The innovation of iron and the Xiongnu – a case study from Central Mongolia

Abstract

This article presents the oldest iron smelting furnaces of the Xiongnu Empire period in central Mongolia and argues that a significant smelting center existed at the site of Baga Nariĭn Am. Five iron smelting furnaces and four smelting installations were excavated, with a total 26 furnaces further identified through SQUID magnetometry. In combination with a review of data on iron production in contemporary Mongolia, the Transbaikal region, Tuva, the Minusinsk Basin and the Altai, we argue that this new data alters existing narratives of the adoption of iron in eastern Eurasia. While iron smelting as such was adopted from the Minusinsk Basin, where the oldest iron smelting furnaces in eastern Eurasia are currently found, we suggest that the driving force behind the massive boom in iron metallurgy from the second century BCE onward was the Xiongnu Empire. During the course of the Xiongnu Empire, the development of more efficient iron technology is evident, with the steppe empire also inventing a new furnace type. These findings are significant for understanding the dynamics of iron industries in the eastern Eurasian Steppe and paves the way for necessary work on metallurgical installations in the Minusinsk Basin and Tuva.

GPR study of the Murochinsky burial ground and the Khutor settlement in the Kyakhtinsky district of the Republic of Buryatia

“…His survey confirmed the presence of more than 70 ring-shaped graves, common for the Xiongnu culture in Western Transbaikalia [4]. The largest grave was chosen for georadar survey, which is similar in size and external features to the burials of the Xiongnu elite (so called terrase tombs) [5,6]. Georadar survey of the biggest mound of the Murochi burial ground was carried out on September 29-30, 2020.…”

A közép- és dél-ázsiai hunok kutatásának legújabb eredményei : Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia. Sources for their Origin and History. Ed. by Dániel Balogh. Groningen: Barkhuis, 2020, pp. 437.

“…Ugyancsak néhány az utóbbi évtizedek legfontosabb vonatkozó kiadványaiból: Bemmann -Parzinger -Pohl -Tseveendorzh 2009;Brosseder 2009;Brosseder -Miller 2011;Wright -Honeychurch -Amartuvshin 2015;Brosseder 2018 stb. ; legutóbb magyarul: Csiky 2021.…”

Genetic population structure of the Xiongnu Empire at imperial and local scales

“…These conspicuous burials represent the vast network of regional and local elites of Xiongnu society, while commoners were likely buried under less conspicuous stone piles or in unmarked pits (10). The uppermost aristocratic ruling elites of the empire were buried in large square stone tombs, often flanked by satellite burials of lower-status individuals, forming a mortuary complex (11). Elites in square tombs and large circular graves were richly buried, typically in decorated wood-plank coffins and accompanied by foreign luxury goods, gold, or gilt objects, and sacrifices of horses and other valuable livestock.…”