This study focuses on expanding knowledge about the genetic diversity of the Altai horse native to Siberia. While studying modern horses from two Altai regions, where horses were subjected to less crossbreeding, we tested the hypothesis, formulated on the basis of morphological data, that the Altai horse is represented by two populations (Eastern and Southern) and that the Mongolian horse has a greater genetic proximity to Eastern Altai horses. Bone samples of ancient horses from different cultures of Altai were investigated to clarify the genetic history of this horse breed. As a genetic marker, we chose hypervariable region I of mitochondrial DNA. The results of the performed phylogenetic and population genetic analyses of our and previously published data confirmed the hypothesis stated above. As we found out, almost all the haplotypes of the ancient domesticated horses of Altai are widespread among modern Altai horses. The differences between the mitochondrial gene pools of the ancient horses of Altai and Mongolia are more significant than between those of modern horses of the respective regions, which is most likely due to an increase in migration processes between these regions after the Early Iron Age.

Purpose. The study investigates a Buddhist image on a standalone stone and an offering contained in a clay vessel. The cult complex is located near Zangla, not far from the Changut Choeling female monastery, in the north of Zanskar (Ladakh, India). Results . The image depicts the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the patron deity of Tibet. The clay vessel (73 mm in height) found near the stone contains a square iron plate (~25x25 mm) with traces of insets, one of turquois; a transparent crystal bead; and two perforated bones. An examination of the vessel contents revealed that it originally contained a piece of meat or some blood. Based on a traceological analysis of the bone items, they appear to have been worn on a cord. All the items in the vessel are of special significance in the Buddhist culture as well as folk religion of Tibet. They could have served as offerings to Avalokiteśvara as well as local patron deities – btsan and lha, who were believed to live in that stone. After all, Buddhism in Tibet became part of the folk religion. The tradition of making offerings in a vessel placed at the foot of a stone with a divine image has parallels in the culture of Central Asian Turks. Excavations of Turkic mortuaries have revealed silver, as well as ceramic, vessels at the foot of heroic figures. Researchers believe that they were used for sacrificial offerings and for drinks in funeral rituals. Like in Zanskar, such vessels were left on the surface, and over a thousand years must have passed before they became fully covered with earth so that they would later be found during excavations. Conclusion . Offerings in vessels placed at the foot of stone statues of deities and ancestors, as well as stones accommodating local patron spirits, appear to have been common among the peoples of Central Asia in the Middle Ages.

В статье на археологических материалах доказывается, что лиственничные погребальные склепы пазырыкцев были воплощением облика их земного жилища и одним из ключевых символов культуры. Срубные постройки возводились как на зимних, так и на летних пастбищах. Их части помещали в могилу как замену целого сооружения. Структура внутреннего пространства погребальных камер соответствовала устройству дома. Все предметы, находившиеся в могиле, использовались в быту и были неразрывно связаны с земной жизнью их владельцев. Изделия из войлока выполняли одинаковые функции в погребениях высшей знати и рядовых пазырыкцев, но значительно различались по качеству. Войлочные ковры, украшавшие стены домов пазырыкских вождей, являлись настоящими произведениями искусства, а войлоки, находившиеся в рядовых погребениях, были простыми и довольно грубыми. Выделена характерная особенность деревянных погребальных склепов — жилищ Саяно-Алтая конца VII- III в. до н.э. — их пирамидальная форма. Эта форма сохранялась еще в Х1Х- начале ХХ в. в наземных погребальных сооружениях теленгитов на юге Республики Алтай.

A growing number of researchers studying horse domestication come to a conclusion that this process happened in multiple locations and involved multiple wild maternal lines. The most promising approach to address this problem involves mitochondrial haplotype comparison of wild and domestic horses from various locations coupled with studies of possible migration routes of the ancient shepherds. Here, we sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes of six horses from burials of the Ukok plateau (Russia, Altai Mountains) dated from 2.7 to 1.4 thousand years before present and a single late Pleistocene wild horse from the neighboring region (Denisova cave). Sequencing data indicates that the wild horse belongs to an extinct pre-domestication lineage. Integration of the domestic horse data with known Eurasian haplotypes of a similar age revealed two distinct groups: the first one widely distributed in Europe and presumably imported to Altai, and the second one specific for Altai Mountains and surrounding area.

Clothing has always served as a major ethnic marker by uniting people of the same community. Written and archaeological sources tell us a lot about the Xiongnu culture, but the appearance of these formidable rulers of the steppe remains a mystery, and we are still on our way to deciphering it. Archaeological finds for reconstructing the Xiongnu costume come from the Noin-Ula burial mounds (Mongolia), the only site attributed to this people where objects from organic materials have survived. Many items of clothing were discovered as early as in the 1920s by Pyotr Kozlov’s expedition. New data were obtained from three large Noin-Ula mounds as a result of studies organized and directed by the author of this article at the beginning of this century. The main conclusions that we have arrived at today are as follows: The costume worn by the Xiongnu nobility was eclectic and consisted of items of different origin. Those were mainly robes made of expensive silk, which were manufactured at Chinese (Han) workshops and presented by the emperor as gifts to the chanyu, who then passed them, as was the custom, to his confidants. Clothes for people of high rank were sewn from an imported woolen textile of the topmost quality. The clothes from this textile — caftans, trousers, leggings-were created directly in the Steppe, possibly by craftswomen at the chanyu’s base camp. We do not know the design of the woolen caftans, but the small fragments that were found in Noin-Ula mounds 20 and 22 give us a clue of how bright and decorative they were: these caftans must have been completely covered with embroidery and trimmed with sable fur. A variety of silk textiles were also used in creating these clothing items. It is known that the Xiongnu received from the imperial court as gifts (disguised tribute) plenty of silks from the best workshops of China. These unique textiles were then passed to local craftswomen, who skillfully combined them with woolen textiles and fur. They created truly magnificent garments, as is evident from the surviving fragments of a caftan from Noin-Ula mound 20. In our opinion, it was these caftans that represented the costume of the Xiongnu nobility; i. e., the eclecticism of this costume manifested itself not only in a combination of items of different origin and culture but also in the fact that the clothing items that were created directly in the Steppe were made not only from local materials-felts, coarse textiles, birch bark — but also from imported woolen and silk textiles and embroideries. A good example of these clothes is the leggings from Noin-Ula mound 22. They were sewn by a local craftswoman from a magnificent woolen textile produced in the Mediterranean workshops and embroidered with silk by a Chinese craftswoman, of whom there were many at the chanyu’s base camp. Felt shoes sewn to the leggings were covered with Chinese silk, and their soles were carved from birch bark. This one item brings together three civilizations: Mediterranean, China, and Eurasian Steppe. Even if we possessed actual clothing items from the burials, we would not be able to confidently reconstruct the Xiongnu costume because we could not be sure that the available items represented the entire wardrobe. Furthermore, we would not know exactly how these clothes were worn. The experience of studying the undisturbed Pazyryk mounds showed that only in those cases where we see all the details of clothes directly on human body, we get a correct idea of how related to one another and how they were worn. The recent finds from the Noin-Ula mounds added a lot of new details to the description of the costume of the Xiongnu nobility. However, the costume itself, by which we mean not only a set of clothes from the headdress to the shoes but also the color scheme, hairstyle, jewelry, cosmetics, accessories, and manner of wearing, still cannot be reconstructed in its entirety. As of now, we can describe in detail only individual components of this costume. However, I believe that over time we will «assemble» the entire wardrobe and reconstruct the appearance of the splendid riders of the Mongolian steppes.

Проведено обследование коллекции останков людей (16 индивидов: 10 мужчин, 2 женщины, 4 детей), погребенных в курганах пазырыкской культуры, которые расположены в долине р. Ак-Алахи. Этот палеоантропологический материал был изучен ранее по краниометрической и одонтоскопической программе, но без внимания остался пласт биоархеологической информации, отражающей последствия влияния биологических и социокультурных факторов среды. В статье обсуждаются патологии опухолевого характера, обнаруженные на костях скелетов. Констатирована высокая частота возникновения опухолевых заболеваний в данной группе. С учетом мумии женщины из кургана Ак-Алаха-3 (томографический анализ мумии обнаружил опухоль молочной железы и метастатический онкопроцесс в телах грудных позвонков Th1–Th3) такая патология встречена у пяти индивидов, что составляет более 30 % взрослого контингента. У трех молодых мужчин (из погребений в комплексах Ак-Алаха-1, -5 и Бертек-12) опухоли локализованы в области метафизов длинных костей и диагностированы нами как остеохондромы и остеоид-остеомы. У одного индивида (молодой мужчина из кург. 3 комплекса Ак-Алаха-5) патологическое разрастание костной ткани обнаружено на скате основной кости, на наружной поверхности базилярной части затылочной кости в основно-затылочном синостозе и в сфеноидальном синусе. В число факторов, вызывающих опухоли костей скелета, можно включить повышенную нагрузку на скелет в раннем возрасте, эндокринные нарушения (гиперфункция щитовидной железы), особенности диеты, способ приготовления пищи на огне открытого очага, дым от очага, которым отапливалось в холодное время жилище, и экологические факторы.

This article presents the results of interdisciplinary studies of gold artifacts from the elite Xiongnu burials at Noin-Ula (Noyon Uul, Mongolia, early 1st millennium AD), excavated by the Russian-Mongolian expedition in 2006–2012. Using scanning electron microscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, 17 artifacts were analyzed. These include ornaments from coffi ns and clothes, made by Chinese artisans. Results suggest that they were all made of native gold, similar to that from the known deposits of Mongolia in terms of elemental composition (for comparison, we used an electronic database relating to 3338 samples of Mongolian native gold). Results of statistical tests suggest that placer deposits were the most probable source of the gold. The results do not contradict the idea that Chinese artisans used Mongolian gold. During the Han era, the Xiongnu could have been among their principal providers. The relationships between the two empires and peoples were always benefi cial for the Xiongnu. Enjoying the numerous achievements of the Han civilization, they offered too little in return. One of the ways the Han dynasty could have benefi ted from their tumultuous neighbors was to receive native gold from them.

Early nomads in the Eurasian steppes since the beginning of the 1st millennium BC played a key role in the formation of the cultural and genetic landscape of populations of a significant part of Eurasia, from Eastern Europe to Eastern Central Asia. Numerous archaeological cultures associated with early nomads have been discovered throughout the Eurasian steppe belt. The Tagar archaeological culture existed in the Minusinsk basin (Sayan Mountains, Southern Siberia, Russia) in the northeastern periphery of the Eurasian steppe belt from the 8th to 1st century BC during the pre-Scythian, Scythian, and Early Xiongnu-Sarmatian periods. In this study, we evaluated mtDNA diversity in the Tagar population based on representative series (N = 79) belonging to all chronological stages of the culture. The Tagar population had a mixed mtDNA pool dominated by Western Eurasian haplogroups and subgroups (H, HV6, HV*, I, K, T, U2e, U4, U5a, and U*) and, to a lesser degree, Eastern Eurasian haplogroups (A*, A8, C*, C5, D, G2a, and F1b). The Tagar population showed a similar mtDNA pool structure to those of other Iron Age populations representing the "Scythian World." We observed particularly high similarity between the Tagar and Classic Scythians from the North Pontic region. Our results support the assumption that genetic components introduced by Bronze Age migrants from Western Eurasia contributed to the formation of the genetic composition of Scythian period populations in Southern Siberia. Another important component of the Tagar mtDNA pool was autochthonous East Eurasian lineages, some of which (A8 and C4a2a) are potential markers of the westward genetic influence of the eastern populations of the Scythian period. Our results suggest a genetic continuity (at least partial) between the Early, Middle, and Late Tagar populations.

The paper summarizes the data on plant remains from burial mounds of the Noin-Ula burial ground in Northern Mongolia (dated from the end of the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 1st century AD). Plant remains that were found in several mounds (20, 22, and 31) belonged to different plant species. Some of them, the remains of Pinus sylvestris L. and Betula sp., got into a mound (31) accidentally during burial ceremony. They are typical for that area. Another part of plants, found in all three mounds, was placed there intentionally, most likely, for ritual purposes. They are loose grains inside the casket (mound 31) and on the floor of a burial chamber (mounds 20, 22) at 17-meter depth. The problems of identification of panicoid remains from burial grounds are discussed in detail. For diagnostics of panicoid graminoids in this case study only caryopsis macroparameters were possible to use. The knowledge on morphology of ultrasculpture of caryopses surface is fragmentary and weakly studied even for the modern material which could be used as a standard for identification of archaeological material. The written sources of the time close to the burial age, if existed, should be used very carefully. Plant remains from all three mounds were identified up to a species level. They all belong to Panicum miliaceum L. The Xiongnu culture featured a special attitude to millet as reflected in burial rituals of the Xiongnu nobles among other numerous traditions of Han civilization.

Xiongnu was a confederation of nomadic pastoral tribes (~200 bc–100 ad) that founded the first nomadic empire in Central Asia. According to archeological and historical data, the tribes played a key role in ethnic and cultural processes in Central Asia and adjacent regions of Eurasia. Genetic studies of the Xiongnu published to date have focused on remains from burial grounds in present-day Mongolia, in the southern part of the ancient Xiongnu area. However, paleoanthropological materials from numerous Xiongnu cemeteries and settlements in Transbaikalia (the southern region of Eastern Siberia, Russia) in the northern part of the Xiongnu Empire have not been examined genetically. Here, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA variation in a Transbaikalian Xiongnu population based on ancient DNA obtained from skeletal remains (n = 18) at four burial grounds to complement available Xiongnu genetic diversity data. We detected 16 mitochondrial DNA haplotypes belonging to seven East Eurasian haplogroups (A, B5, C, D4, G2a, N9a, and Y) in the Transbaikalian Xiongnu series. We observed substantial similarity between Transbaikalian and Mongolian Xiongnu series with respect to main haplogroup composition and frequencies. We observed several mitochondrial DNA clusters (N9a, Y, B5, and A16) and 11 of 16 haplotypes that were previously undetected in the Xiongnu gene pool. We also observed high similarity between the Xiongnu and contemporary indigenous populations of eastern Central Asia, particularly Mongolian-speaking groups. These findings extend our knowledge of Xiongnu genetic diversity.