The Pazyryk burials are a number of Iron Age tombs found in the Pazyryk Valley of the Ukok plateau in the Altai Mountains, Siberia, south of the modern city of Novosibirsk, Russia.
The tombs are of Scythian type, an ancient Indo-European people of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists that is known to have dominated the Pontic-Caspian steppe throughout Classical Antiquity.
Although some scholars sought to connect the Pazyryk nomads with modern-day ethnic groups of the Altay, Rudenko summed up the cultural context:
“All that is known to us at the present time about the culture of the population of the High Altay, who have left behind them the large cairns, permits us to refer them to the Scythian period, and the Pazyryk group in particular to the fifth century BCE. This is supported by radiocarbon dating.”
The most famous undisturbed Pazyryk burial so far recovered is the “Ice Maiden” found by archaeologist Natalia Polosmak in 1993, a rare example of a single woman given a full ceremonial wooden chamber-tomb in the 5th century BCE, accompanied by six horses. She had been buried over 2,400 years ago in a casket fashioned from the hollowed-out trunk of a larch tree. On the outside of the casket were stylised images of deer and snow leopards carved in leather. Six horses wearing elaborate harnesses had been sacrificed and lay on the logs which formed the roof of the burial chamber. The maiden’s well-preserved body, carefully embalmed with peat and bark, was arranged to lie on her side as if asleep.
She was young; her hair was still blonde (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxgQVLY2o_w ); she had been 1.68 metres (5 ft 6 in) tall. Even the animal style tattoos were preserved on her pale skin: creatures with horns that develop into flowered forms.
Her coffin was made large enough to accommodate the high felt headdress she was wearing, which had 15 gilded wooden birds sewn to it. On a gold buckle retrieved from another tomb, a similar woman’s headdress intertwined with branches of the tree of life are depicted. Her blouse was originally thought to be made of wild “tussah” silk but closer examination of the fibers indicate the material is not Chinese but was a wild silk which came from somewhere else, perhaps India. She was clad in a long crimson woolen skirt and white felt stockings. Near her coffin was a vessel made of yak horn, and dishes containing gifts of coriander seeds: all of which suggest that the Pazyryk trade routes stretched across vast areas of Iran.
As recently as January 2007, tombs are still discovered at various locations, such as the timber tomb of a blond chieftain warrior that was unearthed in the permafrost of the Altai mountains region close to the Mongolian border ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUkeSm8A9Ws ). The body of the presumed Pazyryk chieftain is tattooed; his sable coat is well-preserved, as are some other objects, including what looks like scissors. A local archaeologist, Aleksei Tishkin, complained that the current population of the region strongly disapproves of archaeological digs, prompting the scientists to move their activities across the border to Mongolia.
Duration : 0:4:6
Related Posts:
- Scythian Ice Maiden – Indo-Europeans in the Altai 1/5
- Scythian Ice Maiden – Indo-Europeans in the Altai 2/5
- Scythian Ice Maiden – Indo-Europeans in the Altai 4/5
- Scythian Ice Maiden – Indo-Europeans in the Altai 3/5
- What does a tattoo of a dead tree symbolize?
December 25th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Regardless of …
Regardless of whether or not the people living in the region now are the genetic descendants of the Ice Maiden’s people, I can understand the desire to re-bury her in the place she was entombed by those with whom she lived her life.
December 25th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
You are ABSOLUTELY …
You are ABSOLUTELY right, brother. These wild Mongols are not her descendants, but descendants of her peoples killers. But they are so stupid they cant understand it. They only can think: everything I see is my!
December 25th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Unfortunately her …
Unfortunately her TRUE ancestors cant fight with this stupidity. Its all about so called national politics in Russian To calm down national groups, including these Mongols.
December 25th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Again these …
Again these squint-eyed fools! She is our property, dont dig her out! how impudent! Its interesting that the same situation is in America, where Indians relatives of these stupid Altaics, also forbid to exhume tombs. Same Indian stupidity on different continents
December 25th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
inter racual …
inter racual marrages ,,that happenes every where and its been my experance it manly woman who take the husbands wether intitled or not ,and in in Aboriginal socities that have been disturbed by out landers ,,,,:)
December 25th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
i think i was the …
i think i was the Scythian peoples who said to Persian invaders we wish to live in peace but if you ,disturb our ancestors and we will fight you ,, , kill them all that going to really them off ,, lol
December 25th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
The mongols we saw …
The mongols we saw in the video are probably the direct descendants of the invaders and enemies of the Indo European people of the ice mummy.. in some of the mongols you can even see a few “Caucasoid” facial features.. like in many cases they probably killed the men, captured a few women and took over or shared already big parts of the culture.. we see the same story as in China with the Tocharian people. I don’t think she or her ancestors would agree with giving her mummy too the mongols!
December 25th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Yeah the Scythians …
Yeah the Scythians were a Indo European people.. The re-construcion of her face clearly shows caucazoid racial features..
December 25th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
she was white
they …
she was white
they are obviously NOT
the Scythians were white
why steal OUR history
December 25th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Who are these …
Who are these people to claim the Mummy – she is not of thier people, they have no say – simple. Thier ancestors wiped out the Pazryk, Scythian peoples – how dare they lay claim to this! Its like the way Turks claim Hellenistic treasures found in thier lands as of thier own culture! What a farce, I’m sure the Greeks would have a word or two to say about that! This is not a pot or trinket though, but an actual person – her TRUE ancestors should have a say, nobody else.