CORGANTAS, CARAMOLA, TASMOLA. TO THE QUESTION OF THE CULTURAL SITUATION IN CENTRAL KAZAKHSTAN IN THE LATE SAK PERIOD

Abstract

The proposed review covers the data on three groups of burial sites of the late Saka period, studied in the territory of Central Kazakhstan. The Korgantas burials are interpreted as the descendants of immigrants from the distant eastern regions of Central Asia (Ordos, Mongolia), who could have arrived in Central Kazakhstan through the Altai Mountains or directly through Xinjiang. The sites of the Karamola type, representing a cultural formation of the Saka type, unlike Korgantas, spread to the extreme eastern and southern peripheries of the region in question. The bulk of this type of burials is located in the territory lying to the east of Central Kazakhstan, which is determined in the area of the vicinity of the Chingiztau Range. It is likely that the Karamola burials represent a new, as yet allocated archaeological culture, the population of which had close contacts with Zhetysu and the steppe Altai. The author believes that additional materials are needed to finally resolve this issue. The third group of sites differs from both previous ones in terms of burial rite. In particular, mound 2 of the Kyzylzhartas burial ground, being a site of the elite of the late Saka period, contains a number of features indicating the preservation of some aspects of the traditions of earlier mounds of Central Kazakhstan. A number of other heavily robbed, difficult to date sites are associated with this group and require separate analysis.

Keywords

• central kazakhstan
• late saka period
• korgantas type
• karamola type
• burial rite
• radiocarbon dates