Afanasievo Culture

In this episode, we explore the Afanasievo culture, a prehistoric society of Siberian herders who flourished between roughly 3300 and 2500 BCE in the Minusinsk Basin and Altai Mountains. The episode traces their origins as Western Steppe Herders migrating from the Don-Volga region into Inner Asia, bringing with them pastoralism, wheeled vehicles, metalworking, and new forms of burial practice. We examine their role in transforming the eastern steppes through livestock herding, especially sheep and cattle, and consider their widely discussed connection to the Proto-Tocharian language. From their expansion into areas as far as central Mongolia to their lasting influence in regions like Dzungaria, this episode shows how the Afanasievo culture became a crucial link between western Eurasian innovations and the ancient societies of Siberia and Inner Asia.