SANAT TARIHI DERGISI, cilt.31, sa.1, ss.321-353, 2022 (ESCI)
Pazırık Kültürü, göz alıcı zengin arkeolojik buluntuları nedeniyle Orta Asya
Arkeolojisi’nin en dikkat çeken konularından biridir. Sayıları 600’ü aşan Pazırık Kültürü
Kurganları ve mimarisi üzerine genel bir değerlendirme amacını taşıyan bu çalışma, kurgan
mimarisi bağlamında yapılan analiz ve değerlendirmelerle Pazırık Kültürü ve ardılı olan Hun
ve Göktürk dönemi kurganları arasındaki ilişkiyi ana hatlarıyla ortaya koymaktadır. Pazırık
Kültürü yerleşimlerini ve yerleşim düzenlerini model alan bir planlama ile konumlandırılan
Pazırık kurganlarının etraflarındaki sunaklar ve balballar ile bir mezar anıt kompleksi olarak
tasarlandığı anlaşılmaktadır. Göktürk mezar külliyelerinden çok iyi bilinen bu mimari
plan tasarımının kökenlerinin Pazırık kültürü kurganlarına kadar indiği bilimsel veriler
ve bilgilere göre ortaya konulmaktadır. Kurgan içi mezar odası düzenlemelerinin Orta
Asya Türk çadır ve konut mimarisinin düzen ve tasarımına göre belirlendiği saptanmıştır.
Pazırık kültürü tanımı, tarihlendirmesi ve kökeni konuları irdelenerek kurgan mimarisi
ve ölü gömme gelenekleri bağlamında Proto Türk ve Türk halklarıyla kültürel bağı açığa
kavuşturulmuştur.
Pazyryk Culture is one of the most prominent subjects of Central Asian Archeology
due to its rich archaeological finds. This article aims to assess Pazyryk culture kurgans, in
terms of their architectural features and funeral rites to reveal the relationship between the
Pazyryk Culture and its successors, the kurgans of Hsiung-nu and Turkic Khaganates. The
datings of the Pazyryk kurgans as well as different hypotheses on the origin of Pazyryk
society have also been discussed. Layout of burial grounds, architectural elements, interior arrangement of chambers, horse burial practices, orientation of bodies and horses are
subjects examined in detail.
There are more than 135 burial grounds with more than 600 kurgans attributed to
the culture. Almost all the kurgans of the Pazyryk culture are aligned in a straight line in the
north-south direction, sometimes with slight deviations. It is believed that the arrangement
of the kurgans in a straight line is based on the layout of the permanent dwellings, lined up
on the north-south axis, in the winter quarters of the nomadic Turkic peoples of Altai. The
burial chambers of the kurgans, which are representative “houses of the dead”, are arranged
as housing models with the carpets hung on the walls and the items placed.
Among the architectural elements of the Pazyryk Culture kurgans are the circular
stone fences surrounding its stone mounds, altars, and row of balbals. Generally, the stone
mound is surrounded by a low stone fence or a shallow ditch, often repeating its plan.
Mostly, the altars are erected to the west of the kurgans, while a row of balbals, extending
from west to east, or a single balbal is erected to the east. Thus, the kurgans belonging to the
“rulers” or “elite” gain the appearance of memorial complexes with stone fences, altars and
balbal rows. Burial chambers of different sizes in most cases were constructed of wooden
material.
It has been determined that more than 75% of the bodies (443 out of 599) in
the Pazyryk culture kurgans with slight deviations face the east, while approximately 100
bodies with slight deviations face the west. Western orientation of bodies prevails in burial
grounds located on the periphery of Pazyryk culture, close to modern Tuva.
Horse burials, as one of the characteristic features of the Pazyryk funeral customs,
were identified in around 37% of kurgans (212 out of 569). Most kurgans with horse
burials are in Onguday, Ulagan and Kosh-Agach districts of the Russian Federation and
Katon-Karagay district of East Kazakhstan (more than 60%). Horses in the Pazyryk culture
kurgans also face east.
In the interior arrangement of traditional Turkic residential architecture, the
northern part of the yurt where the kitchen utensils are located is considered as the women’s
section, and the southern part is considered as the men’s section, which is devoted to resting
and sleeping. A similar layout can be observed in burial chambers of the Pazyryk culture.
Thus, wooden sarcophagi were placed along the south wall of the chamber. In cases where
bodies of two different genders were placed in the same sarcophagus, the men were again
placed along the south wall.
Most of the kurgans of the Pazyryk culture, originally dated to the 6th - 5th centuries
BC, in view of new data, were revised and dated approximately 325-275 BC. By examining
the definition, dating and origin of Pazyryk culture, the cultural bond with Proto-Turk and
Turkic people within the context of kurgan architecture and burial traditions has been
revealed.