Elite burials of Central Tuva in the 9th-10th centuries as a source on the history of the Kyrgyz Kaganate

The research is devoted to the reconstruction of the system of social ranks of the population of Central Tuva during the 9th-10th centuries, when the region was part of the Kyrgyz Kaganate under the rule of the Yenisei Kyrgyz. Based on a statistical analysis of 216 objects, a complex of features was identified that were associated with elite status among the Yenisei Kyrgyz – the size of the burial mound, the number of arrowheads and details of an inlaid iron belt. Based on the results of the analysis, it was possible to confirm the similarity of semantics as symbols of the elite status of certain things – bladed weapons – with the «power complex» of the ancient Turks. Considering the ritual displays accompanying mounds as a potential sign of high social rank did not confirm their connection with social ranking in Kyrgyz society. The work also presented a review of monuments of the ancient Turkic Culture of Central Tuva that were simultaneous with the Kyrgyz period: on their basis, there was made an assumption bout the preservation of a layer of the ancient Turkic population during the period of the Kyrgyz Kaganate as the possession of a number of its representatives of high status. The discussion on the chronology of a number of ancient Turkic monuments in Central Tuva was analyzed and proposals were made on the possibility of clarifying their dating. Based on these data, a new interpretation of historical events of the 9th-10th centuries is proposed in Tuva, poorly covered by written sources: the collapse of the Kyrgyz Kaganate as a single entity at the end of the 10th century. and the creation of an independent polity in Central Tuva with its center on the right bank of the river Yenisei, in which power at different times was held by members of 2 clans, known by tamga signs. To strengthen their influence, clan members created a pack of a specifical burial mounds, outstanding for their size and richness of grave goods. Thus, the demonstration of high social rank in the funerary monuments of the Yenisei Kyrgyz could also carry a number of social functions.