Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 43 (3) 2015

Annotation:  Lithic Raw Material Exploitation in the Sibiryachikha Facies, the Middle Paleolithic of Altai The Early Upper Paleolithic of the Gobi Altai Region in Mongolia (Based on Materials from the Chikhe On the Problem of Human Sacrifi ce in Northern Mesopotamia in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic The First Systematic Excavations on Suchu Island and Radiocarbon Dates of the Site (1972) “Tropical Package”: Peculiarities of the Lithic Industries of the Most Ancient Cultures, Coastal Ecu Fish in the Burial Rite of Andronovo (Fedorovka) People, Based on Tartas-1 Cemetery “Life Stones” from the Noyon Uul Burials (Based on Findings of the 2006–2012 Field Seasons) Ethno-Confessional Markers of Russian Identity in the 17th–18th-Century Siberia: Churches with Barre The Turkic Version of the Origins of the Ergene-Kun Legend: Mistakes and Delusions Nonmetric Dental Trait Distribution in the Neolithic Populations of Southwestern Siberia Barangol: A Pazyryk Cemetery on the Lower Katun, Gorny Altai Russkoye Ustye: Anthropological Study   

The Turkic Version of the Origins of the Ergene-Kun Legend: Mistakes and Delusions

B.R. Zoriktuev.

According to Rashid ad-Din’s “Compendium of Chronicles”, the homeland of the Mongols was Ergune-kun. The Turkic tradition, on the other hand, states that the ancestral homeland of the Turkic peoples was Ergenekon, located in the Altai Mountains, and that the “Ergenekon” dastan of the Turkic folklore was erroneously attributed to the Mongols owing to Rashid ad-Din’s work. The comparative analysis of various sources unambiguously indicates the Mongolian origin of the Ergune-kun legend. Field studies conducted by the present author in northeastern China uphold this view.

Keywords: Mongols, Mongolian homeland, Ergune River, Kun Plateau, Mangu versus Mangol, northeastern China.