Earliest human burial in Kazakhstan: Neolithic findings from the Koken settlement

Abstract

Excavations at the settlement of Koken, located in the semi-arid steppe zone of Eastern Kazakhstan, unveiled stratified deposits of the Stone Age lying beneath the Bronze Age settlement. Within these earlier strata, a human burial dating to the mid-6th millennium BC or the early Neolithic period was unearthed. The burial at the Koken settlement contains the earliest known human remains, and with direct absolute dates, in Kazakhstan and, therefore, presents an exceptional opportunity to study the origin, lifestyle and composition of the hunter gatherer population before the appearance of a producing economy in the region. The article also presents a brief osteological analysis of early Neolithic human remains found at the settlement. Hypotheses are proposed regarding the possible ritual and design of burial, comparative analogies from Kazakhstan and the wider region of Central Asia and Siberia are given. Further study of the Koken settlement and the early layers of its settlement will be of key importance for understanding the adaptation, settlement and human economy in the Early Holocene in the hypercontinental climate of the steppe zone of Kazakhstan, as well as for clarifying the social, cultural and technological links between the hunter-gatherer populations of the Eurasian steppe.