Pazyryk entry into Xinjiang

The territory of Xinjiang directly borders on Kazakhstan, Altai Republic, Mongolia and through the Gansu corridor on Northern China, which is why it has been drawing the attention of Russian and foreign researchers for a long time. Some consider Xinjiang as a source of large migrations, while others - as a place of mixture of various cultures of the West, the North and the East. During large-scale archaeological research studies which begun in the 1980’s considerable material was obtained, but excavations were basically spent in foothills of Tian Shan, while Dzungaria located to the north, still remains a white spot. Chinese archaeologists conducting extensive work within the Altai county in the last decade discovered a new Pazyryk culture center (IV-III centuries BC.). Forty Pazyryk mounds have been investigated on 12 burial grounds. In 20 of them, the accompanying burials of 1-2 horses were found. In 12 cases the graves with horses, just like in the Altai Mountains, had a wooden log-type construction inside the grave pit, in which 1-4 people were buried with their heads directed to the eastern sector. The inventory consists of iron horse bits and knives, as well as golden foil and ceramic jugs typical for Pazyryk culture. The active peopling by Pazyryk tribes of the southern foothills of Altai mountains in Xinjiang was simultaneous with their penetration in the foothills surrounding Central Altai in Eastern Kazakhstan and Western Mongolia in the second half of the IV century BC. Almost all of these burial grounds at the Pazyryk culture periphery belong to its late stage (IV-III centuries BC) by inventory. The way to China was the most difficult, as it crossed the available passes on the ridge, separating Southern Altai from Xinjiang, including the Kanas pass at Ukok. In the course of settlement in Xinjiang the alien population mixed with local, and as a consequence caused specific variations in funeral rites. It is likely that at this time, a large number of Pazyryk-type sites appeared in Dzungaria between Altai and Tian Shan, and a special harness type and animal style, well represented in the Pazyryk-3, 4, were formed here. Burial grounds close to Pazyryk rites discovered in the far south at Jiaohe Goubei allows for the suggested existence of several related cultures, closely connected with Altai Mountains, throughout all of this territory in IV - beginning of III century BC.