On the ecological trail "Strelets Steppe" in the Central Black Earth State Nature Biosphere Reserve named after Professor V.V. Alekhin, there is a stone statue known as the "stone baba." Employees of the Kursk Museum of Archaeology date it to the 11th century.

If you walk around the statue, you can see three braids on the back of the warrior. Such braids were worn by men, tightly braided so that in case of a sword strike to the neck, the head would remain in place.

In the 17th century, thousands of such stone statues stood on ancient burial mounds and hills, noticeable from afar in the steppe, at watersheds, at river confluences, and at crossroads. Usually, the figures stood in pairs or groups of 5-10 on each mound. At crossroads, they indicated direction: the nearest settlement was in the direction the face was turned.

"Stone babas" were considered deities, worshipped and offered sacrifices to, asking for wishes to be fulfilled. During the development of the steppes, burial mounds began to be plowed, and "stone babas" were massively destroyed or, at best, transported to peasant estates for practical needs or to noble estates to decorate parks.

However, in the late 19th century, Russian scientists achieved government protection for these works of steppe art. "Stone babas" were studied by many researchers who concluded that they belong to the Polovtsian culture. When creating a typology, the gender of the statue (male or female), pose (sitting or standing), and various artistic and technical techniques used in their production were taken into account.

The evolution of these statues is marked by several stages: the first, early stage includes stela-like and flat statues, including the "stone baba" from the Strelets Steppe; the second stage features round sculptures (standing and sitting) but with poorly processed backs and low relief in the depiction of hands, bellies, and faces. Further development of round sculpture followed the path of detailing portrait and costume elements, such as jewelry and weapons, which allowed for the identification of many costume elements previously unknown, as only images on the statues remained.