Origin of the Alans

[Alanus]

Thanks, Michael

Your post helps fill the gaps in the trade routes. We are looking at a vast network. Anything from Saka India that went north reached the Kushans as middlemen. In Yuezhi graves, we find all sorts of goods from the Mediterranean and Black Sea areas, and from Persia.

   
Here's a Persian figurine from Berel mound 36, just one of several items missed by ancient grave robbers. Looks like bronze to me; and maybe the robbers were more interested in gold.

In Art of the Steppes, Karl Jettmar illustrated a Chinese helmet, also found in the Altai. I can't reproduce the helmet, but it's really early... either Qin or Warring States, and made from bronze. We find cowrie shells in Yuezhi graves, and they arrived from the Indian Ocean. So, the coastal port routes you mentioned might have been the source. Anyway, I love all the info we're digging out. It really broadens the picture.