Karasuk culture

The distribution of the Karasuk culture covers the eastern parts of the Andronovo culture, which it appears to replace. The remains of settlements are minimal, and entirely of the mortuary variety. The Karasuk was succeeded by the Tagar culture. The economy was mixed agriculture and stockbreeding. Their realistic animal art probably contributed to the development of the Scytho-Siberian animal art style (Scythian art). The origins of the Karasuk culture are complex, but it is generally accepted that its origins lie both with the Andronovo culture and local cultures of the Yenisei. The contemporary Deer stones culture to the southeast may have been built in part by nomads from the Karasuk culture. ==Chariots==

for chariots. Although no Karasuk chariots have been found, their existence is indicated by petroglyph drawings, chariot equipment, horse bridles and 'charioteer burials'. These have close similarities to chariots and equipment from the Shang dynasty in China (c. 1200 BC), such as the use of wheels with numerous spokes and bow-shaped rein holders. Both Karasuk and Shang chariots also have close similarities to chariots from Lchashen in Armenia, dating from c. 1500 BC. According to Wu (2013) Shang chariots and their associated equipment originated from the Karasuk culture and can be understood as "a local version of the Karasuk set." ==Metallurgy==

curved bronze knives with animal pommel. 12th-11th century BCE. Such knives were the result of contacts with the northern people of the Mongolian steppe. The metallurgy of the Karasuk culture may have derived from the earlier Seima-Turbino tradition. It expanded on this tradition, and became the core of a regional hub in metallurgy, sometimes called the "East Asian Metallurgical Province". Seima-Turbino had a westward expansion, encountering the Abashevo and Sintashta cultures during the 2200-1700 BCE period. On the contrary, the expansion of the Karasuk metallurgical culture was eastward. Karasuk styles were copied throughout Central and Eastern Asia, reaching China where numerous bronze objects on the Karasuk model have been excavated. In particular the royal complex of the Anyang Cemetery from the 13-11th centuries BCE during the Shang dynasty period is known for numerous such imitations. It is thought that these metallurgical innovations from the Karasuk culture were transmitted by steppe nomads, within a context of rather conflictual relations between China and its northern neighbours. The Shang mainly imitated the curved one-edged knives with animal handles, and placed them in their tombs among other bronze paraphernalia. Altogether, these influences travelled over a distance of more than 3,500 kilometers, from the Sayan-Altai region to the heart of ancient China beyond the Yellow River. Weapons of the contemporary Deer stones culture, as seen in their petroglyphs, are generally derived from those of the Karasuk culture, and belong to the Karasuk typology. File:Karasuk culture. Animal-headed knife with curved blade.png|Karasuk culture. Animal-headed knife with curved blade. File:Karasuk culture. Horse-headed knife.png|Karasuk culture. Horse-headed knife. File:Karasuk culture. Knife with ring.png|Karasuk culture. Knife with ring. File:Karasuk culture. Animal-headed knife.png|Karasuk culture. Animal-headed knife. Many bronze blades of the Shang dynasty (13th-11th centuries BCE) and Zhou dynasty were derived from Karasuk designs. File:Karasuk vs Shang horned animal blades 13th-11th century BCE.jpg|Karasuk vs Shang horned animal blades 13th-11th century BCE. File:Karasuk knives vs Shang Yinxu knives.jpg|Karasuk blades vs Shang dynasty Yinxu blades. File:Karasuk culture blades vs Shang-Zhou blades.png|Karasuk culture blades vs Shang-Zhou blades. ==Genetics==

Keyser et al. (2009) published a genetic study of ancient Siberian cultures, the Andronovo culture, the Karasuk culture, the Tagar culture and the Tashtyk culture. They surveyed four individuals of the Karasuk culture of four different sites from 1400 BC to 800 BC. Two of these possessed the Western Eurasian mtDNA U5a1 and U4 lineages. Two other ones exhibited the Y-chromosome haplogroup R1a1, which is thought to mark the eastward migration of the early Indo-Europeans. ==Sites==

Sites are not numerous, and are mainly found southwest of the Minusinsk basin. They consist in semi-subterranean houses and larger winter houses about 100-200 m2 in area, with domed or pitched roofs covered with earth to protect against the cold. File:Karasuk culture 1.jpg|Pottery of the Karasuk culture Karasuk grave.JPG|Karasuk grave () Карасукский могильник.JPG|Karasuk grave ==See also==