Origin of the Alans

[Michael Kerr]

 Ilyasov mentions in his paper Covered Tail and "Flying Tassels" that there are tail sheaths depicted in various pieces of Sarmatian/Alan artworks, even in the Bosporan kingdom and on the Orlat battle plaque and to him that proves that the warriors depicted on Orlat plaques are not Huns (Hsiung-nu) as there is no record or description of them using tail sheaths for their horses and that the warriors depicted are possibly either Yuezhi, Sogdians or Sakas. There are lots of examples of tail sheaths in artwork depicting Saka/Sarmatians/Alans or Yuezhi. The fact that the Pazyryk burials contain a tail sheath possibly means that they were in turn Yuezhi or Saka.

   

 Interesting that Argent, in her thesis showed how over time since the discovery of Pazyryk that later artists depictions of the horses found in most recent publications were drawn as Akhal-tekes thus giving the impression that these types of horses were common in the Altai but the original artists depicted the horses as Tarpans or Altai pony like horses like the depiction on left, although they were still bigger than ponies (around 14.5 hands). This seems reinforced by DNA matching where there is no trace of Akhal-teke DNA in the Berel horses. The geography of the Altai meant no wagons but plenty of pack horses to carry possessions and riders over some pretty rough terrain when travelling from summer to winter pasture. The residents probably had semi-permanent structures to live in negating the need for wagons and tents, something Alan mentioned earlier in the thread with the availability of birch and the construction and woodworking skills needed to make the burial places in the first place. Something that the long legged slender Turkoman would not be suited for. The favourite horses of the occupants of Pazyryk and possibly also Berel were their riding horses who were probably stabled and fed grains while the pack horses were left to fend for themselves seeking fodder underneath the snow. Rudenko mentioned that the horny walls of the hoofs of many horses had uneven creases like the rings of trees testifying to grazing through both famines and harsh winters while the riding horses were stalled and did not show these features. As Alan mentioned the Turkoman/Akhal-teke horses were more suited to drier semi-desert conditions. (Surena's Saka horsemen would have probably had Turkoman horses available at the battle of Carrhae in conditions that would have suited them while chipping away & destroying Crassus' army.)

   

 

I think I posted some pics of the tail and mane sheaths found a Pazyryk earlier in this thread but I shall post again. 

   

Also here is a clip of people riding horses in the Altai and why the sturdy local Altai horse was bred to these conditions. Only a tourist clip but it shows how a sturdy surefooted horse was needed in these parts if you wanted to get around. Even the old Russian archaeologists like Rudenko knew a fair bit about horses because they relied on them to get to Pazyryk and had to rough it a bit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjEvUCpvaNY

Regards

Michael Kerr