Begazy–Dandybai Culture
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Begazy-Dandybai culture (c. 1500-1100 BCE), is a late Bronze Age culture of mixed economy in the territory of ancient central
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
,
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
, and
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, centered at Saryarka region. The Begazy Dandybai Mausolea dates from –1150 BCE, and was previously dated between the 12th and 8th centuries BCE, or from 13th to 10th centuries BCE. The culture was discovered, first excavated, and published in the 1930s–1940s by M.P. Gryaznov, who took it for a local version of the
Karasuk culture The Karasuk culture () describes a group of late Bronze Age societies who ranged from the Aral Sea to the upper Yenisei in the east and south to the Altai Mountains and the Tian Shan in ca. 1500–800 BC. Overview The distribution of the Kara ...
. In 1979 the Begazy-Dandybai culture was described and analyzed in detail in a monograph by A.Kh. Margulan, who systematically reviewed accumulated material and produced description of the archeological culture. The most famous monuments of Begazy-Dandybai culture are Begazy, Dandybai, Aksu Ayuly 2, Akkoytas, and Sangria 1.3, it was named after the first two archeological sites. Begazy-Dandybai culture is known from the 2nd millennium BCE with mining copper, tin, and gold ore deposits. At that time in steppe oases along small rivers lived fairly numerous
Andronovo culture The Andronovo culture is a collection of similar local Late Bronze Age cultures that flourished  2000–1150 BC,Grigoriev, Stanislav, (2021)"Andronovo Problem: Studies of Cultural Genesis in the Eurasian Bronze Age" in Open Archaeology 202 ...
population with farming, pastoral animal husbandry, mining, metallurgy and metal processing economy. Prosperity of Central Kazakhstan Andronov culture was provided by livestock and bronze casting production. A rise of Bronze Age culture falls at the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE, 10th-8th centuries BCE, the highlight of the Begazy-Dandybai archaeological culture.Tentative Lists
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It grew in vast hilly steppe, spread over approximately 2 million square kilometers, with immense pastures and numerous ore deposits. Archeological research of the post-1980s expanded the known locations of Begazy-Dandybai culture to 60+ settlements and 200+ cemeteries. Archeological attention shifted from fairly well studied megalithic mausolea as main attraction to the settlements and kurgan cemeteries of the commoners. Excavated settlement area amounts to several tens of thousands square meters, burial kurgans of ordinary tribal people have been partially uncovered.


Kurgan burials

Most of the Begazy-Dandybai burials are in kurgans. At present, the kurgan burials of the commoners are known from accompanying inventory. During Begazy-Dandybai era burial began appearing kurgans with single burial. The rich burials testify to income inequality and social stratification. By the same time are dated numerous mengirs.


Megalithic mausolea

Most visible monuments are about 20 constructively and architecturally unusual megalithic mausolea. As a rule, mausolea are fenced with square or oval layout of two or three stone masonry walls or stone slabs up to 3 tons each encircling a central room and covered by slabs as a perimeter gallery with diameter up to 30 m, and with occasional entrance chamber. The central roof-covered chamber is built with stones and multiple square pillars that support the roof, enclosing a massive sarcophagus. Mausolea are surrounded by ordinary kurgan burials. The cemeteries are close to large settlements extending to 10 ha., with housesbuilt of granite slabs, with pillars and thick walls, connected by corridors.


Art

Begazy-Dandybai culture preserved artifacts of the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
, and at the same time forms archaeological features of the
Early Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progr ...
. The accompanying burial inventory has richly decorated vessels notable for thin-wall pottery, polished surface, geometric ornamentation, and
tamga A tamga or tamgha (from ) was an abstract seal or brand used by Eurasian nomads initially as a livestock branding, and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was used as a livestock branding for a particular tribe, clan or family. They wer ...
-type characters on the surface, along with rough ceramics of proto-Tasmola type. The Begazy mausoleum produced tanged bronze arrowheads, which typologically indicated the upper date of the culture, its architecture and housing are notable for their innovations. Pottery, and bronze and golden ware deposited in mausolea found its influence in the succeeding nomadic
Tasmola culture The Tasmola culture was an early Iron Age culture during the Saka period (9th to 4th centuries BC) in central Kazakhstan. The Tasmola culture was replaced by the Korgantas culture. They may correspond to the Issedones of ancient Greek sources. ...
. Begazy-Dandybai people produced jewelry: silver and gold bracelets, rings, charms, pendants, earrings, buckles, and diadems (of approximately 86% gold, 13% silver and 1% copper).


Population

Begazy-Dandybai villages were located at the feet of rocky hills, close to plentiful sources of water and fuel. In the Tokraun, Nura, Sary Su, Atasu,
Ishim Ishim may refer to: *Ishim (river), a river in Kazakhstan and Russia *Ishim, Tyumen Oblast, a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia *Ishim (angel), a rank of angels in the Jewish angelic hierarchy See also

*Ishimsky (disambiguation) *Ishimbay {{Disam ...
, Selety, and other valleys were densely located villages of ancient miners and metallurgists. Begazy-Dandybai people produced pots, pitchers, bowls, cups, vessels with spouts, etc. Ceramic pots were fired globular jugs with high neck and collar rim. Ceramic was made of clay mixed with granitic sand. Grave inventory and dwellings contain many metal and bone tools: bronze pins, needles, buttons, linings, bone needle boxes, and buttons. Large number of tools was used in mining: hammers, picks, hoes, graters, mortars, pestles, and stone molds.


Economy

Evidence shows developed economy with hoe agriculture, irrigation, animal husbandry, and non ferrous metals production. It is thought that in the Late Bronze Age (20th — 8th centuries BCE) arose nomadic pastoralism of yaylaj type (distant summer pastures), which led to increase in livestock productivity, with grows of livestock herds. The population continued irrigation farming.


Related cultures

The
Andronovo culture The Andronovo culture is a collection of similar local Late Bronze Age cultures that flourished  2000–1150 BC,Grigoriev, Stanislav, (2021)"Andronovo Problem: Studies of Cultural Genesis in the Eurasian Bronze Age" in Open Archaeology 202 ...
is held to be a predecessor of the Begazy-Dandybai culture, among others. Begazy-Dandybai sites, usually located in mountainous areas surrounded by dry steppes, were succeeded in the same territory by pastoralist nomadic cultures. These included the: *
Tasmola culture The Tasmola culture was an early Iron Age culture during the Saka period (9th to 4th centuries BC) in central Kazakhstan. The Tasmola culture was replaced by the Korgantas culture. They may correspond to the Issedones of ancient Greek sources. ...
, which was dispersed throughout central Kazakhstan in the
Karaganda Karaganda (, ; ), also known as Karagandy (, ; ; ) (also sometimes romanized as Qaraghandy), is a major city in central Kazakhstan and the capital of the Karaganda Region. It is the fifth most populous city in the country, with a population o ...
, Akmola, and
Pavlodar Pavlodar (; ; ) is a city in northeastern Kazakhstan and the capital of Pavlodar Region. It is located northeast of the national capital Astana and southeast of the Russian city of Omsk along the Irtysh River. In 2010, the city had a popul ...
provinces, and; *
Pazyryk culture The Pazyryk culture ( ''Pazyrykskaya'' kul'tura) is a Saka (Central Asian Scythian cultures, Scythian) nomadic Iron Age archaeological culture (6th to 3rd centuries BC) identified by excavated artifacts and mummified humans found in the Siberian ...
of the
Altay Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with th ...
. While the megalithic architecture of Begazy-Dandybai was unique, other aspects of its material culture were similar to the contemporaneous
Karasuk culture The Karasuk culture () describes a group of late Bronze Age societies who ranged from the Aral Sea to the upper Yenisei in the east and south to the Altai Mountains and the Tian Shan in ca. 1500–800 BC. Overview The distribution of the Kara ...
and to that of Tasmola. In the absence of further evidence, there is no consensus on the historic identity, cultural connections or genetics of the Begazy-Dandybai culture. Scholarly opinions are divided between theories of a predominantly indigenous origin and a predominantly external origin. The ancient tribes of the Kazakhstan Bronze Age were descendants of the Kazakhstan Neolithic population, and became ancestors of the
Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...
s,
Wusun The Wusun ( ) were an ancient semi-Eurasian nomads, nomadic Eurasian Steppe, steppe people of unknown origin mentioned in Chinese people, Chinese records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. The Wusun originally l ...
, and
Kangju Kangju (; Eastern Han Chinese: ''kʰɑŋ-kɨɑ'' standard Chinese ''Kāngjū''), proposes that it was an Iranian word meaning "stone", and compares it to Pashto ''kā́ṇay'' "stone". Joseph Marquart, Omeljan Pritsak and Peter B. Golde ...
tribes.


References

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Literature

* Margulan A.H., ''Begazy-Dandybaevskaya Kultura Tsentralnogo Kazakhstana'', Alma-Ata: Akademiya nauk Kazahskoj SSR, 1979. Archaeological cultures of Central Asia Bronze Age cultures of Asia Archaeological cultures in Kazakhstan Archaeological cultures in Turkmenistan Archaeological cultures in Uzbekistan Indo-Iranian archaeological cultures