First objects of the "kurgan with 'mustache'" type in the Kulunda steppe

This article presents the evidence on new burial mounds “with mustache” -large ritual structures left by the ancient nomads inhabiting the Eurasian steppe belt. This type of structures have been studied for almost a hundred years, and various hypotheses on their cultural and chronological attribution have been proposed, including the “early nomadic” (Gryaznov M.P., Kadyrbaev M.K., Beisenov A.Z., and other scholars) and “Early Medieval” attribution (Margulan A.H., Botalov S.G., Lubchansky I.E., Grudochko I.V., and other scholars). So far, there are many well-founded arguments in support of both hypotheses. First two kurgans with “mustache” in the Kulunda steppe (Karasuk District, Novosibirsk Region) were discovered during archaeological survey by the team from the Department for Protection of Archaeological Sites of Novosibirsk Region and Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 20202022. The nearest distance to similar objects in Central Kazakhstan is over 300 km. The discovered objects significantly expand the area of kurgans with “mustache” to northeast. These structures have been identified as type II and III according to the typology of I.V. Grudochko. As opposed to majority of the known kurgans with “mustache,” the discovered structures were made of soil; they are located on the floodplain and are occasionally flooded. It is difficult to find kurgans with “mustache” in the Kulunda steppe by surveying on foot due to marshiness of the sites, thick vegetation, and low relief of the structures. Successful search of such objects in this terrain is possible by interpreting satellite images and aerial photography. Thus, after examining satellite images, 18 more kurgans with “mustache” have been tentatively detected in the Karasuk and Bagan River Valleys. These structures can be united into a new local “Northern Kulunda”group; they will be examined in several planned archaeological surveys.