Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

scythians in central asia
7.11 Reconstruction of the dress of the Sakā chieftain whose
burial was found at Issyk in southern Kazakhstan. The reconstruction
is faithfully based on detailed archaeological evidence
(fourth–third century bc).
blow the snow off the steppe-covered mountain slopes
making the winter grass easily accessible for the herds
of horses and other animals that can be turned loose
in winter to fend for themselves. Winters are long with
comparatively short dry, cool summers, but high midday
temperatures and the ample presence of running
water ensures that the meadows are luxuriant. Harsh
and extreme though the weather may at times be, for
a community basing its livelihood on pastoralism the
Altai–Sayan valleys had a lot to offer.
Horses were the most important of the animals, with
sheep coming second. Other beasts reared in lesser
numbers were goats, cattle, and yaks. Hunting does not
seem to have been significant for augmenting the food
supply but leopard, steppe cat, squirrel, sable, otter, and
ermine were caught for their fur. Deer, elk, mountain
goat, boars, and saiga antelope—depicted with great
understanding in the animal art of the region—may
have been hunted for their meat and hides. Certainly
deer hair was used as stuffing for saddles and cushions.
Swans, geese, and black grouse, all featuring in the art,
may also have been trapped or shot to add variety to the
diet. No grain was found in the excavation at Pazyryk
and there is no other evidence of agriculture even
though wheat would ripen in parts of the central Altai
where the climate was milder. The Altai herders, then,
depended on the domesticated animals for their food:
the milk, cheese, butter, koumiss (fermented mare’s
milk) of the daily diet supplemented by meat, mainly
mutton, produced on special occasions. Fruits, berries,
shoots, and fungi collected in the woodlands also would
have added a welcome supplement.
The discovery and excavation of the frozen tombs is
one of the great stories of archaeology (above, pp. 16–20).
It was in 1865 that Wilhelm Radlov, then a school teacher
at Barnaul, dug into two large kurgans in the High Altai,
one at Berel, the other at Katanda, discovering organic
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