Археологические исследования памятника Кокен (Восточный Казахстан): Предварительные результаты: Arkheologicheskiye issledovaniya pamyatnika Koken (Vostochnyy Kazakhstan): Predvaritel'nyye rezul'taty

This article outlines preliminary research findings and discoveries at the archaeological complex of Koken (Kokentau Mountains in east Kazakhstan). During 2019, the team engaged in mapping and excavations of a multi-period settlement and a neighboring cemetery. The outlying landscape was also surveyed for additional archaeological remains, at which point ancient rock paintings and lithic scatters were documented. Excavation of the Koken settlement, cemetery, and the rock art area uncovered a substantial amount of zooarchaeological material, ceramics, metal beads, slag, as well as stone tools and debri from stone tool manufacture. Hence the ritual and domestic life of the site’s ancient inhabitants and visitors can be reconstructed. We offer a brief description of the excavated sites, and provide preliminary results of the morphological and pathological analysis of anthropological material from seven human burials dating to the Late Bronze Age. Also, 8 radiocarbon dates are included that show Koken was minimally inhabited from the Neolithic to Final Bronze Age. We propose avenues for future research on this exciting and new discovery.