Burial with a Chariot at the Tabyldy Cemetery, Central Kazakhstan

Abstract

This study describes a high-ranking burial at the Tabyldy cemetery in the Shetsky District of the Karaganda Region, Kazakhstan. The mound was encircled with a stone enclosure and marked a double burial of horses with discoid cheek-pieces and metal braces, symbolizing the chariot. Funerary items include a bronze knife-dagger, a goad-head, a metal pendant from a one-and-one-half twist plate overlaid with gold, paste beads, pipe beads, and potsherds. A detailed description of these items is provided. Cheek-pieces resemble those of the Staroyuryevo type. Their position on the crania of horses suggests a reconstruction of the harness. On the basis of new finds, the evolution of the cheek-pieces is proposed. The reconstructed rigid bits were made by enlacing metal staples with leather stripes. This innovation, securing better driving, was the reason why later cheek-pieces have no spikes. A comparative analysis of the burial rite and funerary items suggests an Early Alakul attribution. The fact that the horses ’heads were oriented to the northeast, like those of the buried humans (judging by places where bottoms of clay vessels concentrate), evidences the influence of the Early Timber-Grave (Pokrovsk) culture. The AMS date and its 1 SD limits point to late 18th to early 17th century BC, suggesting the Nurtay stage of the Alakul culture in Central Kazakhstan.