The geometric morphometrics approach is rarely employed in the analysis of archaeological material, despite its numerous remarkable advantages. This method enables the objective identification of variable parameters across a series of objects while being independent of object size. However, this characteristic likely contributes to its limited popularity in archaeology, as object size is a crucial parameter in material culture and its consideration is essential. This may necessitate repeated statistical processing, incorporating the size of objects, which is both laborious and methodologically unobvious. We propose the utilization of a unified system of measurements for the processing of serial finds, which is predicated on the key points (landmarks) necessary for geometric morphometrics. However, it is imperative to employ a real scale for these finds, thereby enabling the acquisition of data for both geometric morphometrics and traditional typological analysis from a single table. Consequently, the detection of objective variable proportional parameters can be effectuated by the method of geometrical morphometrics and, if deemed necessary, these parameters can be correlated with dimensional parameters. This methodology appears to be particularly well-suited for analyzing mass series of poorly differentiated artefacts, a notion that is supported by the presentation of a practical example. The particular outcome of the study is a precise, formal typology of ceramics of the Kokel archaeological culture (3rd–4th c. CE, Tuva Republic), which based on the measurements and analysis of nearly all published vessels. Located in Inner Asia and existing after the Xiongnu expansion and before the establishment of the First Turkic Khaganate, the Kokel culture has rarely been the subject of special interest. The results presented here can be used for more general conclusions on the archaeology of Inner Asia during this time period, as well as for interregional comparisons.

The Scytho-Siberian 'animal style' encapsulates a broad artistic tradition, which was widespread across the Eurasian Steppe in the first millennium BC, but the scarcity of secure contexts limits the exploration of temporal and regional trends. Here, the authors present animal-style items excavated from a late-ninth-century BC kurgan, Tunnug 1, in Tuva Republic. The limited range of animals and the utilitarian associations of the artefacts suggest a narrow symbolic focus for early Scythian art, yet stylistic diversity evidences the co-operation of multiple social groups in the construction and funerary ritual activities of monumental burial mounds in the Siberian Valley of the Kings.

The subsistence economies of prehistoric pastoralists of the Eurasian steppes have long been viewed through an oversimplified model of reliance on domesticated animals. This conceptualization has begun to shift dramatically through the introduction of scientific analyses, pivoting towards an evidence-based interpretation of economic flexibility and adaptive heterogeneity. Here we provide insights into the dietary practices of Iron Age pastoralists in Siberia through an archaeoparasitological analysis. Soil samples from the Tunnug 1 site in southern Siberia reveal the presence of helminth eggs of Taenia sp. (likely), Trichuris sp., and Dibothriocephalus sp. This indicates that the diet of the analysed prehistoric population might have included beef and did include freshwater fish, occasionally consumed in undercooked or raw form. Despite the primary reliance on pastoralism and possibly small-scale millet agriculture, these populations engaged in diverse dietary practices, including fish consumption. Additionally, the presence of Trichuris sp. eggs points to poor sanitary conditions, possible consumption of contaminated plant foods, and the contamination of drinking water with feces. By providing direct evidence of dietary habits, archaeoparasitology complements isotopic analyses and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the subsistence strategies.

Horses began to feature prominently in funerary contexts in southern Siberia in the mid-second millennium BC, yet little is known about the use of these animals prior to the emergence of vibrant horse-riding groups in the first millennium BC. Here, the authors present the results of excavations at the late-ninth-century BC tomb of Tunnug 1 in Tuva, where the deposition of the remains of at least 18 horses and one human is reminiscent of sacrificial spectral riders described in fifth-century Scythian funerary rituals by Herodotus. The discovery of items of tack further reveals connections to the earliest horse cultures of Mongolia.

Here we present three stelae found on the surface of the Early Iron Age burial mound Tunnug 1 in Tuva Republic, Southern Siberia. An abstract pattern of arcs and lines and the focus on one side of the standing stone makes these stelae substantially different from other known cultural traditions of the Late Bronze Age steppe region. Traceological, petrographic, and geochemical analyses of the material were carried out. The comparison with standing stones of the Deer Stone Khirigsuur complex and the Slab Grave culture do not indicate a direct affiliation with either tradition. The deliberate placement of the stelae on the burial mound and their stratigraphic position indicate a role in funerary ritual activities of the Early Iron Age (9th c. BCE).

This article systematizes all currently known archaeological data and radiocarbon dates related to iron-smelting furnaces from Southern Siberia. On the basis of 159 excavated and well-preserved furnaces, nine construction types can be identified. The analysis of a series of radiocarbon dates made it possible to revise previous models about emergence and development of iron metallurgy in Southern Siberia and neighboring regions. We conclude that iron metallurgy developed in the region not in the Scythian time, as has long been assumed, but in the subsequent Xiongnu period of the 2nd century BCE - 2nd century CE. During the 3rd-6th centuries CE, metallurgy flourished, which is expressed in the different types and numerous smelting furnaces that coexisting in the same region. This article raises for the first time the problem we have called the ancient Turkic metallurgy paradox. This inexplicable phenomenon describes the sudden and almost complete disappearance of iron metallurgy in Southern Siberia in the 7th century CE.

Archaeological landscapes can be obscured by environmental factors, rendering conventional visual interpretation of optical data problematic. The absence of evidence can lead to seemingly empty locations and isolated monuments. This, in turn, influences the cultural–historical interpretation of archaeological sites. Here, we assess the potential of integrating thermal and magnetic remote sensing methods in the detection and mapping of buried archaeological structures. The area of interest in an alluvial plain in Tuva Republic makes the application of standard methods like optical remote sensing and field walking impractical, as natural vegetation features effectively hide anthropogenic structures. We combined drone-based aerial thermography and airborne and ground-based magnetometry to establish an approach to reliably identifying stone structures concealed within alluvial soils. The data integration led to the discovery of nine buried archaeological structures in proximity to an Early Iron Age royal tomb, shedding light on ritual land use continuity patterns.

Abstract Objectives Contemporary archeological theory emphasizes the economic and social complexity of Eurasian steppe populations. As a result, old notions of “nomadic” cultures as homogenously mobile and economically simple are now displaced by more nuanced interpretations. Large part of the literature on diet and mobility among Eurasian pastoralists is focused on the Bronze and Iron Ages. The underrepresentation of more recent contexts hampers a full discussion of possible chronological trajectories. In this study we explore diet and mobility at Tunnug1 (Republic of Tuva, 2nd–4th century CE), and test their correlation with social differentiation. Materials and Methods We compare demographic patterns (by age‐at‐death and sex) of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur stable isotope ratios (δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S) among 65 humans and 12 animals from Tunnug1 using nonparametric tests and Bayesian modeling. We then compare isotopic data with data on perimortal skeletal lesions of anthropic origin and funerary variables. Results Our analyses show that: (1) diet at Tunnug1 was largely based on C4 plants (likely millet) and animal proteins; (2) few individuals were nonlocals, although their geographic origin remains unclarified; (3) no differences in diet separates individuals based on sex and funerary treatment. In contrast, individuals with perimortal lesions show carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios consistent with a diet incorporating a lower consumption of millet and animal proteins. Discussion Our results confirm the previously described socioeconomic variability of steppe populations, providing at the same time new data about the economic importance of millet in Southern Siberia during the early centuries CE.

We present results of the complex investigation of large-scale iron production at the site of Katylyg 5 (Tuva, Southern Siberia) dating to 3rd-4th c. AD. The excavations have uncovered nine trapezoid underground smelting furnaces, a tonne of smelting slag, smithing remains and a charcoal production zone. The investigation of slag by Optical microscopy, SEM-EDS and ICP-MS confirms the performance of smelting and smithing operations at the site, and also suggests that the smelted ore was magnetite, associated with quartz. The presence of copper (bronze) prills in most of the smithing slag indicates that copper was worked alongside iron in the smithing hearths. The spatial division of the site into three different production zones (smelting, smithing and charcoal-production) suggests a well-organized and self-sufficient industry, that was probably tightly controlled throughout all stages of the chaîne opératoire. The trapezoid furnaces identified at Katylyg, are also known from Cis-Baikal region where they date from the end of the 1st millennium BCE and throughout most of the 1st millennium AD. This suggests that the technology of trapezoid furnaces, along with the Kokel culture to which they are attributed, likely emerged in Tuva with the migrations from the Baikal region due to the westward Xianbei expansion during 1st-3rd c. AD.

ABSTRACT Nine burials from Tunnug 1 site in Tuva Republic, which contained human and animal bones as well as remains of wood, were chosen for intercomparison study of preparation methods. Nine human bones, nine animal bones and 11 pieces of wood were prepared. Gelatin extracted from bones was purified using the UF method but the extraction from bones was modified with respect to acid and base treatment. Wood samples were treated as whole using acid-base-acid and cellulose was extracted for comparison. The results confirmed a highly consistent chronology of the sites centered at 200–400 CE, however, a few bones resulted in an offset between ages obtained by different methods. The extraction of cellulose was limited due to the poor preservation of wood. Our results highlight problems of dating poorly preserved bones and wood.

From the end of the Xiongnu Empire to the establishment of the first Turkic Khaganate, the territory of Southern Siberia sees the emergence of distinctive local material cultures. The Kokel culture is essentially unknown in the international English-language literature even though archaeological sites pertaining to this material culture are among the most common in Tuva (Southern Siberia). This makes them important for the understanding aspects of the sociocultural dynamics following the collapse of the first "steppe empire". Here we present the results of the study of a Kokel funerary site recently excavated near the Early Iron Age kurgan Tunnug 1 and discuss the data in the context of the available Soviet and Russian literature. The Kokel culture substantially differs from the material culture of the Xiongnu and has to be seen as a largely independent cultural entity of small tribal groups without a pronounced social hierarchy engaging in frequent violent local conflict.

Questions surrounding the emergence of highly mobile nomadic pastoralism and the origins of the associated Scythian material culture have a long history in Eurasian steppe archaeology, but advances in knowledge have been hindered by a lack of data. Here we present new findings on the Early Iron Age royal burial mound Tunnug 1 in Tuva. While the site belongs to the same cultural tradition as Arzhan 1, the conceptual roots of the funerary ritual architecture can be traced to precursors in the Mongun Taiga culture and the Mongolian deer stone khirigsuur complex. The clay architecture uncovered at Tunnug 1 does not find any regional comparisons and possibly hints towards a western Central Asian contribution to the formation of the earliest Scythian horizon. Our research demonstrates the value of a multi-disciplinary approach to documenting monumental earthen architecture, including technical approaches (satellite imagery, aerial photographs, 3D models, digital elevation models, geophysics, and radiocarbon dating) with an analysis of construction material and associated finds.

Two-wheeled horse-drawn chariot depictions in the Eurasian steppe have long been stylistically dated to the Bronze Age. Here we present an example of a petroglyph embedded in the architecture of an early Scythian royal tomb in the Tuva Republic, Siberia. The construction of the tomb is dated through wiggle-matching to between 833 and 800 BCE (95.4%) thus providing a rare terminus ante quem for chariot depictions in southern Siberia. The new evidence supports the current chronological range for this type of petroglyph in the Eurasian steppe belt.

Synthetic aperture radar has been employed for archaeological purposes for nearly forty years: nonetheless, its application among archaeological practitioners has remained limited. We analyzed circular anthropogenic anomalies in a steppe environment in PALSAR-2 data, which appeared as a homogeneous group of signatures. Each anomaly was examined using additional SAR and optical data, as well as investigated through extensive ground truth and, in one case, excavation. We found the anomalies to originate from a wide range of processes and structural characteristics showing the non-intuitive complexity of SAR data interpretation. We found that this is likely the reason for the limited application SAR has seen within the archaeological community. In order to improve the usage of SAR for archaeological purposes beyond change detection and digital elevation models, specific products that are more readily understandable and superior to optical data in a narrow frame of application should be developed.

В очередном выпуске «Археологических вестей» ИИМК РАН публикуются избранные материалы, представленные участниками конференции «Древние культуры Центральной Азии и Санкт-Петербург -2», прошедшей в г.Санкт-Петербурге в декабре 2018 г.Конференция была приурочена к 90-летию со дня рождения А. Д. Грача -выдающегося отечественного археолога, крупного исследователя древностей Центральной Азии и основателя двух направлений в рамках ленинградской археологической школы: археологического изучения Тувы и археологического изучения Ленинграда / Санкт-Петербурга.Отдельный раздел затрагивает актуальные проблемы спасательных археологических исследований в зонах затоплений на примерах работ отечественных и иностранных ученых.В мемориальной части помещены воспоминания младших коллег и друзей А. Д. Грача о его научном пути в археологии, разносторонне характеризующие его личность и вклад в развитие археологии Тувы и Санкт-Петербурга.Важную часть составляют документальные свидетельства, связанные с работой А. Д. Грача в ЛОИА АН СССР, его руководством крупнейшей в СССР Саяно-Тувинской экспедицией Академии наук, а также решение Ученого совета ИИМК РАН об ошибочности его увольнения из ЛОИА АН СССР и признании его заслуг перед отечественной археологией.Издание сопровождается фотографиями, хранящимися в Научном архиве ИИМК РАН и в личных архивах авторов, многие из которых публикуются впервые

OBJECTIVES Warfare is assumed to be one of the defining cultural characteristics of steppe nomads in Eastern Eurasia. For the first-centuries CE, a period of political turmoil in Northern China and Southern Siberia, relatively few data are, however, available about the degree and variability of violence in these communities. Here, we provide new data on violence among steppe nomads during the first-centuries CE by analyzing the type, anatomical distribution, and demographic distribution of perimortem trauma at Tunnug1 (Tuva, Southern Siberia-second to fourth c. CE). MATERIALS AND METHODS Perimortem traumas were assessed on 87 individuals representing both sexes and different age classes. The timing of the lesions was assessed based on morphological criteria, including the absence and presence of bone reactive processes and the relative plasticity of the bone at the moment of impact. The distribution by age, sex, and anatomical location of trauma was analyzed by means of logistic models, Fisher's exact tests, and 3D visualizations. RESULTS A total of 130 perimortem traumas, including chop marks, slice marks, penetrating lesions, and blunt traumas were identified on 22 individuals. Chop marks were mostly at the level of the skull and vertebrae and were likely caused by bladed weapons. Slice marks were found on the cervical vertebrae and cranium and may be the result of throat slitting and scalping by means of smaller bladed implements. Traumas were more frequent in males, and their presence is not correlated with age. DISCUSSION This study adds new data to the few available regarding violence among steppe nomadic cultures and provides new insights about the effects of political instability on the life of the people inhabiting Eastern Eurasia during the early centuries CE.

This article analyses the architecture of the Early Iron Age royal burial mound Tunnug 1 in the “Siberian Valley of the Kings” in Tuva Republic, Russia. This large monument is paramount for the archaeological exploration of the early Scythian period in the Eurasian steppes, but environmental parameters make research on site difficult and require the application of a diversity of methods. We thus integrate WorldView-2 and ALOS-2 remote sensing data, geoelectric resistivity and geomagnetic survey results, photogrammetry-based DEMs, and ortho-photographs, as well as excavation in order to explore different aspects of the funerary architecture of this early nomadic monument. We find that the large royal tomb comprises of a complex internal structure of radial features and chambers, and a rich periphery of funerary and ritual structures. Geomagnetometry proved to be the most effective approach for a detailed evaluation of the funerary architecture in our case. The parallel application of several surveying methods is advisable since dataset comparison is indispensable for providing context.