Horse sacrifice in the Uzuur Gyalan Tomb: An Altai Mountain Kurgan

Onar V., Kucuk S., Erdıkmen D., Galbadrakh E., Tasagil A.

ART-SANAT, cilt.11, ss.275-298, 2019 (ESCI, Scopus, TRDizin) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 11
  • Basım Tarihi: 2019
  • Doi Numarası: 10.26650/artsanat.2019.11.0013
  • Dergi Adı: ART-SANAT
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.275-298
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Horse, Kurgan, Sacrifice, Altai Mountain, Mongolia
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study evaluated the horse sacrifice results and tomb remains of the uzuur Gylan tombs which were recovered in 2015 at a location 35 km North-West from the centre of the Monhhairhan province of Hovd in western Mongolia. A woman's corpse buried with her clothing, some goods for daily life, a mummified horse skeleton and its harness as well as sheep remains were all recovered from a rock carved tomb. Radiocarbon dating placed the tomb as the 10th century A.D. Isotope analysis carried out on the horse showed that the horse lived in an environment comprising of C3 plantation with ample water and vegetation. There were markings on the Frontal region of the horse's skull showing that it had been killed by being struck with a hard instrument as a sacrifice for the funeral ceremony. The tomb remains have given information about the style of living of the Altay people during the period of the 10th century A.D. and place and influence of horse in their lives.