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Primitive people began to inhabit the territory of Ukraine from ancient times (the first traces date back more than 1 million years), after which it was not left even during the greatest advance of glaciers to the south. The territory of the country belongs to the earliest centers of civilization and urban planning, it is part of the original area of domestication of the horse, the invention of the wheel and the development of the first metals by mankind. Different waves of Indo-European migration to Europe and later in the opposite direction formed the basis of a colorful picture of its population.

The Cimmerians are the first known pastoral Iranian tribes in modern Ukraine, who came around the XV century BC. BC from Central Asia through the Caucasus and inhabited the steppe and forest-steppe zones. They were the first to bring with them iron tools (iron swords decorated with bronze handles) and began a new era - iron. Burials were done like other Iranians in mounds. In Homer, the Cimmerians are mentioned in the Odyssey under the ethnonym "hypemologists", ie those who drink mare's milk. Not only Homer reports about "famous mares", but also such well-known ancient authors as Herodotus, Callimachus, Strabo. Assyrian cuneiform sources mention this people as "hamirra". The Cimmerians occupied a large area between the Dniester and the Don, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, where they had fortified settlements. It was the Cimmerians who built it around 1250 BC. BC the first known port city in Ukraine. Their main occupation was military campaigns. The Cimmerians are believed to be a branch of the ancient Iranian nomadic people, genetically related to the Scythians. Their material culture has come down to us in the form of bone ornaments, various weapons (bows, daggers, swords, hammers) from burials with stelae...

Scythians, other Iranian tribes from Central Asia, in the VII century BC. the Cimmerians were driven out of the steppe. They were also pastoralists, nomads, loved to fight. In the Crimea, they peacefully assimilated with the Taurus, who lived here from the I millennium BC. BC and engaged in livestock, farming and fishing. Due to close trade and cultural ties with the Greek colonists of the Northern Black Sea, their culture, way of life, mythology and customs were well described ("Scythia" by their contemporary, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus) and have come down to us. A characteristic feature of the jewelry of that time is the animal style (pectoral from the Thick Tomb). In the Northern Crimea and the lower reaches of the Dnieper there is a large number of Scythian burial mounds (Thick Grave, Solokha). There are Scythian plowmen in the north (Chornoliska culture) and Scythian pastoralists in the south. Among the southern Scythians stood out, the so-called "royal", who ruled over others, collecting tribute from them. The royal Scythians gradually, under the influence of the Greeks, moved to a settled way of life (Naples Scythian), formed the first state union, known as the "kingdom of Atheus". 513 BC is. Persian King Darius makes an unsuccessful military campaign in Scythia in order to conquer its peoples, but receives from the rebellious Scythians instead of "water and land" only "bird, frog, mouse and five arrows."

In the second and third centuries, the Scythians were gradually pushed out of the east by other nomadic pastoral Iranian tribes, the Sarmatians (Savromats). These peoples are well known for their militancy and strong physique. They, as well as representatives of the catacomb culture before them and the Alans after, made themselves artificial deformation of the skulls. Heavy Sarmatian cavalry was in demand by the Roman army in various parts of the empire. Amazon women played a significant role in the life of the Sarmatians. Archaeological culture of the Sarmatians is much poorer than the Scythian, for jewelry (especially brooches) of the Sarmatians is also characterized by animal style, but it is characterized by a large number of precious stones (turquoise and red gems).

From the IV century after the transfer of the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople, and later the division of the state into western and eastern parts, the territory of Ukraine began to fall more intensively under the cultural influence of Byzantium.