Pages: 213-228 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp264213228

This article explores the possible origins and subsequent spread of circular artificial deformation of the skull. By correlating the chronological periods of archaeological cultures, we can clarify and synchronize numerous finds and reconstruct the pattern of spread of this tradition across Central Asia and beyond. Chronologically, this period extends from the 2nd century AD to the 4th/5th centuries AD. The appearance of skulls with artificial frontal-occipital deformation in the Aral Sea region is associated with the migration of a group of high-status individuals from southern areas of present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, as well as adjacent Afghanistan. From the late 1st to early 2nd centuries CE, widespread circular artificial cranial deformation is recorded, rapidly spreading throughout Central Asia, the Volga-Ural steppe, the Volga region, and other regions. According to the analysis, the territory of the lower and middle reaches of the Syr Darya River (the Aral Sea region) serves as a center of cultural development, a catalyst for accelerating the processes involving the settlement of nomadic populations with traditions that are adopted throughout the entire territory.

Keywords: skull deformation, late Sarmatian sites, Jetyasar culture, Kangju, early nomads, early Iron Age, Central Asia, Aral Sea region

Information about author:

Egor Kitov (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences. Lenin Ave., 32-A, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-0159-3288