Once Again on the Unique Bits with Zoomorphically Decorated Bit Shanks from the Chuy Valley

Abstract

This paper analyzes unique solid-cast horse bits with bit shanks from the Novopavlovka hoard in the Chuy Valley. The ends of the bit shanks are adorned with Capra heads rendered in the Scytho-Siberian "animal style." The closest parallels to these solid-cast bits have been identified at the Uigarak and Tagisken burial grounds in the Aral Sea region, enabling their dating to the VII century BC. The genesis of bits of this shape in Central Asia is linked to a Near Eastern tradition: structurally similar solid-cast bits with bit shanks are documented in the Near and Middle East and the South Caucasus during the VIII – early VII centuries BC. However, the Central Asian solid-cast bits also retained morphological features characteristic of the steppe tradition. Consequently, it may be regarded as a synthetic attempt to combine two independent lines of horse equipment development – a process that could have occurred in the Aral Sea region. This supports the hypothesis that the bits from the Novopavlovka hoard represent an import from that area.