New Discoveries about Ancient Naryn

This research paper discusses the ancient layers of archaeological sites that have been discovered during the construction of the University of Central Asia’s campus in Naryn (Kyrgyzstan). The publication was developed in the framework of the ‘Naryn Archeological Project’ (NAP), which has been implemented by the Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit of UCA’s Graduate School of Development since 2017. It aims to comprehensively research and preserve the ancient archaeological remains and artefacts at UCA’s campus site.

UCA initiated archaeological excavations in 2012, which revealed layers of settlements from the Mesolithic, Eneolithic, Bronze and later periods. Discovery of these ancient sites has led to a scientific study of the technological and cultural evolution of the communities that used to live in the region. The ‘Aigyrzhal-1’ and ‘Aigyrzhal-3’ petroglyph complexes are two of five complexes that are primarily studied today. Excavation results have discovered that the ‘Aigyrzhal-2’ site is key to evaluating the spread of ancient local populations, as well the linkages between communities, and agricultural and livestock farms in the Bronze era in Central Asia.