ASTANA – Archaeologists excavating ancient burial sites in southern Kazakhstan have uncovered the remains of a woman with a fatal skull injury, among findings dating to the Late Bronze Age and the Kangju period.
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Researchers are now examining whether the injury was linked to violence or to a burial practice previously undocumented in the region, according to Otyrar.kz news website.
The excavation was led by Alexander Podushkin, a doctor of historical sciences and professor at the South Kazakhstan Pedagogical University named after Ozbekali Zhanibekov, with specialists from the Ordabasy state historical-cultural reserve. Podushkin has led excavations of Kangju period burial grounds in the region before, including inscribed bricks and funerary artifacts unearthed this July.
Researchers examined two objects in the zone. The first, the Tasbastau burial mound, is around 10 meters in diameter and marked by a ring of upright stones. The finds date to the 14th to 12th centuries B.C. At the center were two burials: a stone cist and a structure enclosed by masonry walls. The site had been looted in antiquity, but archaeologists recovered fragments of pottery and a stone amulet that helped date the burial.
The second research object was the third headstone at the Kyzylkol-1 burial ground, a family grave holding the remains of a man, a woman and two children, along with a rare amulet made from marten or fox bone.
The wound on the woman’s skull, in the temporal area, matches a strike from a battle axe.
“Two possibilities are currently being considered. According to one hypothesis, the woman was killed during the burial ceremony and may have been interred alongside a man. But she may also have been wounded in battle and later died from her injuries,” Podushkin said.
“Women held a relatively high social status. During wars, they were more often taken captive than killed, as men were. Still, given that the Kangju included Sarmatian tribes, it is possible that women took part in military clashes. Women are known to have fought as warriors in Sarmatian society,” he said.
Turkistan Region has been one of the country’s most active fields for archaeology this year, with Podushkin’s team alone uncovering Kangly-era burial mounds and inscribed ceramics in the region’s Ordabasy district in June.
