“Hexapods” of the Pazyryk Culture

Abstract

The article deals with problems of publishing little known artifacts made of wood from the explored archaeological sites. The results of studying the so-called “hexapods” kept in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum are discussed. These objects were found in the 1940s during the excavations of elite burial mounds at well-known sites of Pazyryk, Tuekta, and Bashadar of the Scythian period. “Hexapods” constitute whole and fragmented sets of six medium-length shafts, round in cross-section, with the length reaching 1.2 m, diameter up to 0.3 m, and conical thickenings at the ends. They were made with well-sharpened knife from thin trunks of coniferous trees (cedar pine). Round and square through holes were drilled with a chucking drill and cut with a chisel at the upper ends of the shafts at a small distance from the flat ends. Felt cape-covers and bronze vessels for burning incense were found together with the shafts. A comprehensive technical and technological analysis of these wooden items has made it possible to identify several variants of functional purpose which the sets of “hexapods” might have had: ritual and commemorative as a tent for shamanic rituals; “Scythian bath” for cleansing and ablutions, or medical tent for treating colds and lung diseases. Physical parameters of “hexapod” shafts (material, size, and shape) are provided. The type of wood with specific physical properties which preconditioned its choice for making the object was established from anatomical features of its cell structure. Tools, techniques, and methods of producing these objects have been identified.

The origins of saddles and riding technology in East Asia: discoveries from the Mongolian Altai

“…By the middle of the first millennium BC, concurrent with the rise of mounted cavalry across Eurasia (Drews 2004), soft pad saddles made of leather and stuffed with fur, fibres or other material and secured to the horse via a girth strap were employed across the Eurasian interior (Figure 2) (Stepanova 2015). These early saddles were occasionally reinforced with wooden or horn supports (Mylnikov 2015) and were sometimes secured to the chest or rear of the horse by a chest strap or crupper (Stepanova 2014). Across Eurasia, by the start of the first century AD, simple saddles were adapted to provide a greater degree of security.…”