Other kurgan cemeteries associated with the culture include those of Bashadar, Tuekta, Ulandryk, Polosmak, or
Berel. There are so far no known sites of settlements associated with the burials, suggesting a purely nomadic lifestyle. Because of a freak climatic freeze, some of the
Altai burials, notably those of the 5th century BC at Pazyryk and neighbouring sites, such as Katanda, Shibe, and Tuekta, were isolated from external climatic variations by a protective layer of ice that conserved the organic substances buried in them. At Pazyryk these included the bodies of horses and an embalmed man whose body was covered with
tattoos of animal motifs. The remarkable textiles recovered from the Pazyryk burials include the oldest woollen
knotted-pile carpet known, the oldest embroidered
Chinese silk, and two pieces of woven
Persian fabric (State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg). Red and ochre predominate in the carpet, the main design of which is of riders, stags, and griffins. Many of the Pazyryk felt hangings, saddlecloths, and cushions were covered with elaborate designs executed in appliqué feltwork, dyed furs, and embroidery. Of exceptional interest are those with animal and human figural compositions, the most notable of which are the repeat design of an investiture scene on a felt hanging and that of a semihuman, semibird creature on another (both in the
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg). Clothing, whether of felt, leather, or fur, was also lavishly ornamented. Horse reins either had animal designs cut out on them or were studded with wooden ones covered in gold foil. Their tail sheaths were ornamented, as were their headpieces and breastpieces. Some horses were provided with leather or felt masks made to resemble animals, with stag antlers or rams' horns often incorporated in them. Many of the trappings took the form of iron, bronze, and gilt wood animal motifs either applied or suspended from them; and bits had animal-shaped terminal ornaments. Altai-Sayan animals frequently display muscles delineated with dot and comma markings, a formal convention that may have derived from appliqué needlework. Such markings are sometimes included in
Assyrian,
Achaemenian, and even
Urartian animal representations of the
ancient Middle East. Roundels containing a dot serve the same purpose on the stag and other animal renderings executed by contemporary
Śaka metalworkers. Animal processions of the Assyro-Achaemenian type also appealed to many
Central Asian tribesmen and are featured in their arts. Certain geometric designs and
sun symbols, such as the circle and
rosette, recur at Pazyryk but are completely outnumbered by animal motifs. The stag and its relatives figure as prominently as in Altai-Sayan. Combat scenes between
carnivores and
herbivores are exceedingly numerous in Pazyryk work; the Pazyryk beasts are locked in such bitter fights that the victim's hindquarters become inverted. File:Kurgan1.jpg|Pazyryk Kurgan File:Pazyryk carpet.jpg|Pazyryk carpet, manufactured in Central Asia or the Near-East. File:Pazyryk tatoo design with zoomorphic symbols, 4th century BCE.jpg|Tattoos of the warrior excavated at Pazyryk, with zoomorphic symbols, 5th-4th century BCE. File:Pazyryk3.png|Pazyryk cart, 3rd century BCE. File:35. Samruk (Griffin) buriel mound Tuekta (V. B.C.) Altay.JPG|Samruk (Griffin), burial mound of Tuekta (5th century BCE) Altai, Pazyryk culture. File:31. Catlike predator with protomas of two elk burial mound Berel (IV.-III. B.C.) Kazakhstan.JPG|Catlike predator with protomas of two elk, burial mound
Berel (IV.-III. BCE) Kazakhstan, Pazyryk culture. File:25. Scene of torment burial mound Berel (V. - III. B. C.) Kazakhstan.JPG|Scene of torment, burial mound Berel (V. - III. BCE) Kazakhstan, Pazyryk culture. File:34. Frontal decoration (harness) burial mound Berel (IV.-III. B.C.) Kazakhstan.JPG|Frontal decoration (harness), burial mound Berel (IV.-III. B.C.) Kazakhstan, Pazyryk culture. ==Genetics==