Earliest human burial in Kazakhstan: Neolithic findings from the Koken settlement
Doumani Dupuy P.N. Tashmanbetova Z. Kiyasbek G. Merts V. Coil R. Zhuniskhanov A. Samashev Z.
2023Margulan Institute of Archaeology
Kazakhstan Archeology
2023#21Issue 3164 - 186 pp.
Excavations at the settlement of Koken, located in the semi-arid steppe zone of Eastern Kazakhstan, unveiled stratified deposits of the Stone Age lying beneath the Bronze Age settlement. Within these earlier strata, a human burial dating to the mid-6th millennium BC or the early Neolithic period was unearthed. The burial at the Koken settlement contains the earliest known human remains, and with direct absolute dates, in Kazakhstan and, therefore, presents an exceptional opportunity to study the origin, lifestyle and composition of the hunter gatherer population before the appearance of a producing economy in the region. The article also presents a brief osteological analysis of early Neolithic human remains found at the settlement. Hypotheses are proposed regarding the possible ritual and design of burial, comparative analogies from Kazakhstan and the wider region of Central Asia and Siberia are given. Further study of the Koken settlement and the early layers of its settlement will be of key importance for understanding the adaptation, settlement and human economy in the Early Holocene in the hypercontinental climate of the steppe zone of Kazakhstan, as well as for clarifying the social, cultural and technological links between the hunter-gatherer populations of the Eurasian steppe.
archaeology , early Neolithic , East Kazakhstan , human burial , Koken , Kokentau , stone tools
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Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Washington University, St. Louis, United States
Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Historical Sciences, Toraighyrov University, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan
Eurasian National University named after L. Gumilyov, Kazakhstan
Nazarbayev University
Washington University
Margulan Institute of Archaeology
Historical Sciences
Eurasian National University named after L. Gumilyov
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