy tales to children. There was a chest in the hut; clothes were stored in it. Previously, there were no shops, and people did everything with their own hands. Every house had a spinning wheel. Women spun thread on a spinning wheel. From threads on such a machine - krosna, women themselves wove fabrics and sewed clothes. Elegant clothes, which were very expensive, were stored in a chest; there were no closets then. There are shelves of beauty in our house. They contain beautiful dishes and toys made and painted by folk craftsmen. Consideration toys: Bogorodsky, Gorodets, Dymkovsky. People made dishes and toys themselves. There used to be very large families, but all lived amicably and cheerfully, loved each other. The elders loved the children, taught them everything good. And the younger ones respected their parents and grandparents and obeyed them.
What did the ancient Slavs do? (Slide show).
Activities of the ancient Slavs:
Fishing – there were a lot of fish in the lakes and rivers. They only took large fish. They caught with harpoons and nets. (Slide show).
Gathering wild berries, nuts, mushrooms, and herbs played a big role in the life of the Slavs. (Slide show). In the spring, when supplies ran out, young shoots and leaves of quinoa and nettle were collected. Quinoa often replaced bread; flat cakes were baked from it during times of famine.
Hunting - there are a lot of different things in the forests animals: bears, boars, foxes, wolves...Their skins served as clothing and blanket. (Slide show).
Beekeeping - the Slavs were engaged in collecting honey, since many wild bees lived in the lemmas. Honey was used both as food and as medicine. Collecting honey from forest bees was called beekeeping (bort – “tree hollow”, where wild bees lived) .
The Slavs were also engaged in construction.
Cattle breeding. The Slavs gradually began to domesticate and raise the young of some animals. (Slide show).With the advent of livestock, the consumption of meat and milk increased, people began to depend less on nature.
Pottery - making pottery. (Slide show).
Agriculture was the most important occupation. (Slide show).
The work is very hard. In winter, a section of loess was cut down. It burned out in the spring. The ash served as fertilizer. The land was plowed with a plow, loosened with a hoe, and then sown. A man with a sieve walked and scattered grains across a plowed field. They did not sow in the wind.
– Why do you think?
To cover the seeds with soil, the field was cultivated with a harrow.
Guess the riddle: “Soft, fluffy and fragrant, it’s black, it’s white, and sometimes it’s burnt.” That's right, bread. I put it on the table loaf: “Here is the fragrant bread!
Here it is warm and golden.
He came to every house, to every table!
It contains health, our strength, it contains wonderful warmth. How many hands raised him, protected him, took care of him.
In it there is the juice of the native land, the light of the sun is cheerful in it.
Eat by both cheeks, grow up to be a hero!”
Bread was called "zhito"- from the word live, as it was the main food product. Before our times preserved proverbs:
Bread is the head of everything.
If you drop a bread crumb and don’t pick it up, you won’t see any luck in life. Glory to the bread on the table!
Where did the sowing work begin? That's right, the land had to be plowed. What did you do next? (sowed). We prepared especially for this event. We washed ourselves in the bathhouse, put on a clean shirt and went out into the field with a basket on our chest. Seeds were scattered from a basket. The rain pours down, the sun warms, the grains ripen in the ears all summer, and the harvest is harvested in the fall. For the grain harvest our ancestors treated with reverence, with great respect, performing special rituals. Only women collected grain and were called reapers. The reapers wore white clothes. From morning to evening, without straightening their backs, they collected ears of grain, tied them into a bundle, and piled them into sheaves. Sheaves were threshed and grains were cleaned. Where were the cleaned grains taken? (to the mill) Where is the flour taken? (to the bakery) What do they make from flour at the bakery? (They bake bread, delicious buns, bagels, pies)
This is the long and difficult path from grain to loaf. Now we know how bread is obtained and how much patience, labor, and wisdom was required. It was considered a great crime to throw away even a small crumb of bread. “You can’t throw bread on the floor if you don’t want to get into trouble.”. After the harvest, a special loaf was baked. The loaf was always round, like the Earth. The loaf was definitely broken (show). The first piece was called the beginning, and it was placed under the icon, thus thanking God for a good harvest. The second piece was placed on the window, treating deceased relatives. Third piece eldest in the family. The fourth is for guests. And the rest was divided between adults and children, (I break off pieces for the children) The crumbs were taken to the birds so that they would be well-fed and cheerful, and to destroy harmful insects. In Rus' there has always been a respectful attitude towards bread. People said:
“Bread is the head of everything!” What proverbs about bread do you know? Without bread there is no lunch. Bread on the table is the throne. Bread father - water mother. Glory to peace on earth! Glory to the bread on the table!
"Earthly labor and tools". Find a match between the listed occupations and tools. Connect with a line.
Weaving Spinning Wheel
Blacksmithing Hammer
Carpentry Kos
Plowing Ax
Harvest Plow
Haymaking Sickle
What did the ancient Slavs believe? (Slide show) There were many gods. To make the gods kinder to people, holidays were held in their honor (Ivana Kupala June 23-24)
– Why did the Slavs believe that all natural phenomena were commanded by the gods? (the Slavs believed that the forest, trees, rivers, sun and wind are all living, animate; they did not have ideas about science)
– What did you ask the gods? (rain, successful hunting, bountiful harvest)
Faith of the ancient Slavs
-Which is the main god? (Perun)
Perun. (Slide show). A formidable Slavic deity. He was considered the patron saint of aerial phenomena. His hand controlled thunder and lightning. He was a formidable god; he was also considered the god of war. Wooden idols made from mighty oak were erected in his honor. (Slide show).
The idols stood in the open air, and next to them there was a stone on which sacrifices were made to this god. And this place was called the Temple of Perun.
Svarog. (Slide show). God of the sky (“svaro” – sky). God of bad weather, winds, hurricanes. By legend He threw blacksmith's tongs from heaven to earth and taught people how to forge iron. He sent heavenly fire to people so that people could cook food on it, warm themselves around it and use it for good deeds. Svarog was the patron saint of blacksmiths.
Dazhdbog. Son of Svarog. God of the harvest, keeper of the keys of the earth. By legend closes the ground for the winter, and opens it in the spring. (Slide show).
Veles. The patron god of animals, especially domestic ones. He kept animals from diseases and helped people care for them. (Slide show)
Makosh. One of the most important goddesses of the Eastern Slavs, “ma” - mother, “kosh” - basket. Mother of good harvest, goddess of the harvest, giver of blessings. The fate of a person depended on the amount of harvest, which is why she was also called the goddess of fate. (Slide show).
Yarilo. Deity of awakening nature, patron of the plant world. Yarilo was identified with the sun. People turned to him in their songs and requests for a warm summer and a good harvest. (Slide show)
The Slavs believed that their native nature was inhabited by spirits and fantastic creatures.
– What fantastic creatures did the Slavs believe in?
Some, according to the Slavs, were good spirits, while others were evil.
Leshy. Dweller and guardian of forests. People believed that when he walked through the forest, he was equal to the forest, when he walked through the grass, he was equal to the grass, and he appeared to people in human form. (Slide show)
Brownie. Lives in houses. If he loves the owner, he cares about the owner, but if he doesn’t love, he will ruin the owner. To appease the housewife, they usually left a plate of food near the stove. (Slide show)
Mermaid. Semi-feminine spirit. Mermaids live in the river, but in clear weather they go ashore, but as soon as they notice a passerby, they return to the river. (Slide show)
Let's talk:
Who are the Slavs? Think about what the word is similar to (the Russian people originate from them. "Slavs" looks like a word "glory", which means that the Slavs are a glorious people).
What were the ancient Russians like? (The Russians were fair-haired, blue-eyed, tall, broad-shouldered, large-built, kind, hospitable, brave. They loved their homeland. When necessary, they became brave warriors and did not spare their lives for mother earth and their father’s house).
Tell us about the houses of the Slavs.
What was the hut made of?
Where was the hut?
What place did you choose to settle?
What did they keep near the house?
What was the decoration of the house of the ancient Slavs like?
Why do you need a stove in your house?
What were the clothes of the Slavs made of?
What did the ancient Slavs do?
How should you treat bread?
What do you remember about the gods and spirits of the Slavs?
Let's summarize: In the hut there was a large room-hut, where a huge family: and dad, and mom, and grandfathers, and grandmothers, and uncles, and aunts, and many, many children. In the front corner of the hut there was a Red Corner with one or more icons, where the whole family prayed, our ancestors were Orthodox. There was a large stove in the corner of the hut. The stove provided heat and fed the family. Children and grandmothers slept on the stove, the sick were treated, and fairy tales were told to the children. In the hut at night they slept on benches, chests, blankets and even on the floor, because the family was very large. Ancient Slavs were engaged: fishing, gathering, hunting, beekeeping,
cattle breeding, pottery - they made pottery and agriculture. They believed in different gods and spirits.
Let's play: “I see beauty!” (Children call items which they liked in the house). Round dance "Loaf"
We create, we draw, we rejoice. I hand out coloring books to children about the life of the Slavs.
Farewell: Peace, love, kindness - to the boys. Bow to the boys
Peace, love, kindness to girls. They bow to the girls.
Peace, love, kindness - to all adults. Everyone bows.
Peace, love, goodness - to all people on earth. Handles up.
"What's your mood?" (Choose an icon that matches your emotional mood)
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If you think that people in the past were less eccentric than the current generation, then remember their fashion and traditions - there are many surprising things there.
website I compiled a small list of what our ancestors considered normal, and found out that you and I are not so strange.
First and second dream
Europeans living during the Middle Ages practiced what is now called biphasic sleep. The first sleep began at sunset and lasted until about midnight, then people woke up and stayed awake for 2-3 hours. Some were praying or reading at this time, while others were communicating with household members or neighbors. Then came the time of the second sleep, which lasted until sunrise.
Live alarms
Knocker-up, or alarm clock man, is a profession that existed from the late 18th century until 1920. The duties of such people included waking up those who had to go to work. The "alarm clocks" would bang on their clients' windows with sticks or shoot peas at them from a blowpipe. It is not entirely clear who woke up the knocker-ups themselves, but there is a version that they did not go to bed at all before work.
Boys' dresses
Starting from the 16th century and until about 1920, it was customary for boys up to a certain age (4-8 years) to be dressed in dresses, and this did not bother anyone. Probably the main reason for this was the high cost of clothing, and dresses were easier to sew for growth. The tradition did not escape even the family of Nicholas II - in the photo his son Tsarevich Alexei is wearing a dress similar to those worn by his sisters.
Chopins
Chopins, also known as zoccoli and pianelli, are a type of platform shoe whose height could reach 50 cm. It is not surprising that those who wore these shoes required the help of servants so as not to literally fall victim to fashion. However, they wore chopins not only out of a desire for beauty, but also in order not to get their clothes dirty in the street dirt.
Bleeding for all diseases
Fear of water procedures
In the Middle Ages, in some countries it was believed that water only brought illness to humans, and lice were called “God’s pearls.” These beliefs were shared by the monarchs. Isabella of Castile was proud that she washed only twice in her life: at birth and before her wedding. One day the gentleman drew attention to her dirty hands and nails, to which the queen replied: “Oh, you should have seen my feet!”
Postmortem photographs
Another custom that in our time looks, if not creepy, then at least very strange. But in the 19th century, it was a way to preserve the memory of departed loved ones. As a rule, the deceased were given a “living” appearance before being photographed: they were seated in natural poses and their eyes were drawn on closed eyelids - just like in this photograph.
Radioactive products and cosmetics
At the beginning of the 20th century, radiation was perceived by people as an exclusively positive phenomenon, which scammers did not fail to take advantage of: cosmetics, foods and drinks enriched with radium and thorium, radioactive souvenirs, and even devices for saturating water with radioactive elements appeared on sale.
Alas, there were victims: the athlete Eben Byers drank huge doses of the Radithor drink, as a result of which he died. The Wall Street Journal responded to this sad event with a snide note: “The radium water worked great for him until his jaw dropped.”
Heroin as a cough medicine
Surprisingly, 100 years ago, heroin was considered a harmless alternative to morphine and was sold in pharmacies as a cough medicine. Moreover, it was recommended even for children. It was subsequently discovered that heroin was converted to morphine in the liver, and its use was banned in 1924, but
Let's remember how our ancestors lived, what they ate and what they dressed in. If anyone thinks that life was sweet at that time, they are greatly mistaken.
Before this, the life of a simple Russian peasant was completely different.
Usually a person lived to be 40-45 years old and died as an old man. He was considered a grown man with a family and children at the age of 14-15, and she even earlier. They did not marry for love; it was the father who went to marry his son.
People had no time for idle rest at all. In the summer, absolutely all the time was occupied by work in the field, in the winter, collecting firewood and homework making tools and household utensils, and hunting.
Let's look at a Russian village of the 10th century, which, however, is not much different from the village of both the 5th century and the 17th century...
We came to the Lyubytino historical and cultural complex as part of a motor rally dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Avtomir group of companies. It is not for nothing that it is called “One-Storey Russia” - it was very interesting and educational to see how our ancestors lived.
In Lyubytino, at the place where the ancient Slavs lived, among the mounds and burials, a real village of the 10th century was recreated, with all the outbuildings and necessary utensils.
We will start with an ordinary Slavic hut. The hut is made of logs and covered with birch bark and turf. In some regions, the roofs of the same huts were covered with straw, and in some places with wood chips. Surprisingly, the service life of such a roof is only slightly less than the service life of the entire house, 25-30 years, and the house itself lasted about 40 years. Considering the time of life at that time, the house was just enough for a person’s life.
By the way, in front of the entrance to the house there is a covered area - this is the same canopy from the song about the “new, maple canopy.”
The hut is heated black, that is, the stove does not have a chimney; the smoke comes out through a small window under the roof and through the door. There are no normal windows either, and the door is only about a meter high. This is done in order not to release heat from the hut.
When the stove is fired, soot settles on the walls and roof. There is one big plus in a “black” firebox - there are no rodents or insects in such a house.
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There were bottom pits built in the barn, remember - “I scraped the bottom pipes...”? These are special wooden boxes into which grain was poured from above and taken from below. So the grain did not sit stale.
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When defending against the enemy, the basic equipment of a warrior was chain mail, a shield, and a helmet. Weapons: spear, hatchet, sword. Chain mail is not to say that it is light, but unlike armor, you can run in it. Well, we ran around a bit.
Historians believe that from ancient times the Eastern Slavs settled in the 6th century in the middle reaches of the Dnieper, approximately where the city of Kyiv is now located. The settlement of Slavic tribes went up the Dnieper and its tributaries.
Dense forests began here - first deciduous, and to the north - mixed and coniferous (we talked about this natural area). The settlers found themselves in unusual conditions.
In a new place, the Slavs usually settled along the banks of rivers and lakes in several large family groups. True, families then consisted of 15-20 people: the head of the family with his wife, their adult sons and wives, their children, and sometimes grandchildren. Three or four households settled together.
In the houses of the Slavs, the floor was a meter deep into the ground, the walls were made of thin tree trunks - poles, cleared of branches and bark. The poles are connected to each other with wooden spikes and bound with flexible bark for strength. The roof is also made of poles, and there is a thick layer of straw on it.
In the corner there was a stove made of stone - it heated the house and cooked food on it. The stove was fired black - this means that there was no chimney, and all the smoke came out through windows, doors, holes in the roof. Inside such a house it was always cool, dark and damp. The windows cut into the walls were covered with boards or straw at night and in cold weather - after all, there was no glass then.
In the house, all the free space was occupied by a table and 2-3 benches. In the corner lay several armfuls of hay covered with animal skins - these were beds.
Life for the settlers was not easy. Like all primitive peoples, the Slavs were engaged in gathering and hunting. They collected honey, berries, mushrooms, nuts, hunted wild boars, moose, bears, and fished in rivers. Now we also go to the forest to pick mushrooms and berries and fish. But for us it’s a rest, but for our ancestors it was a lot of work, and not easy. After all, food had to be prepared for the whole family.
Since ancient times, the Slavs have been engaged agriculture. They plowed with wooden plows on bulls. They sowed rye and wheat.
However, in the dense forest, clearings suitable for farming are rare, and the land is infertile. it was necessary to burn down forests to clear space for arable land and fertilize the ground with ash. In addition, forest predators and “dashing people” - robbers - were constantly threatening.
In addition, the ancient Slavs had developed beekeeping (beekeeping). Where did this word come from? Since ancient times, honey has been a commodity, medicine and one of the main delicacies. But it was very difficult to get it. The Slavs lured bees with honey, and then traced their path to a hollow. Finally came up with an idea board- a tree stump with a hollow or a hollowed out block.
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| Bort |
Since ancient times in Rus' traded surplus crops, exported them to Greek cities on the Black Sea coast (in the Cuban studies lesson we talked about them in great detail).
The anciently famous trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” passed along the Dnieper. Varangians in Rus' called warlike people from the coast and islands of the Baltic Sea. Why did cities arise along the trade route? Look at the map.
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| The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" |
The caravan was accompanied by strong security. There were river rapids in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, and the boats had to be pulled ashore again and dragged again. Here the steppe nomads waited for the caravans, robbed merchants and captured travelers.
Having passed the rapids, the caravan went out into the Black Sea and sailed to the city of Constantinople (Istanbul).
New cities and various industries arose along the trade route, and surrounding residents were drawn to them. And travelers introduce the population to new goods, the culture of other peoples, and news in the world.
When settling new lands, people gave names to new rivers, cities, towns, and mountains.
The settlement of the Eastern Slavs throughout Eastern Europe was peaceful, but they were often attacked by nomadic tribes. Therefore, the Slavs were forced to master the science of war. The tall, strong Slavs were known as brave warriors. Fighting with enemies, they lured them into impenetrable forest wilds and swamps.
The constant struggle with nomads claimed thousands of lives and distracted them from peaceful work. And yet the Slavs slowly but persistently moved towards the formation of a state.
And now I propose to test the acquired knowledge by answering the quiz questions.
The first mention of a bath is found in Herodotus of Halicarnassus in the 5th century BC. The ancient Greek historian described in great detail the first baths of the Scythians. They were nomads, so they “built” portable baths from 3 poles stuck into the ground, covered with felt around the perimeter.
Scythians steamed with hemp
Inside the primitive bathhouse - the “soaphouse” - there was a red-hot vat with stones, which created the heat. The room was very cramped and squat. You literally had to climb into it, bending over. Hence the second name of the bathhouse – “vlaznya”.
Water was splashed on the hot stones, as now. This way it warmed up for washing and at the same time filled the sack with wet steam. To make the heat even cooler, hemp seeds were sprinkled on the wet stones. The Scythians sweated profusely, scrubbing their bodies with ash or wet leather belts.
The washing of our ancestors was something between the process of steaming and wallowing in ashes and their own dirt. But in field conditions, these bath procedures were indispensable. Later, when the ancestors of the Slavs began to lead a more sedentary lifestyle, they began to build squat huts made of wood.
Black bath, or how to wash yourself in soot
Wooden baths were first built without a chimney. The “hood” was the cracks in the windows covered with a bull’s bladder. All the soot from the burned coals under the vat with stones filled the washing room. The walls inside were black with soot.
This is what the “black bath” looked like. Despite its exotic design, it coped well with the hygiene requirements of the time. It was only around the 9th-10th centuries that baths began to be equipped with a pipe, along with which the soot escaped. This is how the Slavs learned to wash in a clean room.
How did you wash then?
Public baths began to be built much later and only in large cities. Initially, washing in a bathhouse was a purely family affair. Everyone washed together: men and women, adults and children.
It never even occurred to anyone to flood the bathhouse separately for women and men. The Slavs did not associate the concept of a bath with shame. It was normal for everyone to wash and steam together. And it’s more practical: not so much firewood is needed to light a bathhouse for everyone.
The steam room and washing room were also combined. Washing, grooming with birch brooms and enjoying hot steam was one continuous, continuous process. In winter, it always ended with diving into the snow or an ice hole (if there was a river nearby).
Sacred action
Foreigners considered the Russian bathhouse to be an abode of debauchery. The Slavs themselves loved “soap” for the health and cleanliness it gave. The concept of hospitality was also associated with it. A decent owner of the house always flooded the bathhouse for his dear guest.
Women gave birth to children in these same buildings. Before an important event, only women and only those who were respected would heat the bathhouse. Men were not allowed to participate in the sacred action. When the room was not occupied, the women gladly used it for fortune telling.
Sometimes this place was also used for secret murders. They could lock the enemy in the bathhouse and burn him along with the wooden building itself. This is exactly what Princess Olga did with the Drevlyan ambassadors, who invited her to become the wife of their leader.
"Unclean Place"
Since the bathhouse was associated with such mysterious processes for ancestors as conception, birth of children and fortune telling, it was considered an “unclean” place. Here they “washed away sins”, cleansed the body, therefore, something bad remained within these walls.
According to the beliefs of the Slavs, a spirit lived in the bathhouse - the bannik. He was considered an evil creature, capable of killing a person who disrespected him. Bannik was supposed to be cajoled with special sayings and persuasion. In terms of importance, he was even more important than the brownie.
Are there any benefits from a Russian bath?
In Rus' it has always been believed that the bathhouse gives health and strengthens the spirit. Modern medicine warns that hot wet steam is beneficial only to healthy people. Hypertensive patients and heart patients are not allowed to enter the bathhouse, as it creates an increased load on the heart and blood vessels.
Those who have varicose veins should not take a steam bath. Bath procedures can only aggravate the problem. It is highly not recommended for pregnant women to visit the steam room, especially in the first and third trimester of pregnancy. A bathhouse is too harsh a test for the body of the expectant mother and fetus. Even a short stay in a hot, humid environment can lead to miscarriage.
But if a person does not have the listed contraindications, he should visit the bathhouse once every month or two. For a healthy body, a Russian bath is comparable to an hour-long workout on an exercise bike or jogging. However, you shouldn’t steam more often: the body gets used to the load and stops responding to it.