Kok-Pash culture
The Kok-Pash culture (3rd to 5th centuries CE) is an archaeological culture flourishing in the so-called Hunno-Sarmatian period in Altai mountains.[1] The Kok-Pash monuments appeared in Altai mountains in the second half of the 3rd century AD and coexisted with the Bulan-Koba culture.[2]
| Geographical range | Altai Mountains |
|---|---|
| Dates | 3rd to 5th centuries CE |
| Major sites | Kok-Pash, Kuraika |
| Preceded by | Bulan-Koba culture |
| Followed by | First Turkic Khaganate |
Archaeology and Anthropology
Contrary to the Europoid groups such as Pazyryk and Bulan-Koba culture, the Kok-Pash skeletal remains exhibit pronounced East Asian (Mongoloid) features,[3] marking a new population influx in Altai mountains from the East in the 3rd century CE.
The Kok-Pash burials share similarities to the Kokel culture in Tuva.[4] in the 3rd century CE the Kok-Pash people annexed parts of territories of the Bulan-Koba culture in south and southeastern parts of the Altai Mountain of Russia and coexisted with the remnants of the Bulan-koba culture in the north and northwestern parts of the Altai mountains until the 5th century CE.[5] The burials of Kok-Pash culture consists of wooden coffins in narrow pits beneath rectangular mounds with a north-south orientation.[6] grave goods are no different from Bulan-Koba culture.[6] the Kok-Pash and Bulan-koba cultures were both replaced by Turkic burial traditions in Altai mountains.
References
- Konstantinov et al. 2018.
- Konstantinov et al. 2018, page 12: "The radiocarbon dating of the objects attributes them to the end of the 3rd – beginning of the 3th century".
- Konstantinov et al. 2018, page 12: "The anthropological study of human remains revealed that the population has a pronounced Asian anthropological type, characteristic to the population of Mongolia and referred to as ‘the Central Asian race’(Mongoloid). The population who left monuments of the Kok-Pash type was the first wave of settlers, who brought the Central Asian(Mongoloid) anthropological component to the Altai; this component became characteristic for the region in the Middle Ages and subsequent periods.".
- Khudjakov 2005.
- Konstantinov et al. 2018, page 29.
- Konstantinov et al. 2018, page 12.
Sources
- Konstantinov, Nikita; Soenov, Vasilii; Trifanova, Synaru; Svyatko, Svetlana (29 June 2018). "History and culture of the early Türkic period: A review of archaeological monuments in the Russian Altai from the 4th–6th century AD". Archaeological Research in Asia. 16: 103–115. doi:10.1016/j.ara.2018.06.002.
- Khudjakov, Julij S. (1 July 2005). "Armaments of Nomads of the Altai Mountains (First Half of the 1st Millennium AD)". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 58 (2): 117–133. doi:10.1556/aorient.58.2005.2.1.