Troubles in Tuva: Patterns of perimortem trauma in a nomadic community from Southern Siberia (second to fourth c. CE).

OBJECTIVES: Warfare is assumed to be one of the defining cultural characteristics of steppe nomads in Eastern Eurasia. For the first-centuries CE, a period of political turmoil in Northern China and Southern Siberia, relatively few data are, however, available about the degree and variability of violence in these communities. Here, we provide new data on violence among steppe nomads during the first-centuries CE by analyzing the type, anatomical distribution, and demographic distribution of perimortem trauma at Tunnug1 (Tuva, Southern Siberia-second to fourth c. CE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Perimortem traumas were assessed on 87 individuals representing both sexes and different age classes. The timing of the lesions was assessed based on morphological criteria, including the absence and presence of bone reactive processes and the relative plasticity of the bone at the moment of impact. The distribution by age, sex, and anatomical location of trauma was analyzed by means of logistic models, Fisher's exact tests, and 3D visualizations. RESULTS: A total of 130 perimortem traumas, including chop marks, slice marks, penetrating lesions, and blunt traumas were identified on 22 individuals. Chop marks were mostly at the level of the skull and vertebrae and were likely caused by bladed weapons. Slice marks were found on the cervical vertebrae and cranium and may be the result of throat slitting and scalping by means of smaller bladed implements. Traumas were more frequent in males, and their presence is not correlated with age. DISCUSSION: This study adds new data to the few available regarding violence among steppe nomadic cultures and provides new insights about the effects of political instability on the life of the people inhabiting Eastern Eurasia during the early centuries CE.

Integrating Remote Sensing and Geophysics for Exploring Early Nomadic Funerary Architecture in the "Siberian Valley of the Kings".

This article analyses the architecture of the Early Iron Age royal burial mound Tunnug 1 in the "Siberian Valley of the Kings" in Tuva Republic, Russia. This large monument is paramount for the archaeological exploration of the early Scythian period in the Eurasian steppes, but environmental parameters make research on site difficult and require the application of a diversity of methods. We thus integrate WorldView-2 and ALOS-2 remote sensing data, geoelectric resistivity and geomagnetic survey results, photogrammetry-based DEMs, and ortho-photographs, as well as excavation in order to explore different aspects of the funerary architecture of this early nomadic monument. We find that the large royal tomb comprises of a complex internal structure of radial features and chambers, and a rich periphery of funerary and ritual structures. Geomagnetometry proved to be the most effective approach for a detailed evaluation of the funerary architecture in our case. The parallel application of several surveying methods is advisable since dataset comparison is indispensable for providing context.

Parasites provide evidence for fish consumption among Iron Age Siberian pastoralists.

The subsistence economies of prehistoric pastoralists of the Eurasian steppes have long been viewed through an oversimplified model of reliance on domesticated animals. This conceptualization has begun to shift dramatically through the introduction of scientific analyses, pivoting towards an evidence-based interpretation of economic flexibility and adaptive heterogeneity. Here we provide insights into the dietary practices of Iron Age pastoralists in Siberia through an archaeoparasitological analysis. Soil samples from the Tunnug 1 site in southern Siberia reveal the presence of helminth eggs of Taenia sp. (likely), Trichuris sp., and Dibothriocephalus sp. This indicates that the diet of the analysed prehistoric population might have included beef and did include freshwater fish, occasionally consumed in undercooked or raw form. Despite the primary reliance on pastoralism and possibly small-scale millet agriculture, these populations engaged in diverse dietary practices, including fish consumption. Additionally, the presence of Trichuris sp. eggs points to poor sanitary conditions, possible consumption of contaminated plant foods, and the contamination of drinking water with feces. By providing direct evidence of dietary habits, archaeoparasitology complements isotopic analyses and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the subsistence strategies.

The polymorphism and tradition of funerary practices of medieval Turks in light of new findings from Tuva Republic.

The medieval Turks of the eastern Asian steppe are known for funerary finds exalting horsemanship and military heroism that thrived on intertribal warfare. Existing bodies of research on various categories of objects-which include architecture, stelae, grave goods and inhumations-are in depth but highly regionalized. As a result, our understanding of the archaeological culture of the Turks on a spatio-temporal scale commensurate with territorial shifts in their political dominion throughout the period of the Turk khaganates (mid-6th to mid-8th centuries CE) remains disjunct. The present paper addresses this problem of disparate data. We present a synthesis of the archaeological research of medieval Turks spanning Mongolia, southern Siberia, and Xinjiang in view of results of the excavation of medieval burials at Tunnug 1 in Tuva Republic-where Turkic remains are dispersed and not easily distinguishable from other funerary cultures of connecting time periods. We argue that Turkic funerary culture can be better characterized as polymorphic-the presence of different regional amalgams of burial traditions. The horse-and-human burials and commemorative ogradka known to be quintessentially Turkic are but one of the more dominant amalgams. This pattern of differential practices is congruent with the history of medieval Turks evolving as peoples of mixed lineages and political groupings, rather than people of a unitary culture.

The Kokel of Southern Siberia: New data on a post-Xiongnu material culture.

From the end of the Xiongnu Empire to the establishment of the first Turkic Khaganate, the territory of Southern Siberia sees the emergence of distinctive local material cultures. The Kokel culture is essentially unknown in the international English-language literature even though archaeological sites pertaining to this material culture are among the most common in Tuva (Southern Siberia). This makes them important for the understanding aspects of the sociocultural dynamics following the collapse of the first "steppe empire". Here we present the results of the study of a Kokel funerary site recently excavated near the Early Iron Age kurgan Tunnug 1 and discuss the data in the context of the available Soviet and Russian literature. The Kokel culture substantially differs from the material culture of the Xiongnu and has to be seen as a largely independent cultural entity of small tribal groups without a pronounced social hierarchy engaging in frequent violent local conflict.