page 163–176 RUS
https://doi.org/10.20874/2071-0437-2026-74-3-13
ÓÄÊ 902.01 EDN: https://elibrary.ru/VYLEAV
The Turkmen yurt from the collection of the State Historical Museum: verification of attribution
Shishlina, Natalia I., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Chief Researcher, State Historical museum, Moscow, Russia, nshishlina@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9638-0156
Loskutova, Alexandra S., Junior Researcher, State Historical museum, Moscow, Russia, eastfck@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7391-7709
Kupriyanov, Dmitry A., Researcher, Institute of Geography RAS, Moscow, Russia, dmitriykupriyanov1994@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1441-4039
Soloshenko, Natalia G., head of the group at the Institute of Geology and Geochemistry UB RAS, Yekaterinburg, Russia, nats_igg@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5264-2863
Mamonova, Anna A., Textile conservator, State Historical museum, Moscow, Russia, MamonovaAA@shm.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0581-5800
Ershova, Olesya V., Junior Researcher, Institute of archaeology and ethnography SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia, ersholesya198q@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9731-8822
Summary
This paper discusses the results of the study aimed to examine components of a portable yurt bought by the Turkmen expedition of the State Historical Museum in the Bairamali district, Mary region, Turkmenistan, in 1959. The study was intended to verify authenticity of this museum object as well as develop a sequence of actions to reassemble this dwelling that can be set up and then put down when put on display at an exhibition. The study identified materials and technological methods used to make the yurt. This made it possible to correlate the results obtained with local ethnic traditions. To this end, we examined the yurt components that have survived, did the 14C dating of the wood, performed technological analysis of the textile components and xylotomic analysis of the wood, determined the nitrogen and carbon isotopic composition of the textile fragments as well as the variations in the strontium isotope ratios of the wood. To verify the results, we used a reference dataset of ethnographic materials attributed to Eurasian nomads for comparison. The analyses of the Bairamali yurt enabled the team to refer this nomadic habitation to the Turkmen/Turkic type. The door frame was made of poplar/aspen; two dome poles (uuks); the lattice wall sections (kerege), and the components of the skylight ring (tüýnük) were made of willow; the coat rack was made of a felled apricot tree. Based on the 87Sr/86Sr value determination, the wood originated in Murghab river basin. A felt fragment has survived in the skylight ring. The yurt textile parts are represented by plant mats, wool yurt bands, wool and silk tapes, wool and bast ropes and threads. The textile raw material is also local. The 14C date confirmed that the door, which is the oldest yurt component, was made at the turn of the twentieth century. The study of the yurt components was used in scientific restoration of this unique museum item which was put on display for the exhibition “The Wild Fields. In Perpetual Motion” that ran in the State Historical Museum in 2024.
Keywords: cyurt, Turkmenistan, isotopic composition of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13Ñ), variations in the 87Sr/86Sr values, 14Ñ AMS-dating.
© Shishlina N.I., Loskutova A.S., Kupriyanov D.A., Soloshenko N.G., Mamonova A.A., Ershova O.V., 2026
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Received 15.04.2026
Accepted 04.06.2026
Article is published: 15.09.2026
Funding. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 25-18-00028.
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