Saddle trees from the Boz-Adyr cemetery in the Tyan'-Shan'

Purpose: The Boz-Adyr cemetery is a new site of the Early and High Middle Ages located at the Tuura-Suu village in the Yssyk-Kul' region of the Kyrgyz Republic. It was discovered during the archaeological survey carried out in 2011 by the staff and students of the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University (Kyrgyzstan) and Novosibirsk State University (Russia). Twelve intact burials were excavated during the 2012-2013 field seasons. Among them, judging by the funerary rites and inventory, 2 burials are dated to the Ancient Turk period and the rest 10 of them to the Mongol Epoch. In this paper we will describe and analyze two saddle trees uncovered from the burials of the Mongol Epoch. Descriptions of the excavations are given in order to fully understand the contextual circumstances of the finds. Results: Judging by the constructions and analogues, the analyzed saddle trees belong to the so called Mongolian type saddles, which began to spread in the steppes of Eurasia from the beginning of the II Millennium A.D. Apparently, they were brought to Tyan'-Shan' by the bearers of the Mongolian nomadic culture during the expansion of Genghis Khan's empire. There are several variants of Mongolian type saddles, the main difference among which is in the shape of the pommels. Obviously, different saddles were used for different purposes. However, it is hard to determine exactly the purpose and function of the saddles from the burials because, for example, saddles with trapeze-shaped pommels were uncovered in the male, female and even child burials. In fact, in most cases only parts, and sometimes fragments of harnesses were discovered in burials, which indicates the conditional character of the grave goods. Nevertheless, the analyses of the constructions of the Boz-Adyr's saddles give us grounds to suppose their functions. Judging by the finesse of making and the massiveness of wood parts and their configurations, the saddle from the burial #10 was specially made for women, probably, to be used in special cases. Apparently, the purpose of such a particular construction was to provide a comfortable and safe seat on horseback. On the contrary, the relatively small size of wooden parts and their configurations and the traces of repairs on the right board of the saddle from burial № 7 lead to the conclusion that it had been used in daily life. This kind of saddle was quite appropriate for nomads, since it had a simple and light construction, which allowed the rider and horse to cover long distances and also gave more opportunities for maneuver. The review of ethnographic data, however, showed that the Mongolian type of saddles played an important role in the development of Kyrgyz saddles. Conclusion: The study of the Boz-Adyr cemetery and of the finds from it has added immensely to our knowledge of the harness used in High and Late Middle Age Kyrgyzstan.