Some issues of horse harness evolution in Scythian-Saka period of Eastern Kazakhstan

Purpose. Evolutionary issues of culture development are an important factor in studying the culture of early nomads of Eastern Kazakhstan. The materials obtained during the last decades from the burials in this region show a peculiar and dynamic development of horse equipment during the early Iron Age. Our aim is to generalize the materials which significantly add to or correct the available views on the region and the nomadic culture. Results. This article takes into consideration four main periods in the development of horse equipment of Scythian-Saka epoch of Eastern Kazakhstan (in the chronological order). A significant change in the horse harness practices in the VI-V centuries B.C. from the Mayemer culture to the Pazyryk culture is distinctly reflected in the transformation of the funeral ceremony and early Scythian bridles. These are replaced by the harness of the classical Scythian epoch, which featured two-hole psalia passing through big external rings. This process represents a difficult evolution which was a result of interactions between the local population and the nomads with different cultures, who arrived from other regions. While the horse equipment of the Pazyryk epoch has not many fundamental differences depending on the area of its usage, there was a peculiar shape of harness equipment and a certain animal style spread in each region, which we analyze. Conclusion. We can assume that there are significant differences between the objects found in the Early Scythian Age burials of East Kazakhstan, even within the same repositories. The reasons for certain diversity and instability of the funeral rituals are rooted in the geographical location of the region, which was a contact zone of different cultures. We can state that the complexes described in the article are characterized by peculiar features, which to a certain extent define the cultural borders of the tribes of the Saka circle being a part Siberian- Scythian world and close to the population of adjacent regions of the Scythian world.