Arzhan culture

Arzhan is a site of early Saka kurgan burials in the Tuva Republic, Russia, some 60 kilometers (40 mi) northwest of Kyzyl. It is on a high plateau traversed by the Uyuk River, a minor tributary of the Yenisei River, in the region of Tuva, 20 km to the southwest of the city of Turan. The Arzhan culture is considered as forming the initial Scythian period (8th–7th century BC), and precedes the Pazyryk culture. The remains of Arzhan are among the earliest of all known Scythian cultures, which has led to suggestions that it is the origin of the Scythian "Animal Style". It is the first stage of the Saka Uyuk culture.