RESULTS OF THE REPUBLICAN ESSAY COMPETITION
“Botai – the Origins of Human Civilization”

A total of 102 entries were submitted to the Republican competition of works, traditionally organized annually by the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve “Botai.”

The submissions came from the cities of Astana, Almaty, Uralsk, Shymkent, Turkestan, Kyzylorda, Karaganda, Kostanay, Petropavl, Kokshetau, and Stepnogorsk, as well as from the Kyzylorda, Karaganda, Akmola, East Kazakhstan, and West Kazakhstan regions, and from districts of the North Kazakhstan Region (G. Musrepov, Kyzylzhar, Aiyrtau).

Of the total entries, 66 were written in Kazakh and 36 in Russian.

Scientific staff of the Botai Museum-Reserve, as members of the jury, selected the winners of the competition (I, II, and III places).

On March 4, 2025, the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve “Botai” organized a round table via the ZOOM platform on the topic “The Contribution of Women Scientists to the Development of Historical Science in Kazakhstan – Paths of Creative and Personal Self-Realization,” dedicated to International Women’s Day on March 8.

The aim of the round table was to promote historical science, archaeology, and cultural contexts among the younger generation through the achievements of women scientists in research, academic, and cultural-educational activities in Kazakhstan.

The event began with a welcoming speech by the acting director of the Botai Museum-Reserve, T.K. Nurseitov.

During the round table, Meruert Kiyazbekovna, Head of the North Kazakhstan Branch of the A.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology; Aiganyl Sabitovna Ganieva, Candidate of Historical Sciences and Leading Researcher of the Early Iron Age Archaeology Department of the A.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology (Astana branch); and Gulmira Raiylovna, Head of the Issyk Museum-Reserve, shared insights into the professional biographies of women scientists, their achievements in reaching academic milestones, and the challenges they faced during archaeological expeditions.

These challenges included working with surface archaeological materials, conducting excavations, living in temporary field shelters near excavation sites, difficult weather conditions, open-air environments, and long walking routes.

From February 10 to 21, 2025, scientific staff of the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve “Botai” — M.S. Makeev and M.M. Kuttybay — visited the A.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology in Almaty on a research visit.

The purpose of the visit was to exchange experience in the preservation and protection of historical monuments under the cooperation memorandum, share research results, and organize joint activities in various areas.

During the visit, the researchers became familiar with the zooarchaeology, anthropology, and osteology laboratories, as well as ongoing scientific research conducted in these fields.

On February 27, 2025, scientific staff of the Republican State Enterprise “State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve ‘Botai’” under the Committee of Culture of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan — M.S. Makeev and M.M. Kuttybay — organized educational historical events for students of Sh. Ualikhanov Kokshetau University on the topic “Methods of Archaeological Research.”

The program included an exhibition-tour based on materials and artifacts of the Botai culture.

Students were presented with information on the unique results of nearly 40 years of research at the Botai settlement, which proved that at the end of the Stone Age, on the territory of Kazakhstan within the Ural–Irtysh region, the ancient carriers of the Botai culture were the first in the world to domesticate the horse.