Bernese research among the “Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries 2024”

The Scythians of the Eurasian Steppe were known for their mobile lifestyle, archery skills, and intricate animal-style art. While their presence in the Pontic Steppe of modern Ukraine and southwest Russia is well-documented, their cultural roots have remained elusive.

Gino Caspari from the University of Bern and the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology in Jena, together with his team, excavated one of the largest and earliest Scythian burial mounds in Siberia. They uncovered scattered human bones and dozens of horses, likely sacrificed in honor of an elite individual. The findings provide evidence for funerary traditions that indicate extreme power displays and steep social hierarchies, which were once thought impossible in the marginal environment of the steppes. They also reveal deep connections to late Bronze Age cultural practices in Mongolia, highlighting the pivotal role of Tuva, a republic in southern Siberia, in the cultural development of the Eurasian steppe belt.

The discoveries by Gino Caspari and his team are among the Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2024, an annual selection made by Archaeology Magazine, which has been published for over 70 years by the Archaeological Institute of America.

Years of Research under Difficult Circumstances

Gino Caspari excavated the tomb with colleagues Timur Sadykov and Jegor Blochin from the Institute of History for Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg. The tomb is located in a Siberian swamp, which presented significant logistical challenges. The team endured freezing temperatures, snowstorms, flooding, and swarms of mosquitos while performing the hard physical labor required at the excavation site. “This has been by far my toughest project, but the scientific results were absolutely worth it,” says Gino Caspari.

Since 2017, the research project has produced more than a dozen academic papers on diverse topics, including human sacrifices, violent skeletal trauma from intertribal conflicts, direct evidence of prehistoric fish consumption through ancient parasites, and the development of new methods in archaeological remote sensing.

A Grisly Tableau of Riding Corpses

Two new studies were recently published in Antiquity and Scientific Reports. These studies reveal key findings on the fragmented remains of humans and horses, believed to have been sacrificed in honor of an elite individual and arranged in a grisly tableau of riding corpses. Newly uncovered artifacts include Scythian-style objects and horse-riding equipment, marking this site as one of the earliest examples of Scythian funerary practices. The findings indicate that the origins of Scythian culture lie far to the east of their later heartlands in Eastern Europe. Parallels with late Bronze Age burial practices in Mongolia further suggest that Scythian funerary traditions are deeply rooted in the horse cultures of the eastern steppes.

“The horseback-riding Scythians have captured the imaginations of historians since the time of Herodotus,” explains Gino Caspari. “Our findings show that some of Herodotus’ descriptions of the Scythians, once thought to be exaggerations, actually have a very real cultural core in the rituals of the steppe.” He adds, “These discoveries highlight Tuva’s pivotal role in Eurasian prehistory. They emphasize the importance of Inner Asia in fostering early transcontinental cultural connections and the role of funerary practices in shaping the political and cultural landscape of the Eurasian steppe. The recognition as a Top Ten Discovery for 2024 is an acknowledgment of the importance of this rarely researched part of the ancient world.”