KazNU Scientists to Conduct First Comprehensive Study of Kazakh Heritage Sites in Northern and Southern Kyzylkum

Kyzylkum is an ancient cradle of civilization between the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers, a region that for centuries carried international caravan routes linking Central Asian states with western countries through Kazakh lands. However, field research has revealed that many Kazakh cemeteries and winter settlements built from mud brick and saxaul are at risk of destruction due to sand encroachment. Most of these sites are not included in the lists of locally significant monuments in the Kyzylorda or Turkestan regions, leaving them without proper protection.

Located at the border of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, Kyzylkum represents a shared historical and cultural space for the three countries. Yet due to its border status, remote settlements such as Niyaz, Shopankazgan, and Kekireli remain outside the scope of scientific research. Additionally, the drying of the Aral Sea and the merging of the southern Kyzylkum desert with the former Aral seabed have created a new ecological situation, requiring urgent documentation of local Kazakh communities' traditional knowledge and survival practices.

To study, from historical-ethnographic, ethnoarchaeological, and ethnoecological perspectives, how Kazakhs settled and developed Northern and Southern Kyzylkum throughout history, the distinctive features of their traditional and auxiliary economies, the formation of Kazakh heritage sites, and the preservation of traditional livelihood practices to the present day.

This is the first project aimed at an interdisciplinary study of Kazakh heritage sites in Kyzylkum within ethnology, ethnoarchaeology, and heritage studies, producing shared scientific results for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. For the first time, the concept of "Kazakh monuments of Kyzylkum" will be introduced into scholarship as the term "ethnoarchaeological culture." Topics such as the "Aralkum-Moynaq" direction of Southern Kyzylkum, the "Moynaq" ship graveyard, hot artesian-radon springs, and petrified forest areas become subjects of domestic scientific research for the first time. The shared value systems formed by Kazakhs and Karakalpaks in the harsh Kyzylkum ecosystem are also introduced into scholarly discourse for the first time.

The project covers six directions: historical-ethnographic research analyzing written sources on Kyzylkum tribes from the early Turkic period through the early 20th century; ethnoarchaeological research identifying and documenting ancient settlements and caravan routes with their stations and wells; ethnographic and ethnofolkloric study of heritage held in museums of neighboring countries; ethnoeconomic research on trade routes and market ethnography; an ethnoecological direction studying traditional use of underground water resources and settlement patterns; and ethnozoological and ethnobotanical research on the traditional use of local flora and fauna.

The study is interdisciplinary, combining historical-ethnographic, ethnozoological, ethno-geo-ecobotanical, and ethnofolkloric methods. Field expeditions involve ethnographers, archaeologists, ecologists, and geobiologists, as well as foreign specialists engaged under contractual agreements. Satellite and scanning surveys, geoarchaeology and geomorphology methods, and an "environmental archaeology" approach are used to identify heritage sites. Traditional and digital epigraphy and paleography methods are applied to read gravestone inscriptions.

The project is the first comprehensive study aimed at producing shared scientific results for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Drawing on the experience of the International Geoarchaeology Laboratory, the research engages foreign scholars in an international expedition. Results will be published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals, strengthening Kazakhstan's role in ethnoarchaeological research across the Central Asian region.

Heritage sites identified as endangered during the project will be added to the lists of locally significant monuments in the Kyzylorda and Turkestan regions and placed under legal protection. Plans include preserving the "Aralshi" winter enclosure in Northern Kyzylkum as an open-air monument through "museumification," transforming it into a site for extreme historical tourism — laying the groundwork for developing "Aral-Kyzylkum" eco-tourism.

Articles in international peer-reviewed scientific journals; a collective monograph titled "Kazakhs of Kyzylkum in Geocultural Space," including an accompanying atlas-map and scientific catalog.

Spanning 36 months (2025-2027), the project will be the first to systematically document Kazakh heritage in the Kyzylkum region, laying the foundation for its preservation. The project's findings will be valuable to universities and research institutes in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, national archives and museums, the culture departments of the Kyzylorda and Turkestan regions, and the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea.