TY - JOUR
T1 - The newly discovered bronze age site of Koken
T2 - Merging micro-regions with major study zones in the high steppes of Kazakhstan
AU - Doumani Dupuy, Paula N.
AU - Zhuniskhanov, Aidyn S.
AU - Bullion, Elissa A.
AU - Kiyasbek, Galymzhan K.
AU - Tashmanbetova, Zhuldyz Kh
AU - Rakhmankulov, Erbolat Z.
AU - Isin, Amantay I.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding was awarded by Nazarbayev University (Faculty Development Competitive Research Grant, Project number 090118FD5330 , PI- Paula Doumani Dupuy) and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Project number AP05135824 , PI- Nikolay Tsyrempilov). Finally, we wish to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback on an earlier version of this manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Bronze Age eastern Kazakhstan sat at the intersection of two distinct cultural interaction spheres: the Eurasian Steppe and the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor. Despite its importance, the region has not been extensively researched by archaeologists. Recent fieldwork in the Kokentau Mountains in eastern Kazakhstan has uncovered a multi-period archaeological sequence, presenting an opportunity to document this crucial area in detail. We present preliminary data obtained from initial settlement and cemetery excavations at the site of Koken that contribute to ongoing research about economy and interaction in the Eurasian Bronze Age. The site's long occupational history, supported by radiocarbon dates, reveals shifting cultural patterns stretching from the Mesolithic to the historical period. Current and future research in the Kokentau Mountains can clarify the timing and local trajectories of Bronze Age economic and cultural transitions through the integration of evidence from ritual, craft production, and habitation contexts at a resolution rare for this region and time period.
AB - Bronze Age eastern Kazakhstan sat at the intersection of two distinct cultural interaction spheres: the Eurasian Steppe and the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor. Despite its importance, the region has not been extensively researched by archaeologists. Recent fieldwork in the Kokentau Mountains in eastern Kazakhstan has uncovered a multi-period archaeological sequence, presenting an opportunity to document this crucial area in detail. We present preliminary data obtained from initial settlement and cemetery excavations at the site of Koken that contribute to ongoing research about economy and interaction in the Eurasian Bronze Age. The site's long occupational history, supported by radiocarbon dates, reveals shifting cultural patterns stretching from the Mesolithic to the historical period. Current and future research in the Kokentau Mountains can clarify the timing and local trajectories of Bronze Age economic and cultural transitions through the integration of evidence from ritual, craft production, and habitation contexts at a resolution rare for this region and time period.
KW - Bronze age
KW - Cemetery
KW - Kazakhstan
KW - Mesolithic
KW - Metallurgy
KW - Settlement
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ara.2021.100292
DO - 10.1016/j.ara.2021.100292
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85106332697
SN - 2352-2267
VL - 27
JO - Archaeological Research in Asia
JF - Archaeological Research in Asia
M1 - 100292
ER -