The range of problems in Sarmatian studies and archaeological complexes in Southern Kazakhstan

The paper is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of materials from the catacomb monuments of the Arys culture of Southern Kazakhstan in the 1st century BC - 4th century AD in the context of Sarmatian studies and preserving the ethnocultural traditions of European and Asian Sarmatians in the region on the basis of archaeological data. We describe the catacomb funerary structures of two types in a constructive context: T-shaped and Г- shaped catacombs with long narrow-transverse dromos (a path or a corridor leading to the funerary chamber of the tomb or mound), as well as T-shaped catacombs with dromoses with shaft collars. We determine the role of these funerary structures in rituals of nomads and the functions of funeral attribution - ceramics and signs depicted on it. Special attention is paid to the issues of chronology in the light of new archaeological sources. Several key chronological indicators have been identified, including bronze disc-shaped mirrors with a handle-pin, silver and bronze fibulae-fasteners, gold earrings in a polychrome style, weapons (a dagger with an annular solid pommel and straight bar-like crosshair), Egyptian faience ware, silver buckles in animal style. Other direct and indirect chronological indicators include ceramic censers, as well as numismatic and paleolinguistic materials. We are talking about the discovery of several significant findings in the same cultural layer of the Kangyu period at the same time: the khum with the Sarmatian tamga sign, the Kushan copper coin of the ruler Wim I Takto and the fragment of the Kultobin (Sodi, Kangyu) letter on the ceramic bricks-tables. The data given, the corresponding chronological calculations and ethno-cultural interpretations allow us to speak about the presence of Sarmatians in the territory of the region of Southern Kazakhstan in the 1st - 3rd cc. AD., who at that time integrated into the state of Kangyu.