Editing Scythians (section)

===Early sedentarisation===
Around this time the steppe climate also became warmer and wetter, which allowed the nomads to rear their large herds of animals in abundance;{{sfn|Sulimirski|Taylor|1991|p=552}}{{sfn|Sulimirski|Taylor|1991|p=577}}{{sfn|Melyukova|1995|p=65}} combined with Greek influence, this acted as a catalyst for the process of [[Sedentism|sedentarisation]] of many nomadic Scythians which started during the Middle Scythian period in the late 5th century BC.<ref>{{Unbulleted list citebundle|{{harvnb|Melyukova|1990|p=104}}|{{harvnb|Melyukova|1995|p=35}}|{{harvnb|Melyukova|1995|p=27}}|{{harvnb|Cunliffe|2019|p=119}}}}</ref> especially in areas where the terrain was propitious for agriculture.{{sfn|Melyukova|1990|p=105}} Archaeological evidence suggests that the population of the agriculture-focused Tauric Chersonese increased by 600%, especially in the [[Kerch Peninsula|Trachean Chersonese]].{{sfn|Melyukova|1995|p=65}}{{sfn|Olkhovsky|1995|p=68}}{{sfn|Batty|2007|p=210}}

This process led to the foundation in the late 5th and early 4th centuries BC of several new city-sites{{sfn|Sulimirski|1985|p=197}}{{sfn|Parzinger|2004|p=79}}{{sfn|Ivantchik|2018}} including important sites located on major routes which provided access to the major rivers of Scythia.{{sfn|Cunliffe|2019|p=131}} For example, the city of Kamianka had become the economic, political and commercial capital of the Scythian kingdom in the late 5th century BC.{{sfn|Melyukova|1990|p=104}}{{sfn|Melyukova|1995|p=35}} Until the 3rd century BC, the majority of Scythians nevertheless still remained composed of nomads.{{sfn|Melyukova|1990|p=104}}{{sfn|Melyukova|1995|p=35}}