KazNU archaeologists excavated a burial mound containing a boar cult

The archaeological expedition of Al-Farabi KazNU conducted field research work near Uzunbulak village of Kegen district of Almaty region.

The project is implemented thanks to the support of the Department of Culture, Archives and Documentation of the Almaty Region and the Almaty Regional Centre for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage.

Near the village of Uzunbulak, since the Soviet period, the extraction of rocky soil for the needs of the inhabitants of the region has been carried out. In recent years, the extraction has gained a huge scale. Local residents still remove soil from the quarry by hiring bulldozers, excavators and other equipment. While excavating the soil, locals have constantly found human and animal bones in different places. Having received information last year, the aforementioned bodies decided to allocate financial resources for excavations, which were realised by the aforementioned expedition.

According to the head of the expedition, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Dosbol Baigunakov, the burial ground consists of several emergency barrows. Some barrows are completely destroyed, some by half, etc. In order to prevent destruction by interested parties, whole barrows were excavated first and various artefacts (ceramics, wood remains, horse stapes, iron and bronze plaques), human remains and animal bones were obtained. Judging by the finds, most of the barrows date back to the Turkic period. Very interesting objects were also found: a tusk (tusk) and the lower jaw of a boar with two tusks. Perhaps it is a horse's lower jaw. If these are boar bones, they are very rare in a burial pit. Most likely they had a cult character.

Making tools and jewellery from boar tusk has been practised in Eurasia since the Neolithic period. Its image is often found in rock carvings in Kazakhstan. In the Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, hunting a formidable and strong boar was considered a real feat for courageous warriors. In the traditional beliefs of many peoples, the boar appears as a totem, the boar also personifies masculinity, strength and power, and is also endowed with the symbolism of fertility and fertility.

The Uzunbulak burial ground provides specialists with basic sources on the material and spiritual culture of the ancient Turks of South-Eastern Kazakhstan.  

Press-service of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University