Ceramics from New Kurgans of the Tasmola Culture

Abstract

According to available archaeological materials, there is no earthenware pottery in the Tasmola graves. This feature of the funeral rite was specifically noted in early publications of materials belonging to this culture discovered in 1966. In the 21st century, the available sources of the material significantly expanded, new categories of monuments, including the kurgans of the elite and settlements were discovered. The increased interest in Tasmola ceramics can be explained by the fact that some ceramics were found in the new mounds, and the possibility of comparing them with pottery from earlier settlements arose. New studies have confirmed the absence of earthenware pottery in the graves. At the same time, available data on “kurgan ceramics” are currently increasing. Occasionally whole vessels but more often their fragments were found in the course of excavations in the upper part of the kurgan. This situation is typical for the burial sites of the early Saka time of the Sayano-Altai. period, where fragments of earthenware pottery were also found in the upper part of the structure. The report presents the results of a technical and technological analysis of ceramics from the two kurgans of the Tasmola culture. Sixteen fragments belonging to 8 vessels were found in kurgan 1 of the Kyzylzhartas burial ground. There were 40 fragments from 7 vessels in kurgan 1 of the burial ground Karazhartas-2. Both burial grounds are located at a distance of 2.6 km from each other on the territory of the Shet district of the Karaganda region. The studied burial mounds date back to the 7th–5th centuries BC. According to external features, the ceramics from the two burial mounds are very close to each other. The results of technical and technological analysis showed that, in terms of manufacturing methods, this ceramics is similar to pottery from the settlements of Central Kazakhstan.