Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 54 (3) 2026   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2026.54.3.077-084

Annotation:  The Origin of Anatomically Modern Humans (Homo sapiens) in Africa The Structure of Bioresources Exploited by Paleolithic Humans in the Anui River Basin, Altai An Early Neolithic Burial with a Miniature Fish-Shaped Bait on the Shore of Lake Baikal A Glass Intaglio Depicting Harpocrates (Zeus Kasios) from Markula, Abkhazia Artifacts from the Necropolises of Chersonesos as a Historical and Cultural Source: An Interpretati A Road Station in the Upper Capital of the Eastern Xia State A Mongolian Age Iron Shield from the Khakass-Minusinsk Region From the History of the Late 19th–Early 20th Century Ural Cossacks in the Aral Sea region: Confessio Large Baptismal Crosses (“Cossack Crosses”) as a Source for Reconstructing Migration Routes to Weste Tombstones of the 19th and Early 20th Century at Rural Cemeteries on the Northern Upper Ob Ob Ugrian Sanctuaries on Lake Balbanty Eurasian-American Ethnoastronomic Parallels in the Context of New Data from India The Cúng Yêu Tinh Funerary Rite Among the Bố Y People in Vietnam: Finishing the Unfi nished Cranial Affinities of the Altai Mountains Population During the Xiongnu-Sarmatian Age The Origin of the Modern Populations of Western Siberia, Based on Craniometric Data. Part I: Classif   

From the History of the Late 19th–Early 20th Century Ural Cossacks
in the Aral Sea region: Confessional Markers as Ethnic Attributes

B.M. Babajanov¹, A.M. Djumashev², and A.T. Saparniyazov²

¹Institute for Anthropology Studies, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mirzo Ulugbek 81, Tashkent, 100115, Uzbekistan

²Karakalpak Research Institute for the Humanities, Karakalpak Branch, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Amir Temur 179A, Nukus, 230100, Uzbekistan

This study, based on our 2024 field data, describes tombstones with Russian inscriptions at the Muslim cemetery Kunti-baba on the southeastern Ustyurt Plateau, Karakalpak Region, Republic of Uzbekistan. Our objective is to view them as part of the history of migrants to the Aral Sea region—Ural Cossack Old Believers. We describe several tombstones without Christian symbols but with Muslim decorative motifs. Their connection with the history of the group is discussed, suggesting that the Cossack colonization of the area gave rise to new ethno-cultural and ethno-confessional interactions. Cases of religious conversion were exceptional. Coexisting with native Karakalpaks and Adai Kazakhs, Ural Cossacks preserved their language, writing, names, and military ranks, which marked their ethnic identity.

Keywords: Ural Cossacks, Aral Sea region, Kunti-baba mazar, Old Believers, ethnic interaction, ethno-confessional identity.