Mongol warriors of the Jochi ulus at the Karasuyr cemetery, Ulytau, Central Kazakhstan

We present an archaeological study of medieval burials of warriors in the Karasuyr cemetery in the northwestern Betpakdala desert, near the southern Ulytau range in central Kazakhstan. The region was an eastern province of the Golden Horde, a ritual center of Jochi’s clan and later Mongol rulers until the late 16th century. The excavated part of the cemetery includes five burials. Four were those of males (three Mongoloid and one Caucasoid), and one was that of a female. Based on artifacts and the results of radiocarbon analysis, the burials date to the late 13th and early 14th century. Artifacts include birch-bark quivers, iron and bone arrowheads, fragments of laminar armor, and knives. The burial rite, the artifacts, and the physical type of the individuals suggest that three of them were Mongol warriors buried according to the Tibetan Buddhist rite, following an unknown military conflict during the Jochi Ulus rule-the first such burials to be excavated. Absence of weapons and the scarcity of other artifacts in the grave of the Caucasoid male indicate a subordinate position in the military group. The cemetery reflects the early expansion of Buddhism beyond Tibet before the spread of Islam across the northern fringes of the Eurasian steppe.