The weapon complex of the Northern Altai population in the Xianbei period (on materials from the necropolis of Karban-I)

The paper is aimed at introducing into the scientific discourse and complex interpretation of the weapon items discovered during excavations of the sites of the Bulan-Koby archaeological culture of the Karban-I ne-cropolis. This site, which comprises a series of burial mounds of the Great Migration Period, was partially investi-gated by the expedition of Barnaul State Pedagogical Institute in 1989–1990. The complex is located on the left bank of the Katun River, 1.7 km north-west of Kuyus village, in Chemalsky District of the Altai Republic. Weapons were found in five undisturbed male burials of the Xianbei period (mounds № 9, 11, 14, 33, 39). The finds ana-lyzed include long-range and close-range weapons: five compound bows; 14 iron arrowheads; four iron combat knives; and one dagger. Morphological analysis and classification of the objects, as well as their comparison with known artefacts of the last quarter of the 1st mil. BC — the first half of the 1st mil. AD from the sites of Central, Inner, and North Asia became the basis for conclusions concerning the determination of the dating of the pro-ducts. It has been found that the complex of weapons of the nomads who built the necropolis of the Bulan-Koby Culture at the mouth of the Karban River, was aimed at efficient countering of a lightly protected enemy and was appropriate for light cavalry and infantry. It includes both the already well-known (Xiungny) and new (local) modifi-cations of the offensive weapons. In terms of its diversity and level of development, this set of weaponry was sig-nificantly inferior to the military arsenals of the Xiongnu and Xianbei periods, as well as that of the population of the Bulan-Koby Culture of the late 3rd — 5th c. AD. The body of the conclusions made permits it to assume that the considered corpus of weapons reflects the initial stage of the evolution of the armament of the Altai population in the first half of the 1st mil. AD. The published materials expand the source base for the study of warfare of the population of Northern Altai in the Xianbei period. The obtained results of the chronological interpretation of diffe-rent categories of weapons can be used to refine the periodization of the sites of the Belo-Bom stage (2nd — 1st half of the 4th c. AD) of the Bulan-Koby Culture.