A Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus from an Uyghur well in Karabalgasun (Ordu-Baliq), Central Mongolia
A partial skeleton of a female Gyrfalcon, dated at 1044–1214 AD, was excavated in an abandoned well in Karabalgasun, Central Mongolia. Karabalgasun lies in the Orkhon Valley, a landscape of special symbolic, political and spiritual significance in the age of the Turk, Uyghur and Mongol empires. The...
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Journal of Global Archaeology
2023
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ftdainstojs:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/4166 2024-01-14T10:06:42+01:00 A Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus from an Uyghur well in Karabalgasun (Ordu-Baliq), Central Mongolia Töpfer, Till Franken, Christina Rohland, Hendrik Hutterer, Rainer Erdenebat, Ulambayar Batbayar, Tumurochir 2023-09-11 application/pdf https://publications.dainst.org/journals/joga/article/view/4166 https://doi.org/10.34780/6yl9-i26c eng eng Journal of Global Archaeology https://publications.dainst.org/journals/joga/article/view/4166/7914 https://publications.dainst.org/journals/joga/article/view/4166/7913 https://publications.dainst.org/journals/joga/article/view/4166 003048509 doi:10.34780/6yl9-i26c Copyright (c) 2023 Journal of Global Archaeology Journal of Global Archaeology; 2023; 138–161 2701-5572 10.34780/f634-bpf4 Mongolia Uyghurs Khitan Falconry Gyrfalcon Burial info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2023 ftdainstojs https://doi.org/10.34780/6yl9-i26c10.34780/f634-bpf4 2023-12-17T23:54:22Z A partial skeleton of a female Gyrfalcon, dated at 1044–1214 AD, was excavated in an abandoned well in Karabalgasun, Central Mongolia. Karabalgasun lies in the Orkhon Valley, a landscape of special symbolic, political and spiritual significance in the age of the Turk, Uyghur and Mongol empires. The falcon was interred during the reign of the Khitan (Liao) dynasty. The vertebral ribs show healed fractures, a sign that the bird was nursed in captivity. For falconry was an important element at the imperial court, the presence of the Gyrfalcon indicates the importance of the Orkhon Valley as a place of annual hunting rituals and as a sacred landscape during the reign of the Liao dynasty. The lack of wings, tail and clawed feet of the falcon carcass points towards a post-mortem decorative or ritual use of these body parts. Since Gyrfalcons do not naturally occur in Mongolia, this individual bird may have been a particular symbol of status. FOLGt Article in Journal/Newspaper Falco rusticolus gyrfalcon Online-Journals and Digitized Journals of the DAI |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Online-Journals and Digitized Journals of the DAI |
op_collection_id |
ftdainstojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Mongolia Uyghurs Khitan Falconry Gyrfalcon Burial |
spellingShingle |
Mongolia Uyghurs Khitan Falconry Gyrfalcon Burial Töpfer, Till Franken, Christina Rohland, Hendrik Hutterer, Rainer Erdenebat, Ulambayar Batbayar, Tumurochir A Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus from an Uyghur well in Karabalgasun (Ordu-Baliq), Central Mongolia |
topic_facet |
Mongolia Uyghurs Khitan Falconry Gyrfalcon Burial |
description |
A partial skeleton of a female Gyrfalcon, dated at 1044–1214 AD, was excavated in an abandoned well in Karabalgasun, Central Mongolia. Karabalgasun lies in the Orkhon Valley, a landscape of special symbolic, political and spiritual significance in the age of the Turk, Uyghur and Mongol empires. The falcon was interred during the reign of the Khitan (Liao) dynasty. The vertebral ribs show healed fractures, a sign that the bird was nursed in captivity. For falconry was an important element at the imperial court, the presence of the Gyrfalcon indicates the importance of the Orkhon Valley as a place of annual hunting rituals and as a sacred landscape during the reign of the Liao dynasty. The lack of wings, tail and clawed feet of the falcon carcass points towards a post-mortem decorative or ritual use of these body parts. Since Gyrfalcons do not naturally occur in Mongolia, this individual bird may have been a particular symbol of status. FOLGt |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Töpfer, Till Franken, Christina Rohland, Hendrik Hutterer, Rainer Erdenebat, Ulambayar Batbayar, Tumurochir |
author_facet |
Töpfer, Till Franken, Christina Rohland, Hendrik Hutterer, Rainer Erdenebat, Ulambayar Batbayar, Tumurochir |
author_sort |
Töpfer, Till |
title |
A Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus from an Uyghur well in Karabalgasun (Ordu-Baliq), Central Mongolia |
title_short |
A Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus from an Uyghur well in Karabalgasun (Ordu-Baliq), Central Mongolia |
title_full |
A Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus from an Uyghur well in Karabalgasun (Ordu-Baliq), Central Mongolia |
title_fullStr |
A Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus from an Uyghur well in Karabalgasun (Ordu-Baliq), Central Mongolia |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus from an Uyghur well in Karabalgasun (Ordu-Baliq), Central Mongolia |
title_sort |
gyrfalcon falco rusticolus from an uyghur well in karabalgasun (ordu-baliq), central mongolia |
publisher |
Journal of Global Archaeology |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://publications.dainst.org/journals/joga/article/view/4166 https://doi.org/10.34780/6yl9-i26c |
genre |
Falco rusticolus gyrfalcon |
genre_facet |
Falco rusticolus gyrfalcon |
op_source |
Journal of Global Archaeology; 2023; 138–161 2701-5572 10.34780/f634-bpf4 |
op_relation |
https://publications.dainst.org/journals/joga/article/view/4166/7914 https://publications.dainst.org/journals/joga/article/view/4166/7913 https://publications.dainst.org/journals/joga/article/view/4166 003048509 doi:10.34780/6yl9-i26c |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2023 Journal of Global Archaeology |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.34780/6yl9-i26c10.34780/f634-bpf4 |
_version_ |
1788061153413300224 |