This work of L.Marsadolov admits substantial light on the origin of the Balkan and Anatolian kurgans of the 1st millennium BC, it leads to a solution on the long-standing problem of the origin of the royal kurgans in the western Eurasia, is it possible that the concept of the kurgan burials was connived independently in China, Eastern Mediterranean, and in the South Siberia? It was hard to believe that, but no synthesizing scientific concept has been advanced. Not any more. The sideline, which happened to be a main thesis of the author that linked the exiled Medians and Lydians with the Altai mountains just because the Altai people were Europoids of both Near Eastern and Central Asian type, falls way back in the historiography book because of the modern genetic research, while the Altai connection of the “Gordion Kurgans” becomes a main installment.

The premises and dating used by the author turned out to be short, the flow of technology and traditions in reality went east to west, the dates were revised toward the beginning of the 8th c. BC, and the turmoils cited in the article may be connected with different events; otherwise, as archeologists are saying, the pots do not lie, and the archeological observations give silent but solid evidence. The MM “Midas Tomb” (Tumulus MM) turned out to be not his tomb because of more accurate timber dating, and neither is it his son's, as was also proposed based on erroneous chronology. The whole city legend on the Phrygian origin of the Anatolia kurgans needs to be re-written, since the “recent reconfiguring of the 14C and tree-ring evidence from Gordion, has raised the eighth-century date of the so-called Midas tomb and other structures: most experts, including those dealing with Greek Geometric pottery, have come to concur on the revised dating.

“[[The dissenting opinion, based upon identification of some objects in the destruction layer, is registered by Oscar Muscarella (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Articles in this volume cite the online article of K. DeVries, P.I. Kuniholm, G.K. Sams and M.M. Voigt in Antiquity 77 (2003). A full publication on the subject..., and the latest reference is K. DeVries, “Greek Pottery in Gordion,” in L.Kealhofer, ed., The Archaeology of Midas and the Phrygians (Philadelphia 2005) 36-55 (Iron Age pottery chronology pp. 36-43). He notes that Greek imports (Corinthian Late Geometric) begin in the second half of the 8th century, offering a stylistic bridge to the Hallstatt Plateau. They first appear in the “South Cellar” which is later in date than Tumulus MM, built from juniper logs felled ca. 740 BC; since Assyrian annals show Midas reigning at least as late as 709 BC, it cannot be he who is buried in the so-called “Midas Tomb.” The connection to Italy is through cross-referencing of its metal vessels (siren-cauldron, lion rhyton, cf. Delpino 643) with Italian “princely tombs” and the palaces of Assyria.]]”.

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The posting's notes and explanations, added to the text of the author and not noted specially, are shown in (blue italics) in parentheses and in blue boxes. The posting has minor stylistical and semantical editing.

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Abstract

In the Altai may be observed a break of cultural traditions between monuments dating to the 8th–7th and the 6th–4th centuries BC. The American researchers, E. Kohler and E. Simpson, compared the kurgan constructions of Gordion with the Pazyryk kurgans. It should be mentioned that construction details found in the five greatest Pazyryk kurgans, erected between 455–406 BC go back to an earlier time – to the great kurgans at Bashadar and Tuekta that were built between 590–570 BC. In our opinion, we must consider the possibility that at some time between the 6th–4th centuries BC some nomadic tribes, probably the descendants of the Cimmerians, migrated from the Near East to the Altai Mountains, where they assumed sovereignty over indigenous Pazyryk in the Altai. It should be noted that anthropologists also point out the presence in Pazyryk of Europoid people of both Near Eastern and Central Asian type. The sudden appearance of a new ritual in the Altai region may be explained by changes in the Near Eastern political situation. At the beginning of the 6th c. BC, the Median and Lydian tribes were driven out following the events of 610–585 BC; at this time they may have gone to the eastern European steppes, Central Asia, and the Altai  (The Europoid/Mongoloid (Lappanoid) composition of the Middle Asian and South Siberian population descends as far as the physical anthropology of the Central Eurasia goes. The temporal graph of the Europoid/Mongoloid traits was analyzed by O.Ismagulov, 1970 Andronovo, Bonze Age, Saka, Usuns and Türkic people).

Keywords

Archaeology, Gordion, Pazyryk, Kimmerians, Cimmerians, Bashadar

Introduction

In 1950's, were excavated kurgans in two mountain-steppe regions situated more than 4,000 kilometers distance apart (Fig. 1). In the east, at Bashadar in the Altai they were headed by S.I. Rudenko, while in the west, in Turkey at Gordion southwest of Ankara, R.S. Young and G.R. Edwards from the University of Pennsylvania led the expedition. Many unique objects were found in those kurgans. The explorers obviously were not aware of the other excavations, nonetheless over the years they paid great attention to detailed analyses and publication of the excavation materials (Rudenko 1960; Young 1981; Kohler 1995).

After archaeological research of the Hermitage Museum expedition to Altai between 1980–1995 (Marsadolov 1996: 42), it seems possible to compare these two sites. In 1985–1986, two kurgans (NN 9 and 10, Figs. 4–6), a funerary fence, and a stone-stele were excavated (Marsadolov 1997). The diameter of the kurgans was ca. 14 m and the height ca. 0.5 m. In each kurgan a male had been placed on his right side with the head oriented east. Study of the Bashadar kurgans was undertaken with an objective of identifying the earliest kurgans of the Pazyryk Culture. They were (typologically and incorrectly) dated by the 6th c. BC (Instrumented dates for Bashadar-2 are 810-210 and 760-192, A.Yu.Alekseev et al., 2001, 14C Euroasian Pre-Scythian and Scythian Epoch 3,000 BC-50 AD).

The phenomenon of the Pazyryk Culture

The problems involved in explaining the transition from one archaeological culture to another is the most complex of archaeological studies. Absolute dates and archaeological materials testify to large qualitative and quantitative changes in the Altai region. These include the “great Pazyryk advancements” in all areas of vital societal activity; and in political policy that included expansion of territorial borders to the east and north, and in the social sphere found in the sharp differentiation of public structures. These changes are even reflected in the funeral ritual by the greater, medium, and small kurgans. Have occurred economic and demographic changes; a high level of nomadic economy resulted in a dramatic increase in population and their changing world view. The old ritual centers ceased to function and the tradition of erecting “deer stones” (olenniye kamni)) disappeared; thus rock art became less important.

 Comparing monuments of the 8th–7th and 6th–4th centuries BC can be observed a breakup of cultural traditions in the Altai region. The Maiemir tribes (8th–7th centuries BC) (eastern Kazakhstan), heterogeneous within their ethnic structure, generally buried their dead on ancient ground level or in rather shallow graves, orientating their heads to the northwest. They left clay vessels in the tomb, and a horse was buried separately from a human. During that time, stable contacts had been established between the Altai tribes and the peoples of Central Asia and the Near East (illustrated in kurgans such as Chilikta, Karban 1, kurgan No. 5 types).
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During the first half of the 6th c. BC, a new burial ritual became established in the Altai, illustrated by the Bashadar-Tuekta great and small kurgans. The newcomer nomads, the ancestors of the Pazyryk people, brought their traditional rituals to the Altai. These traditions and customs included an eastern orientation of the deceased; burials with armament; burial of a human and a horse in the same pit; wooden constructions within the kurgan (framework); vessels with high necks; bridles which had cheekpieces with two holes and large round bit ends; Near Eastern images of the Animal Style (griffin, lion, etc.). It should be noted that anthropologists have pointed out the presence of Europoids of both the Near Eastern and Central (i.e. Middle) Asian type in this region (The Europoid/Mongoloid (Lappanoid) composition of the Middle Asian and South Siberian population descends as far as the physical anthropology of the Central Eurasia goes. The temporal graph of the Europoid/Mongoloid traits was analyzed by O.Ismagulov, 1970 Andronovo, Bonze Age, Saka, Usuns and Türkic people).

Fig. 43 Temporal diagram for craniological traits of people in Kazakhsatn
(Graph shows craniological change between 17th-8th cc. BC Bronze Epoch and 7th-4th cc. BC Saka Time)

All the features mentioned above do not have any cultural or genetic roots in the earliest Altai monuments or in the Eurasian steppes, but they are found at the earlier dated Gordion kurgans in Turkey.

Comparison of the Altai and Gordion kurgans

In 1950–1969, at Gordion were excavated 21 kurgans of different dimensions, construction types, and burial rituals (Young 1981; Kohler 1995). Among the earliest kurgans dating to 750–710 BC (NN - W, Q, K–III, etc.) was dominant an orientation of the deceased to the west. Orientation of the deceased to the east, with a small deviation to the north, explained by orientation toward the greatest kurgan labeled MM, was dominant in another kurgan group (NN - MM, KY dated ca. 696 BC; N dated 680–650 BC; H dated 650 BC; B dated 630 BC; and J dated 620–600 BC). This latter kurgan group has the most parallels with the Altai kurgans of the 6th c. BC. In the great kurgan MM, the Midas Mound, the deceased male was placed in a hollowed out wooden log, a sarcophagus, in a supine position with the head oriented to the east. The dimensions of this kurgan are grandiose with a diameter of 300 m and a height of 53 m (Young 1981). Diameter of the kurgans (NN, KY, B, and Z) was ca. 60 m with a height of ca. 3.5–7.5 m. These dimensions are similar to those of Bashadar–2 and Tuekta–1. Orientation of the deceased in the Gordion kurgans is unknown because the kurgans had been badly pillaged. The latest kurgan group dates to 600–540 BC (NN, S–3, S–2, K–II, C), and is distinguished by small sizes of the kurgans.

The American researchers compared the constructions of the kurgan at Gordion, particularly of the Kurgan Z, with the Pazyryk kurgans (Figs. 2–3) (Kohler 1995). It should be noted that construction details found in the five greatest Pazyryk kurgans, erected between 455–406 BC, are also found in the great kurgans from Bashadar and Tuekta that were constructed between 585–570 BC (Marsadolov 1984; 1996). Here are noted parallel kurgan traditions at Gordion (750–600 BC) and at the great Altai kurgans (585–500 BC) (Fig. 2).

1) Construction characteristics of the tombs

A rectangular burial pit positioned deep in the ground is frequently in the center of the kurgan and has a wooden timber floor and ceiling. Stones were placed at the bottom of the pit and between the walls of the pit and the timber. Vertical poles were sometimes placed at the corners and in the center of the pit to support the ceiling timber. An earthen and stone kurgan was constructed over the burial. The American archaeologists consider the use of reed mats in Kurgan Z and others, placed on the ceiling and lining timber walls, to be analogous to the birch bark and bush cover used in the Pazyryk kurgans (Kohler 1995: 155), and also found in the earlier Tuekta and Bashadar kurgans.

(2) Burial

A male in a log sarcophagus was placed near the timber along the south wall, or a male without a sarcophagus was buried near the timber along the northern wall. One of the principal indications is the orientation of the deceased toward the east (Fig. 2: 5, 13, 14).

(3) Horses

Horses were buried in the same tomb with the deceased within a timber wall and subsequently covered with stones (Fig. 2: 10, 11, 13, 14).

(4) Clay vessels

Clay vessels with a tall neck and a spherical body were found in the Gordion kurgans (W, G, H, B, J, S–2), and at Bashadar (NN 10, 1; Figs. 2: 15; 7). Cimmerian vessels from the Vysokaya cemetery (Terenozhkin 1976) and others are also of this configuration (A.Ivanchik, 2001, in his monograph ”Cimmerians and Scythians” came to a conclusion that in the 8th c. BC the Cimmerian and Scythian cultures were practically identical and archeologically undistinguishable, so Terenojkin must be given a credit for seeing something that does not exist, and distinguishing undistinguishable. The idea of distinguishing undistinguishable rests in an old desire to ascribe to Cimmerians a local Western Eurasian origin, separating them from the Scythians whose Türkic origin is being questioned only by the most radical enthusiasts).

(5) Bronze nails and bridle bits

Bronze nails were found in Kurgan X and others (Figs. 2: 8, 17). In Kurgan J, dated between 620–600 BC, fragments of ring-bit ends were found that were made of iron and bronze.

Analogous bits were discovered in the Altai kurgans dating to the 6th c. BC at Bashadar 2, 10; Tuekta 1; and Aragol (Fig. 2: 9, 18).

(6) Animal style

Wooden objects in the Animal Style, such as images of deer, lion, griffin, and geometrical figures were found both at Gordion and in the Altai (Young 1981; Rudenko 1960).

(7) Small wooden tables

Small wooden tables from the Altai, dating to the 6th–4th centuries BC, have no prototypes in the earlier Altai sites, while they are found in the Gordion kurgans (compare Rudenko 1960: tab. LV; Young 1981: 68, fig. 38; 182, fig. 108; Simpson 1995: 1669) (Fig. 2: 7, 16) (Use of small individual wooden tables was documented in Chinese annals for the Huns, and by Ibn Fadlan for the Itil Bugars. Small wooden tables were a part of pecking order or honor roll meal ritual).

These parallels attest to profound connections between the Altai and Gordion populations.

Short Note on the Cimmerians in the Near East

During the 8th–7th centuries BC in Asia Minor and the Near East, several independent states were formed that included Assyria, Babylonia, Urartu, Phrygia, Lydia, Syria, Palestine, Mana, and Media. These states constantly waged war with each other and the pivotal position was occupied by Assyria, the mightiest superstate.
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During the 8th–7th centuries BC, in addition to the indigenous peoples of these regions, a great role was played by relatively small troops of mobile Eurasian nomads: at first the Cimmerians, and then at 670's BC the Scythians came to the fore (Elnitsky 1977; Alekseev 1992; Chochorowski 1993; Ivanchik 1996). As independent ethnic groups, the Cimmerians and Scythians were confirmed by Assyrian (Ivanchik 1996: 92) and Greek (Herodotus IV: 11, 12) written sources. Additionally, Herodotus wrote that the Cimmerians and the Scythians waged war against each other and displaced each other.

These nomads became professional and brave mercenaries who were employed by ancient Near Eastern sovereigns, and later by the Greeks, as bodyguard troops for the various rulers, enforcing law and order. They also served as frontier troops, as allies of the small states, and in other roles. Without doubt, the Cimmerians and Scythians had their own motives for their mercenary role, they were able to enrich themselves at the expense of the wealthy eastern sovereigns (In the east, exactly the same role played Huns under a slew of Chinese names for the principalities and states in China).

In 714 BC, Rusa I, king of Urartu, suffered a defeat at the hands of the Cimmerians in Gamir(ra), a country situated in S. Caucasia (Gamir is the Near Eastеrn pronunciation of Kimmer, i.e. Gamir(pa) = Cimmeria, the Cimmeria in the N. Caucasus). The Cimmerians did not destroy the Urartian state but for a short time they became an awesome power in eastern Asia Minor. The Cimmerians are known from written sources and archaeological materials as active participants in the wars with the Phrygian Kingdom. The earliest group of burial kurgans at Gordion, the Tumuli NN, W, Q, K - III and others, were erected between 750–710 BC (Kohler 1995). The funerary ritual and design of the wooden sepulchres in these kurgans are similar to the monuments dated by the 7th c. BC and located in the same cemetery that the American archaeologists date by the Cimmerian period. Not to be excluded as supporting evidence for the Cimmerians was their encampment near Gordion, and it is possible that this base was used by several generations of the nomadic tribes. In all likelihood, after having settled in the Gordion area, the Cimmerians, wanted to show an equal status with the Phrygian rulers, and began to bury their own chieftains in great mounds, that is kurgans, and included Phrygian, Ionian, and Assyrian objects in the burials. They may have even contracted Phrygian master builders to erect the funerary structures (kurgans KY, B, Z, and J) (Since the South Siberian kurgans predate the Middle Eastern kurgans by a hefty margin, the idea that South Siberian horse nomads had to borrow a funeral tradition from the Phrygian rulers is a non-starter. On top of that the kurgan equation should include the many aspects of the kurgans:  the reason is to supply the deceased with travel necessities, where kurgan is a pasture for his mount; Tengriism that provides for return to the Creator;  the workforce for the construction comes from the cinscription of the subjugated population; the ingrained construction tradition that is re-played and repeated with the every death in the family within the tribe; the ingrained ritual tradition repeated with every death; and finally, the grave inventory that is using the same objects that the deceased were using during their lifetime, and therefore could include any available import).

The first events known to us in the history of Lydia were invasions of the Cimmerian and Thracian tribes at the beginning of the 7th c. BC, possibly because a new dynasty had come to power. The first king of the new dynasty, Gygges (Guggu), ascended the throne at approximately 692 BC after a stubborn and violent struggle against the Cimmerians, and after receiving assistance from Ashurbanipal, the Assyrian king. The Lydians sent the Assyrian king two captured Cimmerians as a gift.

In the middle of the 7th c. BC, the Cimmerians and the Scythians occupied different regions of Asia Minor, but conflicts continued between them. The Cimmerians lived primarily in the western regions of Phrygia (modern Turkey). In 679 BC they fought against their enemies, in the east against Assyria, and in the west against Lydia.

The Scythians were based further east than the Cimmerians, in the region of Lake Urmia (modern Iran), and frequently entered into agreements with other Near Eastern states such as Mana and Media. In some situations they also supported Assyria.

Between 650–640 BC, the Cimmerians invaded Lydia twice. King Gygges was killed on the battlefield and, at times, the Cimmerians controlled a large part of the country as well as the Lydian capital, Sardis, and Ephesus. During the reign of the new Lydian king, Ardis son of Gygges, the nomads again seized Sardis, with the exception of the town fortress (ca. 644 BC). Possibly because of the Cimmerian influence, at Sardis and Ephesus in that region have been found objects exhibiting nomadic art style (The finds of  Animal Style art at one time was used to justify a nomadic borrowing of the Middle Eastern art).

In 626 BC Babylonia freed from the Assyrian control, and by 616 BC the Babylonians had come to the fore under a leadership of King Nabopalasar. The Babylonian king was involved in a war with Assyria with uncertain success. In 615 BC the Medians led by King Kiaxar appeared near the Assyrian border, and in 614 BC they had entered Assyrian provinces. In 605 BC Assyrian troops were finally defeated on the upper Euphrates near Carchemish, and for several years the Assyrians lay in defeat. From around the end of the 7th to the beginning of the 4th cc. BC, history is best characterized by the formation of new superstates in the Asia Minor and Near East. Media in the east and Lydia in the west seized the Assyrian territories.

These new powers, Media and Lydia, considered themselves strong enough to maintain a new order, and made an effort not to disturb the militant Cimmerians or Scythians, the tribes that had been both their former allies and enemies. Thus, the Medians formed an alliance with the Scythians and Lydians against the Cimmerians.

At the end of the 7th or the beginning of the 6th c. BC, King Alyattes of Lydia “exiled the Cimmerians from Asia” (Herodotus I: 16). The word “exiled” does not indicate that the Cimmerians were annihilated, but rather that they were driven out of Asia Minor to some other territory (The part “att” in the name of the Lydian king is reminiscent of the “att” in Attila, Ataturk, and many others; the part “aly” also would have no problems finding close semantical and phonetical parrallels in the Türkic history. History is full of examples when the Türks took over a realm and started beating off their nomadic brethrens defending their new possession).

The Cimmerian complexes of the type such as at Gordion, Vysokaya Mogila Tomb No. 5 in the Ukraine, and those in the Altai are similar in the following ways: the eastern orientation of the deceased; the wooden structure in the tomb; the form and ornamentation of clay vessels; the burial of the deceased with armaments such as a dagger, a quiver with arrows, or bone arrowheads (of an elongated type, tetrahedral in the section, with a triangular hole near the base); a presence of a diadem on the head; walls covered with clay, and other significant indicators (at Bashadar, Burial Kurgan No. 9, the walls of a pit were covered with clay and fired; for arrowheads from Bashadar-1, see Terenozhkin 1976: 31–33, 187, 200; Marsadolov 1997: 5; Rudenko 1960: 37, fig. 17).

Thus, by force and trick the nomadic tribes were gradually driven out of Asia Minor and as some researchers believe, into the S. Caucasia, northern Black Sea region, and the steppe area of the Eastern Europe. The first quarter of the 4th c. BC was a “dark” time in the Scythian history, as indicated by the decrease in the number of archaeological monuments from that period (Alekseev 1992).
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One of the principal characteristics of the Cimmerian warrior was the high pointed headdress, sometimes slightly bent to the front. On a renowned Greek vessel there is an inscription KIMERIOS (Fig. 3: 3), and on an Etruscan vase (Fig. 3: 1) two warriors are shown on horseback, turned to the rear and shooting bow and arrow. Both vases are dated by the first half of the 4th c. BC, but there is a possibility that they could be copies of earlier images.

Felt headdresses were discovered during excavations of burial kurgans on the Ukok Plateau (Polosmak 1994) (Figs. 3 and 6 - 8). They comprised extended forms with slightly bent upper ends, decorated with bird head images, and mountain ram or deer figurines. In the written sources, the Cimmerians are mentioned with the Amazons. In the kurgan N1 of Ak–Alakha 1, armed men and a woman (an Amazon?), wear similar pointed headdresses. Probably, the Ukok headdresses are the nearest in style to the headdresses mentioned above. Saka wearing pointed headdresses are depicted on Behistun rock reliefs (Fig. 3: 4) which date by the 6th c. BC, and on those at Persepolis that are of 5th c. BC date (Fig. 3: 2).

A pointed kulakh, recovered from the Issyk Kurgan (Akishev 1978), is similar in appearance to the Ukok and Cimmerian headdresses, and together with the semantically complex composition of four symbolic arrows with leaf–shaped arrowheads, are characteristic for the Cimmerian and the early Scythian period (Fig. 3: 5). It is quite probable that the “Issyk Gold Man” was in fact a female amazon (Davis-Kimball 1997/98).

The great distances between the monuments, from the Turkey to Altai is about 4,000 km, should not be considered to have been an impenetrable barrier, and there already was a functioning trade route at the time in question. The nomads could cover this distance within one to two years (Probably, this is a reference to the tribal migration, with the speed of oxen pulling the carts, and the whole transport loaded with all household belongings and driving herds of cattle. The nomadic messenger service covered the distance from Hungary to Karakorum in less then 6 weeks, with speeds of up to 1,200 mi or 2,000 km per week with the same rider). Historically, more distant marches of up to 5,000 to 6,000 km are known. During the 4th c. BC Alexander, the Great Macedonian, marched from Greece to India (on foot). The Mongolians, or the Tatars, as they were known in Russian history during the 13th century AD, are known to have marched (i.e. rode) from Mongolia to Hungary.

Conclusions

During the 8th–7th centuries BC the populations of the Altai, Tuva, and northwestern Mongolia are considered to have been a united cultural-political unit (There is no name associated with that “cultural-political unit”, the best we have is a 600 years later Chinese references to the Tele tribes, a numerous and powerful conglomerate northwest of the Huns. There is no better contender, since Kangar was located southwest from Altai, Tuva, and northwestern Mongolia). In the first half of the 6th c. BC profound changes took place in these regions that caused a redistribution of population. The southern areas of Altai became a single unit with the central and northeastern regions of Altai, and were defined by monuments of the Tuekta-Bashadar–Pazyryk type. Approximately during the 6th c. BC, the tradition of erecting deer stones and kheregsurs disappeared in the Sayan and Altai mountains and Mongolia.

The sudden appearance in the Altai region of the many innovations mentioned above may be explained by the arrival of a new militant nomadic group from Asia Minor at the end of 7th or at the beginning of 6th c. BC. In my opinion, the complex parallels mentioned above indicate a profound relationship between the Altai and Gordion populations. Nomadic chieftains probably came from Gordion, or nearby regions in Asia Minor, to Central Asia and occupied the best valleys of the Altai in Tuekta and Bashadar. The earliest Tuekta burial kurgans are situated along the central Altaic route (the Chui Road) that passes through the Altai from east to the west as well as from north to south. Innovations introduced from the Middle Asia and Asia Minor included pots with high necks, stone incense cups, bridles with direct pivots and great rings on the terminals, some forms of iron weapons with gold rectangular guards of the Assyrian type, decorations, images of beasts (i.e., lions, griffins, fantastic beasts, and others), and the lotus motif, all of which were previously not found in the Altai Mountains. During the first half of the 6th c. BC, a great number of iron objects suddenly appear in the Altai monuments (Tuekta 1; Marsadolov 1996). The front pommel of a saddle from Bashadar 2 (dated by the first half of the 6th c. BC) was covered with pieces of a Near Eastern woolen carpet (Rudenko 1960: 91) (We have a positive knowledge of the names of the tentative newcomers, they were universally known in the Middle East under the general names of Cimmerians and Ishguzes. Both names did not evaporate with the disappearance of Cimmerians and Ishguzes from the Middle Eastern scene, quite the opposite, they were repeatedly cited in the following millennia, and stay with us to this day as Cimbri or Cymry in the European theater, and Yassy in the European and Middle Asian theater; we also know that Ases subjugated a numerous and powerful tribes of Tokhars/Togars/Togarma, aka Yuezhi in Chinese annals, and remained a long-lasting force in the Middle and South Asian theaters in the following millennium, before rolling over to the Europe in the next  millennium. However, ascribing the origin of the newcomers to the Middle East does not bring an origin solution, it only highlights a moment in the global process. We know of the kurgan march from the, not to the South Siberia, thus the “newcomers” are in fact returnees coming back home, to their ancestral graves and their ancestral people. This is not a jigsaw puzzle that has to be assembled from separate specks, it is an integral picture that was fractioned by limits of the scholarly horizon and obstructed by the political borders. The same Kurgan people that migrated to China in the 16th c. BC and became known as Zhou in the 11th c. BC, encounterd Assyrians in the late 8th c. BC, and assaulted Bactria in the  2nd c. BC, all under the same ethnonym As. They did come home different and changed, with all the wealth of knowledge and material wealth absorbed in the Middle East, and must have been as different from their back home brethrens as the Hebrows coming from Egypt,  the Nigerians coming back to Liberia, or Americans returning to their native Poland, England, Sweden, Germany, or China. But they did not have to learn the iron from the Middle Eastern sages, the mastered it in the 12th c. at the Karasuk stage, and brought it over to the Middle East as their gift of civilization; neither had they to learn the Scythian Animal Art from the Middle Eastern luminaries, they had it already finessed for millennium on their Deer Stones and belt buckles).

Fig. 6 Distribution histogram for all ¹⁴C dates for Scythian time monuments of 1st-3rd periods
(Note that the timescale stops at 100 AD, while the kurgans kept on going up until present,
and in Europe e.g. Pereschepino kurgan 665 AD)

The appearance of a new militarized ethnos promoted formation of a community with many ethnicities during the 6th–5th centuries BC in different Altaic regions (Marsadolov 1996) (Yeah, all those local nomadic horse breeder tribes were just a crowd of meek cowboys humbly driving twice a year their herds on 1,000 km pasturing trips, trained to ride, shoot, and kill since they can walk, and all tamely holding their breath for a clique of strongmen from the Near East to come by and overpower them).

Certainly, the ethnogenetic picture was much more complex than described above, and relationships were also developed with southeastern Kazakhstan and the more distant regions of Central Asia and China. Therefore, on the basis of the arguments discussed above, further in-depth explorations of the archaeology and history of this region must be undertaken. Was there a transmigration of nomadic tribes to the Altai who were possibly the descendants of the Cimmerians of Asia Minor? After arriving in the Altai did they subordinate the local Maiemir (belligerent nomadic) tribes who had previously occupied this territory? Did they form the ruling elite of the Pazyryk Culture during the the 6th–4th centuries BC (Marsadolov 1996; 1997)?

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