Alloy Composition in the Prestigious Silver Ware of the Old Turkic Period of Southern Siberia

Alloy Composition in the Prestigious Silver Ware of the Old Turkic Period of Southern Siberia

A.P. Borodovsky.

A series of silver artifacts (ornaments, belt sets, horse equipment, and utensils) belonging to the most dynamically developing categories of the material culture of the Old Turkic period were examined using X-ray spectral analysis. The study of silver alloy compositions of various prestigious objects from representative archaeological complexes of southern Siberia (Kudyrge, Tuekta, Katanda, Bertek-34, Yustyd, and Ur-Bedary) made it possible to single out their main territorial groups: Altai, Kuznetsk, and Middle Yenisei. Four main kinds of silver alloys were identifi ed: Ag-Cu, Ag-Cu-Su, Ag-Cu-Pb-Su, Ag-Cu-Zn. The highest silver content was found in the Old Turkic vessels of the fi rst group. The belt decoration items and horse equipment parts demonstrate a variable alloy composition, mirroring cultural contacts between southwestern Siberian groups and those living in the adjacent regions in the second half of the 1st millennium AD.

Keywords: Southern Siberia, Old Turkic period, silver, prestigious objects, ornaments, belt set, horse tack, silver vessels.