Mineralogy and Mining
The forge of the zergers. Mid-19th century. The photo is kept in the State Historical Museum
Animal husbandry as the main occupation of the Kyrgyz defined the entire way of their life, which is why crafts compatible with a nomadic lifestyle developed and spread among them. This factor significantly determined the uniqueness of the development of the material and spiritual culture of the Kyrgyz people. The influence of the nomadic way of life also reflected in the primitive forms of mining that the Kyrgyz have mastered since ancient times. Ore exploration (the ability to find deposits), the ability to extract and process ore already imply significant specialization of the craft. Among the Kyrgyz, there have long been many skilled craftsmen. Many researchers and travelers have noted since ancient times that tin, lead, mercury, antimony, gold, precious and semi-precious stones, and various ores were extracted in the Chatkal, Talas, Alai ridges, and in the Ak-Tuz mountains.
In the 10th-13th centuries, Arab and Persian travelers wrote about the presence of mines located on the territory of Kyrgyzstan and the methods of extracting metals from them: “...in these mountains, from beginning to end, there are mines of silver and gold, and the richest of them are those close to the land of the Kyrgyz, until they (the mines) reach Mawarannahr from the side of Fergana and Shash. ...And ammonia is also exported from this mountain... And in this mountain, within Fergana, there is a stone of black color that burns in the fire like coal, and goldsmiths and blacksmiths use it (in their) work. In this mountain, there are also precious stones, some black, some white, as well as red, yellow, green, blue, and many other colors.”
Research in geology and archaeology indicates the existence of large ancient mines, enrichment sites, and smelting points in the Southern Chatkal region, as well as the spurs of the Kuramin ridge and Karamazar. For example, one of the ore extraction sites dating back to the 5th-6th centuries is recorded on the left bank of the middle course of Kenkol-Saya, on the border of Tashkent region and Kyrgyzstan. The extraction from the surface began with a fissure-like depression 1 to 3 meters wide and up to 6 meters deep. Then, after 10 meters, it transitioned into a closed, and from 17 meters into an inclined adit, almost completely closed by debris. The ore vein, composed of barite, galena, sphalerite, and fluorite, contained up to 12% lead.
Ancient mining workings are associated with the extraction of simapa — mercury, as well as antimony and fluorite. Narrow adits for extracting mercury and antimony have been discovered here. Many mines are located on the banks of the Akhangar River (on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan). In the basin of Southern Chatkal, there are also traces indicating the development of ancient mining with a predominance of gold extraction (Kyzyl-Alma, Kainar, Kokrel, Samarchuk).
The Kyrgyz extracted gold from hard quartz rocks, as well as from gravel and gold-bearing sands along rivers and their tributaries. In the area of the village of Uzgen and in Alai, during the washing of gold-bearing sands, the Kyrgyz used shyrdaks, carpets on which grains of gold remained, while the mixture of sand and clay was carried away by water.
In the 9th-12th centuries, there were silver mines in the Talas valley. According to literary sources, there were (iron, lead, gold, mercury, antimony, etc.) mines operating in Central Asia, which were destroyed during the invasion of Genghis Khan; metal extraction resumed in the early 19th century on a relatively small scale.
The Kyrgyz have been extracting iron in a rather primitive way since ancient times. In the Issyk-Kul basin, for example, iron was obtained by smelting iron sand, which accumulates in certain places on the shores of the lake. “The iron for making weapons and household items is obtained by the Kyrgyz in small quantities and in very primitive ways from black coarse sand collected on the shores of Issyk-Kul. Lead ores are also found in the camps of the black Kyrgyz, but they are not developed by them.”
Metal was extracted from sand as follows: the sand was separated from the iron pyrite by washing, then the latter was melted. The smelting of iron was carried out using a furnace, i.e., a pit. Literary sources indicate that the Kyrgyz have known since ancient times how to obtain iron sand in a purified form, but they also roasted it in simple blacksmith forges, “producing... steel.” From such metal, they forged plowshares, battle axes (aybalty), knives, sabers of fairly good quality, nails, crowbars, and others.
The Kyrgyz did not favor copper (kolo): they did not make anything from this metal, believing it to be associated with unclean forces.
In many regions of Kyrgyzstan (on the Tuz-Kul pass, in the Toguz-Toro area, in the upper reaches of the Chu River, in Ketmen-Tube, and other places), the Kyrgyz extracted rock salt using small picks. They considered salt sacred. If a Kyrgyz invited a guest, he would usually say: “Tuz daam tanyp ket — Taste my salt.” It was believed that salt “strengthens” the bond of young people when they become husband and wife. If a worker stole something from his master, he was scolded with the words: “tuzum ursun — May my salt punish you.”
The indigenous people living in the south of the republic (in the Uzgen district, as well as near the villages of Kyzyl-Kiya and Tash-Kumyr) and in the north (in certain areas of the Naryn region, on the southern shore of the Issyk-Kul basin) confirm that the Kyrgyz have long known and used coal as fuel, but due to its harmful smell (they did not know about the carbon monoxide released when coal burns), it was rarely used for household needs; however, folk blacksmiths — zergers used it widely.
Hunters and trappers have traditionally used lead bullets (korgoshun), made using their own technology. They extracted lead ores — korgoshun tash (galena) from surface outcrops; lead was smelted from ore using coal.
With the help of folk ore explorers, valuable deposits of coal and ores such as Buurdinskoye, Kara-Monos, Haidarkan, Kadamzhai, Sumsar, and others were discovered.
Note by the author. Mergenchilers (hunters) Aksai and his relatives from the village of Kyzyl-Suu (Osh region), Koykeldy from the village of Chon-Bulun (Naryn region), Tursunaly from Kemin (Kemin district), and many others, knowing well where Korgoshun-Tash and Tash-Kemur — coal are located, became co-authors with geologists in the discovery of many deposits.
According to F. Engels, the use of ore minerals was one of the revolutionary transformations in the life of society.
The study of ancient mining workings, dumps, ore enrichment points, finished products, various tools, and household items, in conjunction with a number of other sources, allows for the determination of the objects and volumes of extraction, the nature and direction of work, the techniques used, the composition of the workforce, and the level of economic development of the area. Such generalized material is of certain interest for conducting modern geological exploration and operational work. Traces of ancient developments can serve as important guidelines in the search for mineral resources in deposits.
Thus, the Kyrgyz people have been using the riches of the earth's depths since ancient times. The knowledge accumulated in this process has been passed down from generation to generation. Through this knowledge, the Kyrgyz formed a naive-materialistic worldview. To some extent, this knowledge is still used in modern mining, for example, in such mines of the republic as Kadamzhai, Ak-Tuz, and others, in the mines of Kyzyl-Kiya, Tash-Kumyr, Jyrgalan, and others. The mining-archaeological method of searching for deposits, widely used in the practices of ancient geologists, has not lost its significance to this day (In the Kumyshtoo area (Talas), silver was mined in ancient times, and in Simapa (near Haidarkan) — naturally pure metallic mercury. The extraction of silver and mercury in these deposits continues to this day. This reflects the continuity of pre-scientific knowledge of the people with modern science and the present day).
