An Open Seminar on the "Typology of Stone Statues of the Turkic Era" Was Held at KazNU as Part of Pedagogical Practice

On February 27, 2026, at the Faculty of History of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Damir Berikovich Umitkaliyev, a 1st-year doctoral student majoring in 8D02210 – "Archaeology", conducted an open seminar class on the discipline "Archaeology of the Turkic Era" as part of his pedagogical practice.

The theme of the seminar was "The Formation and Development of the Typology of Stone Statues in the Monuments of the Turkic Period." The event was intended for 1st-year master's students majoring in "7M02219 Archaeology".

During the class, two main presentations were discussed. The first presentation, "The Formation and Development of the Typology of Stone Statues," was devoted to the history of monumental stone sculpture of the Eurasian steppes, chronological and morphological typology, attributes and iconography, as well as the classification system of the Japanese Turkologist T. Hayashi. The second presentation, "Stone Statues of Saryarka," covered the history of the study of statues from the Turkic and Kipchak eras in Central Kazakhstan, the scientific contribution of A. Margulan, features of iconographic development, and typological groups.

In his report, doctoral student D.B. Umitkaliyev shared his research results, and during the seminar, students actively exchanged views on the semantics of stone statues, the etymology of the term "balbal", the structure of memorial complexes, and the main locations of monuments in Kazakhstan.

The event is part of the educational process within the framework of pedagogical practice, aimed at developing the research work of young scientists and improving the professional qualifications of master's students.