Typology and Cultural-Chronological Interpretation of Kurgans with ‘Moustache’

Abstract

The paper addresses the typology and a debatable issue of the chronology of kurgans with ‘moustache’ in the Ural-Kazakhstan steppes. Several concepts were proposed over the period from 1966–2017 reflecting the different viewpoint of researchers on these issues (M.K. Kadyrbaev, A.Z. Beysenov, S.G. Botalov). The reason for disagreement is that kurgans with ‘moustache’ could have been constructed near earlier sites, which influenced their incorrect dating within the framework of the early nomadic Tasmola culture. The complex of items, which has dating capabilities from the viewpoint of typology, has received an ambiguous interpretation. Thus, the supporters of the Tasmola ‘version’ are convinced that the items of the 1st Millennium AD were added to the kurgans with ‘moustache’, and the supporters of the late (Early Medieval) affiliation presume that the kurgans with ‘moustache’ were constructed near and at the site of early nomadic monuments. Besides, both parties note the small number of well-dated finds. The presently accumulated materials, stratigraphic observations and the latest radiocarbon dating results have allowed the author to propose a typology describing the central structure of the complex kurgan with ‘moustache’ depending on the number and location of the central structure’s mounds and the presence/absence of earlier barrows. This approach gives grounds to attribute the kurgans with ‘moustache’ to the period of the 4th –7th centuries AD and to rule out earlier dating.