“Botai – Culture of the Great Steppe”
On May 22, 2025, the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve “Botai” held the grand opening of the traveling exhibition “Botai – Culture of the Great Steppe” at the Stepnogorsk Museum of History and Local Lore, where it will run until June 22.
The exhibition is dedicated to the unique archaeological Botai culture, dating back to the 4th millennium BCE. Visitors can explore rare artifacts discovered in Northern Kazakhstan, including clay pottery, tools, ornaments, as well as reconstructions of Botai dwellings and lifestyle.
Among the exhibits is a human skull with traces of trepanation, indicating that ancient people were already performing surgical procedures at that time.
Ornamented horse phalanges are also displayed—these artifacts were often used by women as neck ornaments, with each pattern representing a specific symbolic meaning.
Fragments of ceramic vessels serve as evidence that the Botai people produced kumis from mare’s milk. The collection also includes hammerstones, axes, arrowheads, darts, retouchers, as well as knives and scrapers made of jasper quartzite.
The dwellings of the Botai people are considered prototypes of the Kazakh yurt. These dwellings were interconnected by underground passages. Each dwelling was inhabited by people engaged in the same type of livelihood.
The Botai culture is rightfully regarded as one of the most ancient in the history of the Great Steppe. It was here that the domestication of the horse first occurred—a development that had a profound impact on the course of human civilization. The exhibition immerses visitors in the daily life and traditions of ancient people while highlighting the significance of this heritage.
The exhibition has attracted particular interest from school and university students, for whom such events become vivid and engaging lessons in history.
