Critical history of the study of the Maikop culture in the Northwestern Caucasus: a trial
The paper is devoted to the history of the study of the Maikop culture in the Northwestern Caucasus. The researchers’ interest to this brightest phenomenon has continued since the time of its discovery in the late XIX century and up to now. Despite the fact that different authors more than once addressed themselves to the history of the study of the Maikop culture, a comprehensive study of the kind is still missing. The present paper attempts to fill this gap by presenting a historiographical review, which would allow to give a comprehensive evaluation of the research that has been carried out so far. The history of the study of the Maikop culture is divided here into four stages: I - late XIX c. - 1950s; II - 1950s - 1970s, III - 1970s - 1990s, IV - since 1991 up to the present. This study pays primary attention to such factors as the dependence of research on newly introduced sources, theoretical approaches of different authors to the interpretation of materials, and influence of Russian academic traditions.