Topolandscape researches of the Early Iron Age mounds of the western part of Zhetysu Alatau

Abstract

The present work is devoted to the analysis of remote and field studies of topolandscape features of Early Iron Age mounds near the western slopes of Zhetysu Alatau. According to the results of the work on this territory, a group of 386 monuments with burial structures in the form of hemispherical mounds, as well as ditches and ramparts along their perimeter were identified. Based on this sample of archaeological sites, a preliminary map of monuments has been compiled, which represents the nature of the distribution of objects with similar signs in the foothill and mountain zones of the western spurs of the Zhetysu Alatau. It was found out that the densest concentration of mounds with ditches was recorded in the area of the Bastobe Mountains, the Kogaly Valley and the interfluve of Koksu and Karatal. There are also about 390 of the largest "royal" mounds in the region. In the cultural traditions of the population of the early Iron Age, there were invariants of architectural features of burial complexes. The most massive series is represented by mounds with ditches around the perimeter of the embankment (216), the remaining 170 monuments contain burial structures with "external" ditches, when there were platforms of rounded or square shapes between the embankment and the ditch. In some cases, shafts of the same shape replace square ditches, and rounded ditches have low shafts along the inner perimeter. Among the burial grounds with the largest mounds, a group of 14 monuments stands out, where structures with "external" ditches are marked, which do «bridges» from opposite sides, mainly along the west–east axis, interrupt. Statistical analysis shows that for this microdistrict such archaeological sites make up from 30 to 40% of the total number of monuments of the early Iron Age. This speaks in favor of the fact that at a certain historical stage, the bearers of these traditions of funeral rites occupied a dominant position in the territories near the western slopes of Zhetysu Alatau. Mounds with similar architectonics and topolandscape situation on the territory of southeastern Kazakhstan are not found anywhere else, with the exception of the high-altitude valleys of the Kegen, Shalkodesu, Tekes, Karkara and Shelek rivers. This may indicate certain ethno-cultural ties of the inhabitants of these regions. The analysis of architectural features based on analogies with the well-known studied complexes shows that, most likely, these monuments were built in the Saka period (6^th–3^rd centuries BC) and mark the development of one tribal association.