On September 22, 2025, students of the Faculty of History at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Saltanat Amir, a researcher at the British Museum, on the topic: “Jewelry-Making in Hierarchical and Heterarchical Steppe Societies of the Iron Age.”
The lecture examined several stages in the development of Saka jewelry-making and Saka society: the 8th–6th centuries BCE marked the formation of a hierarchical society, including the rise of fashion among the Saka elite. This fashion incorporated, among other items, gold plaques and microbeads. The discussion addressed the technological and stylistic evolution of these objects, elite control over sources of gold, and the role of specialized jewelers.
Distinctive features of Iron Age Saka jewelry-making traditions were also highlighted, including the use of hollow conical granulation, methods of joining tin-containing metals, and the production of tin–gold intermetallic compounds. The lecture concluded with a question-and-answer session and open discussion.
