Editing Scythians (section)

===Nomads and pastoralists===
The peoples of Scythia consisted of a mix of sedentary farmer populations and [[nomad]]s.{{sfn|Batty|2007|p=206}}{{sfn|Cunliffe|2019|p=49}} with the tribes living in the steppes remaining primarily nomadic and having lifestyles and customs inextricably linked to their nomadic way of life.{{sfn|Sulimirski|1985|p=153}} During these early periods, the nomadic Scythians did not build settlements, but instead lived in wagons and temporary tents while leading a mobile pastoral life with their herds and wagon trains.{{sfn|Grousset|1970|p=7}}{{sfn|Parzinger|2004|p=71}} With the integration of Scythia with the Greek colonies on the northern shore of the Black Sea, some of the nomadic Scythians started to settle down,{{sfn|Cunliffe|2019|p=119}} so that they had already started becoming semi-nomads and sedentary farmers by the 5th century BC{{sfn|Batty|2007|p=214}} during the Middle period,{{sfn|Cunliffe|2019|p=119}} and they had largely become settled farmers by the 3rd century BC.{{sfn|Batty|2007|p=214}}

The more nomadic Scythians lived in habitations suited for nomadic lifestyles, such as tents similar to the {{translit|trk|yurt}} of the [[Turkic peoples]] and the {{translit|xgn|ger}} of the [[Mongolic peoples]] that could easily be assembled and disassembled, as well as covered wagons that functioned as tents on up to six wheels.{{sfn|Jacobson|1995|p=31}}{{sfn|Parzinger|2004|p=78-79}} The walls and floors of these portable habitations were made of felt and the tents themselves were bound together using ropes made from horse hair.{{sfn|Jacobson|1995|p=31}}

Beginning in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the Scythians started building fortified sedentary settlements,{{sfn|Ivantchik|2018}}{{sfn|Parzinger|2004|p=79}} of which the most important ones were located on major routes which provided access to the major rivers of Scythia.{{sfn|Cunliffe|2019|p=131}} The largest and most important of these was the settlement of Kamianka,{{sfn|Parzinger|2004|p=79}} built in the late 5th century BC and protected by ramparts and steep banks of the Borysthenēs river.{{sfn|Ivantchik|2018}} The Kamianka site was the location of the seasonal royal headquarters and the aristocrats and royalty residing in the city's acropolis,{{sfn|Ivantchik|2018}}{{sfn|Cunliffe|2019|p=131}} which contained stone houses{{sfn|Parzinger|2004|p=79}} and buildings built over stone foundations.{{sfn|Cunliffe|2019|p=131}} It was also the residence of a farmer population and of metalsmiths.{{sfn|Ivantchik|2018}} The houses of these farmers and metalsmiths were single-storeyed, with gable-rooves, ranged from 40 to 150 metres square in size and could include multiple rooms, and had clay-painted and felt-fabric adorned walls made of beams buried vertically in the ground; Kamianka also contained square pit houses made of pole constructions with recessed surfaces.{{sfn|Parzinger|2004|p=81}}

Smaller Scythian settlements also existed, where were cultivated large amounts of crops such as wheat, millet, and barley.{{sfn|Cunliffe|2019|p=119}}