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Aldy-Bel culture

51°47′00″N 94°45′00″E / 51.783333°N 94.75°E / 51.783333; 94.75

Aldy-Bel culture
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General location of the Aldy-Bel culture within the Saka realm ( ), and main contemporary polities c. -500
Geographical rangeSouth Siberia
Dates7th to 6th centuries BCE.[1]
Preceded byArzhan culture
Followed bySagly-Bazhy culture, Pazyryk culture, Tagar culture
Multidimensional scaling of the Aldy-Bel and other ancient populations from Eurasia, based on mtDNA sequences.[2]

The Aldy-Bel culture (Russian: Алды-бельская культура Aldy-Bel'skaya kul'tura) was part of Uyuk culture (Russian: Уюкская культура культура Uyukskaya kul'tura), and is an Iron Age culture of Scytho-Siberian horse nomads in the area of Tuva in southern Siberia, dated to the 8th to 6th centuries BCE.[1][3]

Monuments of the Aldy-Bel culture were identified by A.D. Grach and I.U. Sambu and published in 1971. The culture is named after the site of the Aldy-Bel I kurgan. More than 30 kurgan burial complexes are identified within the Aldy-Bel culture.

The culture was contiguous with the nomadic Pazyryk culture in the area of Altai Mountains in South Siberia.

The monuments of the Aldy-Bel culture are synchronous and in many respects similar with those of the Mayemir culture in the Altai region and the Tasmola culture of Central Kazakhstan. The geographical spread covers the right bank of the Yenisei south of the Uyuk ridge, the Khemchik River, deep into the Sayan Canyon and the Western Sayan. Typologically, the monuments are adjacent to similar kurgan burials in different areas of Tuva.

D.G. Savinov theorizes that, at the end of the 8th or beginning of the 7th century BCE, the Aldy-Bel people were part of the Arzhan tribal union that formed the Aldy-Bel culture and was headed by a ruling dynasty. The Arzhan royal kurgan is located in the area south of the Uyok ridge and is connected by passages with the main area of the Aldy-Bel culture. The proximity of the Aldy-Bel tribes probably accounted for close ethnic connections of the Arzhan people with the Aldy-Bel people. After the fall of the Arzhan tribal alliance, the Aldy-Bel people retained their independence for a long time, at least throughout 8th and 6th centuries BC, but because of peculiarities of their social organization, there did not arise an elite ruling layer similar to the Arzhan dynasty among them.[4]

Kurgan burials

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The Aldy-Bel culture is known through its kurgans. They are rounded or oval mounds of boulders or rock fragments with larger stones at the base, 8 to 12 m across and 1 m height on average, grouped in pairs or occasionally three, located next to each other along a north–south axis. Typically there are several burials in a kurgan, up to seven or more: a central burial in a box of massive stone slabs, with other graves of younger people and children in smaller stone or wooden boxes on the sides except for eastern side. The graves are covered with stone slabs.

 
Arzhan-2 gold bracelet, Tuva National Museum. Arzhan 2 kurgan (7th-6th centuries BC), is associated with the Aldy-Bel culture.[5]

The kurgans contain mixed types of graves, with logs, stone boxes and dugouts. Burials are mostly solitary. The buried are laid in a crouched position, predominantly on the left side. The main burial is orientated with its head to the west, the others may somewhat deviate depending on their location in the kurgan. A typical feature is the deposition of horse harnesses at the side of the central burial pit, but in contrast with the Arzhan-period monuments there are as a rule no accompanying horse burials.[6]

So-called "moustached kurgans" with stone curves, most typical for Early Nomads of Kazakhstan, are also known in Tuva. Stone structures with spherical tops on the ends of the "moustaches" in Kazakhstan are analogous to Aldy-Bel surface structures in Tuva. Some undisturbed kurgans contain in situ well preserved fencing and deer stones, with an excellent accompanying complex of artifacts similar to other monuments in the Altai, also linking the Aldy-Bel monuments with the Tasmolin culture in central Kazakhstan.[7]

Art

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Aldy-Bel art depicts images of animals in tiptoe position and compositions of entwined figures in a form of "mysterious picture". Aldy-Bel art complex is numerous and varied, most typical for the early Scythian time, reflecting very stable cultural tradition.[8] Among such artistic traits are hoof-type markings that ascend to early Scythian time and are found in nomadic cultures in Middle Asia, central Kazakhstan, and Aldy-Bel culture.[9]

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    "Animal style" deer, (7-6th century BC) Tuva.
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    Pectoral plate, from burial mound Arzhan (7-6th century BC) Tuva.
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    Akinak (dagger) burial mound Arzhan (7-6th century BC) Tuva.
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    Arzhan-2 gold boars, Tuva National Museum.

Genetics

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Forensic reconstruction of the Saka King and Queen of Arzhan-2, in their burial costumes (650-600 BCE).[10]
 
Arzhan-2 main burial (male and female)
 
Aldy-Bel ancestry.[11]
 
Genetic makeup of Bronze and Iron Age Steppe populations

In 2019, a genetic study of remains from the Aldy-Bel culture was published in Human Genetics. The authors determined the paternal haplogroups of 16 Aldy Bel males. 9 out of 16 samples (56.25%) were found to be carriers of the West Eurasian haplogroup R1a, while 7 samples (43.75%) belonged to the East Eurasian haplogroups Q-L54 and N-M231.[12]

The authors also analyzed the maternal haplogroups of 26 Siberian Scythian remains from Arzhan. 50% of the remains carried an East Eurasian haplogroup including C, D, F and G, while 50% carried West Eurasian haplogroups H, U, or T. In contrast to the paternal lineages, the maternal lineages were extremely diverse. The most common lineages were variants of haplogroup C4.[13]

Significant genetic differences were found between the Eastern Scythians and the Western Scythians of the Pontic steppe. The two groups appear to have been of completely different paternal origins, with almost no paternal gene flow between them.[14][15] On the other hand, there is strong evidence of shared maternal DNA between Scythian cultures, indicating maternal geneflow from East Eurasia to West Eurasia.[16][17]

An admixture analysis suggested that Aldy Bel Scythians were of roughly 60% West Eurasian ancestry and 40% East Eurasian ancestry.[18]

Population

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The Aldy-Bel population was studied craniologically, odontologically, and genetically, enabling researchers to trace population and its changes in time. In terms of physical anthropology, the population of the Aldy-Bel culture, which lived in the mountainous regions of the Altai and Sayan Mountains (central Tuva) was closely related to the early Scythians of the Northern Altai region.[19]

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In addition to kinship with the neighboring Mayemir and Tasmolin cultures, many Aldy-Bel structural and artistic similarities extend further to the west, to the Tagisken and Uygarak complexes of Central-Asia.

In the opinion of D.G. Savinov, the broad region from central Kazakhstan to the Yenisei was affected by migrations not detected in archaeological evidence, mainly from west to east. Some portion of that population, most visible in the Tasmolin culture, merged with the emerging Aldy-Bel culture.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b Alekseev, A.Yu. (2001). "A chronology of the Scythian antiquities of Eurasia based on new archaeological and C-14 data". Radiocarbon. 43 (2B): 1092. Bibcode:2001Radcb..43.1085A. doi:10.1017/S0033822200041746. S2CID 53965098.
  2. ^ Pilipenko, Aleksandr S. (20 September 2018). "Maternal genetic features of the Iron Age Tagar population from Southern Siberia (1st millennium BC)". PLOS ONE. 13 (9): e0204062. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1304062P. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0204062. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6147448. PMID 30235269.
  3. ^ Savinov D.G., Early nomads, pp. 94–95
  4. ^ Savinov D.G., Early nomads, pp. 78–79, 100–101
  5. ^ Chugunov, K. V.; Parzinger, H.; Nagler, A. (2005). "Chronology and Cultural Affinity of the Kurgan Arzhan-2 Complex According to Archaeological Data". Impact of the Environment on Human Migration in Eurasia. NATO Science Series: IV: Earth and Environmental Sciences. 42. Springer Netherlands: 1–7. doi:10.1007/1-4020-2656-0_1. ISBN 1-4020-2655-2.
  6. ^ Savinov D.G., Early nomads, pp. 84–85
  7. ^ Savinov D.G., Early nomads, pp. 94–95
  8. ^ Savinov D.G., Early nomads, pp. 83–84
  9. ^ Savinov D.G., Early nomads, pp. 93–94
  10. ^ Веселовская, Е.В.; Галеев, Р.М. (2020). "АНТРОПОЛОГИЧЕСКАЯ РЕКОНСТРУКЦИЯ ВНЕШНЕГО ОБЛИКА «ЦАРЯ» И «ЦАРИЦЫ» РАННЕСКИФСКОГО ПОГРЕБАЛЬНО-ПОМИНАЛЬНОГО КОМПЛЕКСА АРЖАН-2" (PDF). Вестник археологии, антропологии и этнографии. 2 (49). In anthropological terms, the buried show a peculiar mosaic of Caucasoid and Mongoloid features. They are characterized by brachycephaly and dome-shaped head, with notably developed rugosity of the supercilium in the man and its absence in the woman. For the man, an average width of the face and a narrow forehead of medium height are noted. The woman has broad face and forehead, the height of the forehead is average. Both portraits are characterized by prominent position of eyeballs and large eyes. Man's nose is short, prominent, with convex dorsum. Woman's nose has a wavy dorsum, and is slightly prominent. On the male portrait, the cheekbones are moderate, on the female one — high and prominent. Faces of the «royal» persons are flattened in the upper part, with a certain degree of alveolar prognathism. The lower jaw of the man is medium in size, narrow in the corners. For the woman, some gracility of the lower jaw can be noted.
  11. ^ Gnecchi-Ruscone, Guido Alberto; Khussainova, Elmira; Kahbatkyzy, Nurzhibek; Musralina, Lyazzat; Spyrou, Maria A.; Bianco, Raffaela A.; Radzeviciute, Rita; Martins, Nuno Filipe Gomes; Freund, Caecilia; Iksan, Olzhas; Garshin, Alexander; Zhaniyazov, Zhassulan; Bekmanov, Bakhytzhan; Kitov, Egor; Samashev, Zainolla; Beisenov, Arman; Berezina, Natalia; Berezin, Yakov; Bíró, András Zsolt; Évinger, Sándor; Bissembaev, Arman; Akhatov, Gaziz; Mamedov, Aslan; Onggaruly, Akhan; Voyakin, Dmitriy; Chotbayev, Aidos; Kariyev, Yeldos; Buzhilova, Alexandra; Djansugurova, Leyla; Jeong, Choongwon; Krause, Johannes (26 March 2021). "Ancient genomic time transect from the Central Asian Steppe unravels the history of the Scythians". Science Advances. 7 (13). doi:10.1126/sciadv.abe4414. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 7997506.
  12. ^ Mary 2019, p. 10/13.
  13. ^ Mary 2019, p. 7/13.
  14. ^ Mary, Laura (28 March 2019). "Genetic kinship and admixture in Iron Age Scytho-Siberians". Human Genetics. 138 (4): 411–423. doi:10.1007/s00439-019-02002-y. PMID 30923892. S2CID 85542410.
  15. ^ Mary 2019:"The absence of R1b lineages in the Scytho-Siberian individuals tested so far and their presence in the North Pontic Scythians suggest that these 2 groups had a completely different paternal lineage makeup with nearly no gene flow from male carriers between them"
  16. ^ Juras, Anna; Krzewińska, Maja; Nikitin, Alexey G.; Ehler, Edvard (7 March 2017). "Diverse origin of mitochondrial lineages in Iron Age Black Sea Scythians". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 43950. Bibcode:2017NatSR...743950J. doi:10.1038/srep43950. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 5339713. PMID 28266657. "Mitochondrial haplogroup analyses of the NPR Scythians from this study and those from Rostov-on-Don and Pazyryks from Altai and Inner Mongolia, reveal that, for the most part, the same lineages are found in all three groups and are often singularly represented in each group...Otherwise, mt lineage composition is comparable in all three groups of the Scythian horizon which supports their shared maternal genetic roots founded on the common east and west Eurasian substrate with an input from neighboring populations. The genetic influx of East Eurasian haplotypes might be the result of establishing relationships between migrants with European ancestry and women of east Eurasian origin as was previously proposed by66 in case of Iron Age south Siberian populations."
  17. ^ Unterländer, Martina; Palstra, Friso; Lazaridis, Iosif; Pilipenko, Aleksandr (3 March 2017). "Ancestry and demography and descendants of Iron Age nomads of the Eurasian Steppe". Nature Communications. 8 (1): 14615. Bibcode:2017NatCo...814615U. doi:10.1038/ncomms14615. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 5337992. PMID 28256537. "These findings are consistent with the appearance of east Eurasian mitochondrial lineages in the western Scythians during the Iron Age, and imply gene-flow or migration over the Eurasian Steppe belt carrying East Asian/North Siberian ancestry from the East to the West as far as the Don-Volga region in southern Russia."
  18. ^ Gnecchi-Ruscone, Guido Alberto; Khussainova, Elmira; Kahbatkyzy, Nurzhibek; Musralina, Lyazzat (26 March 2021). "Ancient genomic time transect from the Central Asian Steppe unravels the history of the Scythians". Science Advances. 7 (13): eabe4414. Bibcode:2021SciA....7.4414G. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abe4414. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 7997506. PMID 33771866. See Fig. 3A.
  19. ^ Pokutta, Dalia A.; Borodovskiy, Andrey P.; Oleszczak, Łukasz; Tóth, Peter; Lidén, Kerstin (1 October 2019). "Mobility of nomads in Central Asia: Chronology and 87Sr/86Sr isotope evidence from the Pazyryk barrows of Northern Altai, Russia". Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 27: 101897. Bibcode:2019JArSR..27j1897P. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.101897. ISSN 2352-409X. S2CID 201311403. "Moreover, craniometric data published by Chikisheva (2008) supports the hypothesis that populations of Tuva and Altai were also anthropologically linked to each other. In her study, Chikisheva (2008) focused on cranial variation, tracking affinities with diverse population groups in the Scythian period. According to the research, the population of Tuva was probably related to the Early Scythian population of Northern Altai."
  20. ^ Savinov D.G., Early nomads, pp. 93–94

Literature

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