Evgeny P. Denisov

Donish Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography,National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, Dushanbe

E-mail: evgeni.denisov@mail.ru

Keywords: Tajikistan, Bactria, hand-made pottery, Ksirov burial ground, burial, mound, fence, Yuezhi, nomads, early Kushan period.

Comparison of the burial rite of the Ksirov burial ground located in Dangara district, Southern Tajikistan, with the method of burial of the Bishkent nomads in the south-west of Tajikistan made it possible to propose a hypothesis that the nomads who buried their relatives on the Dangara Plain were Yuezhi of ancient Chinese sources. Subsequent research confirmed this conclusion. Comparison of the features of the burial rite and pottery material (the average number of vessels in a burial and their variety, the location of the vessels in relation to the buried body, the proportion of hand-made ware) shows significant differences between Ksirov and the Bishkent Valley cemeteries. Since a significant proportion of hand-made ware is one of the most prominent features of the Ksirov burial ground, the article focuses on this issue.

DOI: 10.31857/S086960630016287-4