The Medieval Settlement of Bozok: From a Cult Center to a Cultural Manifesto of Steppe Eurasia

Research аrticle

Abstract

This article attempts a scientific conceptualization of the history of the hierotopy of the Bozoq medieval settlement – an archaeological site – analyzed in dynamics and through the unfolding of its temporality from the Early Middle Ages to the present day. The sacralization of the southwestern outskirts of Kazakhstan’s modern capital, Astana, is determined by the potential of its historical onomasticon formed in the distant past. Through an etymological analysis of the historical names of the Akmola and Buzuqty tracts, the study demonstrates their connection both to the steppe tradition of conceptualizing funerary structures as sacred loci and to the history and mythology of the early Turkic Oghuz. These elements established a specific code – a message from the creators of Bozoq’s hierotopy to subsequent generations. Drawing on archival materials from the Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IHMK RAS) and an article by the first researcher of Bozoq, L.F. Semenov, this work examines the history of the site's study, which began in the late 1920s. Thanks to the dedication and efforts of L.F. Semenov, the head of the Akmola Museum, the site gained recognition both within Kazakhstan and abroad. Consequently, the site he named the "Buzuk Settlement" was integrated into the sphere of national archaeology, which, seventy-one years later, allowed scholars to commence a profound and detailed study of the location. The site’s planigraphy, the limnonym Buzuqty, and the surrounding lake-steppe landscape ‒ supplemented by excavations and archaeological and cultural reconstructions – have enabled the scientific community to present various interpretations of the ancient code left by the settlement’s creators for future generations. The research efforts of scholars led by K.A. Akishev and M.K. Khabdulina successfully returned the site to the fold of hierotopy, which had been interrupted during the Late Middle Ages. The value and symbolic potential of the Bozok settlement for the country's history and culture led to its inclusion in the List of Sacred Objects of National Importance in 2017 and the opening of the Bozok State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve in 2018, aimed at creating a National Open-Air Archaeological Park. These developments defined not only the vector of its progress as a tourist destination within the context of the developing National Park but also established the grounds for expanding the boundaries and objectives of its hierotopy through musealization. This transformation marks the evolution from a cult center to a cultural manifesto of Steppe Eurasia ‒ a representation of its historical, cultural, and intangible heritage.