Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 46 (4) 2018   DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2018.46.4.049-058

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Technologies Involved in Manufacturing Wooden Horns
for the Ceremonial Masks of Horses from the Pazyryk Tombs in the Altai

V.P. Mylnikov

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

We present the results of a technological analysis of the details of horse harness—the most numerous and the most representative category of wooden artifacts found in Scythian Age (Pazyryk) tombs. Basic techniques and specific operations involved in the manufacturing of horse masks are described. Especially noteworthy are the tops of these masks, fashioned like the horns of mountain goats. Such masks have been found in nearly all high-ranking burials. We reconstruct the carpentry of the Early Iron Age nomads. Wooden horns, the principal elements of the horse’s headdress, differ in technique and complexity: some are solid, while others are composed of two or more parts. In terms of size and shape, some horns are robust, others are thin and elegant. Separate groups include composite horns with sophisticated carved figurines of feline carnivores, bone collets, bipartite semicircular inserts, or leather tops shaped like antlers. The analysis of horse harness decoration from burials differing in status suggests that wooden horns were mostly attributes of the members of the nomadic elite. Their size, accessory ornaments, and intricacy were markers of social status.

Keywords: Altai, Scythian age, wooden artifacts, funerary masks, horses, wooden horns