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The features of the settlements of the Saka time in Central Kazakhstan are studied on the basis of materials from more than 70 objects that have been discovered to date. Along with the study of such important aspects as topography and planigraphy, house building, ceramic complex, determining the function of stone tools, etc., the dating of monuments using modern natural science methods is relevant. The article publishes for the frst time the results of a new series of radiocarbon analyzes that were carried out at the end of 2021 on bone samples from two settlements. A total of 7 new dates from the Tasmola settlements of Abylai and Kulzhan-I were obtained in the 14C Chronology Laboratory at Lanzhou University, China. All dates ft within the framework of the 8th – 6th centuries BC. It seems important that the upper limit of calibrated dates does not go beyond the middle of the 6th century BC. The new dates are consistent with the previously made archaeological dates of the settlements of Central Kazakhstan. According to materials of the study of the monuments of the Scythian-Saka era of Kazakhstan, Sayan-Altay, this milestone is the time of the end of the Early Scythian period in the ancient history of the steppe Eurasia. There are still not enough radiocarbon dates for the settlements of the Saka time in Central Kazakhstan. Therefore, it is planned to continue work in this direction.

According to modern data, about 60 small settlements have been discovered on the territory of Central Kazakhstan, dating back to the time of the Tasmola culture (VIII–V centuries BC). Since 2016, annual excavations have been carried out at the Abylai settlement, which is located in the Karaganda region. In the excavation area, in addition to fragments of pottery and animal bones, over 480 stone tools were found. In the fall of 2020, for the first time, traceological studies of stone tools were carried out, the results of which are reflected in this article. Of the 150 copies, 139 were identified as functions. Of these, 130 tools were used in various industries. According to quantitative data, tools for cultivating the land are in first place – 57.3%, followed by tools for processing vegetation (24.5%), leatherworking (10.2%), for straightening metal products (whetstones, 8%). It is planned to continue the ongoing research on stone tools.

This paper presents the results of stable isotope analysis of the Saka period population of Central Kazakhstan. The analysed materials originate from 37 sites of the Tasmola Culture which is presently dated to the 8th – 5th c. BC. The sample include 31 humans from 31 burials and 6 animals from three settlements and three burials. Human isotopic results are widely scattered both in δ13C, and in δ15N ratios from the cemeteries of Koitas, Taldy-2, Akbeit and Karashoky. The obtained data suggests the presence of millet in Central Kazakhstan in the beginning of the Early Iron Age, either as agricultural crop or imported product. The findings of a small quantity of millet and barley grains in the cultural layer of one of the Tasmola Culture settlements supports this hypothesis. These findings represent the first phase of the research. A more representative series of samples, including faunal, is needed for a more comprehensive investigation of the topic.

The results of excavations of barrow with “mustaches” at Atasu river (Central Kazakhstan, Karaganda region) are presented in the paper. Barrows with "mustaches" are a little-studied type of ancient monuments. Monuments of this type were dated back to the periods of the Saks, Huns, Türks. More precise definition of their cultural and chronological affiliation is regarded as difficult but important aim. The barrow with "mustaches" Atasu-2 consists of one rounded stone mound and two stone ridges oriented to the east. In 1977, near the mound was found a stone sculpture of the Saka type. Since 2015, investigation at Atasu area were conducted under the leadership of A.Z. Beisenov. Two pits were discovered under the embankment where the iron arrowheads and items of horse harness were found. Details of horse harness are represented by the different tips of the belts plaques, the head piece and the lining of the forward parts of the saddle flanges. The details of the set are made of an alloy of gold and silver in a polychrome style which has analogies in the archaeological sites of the Hunnish time in Eastern Europe. By analogies the complex is dated by the authors of the middle / second half of the 5th century, and is synchronized with the antiquities of the horizon D2 / D3 of the central European chronology of J. Teiral. The presented materials replenish in science a few information on the Hunnish time of Central Kazakhstan.

The article considers the findings of items in ancient burials which were intentionally spoiled prior to deposition in graves. This tradition was widely spread both in terms of chronology and geography, and therefore cannot be attributed to any individual cultures or regions. The authors present new information on the ritual obtained during an investigation of Borsyk burial mound of the Middle Sarmatian period located in West Kazakhstan. The central grave of barrow 6 contained a heavily damaged bronze cauldron. The grave was looted in antiquity. Individual scattered bones of a human skeleton and minor gold foil adornments from the ceremonial dress of a nobleman were discovered in the grave. The authors suggest that the cauldron was intentionally deformed by the participants of an ancient mortuary and memorial ritual. According to the principal hypothesis concerning the essence of this ritual, spoilage of the items was related to the idea of assign the items with “different” and “transcendent” properties, which resulted from the necessity of burying the owner. Cauldrons played an important role in the life of steppe leaders. The authors assume a sacral nature of the use of cauldrons in the culture of steppe peoples associated with feasts, battles, and sacred hunting. Perhaps, there was a tradition of burying cauldrons together with their owners after spoiling the items in view of the concept of the other world and the role of a heroic leader therein.

Goats were initially managed in the Near East approximately 10,000 years ago and spread across Eurasia as economically productive and environmentally resilient herd animals. While the geographic origins of domesticated goats (Capra hircus) in the Near East have been long-established in the zooarchaeological record and, more recently, further revealed in ancient genomes, the precise pathways by which goats spread across Asia during the early Bronze Age (ca. 3000 to 2500 cal BC) and later remain unclear. We analyzed sequences of hypervariable region 1 and cytochrome b gene in the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) of goats from archaeological sites along two proposed transmission pathways as well as geographically intermediary sites. Unexpectedly high genetic diversity was present in the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor (IAMC), indicated by mtDNA haplotypes representing common A lineages and rarer C and D lineages. High mtDNA diversity was also present in central Kazakhstan, while only mtDNA haplotypes of lineage A were observed from sites in the Northern Eurasian Steppe (NES). These findings suggest that herding communities living in montane ecosystems were drawing from genetically diverse goat populations, likely sourced from communities in the Iranian Plateau, that were sustained by repeated interaction and exchange. Notably, the mitochondrial genetic diversity associated with goats of the IAMC also extended into the semi-arid region of central Kazakhstan, while NES communities had goats reflecting an isolated founder population, possibly sourced via eastern Europe or the Caucasus region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first radiocarbon dates of Early Iron Age sites of central Kazakhstan (in total, 24 dates for 16 recently excavated sites). Archaeologically, the sites have been attributed to the Tasmola culture of the Saka period and later Korgantas phase of the early Hun period. The new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates suggest that the majority of analyzed Tasmola sites belong to the beginning of the 8th–5th century cal BC, while Korgantas dates to the 4th–2nd century cal BC. This corresponds with the latest archaeological data for the region; however, it is somewhat contrary to the traditional perception of the chronology of the Scythian period in central Kazakhstan. The new dates suggest the beginning of the Early Scythian period in the region in at least the late 9th or 8th century BC rather than 7th century BC according to the traditional approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been infecting humans for millennia and remains a global health problem, but its past diversity and dispersal routes are largely unknown. We generated HBV genomic data from 137 Eurasians and Native Americans dated between ~10,500 and ~400 years ago. We date the most recent common ancestor of all HBV lineages to between ~20,000 and 12,000 years ago, with the virus present in European and South American hunter-gatherers during the early Holocene. After the European Neolithic transition, Mesolithic HBV strains were replaced by a lineage likely disseminated by early farmers that prevailed throughout western Eurasia for ~4000 years, declining around the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. The only remnant of this prehistoric HBV diversity is the rare genotype G, which appears to have reemerged during the HIV pandemic.