Altai has more than once delighted archaeologists with amazing historical artifacts, because mountain burials are perfectly preserved in permafrost. The most famous find was the burial of the “Princess of Ukok”, which, as they say in the Urals, was protected by an ancient curse.
In 1993, Novosibirsk archaeologists explored the Ak-Alakha-3 mound on the Ukok plateau, Altai Republic. The mound had long been plundered and was in a dilapidated state, and scientists did not expect anything sensational. At first they came to a ruined Iron Age burial ground, but underneath it they unexpectedly discovered another, more ancient one. The burial was untouched; its interior was filled with ice. Now archaeologists understand: the mound, contrary to their expectations, can present many surprises. The news of the discovery instantly spread around the world: soon scientists from Switzerland, Belgium, Japan and the USA, as well as National Geographic journalists, arrived at the excavation site.
Experienced members of the expedition, led by Doctor of Science Natalya Polosmak, were curious, however, in order not to damage the contents of the mound, they had to act very carefully. It took several days to melt the huge block of ice using hot water. When the job was done, under a layer of ice, scientists discovered six horses with saddles and harnesses, as well as a wooden block, inside which was a well-preserved mummy.
She was a young woman about 25 years old. The body lay on its side, legs bent. The clothes of the deceased have been preserved: a shirt made of Chinese silk, a woolen skirt, a fur coat and stockings-boots made of felt. All signs pointed to the burial belonging to the Scythian Pazyryk culture, widespread in Altai two and a half thousand years ago.
Appearance the mummy testified to the peculiar fashion of those times: a horsehair wig was worn on his shaved head, his arms and shoulders were covered with numerous tattoos. In particular, on the left shoulder was depicted a fantastic deer with the beak of a griffin and the horns of a capricorn - a sacred Altai symbol.
Of course, the find caused considerable public outcry. The press immediately dubbed the girl the “Altai Princess” or “Princess of Ukok.” However, scientists considered such statements reckless: neither the size of the mound nor the deceased’s belongings (with the exception of an expensive silk shirt) indicated that she was noble birth. Although the Altai girl cannot be called a commoner. Apparently, she was the owner of some kind of “secret knowledge” - for example, a healer and a fortune teller.
The mummy was urgently taken to Novosibirsk, where its study continued. Local specialists were joined by guests from Moscow - employees of the Research Institute at the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin. Analysis of the remains showed that the “princess” belonged to the Caucasian race. The girl was buried a few months after her death - in March-April, when her short life was cut short. Special balms, wax and mercury were used to mummify the body.
Local shamans said that the archaeologists did not tell them anything new: they had long known about this burial, sacred to them. The deceased, they said, is their legendary ancestor Kydyn (another name is Ochy-Bala). The body, therefore, needs to be returned from Novosibirsk to Altai and no longer disturbed. The archaeologists’ arguments that genetically “Kydyn” had no relation to the modern inhabitants of the republic did not work. Even over time, the hype around the “Altai princess” did not subside.
Before the elections in the Altai Republic, some politicians and parties promised to return the shrine if they won. In 1998, the local Kurultai, without any authority, declared Ukok a “quiet zone” - from now on, excavations here were prohibited. Numerous media outlets continued to circulate information about the “curse of the Altai princess” - they say that disturbing the peace of the mummy caused numerous troubles and cataclysms. These include the earthquake that occurred in Altai in 2003 and even the monetization of benefits.
The decision of local parliamentarians on the “quiet zone” was subsequently canceled. And in September of this year, the aspirations of thousands of Altai residents finally came true: accompanied by shamans, the mummy was returned to “ small homeland».
Now the sarcophagus with the “Princess of Ukok” is kept in the Anokhin National Museum in Gorno-Altaisk. The museum building was thoroughly restored, and a separate extension was built for the “princess”. The sponsor of all this was the Gazprom company. The head of the company, Alexey Miller, grand opening Grateful Altai residents presented the museum with the highest republican order and presented a horse. And the orchestra performed a specially written ode to Gazprom in the Altai language.
The Ukok plateau is considered the most beautiful and mysterious place Mountain Altai. It has long attracted the attention of archaeologists - Scythian sites, burials and amazing stone altars of an ancient nomadic civilization were found there. And then one day, employees of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences began excavating an unremarkable mound in the Ak-Alakha River basin.
An unexpected find
When the top layer of soil was removed from the permafrost, archaeologists discovered an ancient robber's hole that led to the burial of a wealthy Scythian. He was accompanied by “essential necessities”: three horses, iron knives, clay utensils. The researchers began to carefully lift up what the robbers had not touched, and then suddenly a second one was discovered under the first burial: the remains of six horses in the richest harness and a sarcophagus with the mummy of a woman of European appearance.
Open burials were dated approximately to the 4th–3rd centuries BC. e. At the same time, the upper one was saved from plunder by the lower one, which was strikingly different in design. It was a larch frame with an area of 3.6 x 2.3 and a height of 1.1 m, simulating a dwelling and completely filled with ice. Inside there was a deck-sarcophagus in the form of a boat, 2.7 m long and 0.68 m high, made from a single larch trunk. The sarcophagus was covered with a gable lid made of the same wood, decorated with leather appliqués depicting deer. In two places the lid was nailed to the deck with copper nails, very similar to modern ones, although their age was almost two and a half thousand years.
The amount of work that was performed by the ancient builders was amazing. Somehow they were able to deliver huge logs to the Ukok plateau, hewed them, and dug a huge hole in the frozen ground. Moreover, they made an unusual crypt, whereas noble Scythians in those days were buried on a huge wooden bed, such as was found in the upper burial. Even today it is not easy to do all this!
Description of the mummy
In the deck on the right side - head to the east, face to the north - a young woman was lying on a mat of dark felt, covered with a fur blanket with sewn gold foil decorations. Her head rested on a felt pillow.
Mummy in the laboratory
The woman was wearing a knee-length silk shirt of a brownish-yellow color, woven from wild silkworm threads. All its seams, neckline and sleeve edges are trimmed with red woolen cords. But at that time, even noble Scythian warriors did not wear shirts when buried on Ukok: just a fur coat over a naked body. In addition to the shirt, the mummy was wearing a long woolen skirt, sewn from three horizontally arranged panels - two red and one white - and a belt, which was woven from a red woolen cord. Bronze pendants are sewn on the skirt. On the mummy's legs are long, above the knees, stockings made of white felt, decorated with an appliqué of red felt. Perhaps the red color in the decoration and details of clothing served as a talisman.
The woman’s neck was decorated with a wooden hryvnia with wooden pendants in the form of leopards attached to it, which were covered with gold foil, gold hoop earrings in her ears, and colored woolen threads on her little fingers.
In a nearby felt bag they found a bronze mirror in a wooden frame with a deer carved on it, a horsehair tassel, glass beads of various colors, a molar human tooth and crumbled blue powder - vivianite, a mineral dye that has been used since ancient times (in Europe it however, it became known only in the 19th century).
Most of all, scientists were amazed at the excellent preservation of the embalmed body. The mummy's brains were removed internal organs, ribs and sternum. The skull and abdominal cavity were filled with some kind of substance like peat, sheep wool, horsehair, some roots, sand and clay. On the body, covered with oils and resins with the addition of mercury, an amazingly beautiful blue tattoo was clearly visible. It completely covered the woman's hands. On the left shoulder was a fantastic animal: it looked like a deer, but with the antlers of both a deer and a capricorn; the animal’s face was completed by the beak of a griffin - a winged creature, half lion, half eagle. Each branch of the horns ended in the same stylized griffin head. In addition, there were images of a ram, a snow leopard and some kind of predator with a tiger tail and terrible clawed paws.
In the burial chamber, next to the log, they found two low wooden tables with legs, vessels made of wood and horn, two ceramic vessels with leather appliques of a rooster, leopard and griffin. On the wooden table there were supplies in long journey from the best pieces of meat: the tail end of a ram and the rump of a foal, into which a large iron knife was stuck.
The unique mummy was delivered to the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the SB RAS, and later its restoration was carried out at the Research Center of Biological Structures (Mausoleum Institute) in Moscow.
Who was she?
Mummy of Princess Ukok
In appearance, the mysterious woman was sharply different from the Scythians - tall, with delicate European features. Who could she have been during her lifetime? Where is her homeland? How did you end up in Altai? After all, judging by the wealth of the funeral “dowry”, the deceased had to occupy high position in the social hierarchy. But among the Scythians, women never enjoyed influence, not to mention power. The Scythians would never have voluntarily submitted to people from other tribes. And here there is clearly both honor and influence.
At first, the researchers decided that these were the remains of a very noble woman. WITH light hand journalists began to call her Princess Ukok, Altai Princess or Altai Princess. However, over time, the deceased was “demoted.” Deputy Director of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Vyacheslav Molodin, stated that, judging by the objects found in the burial, as well as the burial ritual, ancient woman She was most likely a priestess.
However, no matter who she was, the local population throughout all these years demanded that the mummy be returned to her final resting place. The fact is that in Altai there is a cult of ancestors and it is forbidden to touch their ashes - otherwise you can anger the spirits. Princess Ukok, according to many, is the ancestor of the peoples now living in Altai, the legendary Princess Kadyn.
Moreover, the Altai people, who consider the Earth a living organism, believe that Princess Ukok is the guardian of the planet, and if she is not returned to her native places, a real catastrophe may break out. Some people even claim that they heard the voice of the Princess, who asked to be returned to her homeland.
The Curse of the Altai Princess
The deck in which the Altai princess was buried.
Meanwhile, in Novosibirsk they continued to study the mummy. For a long time no troubles occurred. Mystical events began to occur exactly 10 years after the ancient grave was disturbed. 2003, September - Altai was shaken by a terrible earthquake, the epicenter of which coincided with the very place where the mysterious ashes once rested. The earthquake was so strong that the nearby village of Beltir was destroyed to the ground.
After this, the republic was overwhelmed by new troubles: many floods occurred, and the number of suicides increased sharply. Residents of the Altai Mountains believed that earthquakes, fires and other disasters struck Altai only because the ancient tomb was disturbed. Shamans were not left out either. They assured that all these misfortunes would stop only after the shaman’s mummy returned to her homeland. After this, the government banned any archaeological work in the south of the Altai Mountains.
And so in 2012, the people in charge, as they are called there, climbed to the Ukok plateau and performed a special ceremony there. The fact is that they eventually decided to return the mummy to Gorno-Altaisk and the ceremony was carried out so that the spirits of the ancestors would ask the Princess not to be angry with those who again dared to “wake her up”, and nothing would overshadow her return. After all, 19 years ago, the helicopter on which the mummy was transported to Novosibirsk almost suffered a disaster and made an emergency landing.
Perhaps it was precisely thanks to the ritual, in which shamans from Tuva and Khakassia also took part, that the transportation went smoothly. The mummy was transported by Mi-8 helicopter in a specially equipped sarcophagus. Now the princess of Ukok will be kept in the reconstructed Republican local history museum named after A.V. Anokhin in Gorno-Altaisk. Especially for the ancient guest, a structure in the form of a burial mound was erected near the museum building, in which the sarcophagus with the mummy was placed. By last word technicians, all conditions have been created for them long-term storage. After all, no one wants to know what will happen if the princess casts a curse again...
Yu. Podolsky
It was a crossing point for many tribes and peoples, and this has been fully confirmed by archaeological research. Found here historical monuments starting from the Middle Ages and further - the Bronze, Iron Ages and even further - including the Paleolithic era. Many finds have made it possible to better learn about the tribes inhabiting Altai in Stone Age, their connections with nomadic tribes, the peculiarities of the culture and life of the peoples of the Scythian and Hun-Sarmatian periods. But the truly sensational discovery that made Ukok famous throughout the world was made in the summer of 1993 by a young Novosibirsk archaeologist, Natalya Polosmak.
Expedition of the Novosibirsk Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch Russian Academy Sciences had already discovered many interesting finds by that time, when Natalya Polosmak became interested in one of the mounds, which had long since been plundered.
The burial of an Early Iron Age warrior was discovered in the mound. Probably the warrior was not from the poor, since iron weapons and elegantly made dishes were preserved in the burial chamber even after the robbery; Skeletons of three horses with iron harness, bearing obvious traces of gold trim, were also found. Belonging to the nobility was also confirmed by the warrior’s tattoo. There was nothing particularly new about this find. However, upon careful examination of the burial, it was discovered that underneath there was another, earlier burial, which the robbers probably simply did not notice.
In the pit of the lower burial, a larch frame was discovered, covered with tightly fitted logs. A wooden sarcophagus, hammered with four bronze nails and decorated with leather appliqués, was frozen into the ice that filled the chamber. In the sarcophagus, on a mat of black felt, lay the mummy of a woman.
All the clothes were perfectly preserved: a silk shirt, a woolen skirt, a wicker belt with tassels, white and red felt stockings, a fur coat. The woman’s wig literally amazed the imagination - a complex structure made of horsehair, wool, felt, fabric, leather, carved decorations, gold foil, with a high wooden frame. The mummy's arms were covered from wrists to shoulders with an elaborate blue tattoo; the drawings intertwined real and mythical animals, including the legendary griffin. The woman's wrists were decorated with pearls, and gold earrings were placed in her ears. There were also items made from wood, deer antler, and silver clay: a mirror, various vessels, carvings fantastic and real animals and birds.
Six saddled golden-red horses in rich harness were buried nearby.
The age of the burial was determined to be about two and a half thousand years, that is, the middle of the first millennium BC. Judging by the objects and clothing found, the woman belonged to the Scythian high nobility, possibly to the clan of priests and shamans, “chosen ones of the spirits.” And the woman dubbed the mummy itself “Princess of Ukok,” after the name of the plateau on which the mummy was found. There was another big name - “ Altai princess».
However, the excavations of Princess Ukok caused a lot of noise. When information about the discovery of a unique mummy was made public, Altai shamans said that this was not news to them. For a long time they knew about this mound in which an Altai woman was buried. For them, this burial is truly sacred, since shamans consider her the ancestor of the Altai peoples named Kadyn.
According to legend, the “Altai princess” Kadyn guards the gates of the underworld and makes sure that the forces of evil do not penetrate our world. Accordingly, when archaeologists opened Kadyn’s burial in 1993, they disturbed her sacred sleep. At the same time, according to legend, the burial was guarded a terrible curse. Therefore, in order to remove it as quickly as possible, the mummy’s body must be returned to the Ukok plateau and never be disturbed again.
Scientists did not pay attention to these legends and the mummy of Princess Ukok was transported for study to Novosibirsk, to the Museum of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, and then, in 1995, to Moscow, where employees of the research institute at the Mausoleum of V.I. joined the research. Lenin.
Mummy of an Altai princess from the Ukok plateau
Due to the fact that the mummy was well preserved, scientists determined that this woman died at a young age - she was about 25 years old. The presence of tattoos on the woman’s body was also unusual.
This is how Natalya Polosmak described the tattoos of Princess Ukok in her expedition diary: “ On the left shoulder there is a fantastic animal depicted: a deer with the beak of a griffin, the antlers of a deer and a capricorn. The horns are decorated with stylized griffin heads: a similar head is placed on the back of the animal, with a twisted body. Below, a ram is depicted in the same pose with its head thrown back; at his feet is the closed mouth of a spotted leopard with a long curled tail. Below the leopard is a fantastic beast; it has clawed paws, a long striped tail of a tiger, the body of a lying deer, and the head of a griffin grows from its back. On the wrist, the head of a deer with large branched antlers is clearly visible.».
Moscow anthropologists managed to restore the appearance of Princess Ukok. Facial reconstruction made it possible to establish that she does not belong to the Mongoloid races that lived in this territory in ancient times. The woman's appearance resembled a European one. These conclusions were later confirmed when a DNA study of the Altai princess was completed.
Moreover, scientists conducted a serious tomographic study of the mummy and came to the conclusion that the 25-year-old “princess” died of cancer. She developed stage IV breast cancer. Chemical analysis of the tissues showed that the woman regularly inhaled mercury and copper vapors - this could well have caused illness and death.
Most likely, the inhalation of toxic fumes occurred during certain rituals and this assumption suggests that Princess Ukok was not a “princess”, but someone from the priestly caste. A headdress found on a woman's mummy suggests she had magical powers.
When scientists concluded that the woman’s mummy did not belong to the Mongoloid race and could not belong to the Scythian people, the “Altai princess” had many biographies, one more incredible than the other: a representative of a race unknown to science, the living embodiment of the legendary “Children of Heaven” and even the ancestor of humanity , having flown from distant stars.
Myths and speculation around Princess Ukok
In Altai folklore there is ancient legend, according to which at the foot of the great Tabyn-Bogdo-Ola mountains, there is a special world, the “second layer of heaven,” inhabited by the “Sons of Heaven.” According to this legend, even before the arrival of the Scythians, creatures who came from the stars and possessed supernatural abilities lived here. And somewhere among the peaks of Tabyn-Bogdo-Ola lived the mysterious Huandi with his tribe. According to Scythian legend, Huangdi was on the plateau for several years. Then he and his people “entered the fire-breathing dragon,” which was cast from copper, and flew away to his planet Tayanar.
The “Sons of Heaven” were endowed with many supernatural abilities - they could fly, be invisible, and command any spirits. The “Sons of Heaven”, as a rule, patronized people. It happened that they even entered into marriages with certain outstanding personalities, as a result of which great heroes and people with enormous magical abilities were born.
Thus, the Altai princess Kadyn could be a descendant of such a mixed marriage and be a high-ranking priestess.
Local residents were very concerned about the discovery and opening of the tomb, believing that archaeologists had disturbed the peace of the gods and this could result in serious trouble. Interestingly, when the recovered mummy of the Altai princess was transported by helicopter to Novosibirsk, an emergency situation occurred and the helicopter made an emergency landing. This was perceived by local residents as a sign, as a first warning.
Perhaps the rumors and speculation around the Altai princess would have stopped, but in September 2003 there was a strong earthquake. Powerful tremors shook the entire Altai, reaching neighboring regions, including Novosibirsk. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Chui steppe region, which is very close to the Ukok plateau.
Among the local population they started talking again that the cataclysm was directly related to the ruined grave of the “Altai princess” and if it was not returned immediately, a real catastrophe would happen.
The conversations grew into very real numerous demands addressed to the authorities of the Altai Republic - to return the Kadyn mummy to native land! True, opinions differed on how exactly to do this: is it enough to place it in the Gorno-Altai Museum, or should it be necessary to organize a protected museum area right on the plateau, or even put Kadyn back into the grave and restore the burial to its original form.
Where is Princess Ukok now?
In 2012, the mummy of Princess Ukok was taken from Novosibirsk to Gorno-Altaisk, in National Museum named after A.V. Anokhin special. The return took place in accordance with the beliefs of the indigenous Altai people and took into account professional and ethical standards - her body was accompanied by shamans.
In 2015, a special sarcophagus was made, similar to the one in which the mummy was located in the mound.
You can see the mummy of the Altai princess - she is on display only 3 hours a day. On Wednesday and Sunday, starting June 8, 2016, from 10-00 to 13-00, visitors can view not the sarcophagus, but the mummy of Princess Ukok itself.
Description of the mummy of Princess Ukok (how archaeologists found it)
The head of the woman found in the deck was wearing a wig the size of a third of the deck and was directed to the east; her legs and arms were slightly bent at the knees and elbows. The mummy's face was facing north and was in a sleeping position.
The hairstyle has been preserved. The black mass wig was covered with horsehair. The wooden braids, sewn with 15 wooden figurines of birds and the wooden cockade of a lying deer, which decorated the wig, were covered with gold foil. The symbol of the “tree of life” was attached to the wig - a long, over 60 cm, felt petal on a wooden stick-frame, covered with black fabric. (a tall headdress with gold braids of complex shape speaks of the magical power of the “Princess of Altai”)
A lock of hair gathered at the top of the head was decorated with a cover made of red wool, with a bronze pin stuck into it, the top of which was a wooden deer standing on a ball. The pommel was covered with gold foil.
To the left of the woman, at the hip, they found a mirror in a solid wooden frame with a handle, in a cover made of red felt and white. A hole was made in the handle, probably for attaching the mirror with a strap, which has not survived. The surface of the mirror was a square bronze plate.
Next to the mirror there was a scattering of beads different colors, made of glass and paste, as well as a molar human tooth. Below the beads was a black tassel made of horsehair.
Princess Ukok's cosmetic set included, in addition to a brush and beads, a handful of scattered iron phosphate powder, vivianite (a bright blue-green mineral) and a thin rod made of flat metal rings with vivianite inside.
The earrings in the woman’s ears are made of gold wire in the form of rings.
The neck was decorated with a hryvnia in the form of a curved wooden plate, to which were attached eight carved pieces of wood. three-dimensional figures winged leopards covered with gold foil.
The woman was dressed in a yellowish silk shirt, her hands were covered with sleeves. The silk shirt was cut unusually wide for Scythian times and was knee-length. The shirt was used before the burial - it has rough stitches and a patch.
The woman was wearing a woolen garment made of three stripes, two red and one white. long skirt, to which was sewn a thick, long twisted red wool belt with tassels (archaeologists believe that such a belt is a sign of an initiate). Five small bronze pendants were found on the skirt.
A felt cushion was placed under the head, stuffed with felt, scraps of fur, grass and scraps of woolen rope.
On the legs, up to the groin, they wore felt stockings, decorated on top with a strip of cut out red felt figures. Footprints made of red fabric were sewn on the bottom.
On the surviving parts of the woman’s arms, the tattoo was clearly visible from the fingers and hand to the shoulder. A very important detail was the thin wool ropes on the little fingers. There is a known custom when the black and white rope connecting the deceased with one of the relatives was cut in order to break the connection between the deceased and the living.
The bedding in the deck was dark felt, sewn from two pieces. It is possible that in the past it served as a curtain for a bed, as it has felt loops.
Everything that was in the deck was covered with a fur blanket with gold foil figures somehow attached to it in the past.
During excavations, dishes and vessels made of ceramics, yak and mountain goat horns, raised upward by freezing ice, were found in the burial. Inside a wooden mug with a handle of two leopards, made from a single piece of wood, lay a whorl for shaking milk.
In addition, the burial found: a stone saucer filled with coriander seeds, table dishes made from solid pieces of wood with the remains of meat food and an iron knife stuck into the sacrum of the foal. The knife handle is decorated with fantastic animals.
How to see the mummy of Princess Ukok
If you are interested in the history of Princess Ukok and are planning a vacation in Altai, then you can immediately stop at the base where excursions to the desired museum are organized. See the bases that will help you see the mummy of Princess Ukok.
18 years ago, archaeologists excavated a Scythian mummy in the Altai Mountains. She was dubbed the Altai Princess. Today the Altai people demand that the mummy be buried back. So that earthquakes and various disasters stop.
In the summer of 1993, archaeologists from the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, under the leadership of Natalya Polosmak, carried out excavations on the Ukok plateau. The high-mountain plateau of Utok in the south of Altai, located at an altitude of about 3 kilometers above sea level, has long been considered a sacred territory here. It is here, at the foot of the great Tabyn-Bogdo-Ola mountains, that the indigenous Altai people believe that the upper world, the “second layer of heaven,” is located. Getting here is quite difficult: from a helicopter you can see a stunningly beautiful and at the same time eerie view of giant, inaccessible boulders, steep bare rocks, cut by the Ak-Alakhi River. Perhaps there is no place in Altai more fantastic and unearthly. It is here that, back in the days of the ancient Scythians, it is believed that creatures with supernatural abilities lived many millennia ago. One of the objects of research, and far from the most promising, was the Ak-Alah-3 mound. Researchers did not expect to find anything special here, because the grave was considered partially destroyed, not only by private individuals, but also by the military, who in the mid-60s of the last century took material here to build fortifications during the conflict with China.
The burial chamber was opened under the guns of video cameras and cameras. Not just one day. At first, the researchers' expectations were justified - they managed to discover a ruined burial site from the late Iron Age. When it was cleared, it turned out that under the first burial there was a truly ancient grave. What made the find truly sensational was the fact that inner part The burial site turned out to be filled with ice, which allows the remains to be preserved for thousands of years. To remove objects from the grave, scientists melted the burial, which was a wooden frame, with hot water for several days. Six horses lay in the ice - under saddles, with harnesses. And another wooden block, nailed with bronze nails. Noble people were buried in such logs, carved from larch.
As a result, scientists were able to discover the mummy of a young woman about 2.5 thousand years old. Almost immediately, scientists concluded that the mummy belonged to the so-called Pazyryk culture, which flourished in the territory of modern Altai Mountains in the 6th - III centuries B.C. The discovery of mummies belonging to this culture, generally speaking, is not something unique - for example, the mummy of a leader from the same time period, which is now kept in the Hermitage, was discovered in Altai in 1950, and the first such finds date back to 30 -years of the last century. In fact, traces of the Pazyryk culture are scattered everywhere on the territory of the Ukok plateau. The mummy was lying on its right side, its legs slightly bent. The conditions in the burial allowed even the clothes on the woman to be preserved - she was dressed in a woolen skirt, silk shirt and fur coat. Numerous tattoos were found on the mummy’s hands, namely on the left shoulder there was a sacred sign - the so-called Altai griffin. The woman's age at the time of death was about 25 years old, and her height was approximately 170 centimeters.
Who is she? Local residents claim that they always knew about the burial of their ancestress named Kydym on the Ukok plateau, but did not dare to disturb her sacred sleep. Novosibirsk geneticists have managed the almost impossible. They isolated a non-dead gene from the mummy tissue and concluded: the princess does not belong to any of the known Mongoloid races inhabiting the Earth. She cannot be the ancestor of the Altai people. Her appearance was more reminiscent of European. It can also be argued that the lady rode dashingly on a horse and skillfully shot a bow.
The ancient Greek historian Herodotus, a contemporary of the mysterious princess, wrote about the Scythian tribes inhabiting the Altai Mountains, who could turn into vultures “guarding gold.” These unknown creatures were distinguished by their tall stature and “unearthly” appearance. Neither you have slanted eyes, nor wide cheekbones, like the Chinese or Altaians. Their “portraits” are again very close to the ancient Chinese descriptions of the “sons of heaven.”
Herodotus writes that the Scythians had their own “kings,” headed by the “foremother,” “the mistress of the Scythians.” In the graves of this period, many images of long-eared griffins were found - mythological creatures guarding gold. By the way, there are especially many of them on the Ukok plateau. But only one of them, and the largest one, was applied to the human body. Thus, there is almost no doubt that the princess with a vulture on her shoulder, made in the Scythian animal style, was the same Great Priestess of the Scythians.
The fact that six red horses, decorated with strange metal objects, were buried along with the woman also speaks of the uniqueness of the burial. According to Chinese mythology, such horses were called “qilin” - heavenly, capable of lifting a person to transcendental heights. They were a cross with a griffin and were associated with the image of the Mother Goddess, who gave birth to the entire human race.
It is worth paying attention to the unusual attire of the Scythian woman. Clothing made of the finest silk, a material practically never used in these parts, is framed by a thick red belt. Archaeologists believe that such a belt is a sign of a warrior and initiate. And the larch stirring stick found in her hands is an extremely important ritual symbol: such sticks, even in pre-Buddhist times, were considered an instrument for the creation of the world and were placed in the hands of the highest divine persons. A tall headdress with gold braids of complex shape speaks of magical power Princess of Altai, a goddess who, according to ancient beliefs, kept the secrets of the Creation of the World and immortality.
The great Scythian woman, however, died like an ordinary earthly woman. Who interred her with all honors? Who “inherited” her secret knowledge? Where, in the end, did the mythical gold of the Scythians, which has been sought unsuccessfully for many centuries, go? Was the princess a messenger from heaven or an ordinary wise earthling?
Princess of Discord
As it turned out, it was this find that triggered the process, in which, in addition to scientists, they took all possible part public organizations, prosecutor's office and legislative assembly of the Altai Republic.
The fact is that after the discovery of the mummy, one of the scientists or journalists (who exactly is now no longer possible to establish) stated that the discovery of the mummy was the greatest archaeological find of the late 20th century. It was probably these loud words that attracted the attention of the Altai public, who, in a fit of indignation, declared that the archaeologists had not told them anything new - they say, local residents They have known about this grave for a long time. And this mummy has nothing to do with Pazyryk culture, because it is the remains of the great warrior and sorceress Kydym - the ancestor of modern Altai people (it was then, with the help of local journalists, that the mummy was dubbed the Princess of Ukok). And since she is an ancestor, she must be immediately returned to her place and buried.
Some time later, scientists aggravated the situation by analyzing the remains, which, after excavations, were transported to Novosibirsk. Facial reconstruction and subsequent DNA analysis made it possible to establish that the girl, whose remains were discovered on the Ukok Plateau, belonged to the Caucasian race. This did not come as a surprise to the archaeologists themselves - they already knew that most of the representatives of that same Pazyryk culture were similar to modern Europeans, fortunately, research in this direction had been carried out since the 30s of the last century. However, members of the public were surprised. Without losing their patriotic spirit, however, they told the scientists:
“...Despite the statements of some leaders of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography that burials in the burial mounds of the Scythian era “are not your ancestors,” we think differently. The far-fetched thesis of the absence of a genetic connection with the people of Altai is a tendentious approach to the history of the Turkic peoples. We are against turning the Altai land into one ugly excavation pit. We are obliged to return the embalmed body of a young woman to its place of rest. No scientific interests can and should not outweigh the religious and moral feelings of an entire people.”
Very soon they began to refer to the mummy every time opportunity. For example, earthquakes began on the territory of the Altai Republic - this is Kydym taking revenge on his descendants. The death of livestock - again the ancestress demands to return her from Novosibirsk to her homeland.
Of course, since issues of patriotism were raised, politicians could not stay away from lively discussion. They supported the opinion of the shamans and demanded that the mummy be returned to its place. And to prevent this from happening again, in 1998 it was decided to ban excavations on the Ukok Plateau, declaring it a “territory of peace.” The ban had no formal force, since excavation issues are within the competence of the federal government, but the obstacles created local authorities authorities and the population, led to the fact that excavations actually stopped.
Scythians is a name applied to some tribes and peoples who lived in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Siberia in the era of antiquity and the times of the Great Migration of Peoples.
Who are these Scythians?
Everyone remembers the famous lines of Alexander Blok from school:
Millions of you. We are darkness, and darkness, and darkness.
Try it and fight us!
Yes, we are Scythians! Yes, we are Asians
With slanted and greedy eyes!
(“Scythians” Alexander Blok)
This is the stereotype of the Scythians that we have developed: that the Scythians are nomadic warlike tribes of the Mongoloid race, something like the Mongol-Tatars.
But the stereotype turned out to be wrong.
First of all, let's determine where exactly the Scythians lived?
The question of the geography of Scythia is complex. There are two large parts of it: the eastern, steppe, between the Don and the Dnieper, including the northern steppe Crimea, occupied by nomads, and the western, inhabited by the agricultural population - mainly to Transnistria and partly to the Bug. The western border of Scythian settlement was constantly changing. The influence of Scythian culture spread during the period of the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e. far to the west, into the Carpathian-Danube region and the Thracian world, and to the north. The eastern border of Scythian settlement was more stable. According to Herodotus, it passed along the Don, which separated the Scythians from the Sarmatians.
In the mountain valleys of Altai: Pazyryk, Ukok and on the Kosh-Agach plateau, he lived ancient people(its self-name was not recorded by ancient authors), known from the monuments of the Pazyryk culture. In the center of Southern Siberia, in the Khakass-Minusinsk region on both banks of the Yenisei, within the steppe and forest-steppe valleys and north to the Krasnoyarsk-Achinsk-Mariinsk line, there was the territory of the Tatar culture, the most powerful cultural center of the Scythian world in the east. Tribes of the Uyuk culture lived in the upper reaches of the Yenisei and the Tuva valley. Finally, the eastern part of the Scythian-Siberian world was occupied by the Ordos culture in East Asia.
From this listing it is obvious that in the Scythian era, the European and Asian steppes and the adjacent forest-steppes, semi-deserts, mountain valleys and foothills were inhabited by various tribes, mainly of the Iranian language group. In the classification scheme of languages, the Scythian language belongs to the Old Iranian languages, and the Sarmatian and Alanian languages belong to the Central Iranian languages.
Archaeological material notes the similarity of objects of fine art (weapons, details of horse harness and works of art) both from the southern Russian mounds of the Scythian nobility, and from mounds excavated in Southern Siberia.
In the steppes of Eurasia in Scythian times, along with local cults, common Scythian-Siberian cults with an ancient basis arose: ancestors, animals, the sun, plant forces of nature (the Tree of Life), and later, from the 5th century. BC e., - cult of fire. They were a reflection of ideas about the world, about the Universe, the idea of the struggle between good and evil, the deification of the sun and other forces of nature, the mystery of the cycle in nature. Echoes of this complex mythological system can be traced primarily in the funeral rites and art of the so-called animal style, which are convincing evidence of the ideological unity of the cultures and peoples of the Scythian-Siberian world.
Among this environment, one can distinguish cultures of the Scythian appearance, so close to the group of main cultures that their inventory was actually no different from the Scythian one. These include the culture of forest-steppe Scythia, the Milograd and Ananyin cultures on the periphery of the Scythians, in the south the culture of the Scythian time of Uzbekistan, in the east the culture of the Scythian time of Transbaikalia. Finally, we can note cultures with specific burial rites, burial structures, ceramics, and household implements. But even in them one can feel the influence of the Scythian-Siberian animal style, Scythian forms of weapons, bronze and iron implements. These are the Sargat culture in Baraba, Bolsherechenskaya on the Ob, the cultures of the Krasnoyarsk-Kan region and the Southern Angara region. Moreover, ethnic and linguistic composition This ancient population was not united; there were also Finno-Ugric peoples, such as the Ananyinians, and, possibly, proto-Turks - east of the Yenisei.
Thus:
The main carriers of the culture of the Scythian-Siberian world were the ancient Indo-Iranians. Next to them lived the peoples of the Finno-Ugric, Samoyed, Proto-Slavic, Proto-Turkic and other groups. The culture of these peoples was close to Scythian due to mutual penetration due to the migration processes occurring at that time.
What did the Scythians look like?
Indo-Iranians are representatives of the Indo-European race, i.e. they looked like you and me. A good proof of this assumption is the discovery on the Ukok plateau of the mummy of a young woman, who was nicknamed the “Altai princess” or “Scythian princess”.
This is what Princess Ukok looked like during her lifetime (reconstruction by scientists)
The story in brief is this: in 1993, Novosibirsk archaeologists excavated a mound on the Ukok plateau and discovered a well-preserved mummy of a girl. The deck in which the body of the buried woman was placed was filled with ice. That is why the woman’s mummy is well preserved. In the chamber they found six horses with saddles and harnesses, as well as a wooden larch block nailed with bronze nails. Research has shown that the burial dates back to the period of the Pazyryk culture of Altai, made in the 5th-3rd centuries BC. She was dressed in a silk shirt, woolen skirt, felt socks, a fur coat and a wig, and had patterned tattoos on her arms. The girl's height is about 172 cm. The find was transported to Novosibirsk, although the local residents were categorically against it; the ashes of their ancestors should not be disturbed. In Novosibirsk, the mummy began to catastrophically turn black (that is, the process of tissue decomposition began), scientists got scared and turned to Moscow for help at the research institute, which was engaged in the mummification of Lenin’s body. Scientists set out to restore the princess’s skin. In the process of this work, of course, they took tissue samples for DNA research and it was discovered that the princess was not related to Turkic peoples and belongs to the Indo-European race.
These data were confirmed by facial reconstruction based on the skull. Genetically, the people inhabiting at that time are close to the modern Selkups. She died at a young age (about 25 years old) and belonged to the middle strata of Pazyryk society. Since the Altaians belong to the Mongoloid race, they received the scientists’ information with indignation and believed that they were being deprived of the heritage of their ancestors.
However, there is no specific gene responsible for race. Up to half of the Altai population has a Y chromosome belonging to haplogroup R1a, conventionally considered Eastern European. On the other hand, in various burials of the Pazyryk culture, skulls characteristic of both Mongoloids and Caucasians, as well as intermediate variants, are found. Thus, there is no reason to doubt the genetic connection of the people of the Pazyryk culture with modern peoples region.