The seminar is organized as part of the outcomes of the research program BR22082478 "Sign system in the cultures of the Early Iron Age of the Kazakh Altai."
The seminar is dedicated to current issues in the study of signs and symbols in the culture of the ancient populations of the Kazakh Altai, their semantic and functional roles, and their place within the visual-communicative system of early nomadic societies. The event is designed as an interdisciplinary scientific platform to discuss the obtained results.
Topics for discussion include:
- Definitions and terminology (sign, symbol, tamga);
- The animal (zoomorphic) style as a system of sign-based communication;
- Key interpretative approaches: structural-semiotic, contextual, and comparative-typological.
Objective:
To reinterpret the visual-communicative practices of early nomads in light of the latest archaeological data and semiotic methodologies.
Goals:
- To systematize terminology and approaches to the interpretation of signs;
- To reveal the significance of the animal style as an expression of social and sacred structure;
- To discuss methodological foundations for further study of the visual systems of nomadic cultures.
Participants:
Archaeologists, ethnologists, historians, art historians, students of relevant disciplines, as well as representatives of academic and museum institutions are invited to take part.
Registration contact:
Zhanar Elemesova
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
+7 775 391 6646
We warmly invite all interested specialists to take part in the seminar!
Time: August 4, 2025, 02:00 PM Astana time
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88159985442?pwd=dhTAzs1ge4DbHKsJltOnaV2gwhXZp0.1
Meeting ID: 881 5998 5442
Passcode: 8vEsxF