ETHNO-CULTURAL SITUATION IN THE ALTAI AND THE ADJACENT TERRITORIES IN THE EARLY TURKIC PERIOD

Abstract

One of the important pages in the history of the Altai and the adjacent territories was the establishment of the Turkic community in the second half of 5th –early 6th centuries A.D. In a later period, the Turks founded the largest nomadic empire of the early Middle Ages and had a significant influence on the destinies of many Eurasian peoples. So far, the processes that took place in this region during the period in question and in the subsequent centuries have been studied rather fragmentarily. This is due to a number of circumstances, such as a relatively limited source base, non-systematic studies, and, surprisingly, the availability of written sources
that allowed researches to present a rather general picture of the history of nomads without the use or detailed analysis of archaeological materials. This publication outlines the reconstruction of dynamic ethno-cultural processes in the Altai and adjacent the territories in the early Turkic period on the basis of a generalization of the results of excavations of archaeological complexes demonstrating the processes of formation and development of the Turkic culture, as well as the interactions between the nomads of this community and other societies of the neighbouring regions. Of great importance under these circumstances are the materials of the previous historical period obtained during the study of sites dating back to the late stage of the Bulan-Koby culture.