Tagar culture

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Tagar culture (Russian: Тагарская культура) was a Bronze Age archeological culture which flourished between the 7th and 3rd centuries BC in South Siberia (Khakassia, southern part of Krasnoyarsk Krai, eastern part of Kemerovo Oblast). Named after an island in the Yenisey River opposite Minusinsk, the civilization was one of the largest centres of bronze-smelting in ancient Eurasia.

The Tagar tribes are thought to have been Europoids of the Scythian circle.^[1] They lived in timber dwellings heated by clay ovens and large hearths. Some settlements were surrounded by fortifications. They made a living by raising livestock, predominantly large horned livestock and horses, goats and sheep. Harvest was collected with bronze sickles and reaping knives.^[2] Their artifacts were heavily influenced by Scythian art from Pazyryk. Perhaps the most striking feature of the culture are huge royal kurgans fenced by stone plaques, with four vertical stelae marking the corners.

[edit] Notes and references

1. ^ Great Soviet Encyclopaedia, 3rd ed. Article "Tagar culture".
2. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica