Studies of the Kyrgyz Comprehensive Archaeological and Ethnographic Expedition
Renewal of Archaeological Research in the Inner Tian Shan
The continuation of A.N. Bernshtein's work in the region is represented by the research of the Kyrgyz Comprehensive Archaeological and Ethnographic Expedition. One of the expedition's teams, led by A.K. Kibiriv, studied the monuments of ancient nomads from 1983 to 1985. The team surveyed all areas of the Inner Tian Shan, including those previously unvisited by archaeologists: Son-Kul, Susamyr, the upper reaches of the Naryn River, and other locations. As a result, the number of monuments from the Saka-Usun period significantly increased. Additionally, over 100 burial mounds with ground graves were excavated in 23 burial sites, along with about 50 in stone chambers and catacombs. The excavations primarily focused on small-sized mounds. Some of the burials with ground graves had log coverings, others had stone slabs, and some had fillings of gravel and clay. The main material consisted of round-bottomed pottery vessels. Lacking firmly dated artifacts from the excavated burials and comparing all data regarding the construction of the structures, burial rituals, and inventory with mounds and materials from the excavations of M.B. Voievodsky, M.P. Gryaznov, and A.N. Bernshtein, A.K. Kibiriv dates the mounds he excavated to the 3rd century BC - 5th-6th centuries AD and classifies them as Usun monuments.
Since 1955, systematic work on the study of the culture of early nomads has not been conducted in the region, although some reconnaissance routes were undertaken.
In 1981, archaeological research was resumed in the Inner Tian Shan by a team led by the author of this article. Over five field seasons (1981, 1983, 1984, 1988, and 1989), the team studied more than 120 mounds of varying ages and types in four burial sites of the Tian Shan region: Baskiya I, Baskiya II, Keden, and Kainar-Bulak.
It should be noted that our work significantly differed from that of A.N. Bernshtein and A.K. Kibiriv. We conducted stationary studies at the burial sites and, whenever possible, excavated entire groups of mounds or large portions of them, which provided a more complete understanding of each complex and significantly supplemented the data on the culture of early nomads in the Tian Shan. At the same time, reconnaissance work was also carried out, mainly in remote intermountain areas.
A.N. Bernshtein, during his first visit to the Tian Shan in 1944-1945, identified six types of mounds as a result of reconnaissance work: "I - rectangular structures made of relatively large stones up to 0.50 m in diameter; - sizes of structures up to 3 m. II - rings of stones of the same size, sometimes with one stone in the center; III - concentric circles with an elliptical pattern at the edge of the burial pit in the center, marked by a stone layout; IV - elliptical burial structures made of small stones; V - dense stone placement of the mound and layout around the mound, sometimes in the form of two concentric circles: the mound consists of earth and gravel; VI - mounds with a mixture of earth and stone, up to 0.60 m high."
Subsequent excavations by A.K. Kibiriv and ours, accompanied by reconnaissance routes that took into account already known and surveyed new monuments, fully confirmed and even supplemented the typology proposed by A.N. Bernshtein.
For example, in 1981, in the Kapyrik area, we identified a complex of mounds with a very peculiar and complex construction of the above-ground parts, allowing us to speak of the intricate architectural features of the burial mounds of early nomads in the Tian Shan. These are very large earthen mounds, with diameters ranging from 30 to 60 m, heights of 4-6 meters or more, arranged in a chain from south to north. Sometimes the mounds have a dense armored covering on the surface in a quadrangular shape, the edges of which are very carefully laid with large stones. On the largest and best-preserved mounds, at a distance of 7.6-10 m from the base of the mound, following its contour, there are stone enclosures 2 m wide made of two rows of large boulders. On the western and eastern sides, they are interrupted, creating what appear to be "entrances." At a distance of about 16-20 m from the stone enclosures of the mounds, mainly in the western part, there are ritual circular layouts with diameters of 1.5-2 m, with 7-8 boulders in each.
Around these large mounds, smaller earthen mounds and stone layouts were located. These mounds have only been surveyed externally, and it is currently difficult to judge their internal structures, dating, and ethnic affiliation. Mounds of this construction are rare in the Tian Shan, but not unique. A.K. Kibiriv also noted the grandeur of such mounds in his time but did not particularly highlight them, excavating not large ones, but several small ones associated with the larger ones and located within the enclosures. They did not yield any material. Most likely, such rounded stone layouts located inside the enclosures surrounding the large central mounds are also ritual or subordinate to the larger ones and therefore lack inventory.
These mounds find closer analogies among the Berrkarin mounds in Kazakhstan and are likely synchronous with them. In any case, the consideration of topographical features and details of external characteristics allows us to attribute them to the mentioned period. This is further confirmed by the presence in one case (the most striking of all preserved mounds) next to the circular layouts of large slabs with engraved patterns, clearly from the early nomadic period.
Historical Periodization of the Monuments of Early Nomads of the Tian Shan
