Discovery and field study of the Eneolithic sites on the Turgai Plateau and the Turgai Depression. The first hundred years of research (1880s – 1979)
Zakharov S.
30 June 2025Margulan Institute of Archaeology
Kazakhstan Archeology
2025#2025Issue 2114 - 158 pp.
The article explores for the first time the early stages of discovery and field study of the Eneolithic-period sites on the Turgai Plateau and within the Turgai Depression, as well as sites and localities from various periods containing Eneolithic materials. Based on an analysis of primary sources and published materials, the following conclusions were made: 1) The discovery and investigation of Stone Age sites, including those from the Eneolithic period, were long conducted through natural science research involving surface collections; 2) The first Eneolithic settlementtype site in the region was discovered in the early 1880s by P. Nazarov near Lake Ebeley (Zhemeney) during ornithological research; 3) Between the 1880s and 1969, discoveries and field investigations of archaeological sites, both by professional archaeologists and during natural science expeditions, occurred sporadically; 4) A new phase of archaeological research with a clear scientific focus began in late 1969, marked by the arrival of professional archaeologists V. Evdokimov and V. Logvin in Turgai and the formal establishment of a regional archaeological expedition operating on a permanent basis; 5) By 1979, more than 70 campsites and site clusters from the Eneolithic period, or containing Eneolithic materials among others, were identified in the region, as well as Stone Age sites whose precise cultural attribution remains uncertain; 6) The vast majority of the sites were investigated through surface collections, while professional archaeological excavations were conducted at the sites of Alkau 2, Duzbay 2, Evgenyevka 2, and Solyonoe Ozero 1. The data on the identified and studied sites have been compiled into a single table. All sites have been mapped for the first time, based on descriptive texts and graphic documentation, enabling further GIS-based analysis.
archaeological research , Eneolithic , history of the study , Stone Age , surface collections by geologists and zoologists , Tersek culture , Turgai depression , Turgai plateau
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Candidate of Historical Sciences, Leading Researcher, Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Candidate of Historical Sciences
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