Frozen Tombs of Siberia: The Pazyryk Burials of Iron Age Horsemen

Front Cover
University of California Press, 1970 - Social Science - 340 pages
Sergei Ivanovich Rudenko was a prominent Russian/Soviet anthropologist and archaeologist who discovered and excavated the most celebrated of Scythian burials, Pazyryk in Siberia. During the excavation of Pazyryk tombs, he discovered the world's most spectacular tattooed mummy said to belong to the Pazyryk Culture which flourished between the 7th and 3rd centuries BC. Herodotus and other ancient writers referred to the Altay as "the golden mountain". It was there that the impregnable citadel of the Scythians (or Sacae) lay hidden for centuries. Rudenko, however, was cautious enough not to assign his findings to the Scythians. He attributed the kurgan finds to the formidable Iron Age horsemen and warriors, whom he dubbed the "Pazyryks." Although they left no written records, Pazyryk artifacts are distinguished by a sophisticated level of artistry and craftsmanship. The Pazyryk tombs discovered by Rudenko were in an almost perfect state of preservation. They contained skeletons and intact bodies of horses and embalmed humans, together with a wealth of artifacts including saddles, riding gear, a chariot, rugs, clothing, jewelry, musical instruments, amulets, tools, and an "apparatus for inhaling hemp smoke." Also found in the tombs were fabrics from Persia and China, which the Pazyryks must have obtained on journeys covering thousands of miles.
 

Contents

Plan of Pazyryk group of barrows
2
BARROWS OF THE PAZYRYK GROUP
13
Plan of Pazyryk barrow
15
Sections of barrows 3 and 4
22
PHYSICAL TYPE OF THE POPULATION
45
ECONOMY AND WAY OF LIFE
67
CLOTHING AND PERSONAL ADORNMENT
83
Plan of tomb in barrow 6
84
Pattern of weave in a textile
203
Fur leather hair and wool 200 Silk minerals
206
Dagger from Aragol barrow
219
barrow 3
222
ART
229
Decoration on saddlecover from barrow 1
230
Vertical disposition of horses and objects
256
Artistic carving on side and lid of log coffin
268

38
91
Reconstruction of torque from barrow 2
107
Mirror from barrow 6
115
MEANS OF LOCOMOTION
117
Bridle from barrow 3
121
2
124
Wooden bridle fork from barrow 3
127
Method used in barrow 5 of attaching
134
from barrow 1
146
barrow 5
160
End of lower girthstrap
181
TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED IN WORKING
195
Onesided horn drum from barrow 2
278
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND RITUALS
279
THE DATING AND CULTURALHISTORICAL PLACE OF
293
Cloth decorated with a design of women
297
Inventory of Articles Found in the Pazyryk Barrows
311
Part of a stoolcover or pillowcase showing
315
Principal works referred to and Further Reading
329
Plates 1180
335
69
337
Corner of a felt coverlet with a ringstand
57
Copyright

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