Archeologists have been interested in unearthing history and contemplating its meaning for propagation. We often hear about excavations across the globe and them finding out several pieces of history. Sometimes their findings open up new horizons for us. Moreover, sometimes they find things that make them fall into a loop of riddles and mysteries. And today, we are going to talk about one very intriguing excavation. Recently, they excavated a burial of a girl from the Bronze Age. Though the site had over a hundred burials from the time, this particular excavation stands out. So, what can be so special about unearthing a Bronze Age girl in Kazakhstan?
However, before answering this question, let’s get into the excavation details first.
Excavation Site where Bronze Age Girl Found in Kazakhstan
An English-language news outlet in Kazakhstan, The Astana Times, reported that the excavation was a joint effort of two universities of both the U.K. and Kazakhstan. The Cambridge University and Al-Farabi Kazak National University, aka, KazNU are working together in this project and excavating burials from the Bronze Age of Central Asia (3200 B.C.E. to 1000 B.C.E.).
Now let’s come to this special girl’s burial found near the east side of the country in a village called Ainabulak. Her grave was different from the rest because she was buried with 180 ankles of animals and to make it weirder there were several other kinds of bones, some metal goods, a mirror, and a strangely carved bronze piece.
The archeologists are still wondering about what this all can mean. Maybe they buried all this strange stuff for a ritual to bring good luck, or maybe it was some cult activity. We are yet to know about it.
Archeological Interpretation of the Burial
Apart from the 180 animal ankles found in the burial along with the skeleton of the girl in Kazakhstan,. There were three shoulder blades, probably of cows. In fact, the ankle bones also look like they were from some cattle like sheep. The burial also had several metallic pommels, a bowl made of bronze, and a mirror. But the most intriguing of all was the small bronze disc with a carving, probably of a frog.
Archeologists did find animal bones in other burials in the area as well, but other items in this girl’s tomb surely baffle them. The head of the Department of Archeology, Ethnology, and Museology of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Rinat Zhumatayev led the digging in the area. According to her, the number of bones found in this particular burial must have some specific meaning. She emphasized that maybe the number of bones had to do something with the meaning.
Rinat explained that maybe burying bones was a cult practice or rather the complete opposite. Maybe at that time, people buried such bones for good fortune and a safe journey of the souls from one world to the other. She said that all these bones can be a symbol of well-being.
However, they are still trying to know about the bronze tray with the frog carving. This is the first time that something of this sort has been found in Kazakhstan. According to Rinat, a frog can symbolize different things as for this carving she is not sure what exactly it meant.
But for a rough translation, she said that it might be something related to the cult of water and a woman in labor. However, she agrees that they need more studies to interpret it accurately.
As for the girl, the archeologists think that she was buried much more carefully. She had earrings made of small wires in both of her ears and was laid on her left side. The girl was also a little bent over and had a beaded necklace around her neck.
Other Discoveries from the Site
Except for their curiosity about the girl, the archeologists worked to learn more about the site. They made a full topographical map of the burial site of the Ainabulak-Temirsu. To make this, they surveyed several mounds of the burial. As a result, they came to the conclusion that there were three different settlements in the region.
As for the period, they think that this burial excavation will lead to more information about the earlier end of the Bronze Age. Not only they can look more into it historically, but they expect that the excavation will lead them to explore the site culturally as well.
For further research and contemplation, the archeologists plan to take the bones, metals, and other things like soil from the site to Cambridge. The next half of the research that will happen in the laboratory will occur in Cambridge. They hope that the research in the university labs will yield some fruits for the labor.
Maybe, we will hear more about the Bronze Age girl, the items buried with her, and her home from that time in the coming years.
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