Altaic tribes

Because of a freak climatic freeze, some of the Altaic burials, notably those of the 5th century bce at Pazyryk and neighbouring sites, such as Katanda, Shibe, and Tuekt, were isolated from external climatic variations by a protective layer of ice that conserved the organic substances buried in them. At Pazyryk these included the bodies of horses and an embalmed man whose body was covered with tattoos of Scythian animal motifs. The remarkable textiles recovered from the Pazyryk burials include the oldest woollen knotted-pile carpet known, the oldest embroidered Chinese silk, and two pieces of woven Persian fabric (State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg). Red and ochre predominate in the carpet, the main design of which is of riders, stags, and griffins. Many of the Pazyryk felt hangings, saddlecloths, and cushions were covered with elaborate designs executed in appliqué feltwork, dyed furs, and embroidery. Of exceptional interest are those with animal and human figural compositions, the most notable of which are the repeat design of an investiture scene on a felt hanging and that of a semihuman, semibird creature on another (both in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg). Clothing, whether of felt, leather, or fur, was also lavishly ornamented.

Horse reins either had animal designs cut out on them or were studded with wooden ones covered in gold foil. Their tail sheaths were ornamented, as were their headpieces and breastpieces. Some horses were provided with leather or felt masks made to resemble animals, with stag antlers or rams’ horns often incorporated in them. Many of the trappings took the form of iron, bronze, and gilt wood animal motifs either applied or suspended from them; and bits had animal-shaped terminal ornaments. Altaic animals frequently display muscles delineated with dot and comma markings, a formal convention that may have derived from appliqué needlework. Although such markings are sometimes included in Assyrian, Achaemenian, and even Urartian animal representations of the ancient Middle East, they seldom appear on those of purely Scythian origin. Roundels containing a dot serve the same purpose on the stag and other animal renderings executed by contemporary Śaka metalworkers. Animal processions of the Assyro-Achaemenian type also appealed to many Central Asian tribesmen and are featured in their arts.

Certain geometric designs and sun symbols, such as the circle and rosette, recur at Pazyryk but are completely outnumbered by animal motifs. Such specifically Scythian features as zoomorphic junctures—i.e., the addition of a part of one animal to the body of another—are rarer in the Altaic region than in southern Russia. The stag and its relatives, however, figure as prominently in Altaic as in Scythian art. Combat scenes between carnivores and herbivores that occur quite often in Scythian art are exceedingly numerous in Pazyryk work; but, whereas the Scythians show the victim passively accepting its fate, as on 5th-century bce gold triangular plaques from the so-called Seven Brothers burial in the Kuban, the Pazyryk beasts are locked in such bitter fights that the victim’s hindquarters become inverted.

Siberian tribes

In the virtually contemporary metalwork of Siberian nomads, single animals of the cat family, such as panthers, carry the Altaic tendency of exaggeration further by twisting their bodies into a circle. In slightly later Siberian plaques, subtle openwork is used, a feature rarely present in Altaic or Scythian objects but frequently encountered in the more rounded versions of the animal style produced in the Ordos region of China, perhaps by Hunnish craftsmen, between the 4th century bce and the 2nd century ce. In the latter part of the 1st millennium bce, Siberian metalworkers adorned many of their gold and bronze plaques with artificial gems made of glass, as well as with jewelled inlays. They produced belt buckles shaped like the letter B. Two such gold pieces (State Hermitage Museum) are of particular interest because of their figural content. It has been suggested that they illustrate some ancient Central Asian epics, for one depicts a hunting scene and the other a warrior lying under a tree with his head resting on a woman’s lap while a servant holds their two horses. These subjects, possible forerunners of certain episodes in the Shāh-nāmeh (“Book of Kings,” a work by the 10th century Persian poet Ferdowsī giving an account of ancient Iranian history), are thought to complement those on a series of openwork plaques, some of them of Ordos origin, on which either two dismounted riders are shown fighting while their horses stand passively on either side or two horses are seen locked in battle, pursuing their masters’ quarrel (State Hermitage Museum).

Mongolian Huns

In the 4th century bce the Huns started to migrate westward from the Ordos region. By the 3rd century bce they had reached the Transbaikalia and had begun to enter Mongolia, which soon became the centre of their empire. Many mounds mark their progress. Those in the Zidzha Valley lie at the same latitude as the Pazyryk mounds and were subjected to similar conditions of freezing, which helped preserve their contents. The richest of the excavated burial sites, however, are those of Noin Ula, to the north of Ulaanbaatar, on the Selenge River. Like those at Pazyryk, they included horse burials. The furnishings of one tomb were especially lavish. The prince for whom it was made must have been in contact with China, for his coffin was apparently made for him there, as were some of his possessions buried with him (e.g., a lacquer cup inscribed with the name of its Chinese maker and dated September 5, 13 ce, now in the State Hermitage Museum). His horse trappings (State Hermitage Museum) are as elaborately decorated as many of those found at Pazyryk. His saddle was covered with leather threaded with black and red wool clipped to resemble velvet. The magnificent textiles in his tomb included a woven wool rug lined with thin leather (State Hermitage Museum); the centre of the rug depicts combat, of Scytho-Altaic character, between a griffin and an elk, executed in purple, brown, and white felt appliqué work. The animals’ bodies are outlined in cord and embroidered. The design on another textile is embroidered in the form of a tiger skin with a head at each end. The animal’s splayed-out body is formed of black and white embroidered stripes. Other textiles are of Greco-Bactrian and Parthian origin. In some of the Parthian fragments, Central Asian and Sasanian Persian influences prevail over Hellenistic ones.

Tashtyk tribe

On the Yenisey River the Bronze Age Tagar culture was replaced by the Tashtyk culture, dating from the 1st to the 4th century ce. The physical appearance of the Tashtyk people has been preserved by a series of masks, some of them modeled, others cast from the dead. They were painted with the features rendered in blue, red, and green against a yellow ground. Spirals disposed on the foreheads, temples, and cheeks of many of these masks probably represent tattoos. In many cases pearl necklaces worn by the women are also included. Although the animal motifs of the Tashtyks remained strongly Scytho-Altaic in style, the community was so much influenced by China that even its architecture was affected. Just south of Abakan, a large house made of beaten clay in the Chinese style has been discovered. Its roof had been covered with Chinese tiles, some of which carry inscriptions of the Han dynasty.