The Textile Art of the Saka of the Eastern Aral Sea Region
Akkaliyeva A. Suyundikova M. Kassenova A. Utubayev Z.
2025Margulan Institute of Archaeology
Kazakhstan Archeology
2025#28Issue 226 - 38 pp.
The article introduces, for the first time in academic literature, data on textile artifacts from sites of the Shirikrabat period (4th–2nd centuries BC). The determination of their raw material composition, structural characteristics, decorative elements, and dyeing techniques was based on comprehensive analyses of textile samples conducted by T. Krupa, a specialist from the Archaeological Center of the Alkey Margulan Pavlodar Pedagogical University. As a result, two types of textiles were identified: the first made of cotton, and the second woven from flax fibers. The morphology and twist direction of the threads (Z, S, I), fabric density, weave types, and the use of dyes (madder, indigofera) were determined using microscopic and chemical-analytical methods. A symmetrical arrangement of leaf-like vegetal patterns was observed in the compositional structure of the textile fragments. The presence of spindle whorls and loom weights indicates the existence of spinning activities at the site. Moreover, the inclusion of textile items in burials is interpreted as an indicator of the high social status of the deceased. The results of this study may serve as a foundation for further exploration of the technological and semiotic dimensions of the ancient textile culture of the Eastern Aral Sea region.
cotton , flax , loom weight , mausoleum , oasis , spindle whorl , Syrdarya , textile , wooden stretcher
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Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Margulan Institute of Archaeology
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