Introduction
The study of the armament of the nomadic population of Gorny Altai in the era of the Xiongnu power dominating the Central Asian region has become possible relatively recently. Due to research conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, the Ust-Edigan, Chendek, and Sary-Bel sites were found to contain relevant sources (Khudyakov, Skobelev, and Moroz, 1990; Soenov and Ebel, 1992; Khudyakov, 1998; Soenov, 1999). The most detailed analysis of weapons was carried out on the materials of the Ust-Edigan burial ground (Khudyakov and Moroz, 1990; Khudyakov, 1997). We have an opportunity to continue our work in this direction by attracting new finds obtained during excavations in 2002-2003 of the Yaloman II burial and memorial complex in the Ongudai district of the Altai Republic (Tishkin and Gorbunov, 2002, 2003). The materials of the studied mounds allowed us to distinguish two chronological groups among them: the western (24 objects) of the II century BC-I century AD and the central (4 objects) of the second half of the IV-first half of the V century AD. These data are confirmed so far by a small series of radiocarbon dates and reflect the historical context [Tishkin and Gorbunov, 2003, p. 493; Tishkin, 2004, p.297]. The early Yaloman II complex is close to such monuments as Ust-Edigan, Sary-Bel, Chendek (eastern group), Pazyryk (mounds 23, 24, 42) in terms of details of the funeral rite and the appearance of inventory. Together, they characterize the Ust-Edigan stage of formation and development of the Bulan-Kobin culture in Gorny Altai (Tishkin and Gorbunov, 2005, p. 329).
In the western group of the Yaloman II burial ground, weapons were found in five mounds (23a, 48, 57, 61, 62). Weapons are represented by means of remote (bows and arrows) and short-range (dagger, minted model) combat, armor-plates from military shells.
Bows
The remains of composite bows were found in three burials. In the mound. 23a they are represented by a set of six horn side plates: two pairs o ...
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