The Population of Zhetysu in the Turkic Period (8th–11th centuries) based on Craniological Data (from the Samsy Site)

Abstract

The study presents the results of a paleoanthropological analysis of skeletal remains recovered from Turkic period burials at Samsy kurgan complex, a multi-period funerary site encompassing burials of the Eneolithic, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, and the Medieval period, located in Zhetysu, Southeastern Kazakhstan. Intragroup analysis reveals morphological heterogeneity of the studied samples. Craniometric comparisons, using canonical variates analysis against a broad dataset of contemporaneous Eurasian populations, indicate that the male series is closely aligned with Turkic-period groups from the steppe and foothill zones of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and southern Siberia, while showing pronounced differences from the anthropological type characteristic of oasis–valley populations in Central Asia. Overall, the Zhetysu (Semirechye) Turks display an ‘eastern’ vector of ethnogenetic connections. It is Of particular note, the Samsy male series shares affinities not only with neighboring groups but also with Oghuz–Pecheneg and Khazar groups of the Volga-Don region, located far to the west. This morphological proximity likely reflects ancient migratory processes linking the South Siberian roots of Turkic population formation to distant western sectors of the Eurasian steppe belt. Several crania bear traces of beshik-type artificial cranial deformation, a tradition documented in the region since the Early Iron Age. The persistence of such modifications suggests the long-term use of the beshik-type cradle, which immobilizes the infant securely, its practicality likely accounting for its continuity in everyday childcare practices among women.