"this is one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries in this region for decades. Semiyarka changes the way we think about steppe societies. It shows that mobile communities could build and sustain permanent, organized settlements centered on a likely large-scale industry-a true 'urban hub' of the steppe."
"Semiyarka is situated on the Kazakh Steppe, a sprawling region of land made up of grasslands and savannas that overlooks the Irtysh River, spreading into present-day Russia. Also known as the "City of Seven Ravines," it is "the first large steppe centre with on-site tin-bronze production," according to the Antiquity report."
"These finds suggest that Semiyarka was likely a highly organized metallurgical centre capable of controlled production, challenging assumptions about the absence of structured metal economies among semi-nomadic steppe communities."
Archaeological survey uncovered Semiyarka, a Late Bronze Age city dating to circa 1600 BCE that spans nearly 250 acres in northeast Kazakhstan. Initial discovery in the early 2000s revealed rectangular earthworks and Late Bronze Age pottery and metal artifacts. The first detailed survey documents a transition from mobile pastoralism to a permanent, organized settlement centered on large-scale metallurgy. Semiyarka contains evidence of on-site tin–bronze production and controlled metallurgical practices, indicating a highly organized industrial economy. The site challenges assumptions that semi-nomadic steppe communities lacked structured metal economies and demonstrates urban-scale settlement and manufacturing on the Kazakh Steppe.
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