MAIASP. 2025. No. 19 Gulnara Jumabekova (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Alexander Panichkin (Almaty, Kazakhstan),Elina Altynbekova (Almaty, Kazakhstan),Kyrym Altynbekova (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Manas Kazikeyev (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Galiya Bazarbayeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan) THE DEER CURLED INTO A “RING”:NEW EVIDENCE ON A HAIRPIN FROM ALMATY Interdisciplinary research has become integral to archaeology, allowing the fullest recovery of evidence and opening new lines of inquiry. This paper presents the zoomorphically decorated finial of a metal hairpin recovered from Kurgan 2 of the Taugul-3 burial ground, Almaty (5th — 4th centuries BCE). The pin’s shaft was published in 2024; here we provide a full description of the ornament — depicting a deer curled into a ring — together with the results of interdisciplinary analyses concerning the object’s manufacturing technology. The new evidence refines the typological and stylistic attribution of the piece and contributes to our understanding of the artistic culture of Saka-period communities in Jetisu (southeastern Kazakhstan). Key words: Jetisu (Zhetysu), Taugul-3, Early Iron Age, Sakas, art, animal style. |