Archaeological Research of the Southern Slopes of Karatau (Shimayla Complex)

Abstract

The authors analyze the results of the study of the archaeological complex of Shimaila. The complex includes rock carvings and a burial mound. These objects were investigated by the Karatau archaeological expedition of Ahmed Yasawi University under the leadership of S.S. Murgabayev. The research materials are being introduced into scientific discourse for the first time. The chronological framework of petroglyphs dates from the Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages. During the excavations, three mounds were uncovered, the peculiarity of their structures was recorded, as well as the analysis of the accompanying inventory became the basis for the conclusion about the dating of burial structures within the middle of the IV century BC – II century BC. As part of the accompanying inventory, a two-edged sword, arrowheads, an earring and a pendant, a bronze mirror with a handle, a stone altar and beads. These objects, as well as the locations of petroglyphs, demonstrate the prospects for further field studies of Karatau monuments for the reconstruction of complex processes of cultural genesis in the Central Asian region from the Bronze Age to the turn of our era.

Keywords

• archaeology
• karatau
• petroglyphs
• style
• mound
• excavation
• ceramics
• burial chamber
• bronze mirror
• earring
• sacrificial stone