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An Old Mongolian Inscription near the Second (Small) Sulfate Lake in Northern Khakassia as Evidence of Cultural Contacts in the Region in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age
https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.4.125-130
Abstract
We describe a rare Old Mongolian inscription carved on an outcrop of Devonian sandstone near the Second (Small) Sulfate Lake in northern Khakassia. Tentative translation, dating, and cultural attribution are provided. The condition of the inscription and adjacent representations of humans, animals, and tamgas are described. Three groups of signs of which the Old Mongolian inscription consists are identified. Variants of translation to modern Mongolian and Russian are proposed. One group of signs renders the text: “In the Year of the Snake, the second winter month, the 21st day…” Other graphemes, translated from Mongolian, mean: master, elapsed, horseman, give, herd, steppe (talo). Certain words are indistinct and illegible. The lower and upper chronological limits of the inscription are 1204 to early 1720s. Horsemen figures are carved in the same technique. Old Buryat parallels suggest a rather recent date. Pre-Mongolian tamgas are pecked rather than carved. The script belongs to the latest instances of Old Mongolian epigraphy in the region.
Keywords
Northern Khakassia,
Second (Small) Sulfate Lake,
rock outcrop,
petroglyphs,
old Mongolian inscription,
reading,
dating
Supporting agencies: This study was carried out under the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Project No. FSUS-2025-0009 “Aspects of Formation of Intercultural Communications in Siberia— from the Stone Age to the Early Modern Age (According to Archaeological and Written Sources)”)
About the Authors
S. G. Skobelev
Novosibirsk State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Laboratory Head
Pirogova 1, Novosibirsk, 630090
D. D. Vasiliev
Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Department Head
Rozhdestvenka 12, Moscow, 107031
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Review
For citations:
Skobelev S.G., Vasiliev D.D. An Old Mongolian Inscription near the Second (Small) Sulfate Lake in Northern Khakassia as Evidence of Cultural Contacts in the Region in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2024;52(4):125-130. https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2024.52.4.125-130
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