Early Medieval Kyrgyz burial from the Upper Irtysh region

In Central Asia in the second half of the 1st millennium A.D., there were development and rapid change of large polyethnic state formations of allied congeneric groups of the Turkic people, Uigurs, Kyrgyz, Kimaks, and Kipchaks. The material goods of most of the tribal unions are unidentified and cannot be associated with the names of specific ethnic groups known from the written sources. Continuance and cultural affinity of the succes-sive nomadic communities are based upon identity of the subsistence systems in similar natural and climatic con-ditions. The Kyrgyz (Khakass) Khaganate, which emerged in the Upper Yenisei region, was one of the Early Me-dieval states. In the second half of the 9th century, the authority of the Kyrgyz khagans spread onto the vast terri-tories of Central Asia. The main culture-forming attribute of the Kyrgyz ethnos is cremation burials. The study of the cremation burials found beyond the ancestral homeland of the Kyrgyz allows tracing the intertribal contacts and directions of military campaigns of the Kyrgyz during the period of their “greatpowerness”. In this paper, mate-rials of the burial mound of Menovnoe VIII, situated in the territory of the Upper Irtysh 2.1 km south-east from the village of Menovnoe, Tavrichesky district, East-Kazakhstan Region, are analysed. Under the mound of the kurgan, there was a fence with an outbuilding. The central grave contained a cremation burial, and the outbuilding — an adolescent burial and a sacrificial pit with a horse carcass split into halves. The grave goods are represented by a bronze waistbelt clasp and a fragment of an iron object. Alongside the horse, there was a quiver with three arrow-heads and a rasp-file, as well as part of a bridle (a snaffle bit fixed to a wooden cheekpiece and a bronze buckle tip). The specifics of the burial rite and analysis of the material obtained during the study of the funeral complex allows attribution of the Menovnoe-VIII kurgan 8 graves to representatives of the Kyrgyz-Khakass antiquities, who were in contact with the rulers of the Kimak Khaganate during the second half of the 8th — 10th century.

NOŻE WOLUTOWE – O FUNKCJI I POCHODZENIU ZAGADKOWYCH PRZEDMIOTÓW W KULTURZE SŁOWIAŃSKIEJ

The text presents spiral knives, objects of clearly exceptional nature. The data, the map and table included here are meant to update information on the subject after 32 years. Identification of the specific regional groups and a metric analysis of the historical objects highlight the differences between the groups. The text also touches upon objects which are morphologically close to the spiral knives used by nomadic communities. A critical look at the theories in literature on the subject allowed to limit the functions to two, possibly mutually complementary.

Thousands of Qatari genomes inform human migration history and improve imputation of Arab haplotypes

Arab populations are largely understudied, notably their genetic structure and history. Here we present an in-depth analysis of 6,218 whole genomes from Qatar, revealing extensive diversity as well as genetic ancestries representing the main founding Arab genealogical lineages of Qahtanite (Peninsular Arabs) and Adnanite (General Arabs and West Eurasian Arabs). We find that Peninsular Arabs are the closest relatives of ancient hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers from the Levant, and that founder Arab populations experienced multiple splitting events 12–20 kya, consistent with the aridification of Arabia and farming in the Levant, giving rise to settler and nomadic communities. In terms of recent genetic flow, we show that these ancestries contributed significantly to European, South Asian as well as South American populations, likely as a result of Islamic expansion over the past 1400 years. Notably, we characterize a large cohort of men with the ChrY J1a2b haplogroup (n = 1,491), identifying 29 unique sub-haplogroups. Finally, we leverage genotype novelty to build a reference panel of 12,432 haplotypes, demonstrating improved genotype imputation for both rare and common alleles in Arabs and the wider Middle East.

People on the Move: Addressing Vulnerabilities of Nomadic Communities in Darfur

Until recently, the needs and concerns of the Arab nomadic communities in Darfur were not given sufficient attention by the international community, probably because of the tendency to equate them with the notorious “Arab militia” accused of committing crimes during the conflict in Darfur. This began to change after several Arab nomad leaders complained to the United Nations and relief groups about their exclusion from humanitarian and development programmes and projects implemented in the region. The article explores the conditions and vulnerabilities of nomadic communities in Darfur and highlights some of the subsequent successful initiatives undertaken by the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) to address the concerns of the nomadic community members.

Sedentarization of the Medieval Nomads of Eastern Europe: Understandings and Manifestations

Research objectives: To demonstrate that, contrary to the opinion of many researchers of the history and culture of nomads during the Middle Ages, sedentarization (the transition from a nomadic to settled lifestyle) was neither an end in itself nor the result of a natural historical development of nomadic societies. Research materials: This study is based on a source analysis of archaeological data, medieval written sources, and the works of travelers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who described the lifestyle and mentality of the Turkic and Mongol nomads who lived in the steppes of Eurasia at that time. Results and novelty of the research: Soviet researchers explained the gradual but sequential transition of nomads to a settled lifestyle through the methodology of a three-staged scheme: 1) the tabor stage represented by rare archaeological sites in the steppe; 2) the semi-nomadic stage with the appearance of stationary burial mounds and settlements in the steppe, which marked the places of nomadic wintering; 3) the stage of settlement with the appearance of nomadic burial grounds near cities and the deposition of elements of the material culture of nomads in the cultural layers of medieval cities. However, an in-depth analysis of traces of nomadic culture in the territory of the Bulgar and Golden Horde cities shows that they occupied an extremely insignificant place in the general complex of urban culture. Medieval narrative sources indicate the indifferent attitude of the bulk of nomads to cities. The observations of travelers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries confirm and supplement the information recorded by medieval authors. Historical, ethnographic, and sociological data of domestic and foreign researchers in the first half of the twentieth century indicate that the sedentarization of Kazakhs, Kalmyks, and Mongols was a consequence of the social policy of the Soviet government, which was interested in establishing strict control over nomads. As such, the author drew the following conclusions: 1) the “first stage of nomadism” was actually the migration of nomads in search of new habitats; 2) the “second stage” was the most natural and the only possible form of existence of nomadic communities in the natural and geographical conditions of the Eurasian steppes (those researchers are correct who thought and still think so); 3) there was no “third stage of nomadism” at all, since nomads cease to be nomads per se after their forced transition to this stage.

Arho – The Afar Salt Trade of Northeastern Ethiopia

“Arho – The Afar Salt Trade of North-eastern Ethiopia” follows the journey of a camel caravan to the salt plains of the Afar Depression. Traditionally the caravans moved from Afar Depression to other parts of Ethiopia and to the Red Sea coastal regions of modern-day Eritrea and Djibouti. For centuries the control, trade and distribution of salt was of primary importance in the articulation of economic, social, and political life of the nomadic communities living along the caravan trails. Since 2010, trucks have slowly replaced the camel caravans. This has led to a steady decline in the trade. The film, relying on strong visual imagery and traditional Afar music, selected by the participant of this project, documents how the decline of this trade affects the daily life of the communities in Berahle district of North-eastern Ethiopia. The documentary is part of PhD project at the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University London. It is based on 13 months ethnographic research (2017-2018) that combines anthropological theory with ethnographic filmmaking to explore new and creative ways of collaborative research.

Media Culture in Nomadic Communities

Media Culture in Nomadic Communities examines the ways that new technologies and ICT infrastructures have changed the communicative norms and patterns that regulate mobile and nomadic communities' engagement in local and international deliberative decision making. Each chapter examines a unique communicative event, such has how the Maasai of Tanzania have used online petitions to demand government action. How Mongolians in northern China have used micro blogs to record and debate land tenure. And how herding communities from around the world have supported the Lakota Sioux protests at Standing Rock. Through these case studies, Hahn argues that mobile and nomadic communities are creating and utilizing new communicative networks that are radically changing local, national, and international deliberations.