On dating miniature stirrups of Tashtyk culture from Minusinsk hollow

Purpose. Stirrups as a part of horse equipment are the most important archaeological attribute of referring a culture of cattle-breeding societies. In Southern Siberia, stirrups are found in burials as reduced and miniature copies of their full-sized analogues because of their symbolic meaning. Apart from the symbolic meaning, there is debatable issue of dating these artifacts, which could help to clarify the origin and chronology of the Southern Siberian cultures of the early Middle Ages. The article is aimed at describing the findings and providing a more accurate dating for them, along with discussing their reference to a certain culture. Results. The author provides the existing points of view on dating miniature stirrups in Southern Siberia and comments on them. Most researchers consider that such stirrups appeared in the Tashtyk culture of the III - beginning of the IV century (S. V. Kiselev, L. R. Kyzlasov, I. L. Kyz- lasov). The South Siberian findings are dated no earlier than the second half of the VI century (S. I. Wainstein, S. P. Nesterov, A. K. Ambrose, P. P. Azbelev). Previously, the researchers’ analysis was based mainly on random findings. The first miniature model of the iron stirrup in a gated community was found in the crypt Tashtyk Arbanskoe chaatas. The item has an 8-shape of a shackle with flattened bandwagon. It is dated not earlier than the VI century or, perhaps, the VII century. Another tiny stirrup was found in the nearby Tashtyk crypt at the cemetery I in Markelov Mys in the north of the Minusinsk hollow. The item has an oval shape and a trapezoidal shackle plate with a rectangular footrest. The item resembles the earliest stirrups from Korea and Japan, where they were used since the second half of the IV century until the end of the VI century. Taking into account the fact that population of the Far East began using the iron plates widely mostly in the V century, the item from the repository of Markelov Mys I can be dated as the V-VI centuries. There are a few findings of full-sized stirrups of such type discovered on the territory of Southern and Western Siberia. Such plate stirrups of the Far Eastern type and their miniature models could have appeared due to the domination of the Zhuanzhuaney Empire in the steppes of Central Asia. Miniature models of iron stirrups from burials in Arban and Markelov Mys I allow us to specify the time of constructing Tashtyk crypts. The lower date may not be earlier than the second half of the IV - beginning of the V century. The upper date limit is determined as the VII century, the lifetime of the First Turkic khanate. Conclusion. The finding from the burial in Markelov Mys I gives us reasons to believe that the population of the Tashtyk culture in the Minusinsk hollow was familiar with early plate stirrups. Continuous findings of such stirrups indicate that they were widespread in Siberia in the V-VI centuries. The presence of miniature copies of stirrups in burials can be explained by their symbolic meaning, which was typical for the Tashtyk culture.