The Results of the Radiocarbon Dating of the Burial Mounds of the Zhuzhan Times of the Yaloman-II Monument (Central Altai)

Information about the Zhuzhansk Kaganate which dominated in Inner Asia from the second half of the 4th century A.D. till the defeat of the Turks in the middle of the 6th century is found in Chinese written sources. At the same time, there are very few archaeological materials about this nomadic state. This state of affairs is usually explained by the poor knowledge of the monuments of the pre-Turkic period on the territory of Mongolia. Ancient objects dating from the Zhuzhan time are excavated in Altai. Among them, the Yaloman-II funeral complex is of particular importance. It was studied under the guidance of the author of the article during several field seasons in the first decade of the 21st century. Of the six unrestored barrows, a significant number of finds were found in various items of material culture, reflecting individual spheres of the existing life support system. Complexes of weapons and military equipment were consistently introduced into scientific circulation. They served as the initial basis for determining the chronological framework for the construction of excavated burials. The existing analogies and the typological analysis of the surviving products, as well as the undertaken radiocarbon dating allowed us to fill with a specific content the highlighted late (Upper-Uimon) stage of the Boulogne-Cuban archaeological culture. The most unexpected and important finds on the Yaloman-II monument were the discovered parts of the wooden foundations of hard saddles without stirrups. To determine the time of their creation and use, as well as to determine the chronology of the total number of burial mounds, most of which are related to each other, six samples were sent to the 14XRONO laboratory of the Center for Climate, Environment and Chronology Studies of Queen’s University of Belfast (Great Britain) Objects (Nos. 29 and 33). In the course of the AMS-dating, results were obtained that allow not only solving part of the tasks set, but also outlining of further ways for effective historical reconstructions. Demonstration and analysis of a series of radiocarbon dating obtained in different laboratories, as well as comparing them with the results of a traditional archaeological approach in determining the chronology of archaeological objects, were the main goals of the scientific work presented in the article. The presence of initial absolute dates is also necessary for carrying out dendro-chronological studies on the basis of numerous finds made of wood. In addition, it was possible to build a chronological scheme for the construction of funerary objects on the Yaloman-II monumen (Altai), which gave a significant number of findings in the pre-Turkic period. It is necessary to continue the work on the systematic production of radiocarbon dates and their calibrated values within the framework of the Zhuzhan period. As the practice of modern research shows, the presence of AMS-dating results allows more accurate determining of the chronological range of excavated burials. This also applies to the considered barrows which at the present stage can be referred to the end of the 4th - beginning of the 5th century.

Keywords

Authors

References