Mobility of nomads in Central Asia

Chronology and 87Sr/86Sr isotope evidence from the Pazyryk barrows of Northern Altai, Russia

Bibliographic Data

ID13097166
AuthorsDalia A Pokutta (0000-0003-2049-6886, Stockholm University, corresponding author), A P Borodovskiy (Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography), Łukasz Oleszczak (0000-0002-9197-0605, Jagiellonian University), Peter Tóth (0000-0002-5010-9456, Masaryk University), Kerstin Lidén (0000-0002-5911-9503, Stockholm University)
Year2019
Volume27
Pages101897-101897
Publication date2019-07-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Archaeological Science Reports (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2352-409X • E-ISSN: 2352-4103
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.101897
OpenAlexW2966344551
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited32

In this study we report the first 87Sr/86Sr isotopic data and mobility analyses of the Pazyryk culture in Central Asia. Throughout prehistory the Altai Mountains represent a unique cultural frontier characterised by a perpetual state of transition, resulting from highly mobile nomadic inhabitants. We analysed human skeletal remains from barrows in the Manzherok region of the Altai Republic, Russian Federation. The analysis was based on 160 measurements of 87Sr/86Sr from Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (TIMS), in tandem with environmental samples and comparative animal material. The combined dating evidence and strontium isotopic values indicate that after the 5th century BC, residential mobility amongst Altaic nomads is rising, especially long-distance female mobility, leading to contact acquisition with extrinsic territories of Central Asia. The 87Sr/86Sr isotopic evidence from Manzherok suggests that members of the Altaic population might have been buried in Scythian tombs located in Tuva and Khakassia, most notably in the Arzhan barrows

Archaeology · Central asia · Chronology · Frontier · Geography · Ionization · Isotopes of strontium · Physical geography · Population · Prehistory · Strontium · Thermal ionization mass spectrometry · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Chemistry · Demography · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology