PROSPECTS FOR CORRELATING RADIOCARBON AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL CHRONOLOGIES OF THE SCYTHIAN AND HUNNO-SARMATIAN AGE BURIALS IN THE SAYAN-ALTAI REGION

Over the past decade, a large series of radiocarbon dates for burials in the Sayan-Altai area have been provided and estimates made in the preceding years have been calibrated. The most controversial dates concern burials made during the Scythian and early Hunnu periods. Many radiocarbon dates differ from those based on archaeological evidence. Claims that the Large Pazyryk Kurgans in the Altai date as far back as 300–250 BC, and that the early Uyuk-Sagly burials in Tuva and the early Saragash burials in the Minusinsk Basin are as early as the 8th–7th cent. BC are especially questionable, as are radiocarbon dates of the later Uyuk-Sagly and Saragash sites. The claim that certain Tes mounds with burial vaults date to the Scythian rather than the Hunnu period is also questionable. Certain discrepancies are evidently caused by problems with the radiocarbon analysis of remains falling in the chronological range between 800–400 BC. Reliable estimates can only be based on the totality of available methods, and it is essential to correlate the estimates for various periods.