52°04′18″N 93°37′55″E / 52.071606°N 93.631836°E
.png)    Location of the early Arzhan culture with the Arzhan burial site (  ), and contemporary cultures in the 9th century BC | |
| Geographical range | South Siberia |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9th to 8th centuries BC |
| Preceded by | Karasuk culture |
| Followed by | Aldy-Bel culture, Pazyryk culture, Tagar culture |
Arzhan[a] is a site of early Saka kurgan burials in the Tuva Republic, Russia, some 60 kilometers (40 mi) northwest of Kyzyl.[1] It is on a high plateau traversed by the Uyuk River, a minor tributary of the Yenisei River, in the region of Tuva, 20 km to the southwest of the city of Turan.[2]
The Arzhan culture is considered as forming the initial Scythian period (8th–7th century BC), and precedes the Pazyryk culture.[3] The remains of Arzhan are among the earliest of all known Scythian cultures, which has led to suggestions that it is the origin of the Scythian "Animal Style".[4] It is the first stage of the Saka Uyuk culture.[citation needed]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Armbruster, Barbara (2009). "Gold technology of the ancient Scythians–gold from the kurgan Arzhan 2, Tuva". ArcheoSciences. Revue d'archéométrie. 33: 187–193.
- ^ Chugunov, Konstantin; Anatoli, Nagler; Parzinger, Hermann (2001). "The Golden Grave from Arzhan" (PDF). Minerva. 13 (1): 39–42. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-08-16.
- ^ Murphy, Eileen M. (2003). "Iron Age Archaeology and Trauma from Aymyrlyg South Siberia: An examination of the health diet and lifestyles of the two Iron Age populations buried at the cemetery complex of Aymyrlyg". BAR International Series.
- ^ Murphy, Eileen M. (2003). "Iron Age Archaeology and Trauma from Aymyrlyg South Siberia: An examination of the health diet and lifestyles of the two Iron Age populations buried at the cemetery complex of Aymyrlyg". BAR International Series: 4.
Dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating have ascribed the Arzhan Kurgan to the end of the 8th century BC (Bokovenko 1994b, 32). As such, it is considerably older than the generally recognised Scythian remains throughout the rest of the steppe region. The dating of the Arzhan Kurgan has been used to support the argument for an eastern Central Asian origin of the Animal Style of artwork and the entire Scythian World (Askarov et al 1992, 470).