The Surrounding Bronze Age World: Kazakhstan and South Siberia, 1300–700 BC

Abstract

Chapter 6 broadens the perspective on Late and Final Bronze Age Inner Asia by considering the archaeology of central and eastern Kazakhstan and South Siberia with a focus on the Minusinsk Basin and Tuva. I compare and contextualize the Mongolian record with research from these surrounding areas in order to demonstrate the importance of contacts and networks between them. The western and northwestern interaction spheres of Inner Asia are key to understanding many of the processes transpiring in Mongolia and especially in the region of west-central Mongolia (i.e., Khovsgol and Arkhangai provinces). I pay special attention to differences in diet and mobility across these regions and analyze the emergence of Inner Asian “horse culture” during the early first millennium BC.