Location of Chilikti ( ![]() | |
Geographical range | South Siberia |
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Dates | 7-6th centuries BCE |
Major sites | 43°32′59″N 78°17′00″E / 43.549697°N 78.283366°E |
Preceded by | Karasuk culture |
Followed by | Aldy-Bel culture, Pazyryk culture, Tagar culture |
Saka kurgans[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Shilikty (Ru: Шиликты курганы), formerly Chilikti, also more precisely Baigetobe Kurgans (Ru: Курганы Байгетобе) in Shilikty Valley,[1] is an archaeological site in eastern Kazakhstan, located in the Chilik river basin. At this site, numerous 8th-6th century BCE Early Saka kurgans were found.[1][3] Carbon-14 dating suggests a more refined date of 730-690 BCE for the kurgans, and a broad contemporaneity with the Arzhan-2 kurgan in Tuva.[1]
The Kurgans contained vast quantities of precious golden jewelry.[4] Remains of a "golden man" (similar to the Issyk kurgan golden man) were found in 2003, with 4262 gold finds.[5]