The polymorphism and tradition of funerary practices of medieval Turks in light of new findings from Tuva Republic

Abstract

The medieval Turks of the eastern Asian steppe are known for funerary finds exalting horsemanship and military heroism that thrived on intertribal warfare. Existing bodies of research on various categories of objects—which include architecture, stelae, grave goods and inhumations—are in depth but highly regionalized. As a result, our understanding of the archaeological culture of the Turks on a spatio-temporal scale commensurate with territorial shifts in their political dominion throughout the period of the Turk khaganates (mid-6th to mid-8th centuries CE) remains disjunct. The present paper addresses this problem of disparate data. We present a synthesis of the archaeological research of medieval Turks spanning Mongolia, southern Siberia, and Xinjiang in view of results of the excavation of medieval burials at Tunnug 1 in Tuva Republic—where Turkic remains are dispersed and not easily distinguishable from other funerary cultures of connecting time periods. We argue that Turkic funerary culture can be better characterized as polymorphic–the presence of different regional amalgams of burial traditions. The horse-and-human burials and commemorative ogradka known to be quintessentially Turkic are but one of the more dominant amalgams. This pattern of differential practices is congruent with the history of medieval Turks evolving as peoples of mixed lineages and political groupings, rather than people of a unitary culture.

Remotely Sensing the Invisible—Thermal and Magnetic Survey Data Integration for Landscape Archaeology

“…In its southern periphery, an amorphous accumulation of burials of the Kokel culture formed a necropolis dating to the 2nd-4th centuries CE [11]. Yet later, the area was re-used during Turkic and Kyrgyz times to construct additional burials [12].…”

“…In its southern periphery, an amorphous accumulation of burials of the Kokel culture formed a necropolis dating to the 2nd-4th centuries CE [11]. Yet later, the area was re-used during Turkic and Kyrgyz times to construct additional burials [12]. This palimpsest of archaeological stone structures was subject to archaeological field research by the project team over several years.…”