Iron arrow tips from the burial ground in Ulug-Choltukh of the Xiongnu and Xianbei times in the Altai Mountains (based on the materials of excavations in 2005, 2007-2008)

Purpose. The article investigates findings of iron arrow tips discovered in the course of excavations during 2005, 2007-2008 at the monument Ulug-Choltukh in the valley of the Edigan River in the Altai Mountains. We trace the main results of preceding research when some objects of armament for remote battle from the object complexes of archaeological cultures of the ancient nomads living in Xiongnu and Xianbei times in Southern Siberia and Central Asian historical and cultural region were studied. We also consider some monographic works and articles describing previous findings of iron arrow tips, which were discovered in the course of excavations in the Altai Mountains at one of the monuments of Airydash type in the valley of the Katun River. Results. The examined iron arrow tips from the male burial places, which were dug out during three field seasons at the burial ground in Ulug-Choltukh, were classified according to their formal characteristics. The arrow tips from the excavations of this monument belong to the same class based on the material of which they were made and to the same group according to the way of making their heads. All the tips found are iron and stalked. They were further subdivided into subgroups and types according to their cross-section and the form of the feather. Among the iron stalked tips of arrows, which were discovered in the course of excavations at the monuments Aidyrash I and Ulug-Choltukh, we discovered three subgroups according to the section of the feather and eight types according to the form of the feather. In the article we have traced their analogues, some forms of three-bladed iron arrow tips from the monuments of Ulug-Choltukh on the Edigan River and Airydash I on the Middle Katun in the complexes of other cultures of the first half of first millennium AD in the Sayan and Altai Mountains and Central Asia. We analyzed the history of developing different types of iron arrow tips, which were used for damaging enemies unprotected by metallic armour, in the cultures of ancient nomads in Southern Siberia and Central Asia during the Xiongnu and Xianbei times. The results show traces of various forms of universal iron arrow tips used for punching protective covering made of metals or organic materials. The tips of arrows similar to Airydash ones were adopted by warriors from different ethnic and cultural groups on the territory of the Altai Mountains in the beginning and second quarter of the first millennium AD. Such arrows were used by the archers from the tribes belonging to the Bulan-Kobin and Kok-Pash cultures, complexes of Airydash and Berel types. It is on the basis of these cultures that the culture of the ancient Turkic people was formed at the turn of the Early Middle Ages. We analyzed the main stages of remote battle weapons evolution in the cultures of the ancient nomads of the Altai Mountains during the long historical period, starting from the beginning of the Early Iron Age till the turn of Xiongnu and Xianbei and Ancient Turkic times. Conclusion. Judging by the materials studied, we conclude that the main forms of the three-bladed iron arrow tips used by the ancient Turkic people, Yenisei Kirghiz, Kimek tribes and some Teles tribes in the Early Middle Ages appeared before the Xiongnu and Xianbei times.