Karasuk Culture (Bronze Age)

Karakystak Turk

1200-700 BC

Karasuk Culture (Bronze Age) The Karasuk culture developed out of the Andronovo culture and contains elements of central Asiatic Mongoloid culture. There was a shift from settled agriculture to patterns of seasonal transhumance and a semi-nomadic life style. The primary emphasis was on sheep rearing. Burials were in stone cists covered over by a low mound surrounded by square stone enclosures. The dead were buried with a sheep, a steer or a horse. The large cemeteries indicate a larger population. In the Karasuk culture there were a large amount of bronze artifacts, woolen textiles as well as garments of skins and furs. The remains of bridles towards the end of the period suggest the beginning of horse riding on the steppe.