1.2 The Bronze Age Archeological Sites on the Present-Day Kazakhstan territory
At the turn of the first – second quarters of the II millennium B.C. in the Eurasian steppes was invented bronze. Bronze is a copper-tin alloy, sometimes antimony, arsenic, and lead in various proportions depending on the purpose of the product. As compared with copper, it has a number of advantages: differs in hardness, low melting point, a beautiful golden color. Bronze became the main raw material for making tools and weapons.
The tribes living on the territory of Kazakhstan in the Bronze Age, left archaeological sites (settlements, cemeteries, mines, rock paintings) that belong to the Andronov archaeological culture. The name was given to the culture on the place of the first excavations of a burial ground in the Andronov village in Southern Siberia. In 1927, archaeologist M.P. Grjaznov found similar burials in Western Kazakhstan and established that the Andronov culture sites spread over a wide area – from Minusinsk in the east to the Ural Mountains in the west. Later Andronov monuments have been found in the south of Kazakhstan, in the Semirechye and Central Asia. Thus, in the Bronze Age steppe expanses of Siberia, Ural, Kazakhstan and Central Asia were populated by kinred tribes, that left a bright distinctive culture. In science, it has received the conventional name Andronov. One of the main centers of the Andronov Culture was on the territory of Kazakhstan. Archaeological data evidence that the Andronov population in the overwhelming majority led a sedentary life. Settlements located on the banks of rivers with broad flood plain meadows. Dwellings of big patriarchal families were earth-houses with various household extension and enclosures for cattle. The main occupation of the Andronov population was cattle-breeding and agricultural economy with a evident predominance of pastoralism. Andronov culture had a number of distinctive features. Among them the burial rite was main. The Andronov’s burial structures erected in the form of stone fences of different configurations: square, round, oval. The dead were burned or buried on their side in a doubled-up posture in boxes made of stone slabs or rectangular ground chambers. The second distinctive feature of the Andronov Culture was a peculiar set of pottery with geometric designs. Vessels were made by hand. They had a flat bottom. The outer side of the vessels was decorated with complex geometric patterns. The third feature were forms of metal products. For example, they were characterized by decorations in the form of gold leaf earrings, folded in one and a half turn, decorations of head-dresses and clothes in the form of glasses-shaped or palmate pendants, bangles with spirally twisted ends. The Andronov culture belongs to the early and middle stages of the Bronze Age.
Bone material from settlements of the Early Bronze Age suggests that the main occupation was house pastoralism. In herds dominated cattle. There was not many sheep and horses. But gradually, the house pastoralism developed into yaylazhnoe. In the herd increased the proportion of sheep and horses – hardy animals and able to take feed out of the snow. But depending on the geographical factors in some areas began the domesticating wild animals, in other developed hoe agriculture. Along with agriculture and cattle-breeding an important role played mining of various ores, stone and bones processing. Among the Andronovs were quite developed home trades – producing clothes, footwear, making ceramic tableware, fighting weapons – arrows with bronze tips, spears, maces, axes. In the late Bronze Age on the territory of Kazakhstan appeared another archaeological culture, which on the place of the first findings was called Begazy-Dandybai culture. At an early stage of this culture development was characteristic combination of Andronov’s traditions with new elements – a special type of funerary structures, the presence of vessels of a squat, spherical shape. For the Begazy-Dandybai culture was characteristic another burial rite than the Andronov’s had. Along with the usual, double-up are met stretched bodies on the back. For this transitional stage as a typical monument is Aksu Ayuly II funerary complex to the south of Karaganda. It consists of the same type earthen mounds, with ring fences of large granite slabs, dug in with their edges. These are not ancestral burials of patriarchal-family communities, but the tombs of the most prominent members of the communities. At this early stage of the Late Bronze Age already appeared human burials in the stretched posture. Pottery had also changed more and more adapting to the mobile life. The rapid growth of livestock heads associated with the transition to yaylazhnyi and then to nomadic pastoralism, was reflected in the funeral rite, when the deceased were buried with meat food. In burial places are found a large numbers of domestic animals bones. To the developed stage of the Begazy-Dandybaш culture belong a number of rich mausoleum-necropoleis: Begazy, Aibas-Daras, Akkoitas, Dandybai, etc. These burial grounds and settlements are characterized by completeness of architectural forms of residential and cultic constructions, a variety of new types of spherical ceramics. At the late stage of developing the Begazy-Dandybai culture the economy was changing to a nomadic way. Complex funeral constructions of the previous time were replaced by simple ones of large stone boxes without fences. The design of the dwellings was also changed constructions of the ground type became dominant. In general, it should be noted that the period of the Late Bronze Age all over the territory of Kazakhstan was characterized by the transition of pastoral tribes to the nomadic pastoralism. The Bronze Age pastoralists in the steppes completed the transition to various forms of nomadism at the beginning of the first millennium B.C. in the northern areas of Central Asia. This was a fundamental, qualitative leap comparable in its economic, cultural and political consequences with the so-called urban revolution in the settled oases of the southern regions. The wide-scale introduction of metallurgy contributed to the development of specialized branches of manufacture, including weapon-making. The accumulation of wealth and military conflicts led to the institutionalization of power, and tribal leaders developed into absolute petty rulers. On the ideological level, these processes were reflected in the appearance of monumental tombs for these members of the developing élite. Interregional contacts increased sharply, particularly with the acquisition of horse-riding. Spiritual and material values thus spread rapidly over great distances. A striking example of this is provided by the so-called deer-stones decorated with artistic reliefs, which are known over an enormous area from Mongolia to Bulgaria. The transition to nomadism was also responsible for a fundamental change in the mode of life: the armed rider became the symbol of the new period and we encounter its equipment in burials and in the arts. On this foundation powerful groups of early nomadic tribes were formed around the middle of the first millennium B.C. A new force as powerful as the ancient Orient State entities entered into the arena of world history.
Control questions:
1. Give the characteristic of the Andronov culture hallmarks in Kazakhstan.
2. What types of cattle-breeding were developed among the Andronov population? Describe them.
3. Compare the Begazy-Dandybai culture with the Andronov one. Give specific examples
4. Basing on the archaeological material prove, that at the late stage of the Begazy-Dandybai culture development was changing the economy to a nomadic way.
1.3 The Iron Age on the Kazakhstan territory
1.3.1 The Saka tribes on the Kazakhstan territory: sources evidences
As prominent Kazakhstani archeologist K. Baipakov mentioned, when the first millennium B.C. began the steppes of Central Asia were marked by a number of factors that came together to facilitate a world-changing phenomenon. Firstly, climate changes had led to increasing aridity on the most part of the Kazakhstan territory, forcing the population to engage in nomadic pastoralism. The numerous bone materials found during the excavations evidence about it. In addition, in this period the rite of horse devoting to the dead got its wide spreading, Controlifying to the growing role of the horse in the life of the region ancient inhabitants. Secondly, the transition to nomadic pastoralism coincided with the invention and use of tools made of iron. The tribes living in that epoch, involved in the genesis of nomadic pastoralism were the Sakas. In contrast to the previous stage of the history the Early Iron Age