Özet:

Pazyryk Culture is one of the most prominent subjects of Central Asian Archeology due to its rich archaeological finds. This article aims to assess Pazyryk culture kurgans, in terms of their architectural features and funeral rites to reveal the relationship between the Pazyryk Culture and its successors, the kurgans of Hsiung-nu and Turkic Khaganates. The datings of the Pazyryk kurgans as well as different hypotheses on the origin of Pazyryk society have also been discussed. Layout of burial grounds, architectural elements, interior arrangement of chambers, horse burial practices, orientation of bodies and horses are subjects examined in detail.   There are more than 135 burial grounds with more than 600 kurgans attributed to the culture. Almost all the kurgans of the Pazyryk culture are aligned in a straight line in the north-south direction, sometimes with slight deviations. It is believed that the arrangement of the kurgans in a straight line is based on the layout of the permanent dwellings, lined up on the north-south axis, in the winter quarters of the nomadic Turkic peoples of Altai. The burial chambers of the kurgans, which are representative “houses of the dead”, are arranged as housing models with the carpets hung on the walls and the items placed. Among the architectural elements of the Pazyryk Culture kurgans are the circular stone fences surrounding its stone mounds, altars, and row of balbals. Generally, the stone mound is surrounded by a low stone fence or a shallow ditch, often repeating its plan. Mostly, the altars are erected to the west of the kurgans, while a row of balbals, extending from west to east, or a single balbal is erected to the east. Thus, the kurgans belonging to the “rulers” or “elite” gain the appearance of memorial complexes with stone fences, altars and balbal rows. Burial chambers of different sizes in most cases were constructed of wooden material.  It has been determined that more than 75% of the bodies (443 out of 599) in the Pazyryk culture kurgans with slight deviations face the east, while approximately 100 bodies with slight deviations face the west. Western orientation of bodies prevails in burial grounds located on the periphery of Pazyryk culture, close to modern Tuva.   Horse burials, as one of the characteristic features of the Pazyryk funeral customs, were identified in around 37% of kurgans (212 out of 569). Most kurgans with horse burials are in Onguday, Ulagan and Kosh-Agach districts of the Russian Federation and Katon-Karagay district of East Kazakhstan (more than 60%). Horses in the Pazyryk culture kurgans also face east. In the interior arrangement of traditional Turkic residential architecture, the northern part of the yurt where the kitchen utensils are located is considered as the women’s section, and the southern part is considered as the men’s section, which is devoted to resting and sleeping.  A similar layout can be observed in burial chambers of the Pazyryk culture. Thus, wooden sarcophagi were placed along the south wall of the chamber. In cases where bodies of two different genders were placed in the same sarcophagus, the men were again placed along the south wall.  Most of the kurgans of the Pazyryk culture, originally dated to the 6th - 5th centuries BC, in view of new data, were revised and dated approximately 325-275 BC.  By examining the definition, dating and origin of Pazyryk culture, the cultural bond with Proto-Turk and Turkic people within the context of kurgan architecture and burial traditions has been revealed.

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