Sarmatiana: A List of References, Old & New

[Alanus]

Those are all good points. The Romans didn't take the time to learn about any of the cultures on the other side of the Danube. Either Heather or Kulikowski mentions this; that the people living beyond Rome's borders, from the lower Ister to Pannonia, were considered "The Others," "The Outsiders." Both of these authors have written valuable books on the Goths, and they mention Sarmatians here and there within the text.

You noticed that mares were valuable, but the richer men (the noble Sarmatians in antiquity) rode geldings. This, again, corresponds to the steppe lifestyle unchanged since time immemorial. How coincidentall that your author studied the Tuvans. Tuva was one of several northeastern necropoli, the whole region including the Yenisy River and Sayan mountains. Along with the Altai communities, it lasted from the 6th to 3rd century BC, and then a major group of wars erupted from China northward. This caused the Saka to dispurse, many moving south to the Tien Shan and Pamir pastures.

The Russian author you're referring to is Sevyan Vainshtein?-- the book, Nomads of South Siberia. It's listed on Amazon for $43, a chunk of change for a paperback. After it was published, the traditional Tuvan lifestyle disappeared, replaced by a hammer and sickle.