Toponymy of the Ancient Sary-Arka (North-Eastern Kazakhstan)

Saparov Kuat, Chlachula Jiri () and Yeginbayeva Aigul
Additional contact information
Saparov Kuat: Department of Physical Geography, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Chlachula Jiri: Institute of Geoecology and Geoinformation, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland
Yeginbayeva Aigul: Department of Physical Geography, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Kazakhstan

Quaestiones Geographicae, 2018, vol. 37, issue 3, 35-52

Abstract: This study examines the etymology of the principal physiographic entities of the ancient Sary-Arka area–meaning in the old Turkic language Yellowing Ridge – encompassing the present territory of parkland-steppes, rocky highlands and the adjacent mountains of North and East Kazakhstan. The current linguistic evidence points to a complex and chronologically long culture-historical development reflected by the local place names best-recorded for the major rivers and mountains (hydronyms and oronyms, respectively). Not all geo-site names are securely determined by using modern onomastics. Records of material culture provide additional multi-proxy information. Local uniformity of some toponyms across the extensive area assuming a common cultural background attests to a broader ethnic homogeneity and/or mobility of the ancient populations inhabiting this vast and geomorphically mosaic land. This suggests a close relationship and interactions (including demographic exchanges and mixing) between the past pastoral ethics in the parkland-steppe and semi-desert areas north of Lake Balkhash between the Aral Sea and the southern Urals in the West and the Alatau–Altai Mountain systems in the East. Whereas the hydronyms of the Sary-Arka may have a rather complex and not fully clear origin with a connection to the Turkic-Tatar medieval tribes and nations’ occupancy in northern Central Asia eventually modified into the present Kazakh language forms, the oronyms of the East Kazakhstan mountain ranges indicate the Mongolian roots.

Keywords: toponymy; ethnic history; cultural history; Sary-Arka; East Kazakhstan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.2478/quageo-2018-0024 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:quageo:v:37:y:2018:i:3:p:35-52:n:3

DOI: 10.2478/quageo-2018-0024

Access Statistics for this article

Quaestiones Geographicae is currently edited by Andrzej Kostrzewski

More articles in Quaestiones Geographicae from Sciendo
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Peter Golla ().