Introduction
About a decade ago, there were a bunch of sensationalist pop-archaeology articles published about some ancient geoglyphs that were discovered in Kazakhstan. One of them was allegedly in the shape of a swastika.
Nearly all of the articles included an image of a geoglyph in the shape of a triskelion, which I thought was just a random photo of one of the geoglyphs. After doing some further searching, it turns out the triskelion really was what the writers were bafflingly calling a swastika!
This debunking will be quite simple. A triskelion (triskele) is motif consisting of three spirals or "legs". The name itself comes from the Greek word "triskelḗs", meaning "three-legged". A swastika has...four "legs".
A type of triskelion.
A swastika.
It couldn't get any clearer. By definition, there is no such thing as a "triradial swastika".
Turgay Steppe Geoglyphs
The Turgay (Turgai/Torgay) Steppe Geoglyphs were discovered in 2007 when Dmitriy Dey was looking at images on Google Earth.[1][2][3][9] News articles describe Dey as an "archaeology enthusiast", although Dey described himself as head of the Turgay Discovery research project in a lecture he gave in 2015.[3]
As of July 2015, Dey claimed 260 geoglyphs were discovered in the Turgay Trough region.[4] He claimed two of these are "triradial swasitkas".[4] The "Turgay triradial swastika" and "Ushtogaysky square" are listed as among the first and most exciting of the discoveries.[4] In 2013, an article credited to Dey and archaeologists Andrey Logvin and Irina Shevnina described the geoglyph simply as a "swastika", without even qualifying it as "triradial"![5]
Slide of the so-called "Turgay triradial swastika" from Dey's lecture.[6] This is the image that appeared in most news articles.
The 2013 article[5] dates the Turgay Triskelion to the massive date range of the "Bronze Age to the Middle Ages" (~3300 BC to ~1500 AD), although some of the other geoglyphs analyzed only dated to the Middle Ages.[5] A later article says archaeologist Giedre Motuzaite Matuzeviciute analyzed one of the mounds and dated it to 800 BC, and that Logvin and Shevnina stated the earthworks were built during the early Iron Age.[1] In Dey's lecture, he quotes from an article saying the structures are 3000 years old (1000 BC), but "indirect evidence" could push the date back to 8000 years old.[7] This "indirect evidence" comes from linking presumably unrelated archaeological artifacts found in an unspecific location to the geoglyphs.[1][8]
Logvin, Shevnina, and Matuzeviciute--the professional archaeologists who conducted the research at the sites--have gone on the record saying the geoglyphs cannot date back to 6000 BC as Dey claims, but only 800 BC.[8] Moreover, the archaeologists said that only 60 geoglyphs were confirmed as of 2015, not the 260 reported by Dey and the New York Times.[8]
"Using a dating technique called optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), the archaeologists recently found that the structures were constructed starting around 2,800 years ago. They were built at the beginning of Kazakhstan's "iron age," when iron tools and weapons gradually replaced those made of bronze, said archaeologists Andrew Logvin and Irina Shevnina, both of Kostanay University in Kazakhstan.
[...]
A New York Times report published on Oct. 30 suggested the geoglyphs (which the Times called "ancient earthworks") date as far back as 8,000 years — which would make them older than any other such geoglyphs, including the famous Nazca Lines of Peru, which date to between 200 B.C. and A.D. 500.
However, following the publication of that story, the three archaeologists who did the research — Logvin and Shevnina, as well as Giedre Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, a postdoctoral fellow at Vilnius University in Lithuania —disputed the report, saying the geoglyphs are not nearly that old.
Live Science contacted all three of them last weekend, after the New York Times story was published, to find out if the date, and other details of the story, were accurate.
The claim that these symbols date back as far as 8,000 years is "not supported by any evidence at all," Matuzeviciute said. The OSL dating technique the team used "gave ca. 800 B.C. and nothing earlier," she said."[8]
(The author of the article above did his homework by contacting the researchers, but he still repeated the falsehood that the triskelion is a "swastika-shaped geoglyph"! Sigh.)
In an academic article from 2018,[9] the archaeologists wrote that 84 possible geoglyphs have been discovered, 61 of which were visited and confirmed to exist. Of these 61, two were triskelions labelled as so-called "swastikas".[9] In this paper, the authors again call the Turgai Triskelion a "swastika" (Тургайская свастика) without even qualifying it as "triradial"...
The authors describe this triskelion as: "Swastika Gendra I (Fig. 4)" [Свастика Жандра I (рис. 4)]. Also translated as "Ritual complex Of Zhandra I." [Ритуальный комплекс Жандра I.][9]
In a preliminary report from 2016, the archaeologists have a figure of a bunch of three-legged triskelions and no four-legged swastikas.[10] So, obviously they know the difference between 3 and 4. Yet they call the triskelion shape a "swastika" here too...
The following is a Google translation of the description given for the figure above. Not a single swastika.
"Figure 8. Geoglyph Torgai swastika and its analogues. Archaeological monuments in the form of a swastika: 1 – Torgai swastika of the Urpek ritual complex; 2 – Swastika Jandra I; 4 – three-beam layout on the mountain Cherkasinskaya Sopka (according to D.G. Zdanovich, 2003); 13 – "vortex" swastika of the Necropolis of Chash-Tepe (according to Yu.A. Rapoport and S.A. Trudnovskaya, 1979). Signs-tamgi of the "Sarmato-Alan" time (I century BC – III century AD): 3 – bronze mirror from the mound 8 of the Bolshekaragansky burial ground (according to S.G. Botalov, 2009); 5 – signs in the caves of Ak-Kaya I, II (according to S.A. Yatsenko, 2001); 6, 7, 9 – tamgi-signs on a wooden harp from the burial of 1918 in Kozyrka (according to S.A. Yatsenko, 2001); 8 – tamga on the mirror from the burial ground Belbek IV (according to S.A. Yatsenko, 2001); 10, 11 – tamgi signs on the marble lion No. 1 from Olbia (according to S.A. Yatsenko, 2001); 12– coin from the settlement of Toprak-kala (according to S.P. Tolstov, 1948); 14 – tamga on a coin from Khorezm (according to S.A. Yatsenko, 2001); 15, 16 – tamgi on bricks from the settlement of Tok-kala (according to S.A. Yatsenko, 2001); 17 – tamga on a Kushan coin from Bactria (after S.P. Tolstov, 1948); 18 – petroglyph in arshaan-shad area (according to S.A. Yatsenko, 2001); 19 – tamga on a bronze cauldron from Chechnya (according to S.A. Yatsenko, 2001); 20 – belt plate with an ornament from the burial near the village of Mushov in South Moravia (according to S.V. Voronyatov, 2012); 21 – tamga on the tip of a spear from the burial of Strycovice, Kalisz Voivodeship (according to S.A. Jacenko and G. Dobzhanska, 2012); 22 – tamga on the tip of a spear from the burial of Jankowo, Poznań Voivodeship (according to S.A. Jacinko and G. Dobrzańska, 2012)"
"Рис. 8. Геоглиф Торгайская свастика и его аналогии. Археологические памятники в форме свастики: 1 – Торгайская свастика ритуального комплекса Урпек; 2 – свастика Жандра I; 4 – трехлучевая выкладка на горе Черкасинская Сопка (по Д.Г. Здановичу, 2003); 13 – «вихревая» свастика некрополя Чаш-Тепе (по Ю.А. Рапопорт и С.А. Трудновской, 1979). Знаки-тамги «сармато-аланского» времени (І в. до н.э. – ІІІ в. н.э.): 3 – бронзовое зеркало из кургана 8 могильника Большекараганский (по С.Г. Боталову, 2009); 5 – знаки в пещерах Ак-Кая І, ІІ (по С.А. Яценко, 2001); 6, 7, 9 – тамги-знаки на деревянной арфе из погребения 1918 г. в Козырке (по С.А. Яценко, 2001); 8 – тамга на зеркале из могильника Бельбек ІV (по С.А. Яценко, 2001); 10, 11 – знаки-тамги на мраморном льве № 1 из Ольвии (по С.А. Яценко, 2001); 12 – монета из городища Топрак-кала (по С.П. Толстову, 1948); 14 – тамга на монете из Хорезма (по С.А. Яценко, 2001); 15, 16 – тамги на кирпичах из городища Ток-кала (по С.А. Яценко, 2001); 17 – тамга на кушанской монете из Бактрии (по С.П. Толстову, 1948); 18 – петроглиф в местности Аршаан-шад (по С.А. Яценко, 2001); 19 – тамга на бронзовом котле из Чечни (по С.А. Яценко, 2001); 20 – поясная накладка с орнаментом из погребения у поселка Мушов в Южной Моравии (по С.В. Воронятову, 2012); 21 – тамга на наконечнике копья из погребения Стрыцовице Калишского воеводства (по С.А. Яценко и Г. Добжаньска, 2012); 22 – тамга на наконечнике копья из погребения Янково Познаньского воеводства (по С.А. Яценко и Г. Добжаньска, 2012)"
Here is a translation of the column titles in the figure.
1: Steppes of Torgai (Northern Kazakhstan); 2: South Ural; 3: Northern Black Sea region and Crimea; 4: Central Asia; 4a: Khorezm; 4b: Bactria; 5: Mongolia; 6: North Caucasus; 7: Europe; 7a: Czech Republic; 7b: Poland
1: Степи Торгая (Северный Казахстан); 2: Южный Урал; 3: Северное Причерноморье и Крым; 4: Средняя Азия; 4a: Хорезм; 4b: Бактрия; 5: Монголия; 6: Северный Кавказ; 7: Европа; 7a: Чехия; 7b: Польша
Driven by Propaganda?
What were the writers thinking calling these motifs "swastikas"? Had they ever seen a swastika before? Maybe it was just a translation error, but the Russian word "трискелион" transliterates directly to triskelion.
I suspect what happened is that the writers were trying to play into the idea that the Turanian steppe was the original homeland of the swastika and "Aryans". Around the same time the discovery of the geoglyph was announced, many genetic studies were published cementing the Kurgan hypothesis (Steppe theory) of Proto-Indo-European language dispersal. Since the Proto-Indo-European speakers (i.e. Turanian steppe herders) have been incorrectly associated with the Aryans (i.e. Neolithic farmers and swastika-bearers) for centuries, we can see how adding swastikas into the mix would capitalize on people's misconceptions.
In this same vein, Russian archaeologists had previously claimed (falsely) that the archaeological site of Arkaim was built in the shape of a swastika, and that, therefore, Russia was an alleged cradle of the ancient "Aryans".
It should not surprise us that those who hold an affinity to the Turanian steppe have been intentionally misleading people about the origin of the swastika and who the original Aryans were:
"Social impact
Religious movements and mysticismThe discovery of Arkaim reinvigorated the debate about the original homeland of the Indo-Europeans, seemingly confirming its location in central Eurasia.[12] After their discovery, Arkaim and the Land of Towns have been presented as the "land of the Aryans", the centre of a statehood of a monarchical type, and ultimately the model for a new spiritual civilisation harmonised with the universe.[13] Agencies related to the Russian Orthodox Church have been critical of such activities of Arkaim's archaeology.[14]
The discovery of Arkaim and the Land of Towns has fueled the growth of schools of thought among Rodnovers, Rerikhians, Zoroastrians and other movements which regard the archaeological site as the second homeland of the Aryans, who originally dwelt in Arctic regions[citation needed] and migrated southwards when the weather there became glacial, then spreading from central Eurasia to the east, south and west, founding other civilisations. According to them, all Vedic knowledge originated in the southern Urals.[15] Some of them identify Arkaim as the Asgard of Odin spoken of in Germanic mythology. The Russian Zoroastrian movement identifies Arkaim as the place where Zoroaster was born.[16] Arkaim is designated as a "national and spiritual shrine" of Russia[7] and has become a holy site for Rodnover, Zoroastrian and other religious movements.[16]
Vladimir Putin's visit and the "Russian idea"
Russia's president Vladimir Putin visited the site in 2005, meeting in person with the chief archaeologist Gennady Zdanovich.[17] The visit received much attention from Russian media. They presented Arkaim as the "homeland of the majority of contemporary people in Asia, and, partly, Europe". Nationalists called Arkaim the "city of Russian glory" and the "most ancient Slavic-Aryan town". Zdanovich reportedly presented Arkaim to the president as a possible "national idea of Russia",[18] a new idea of civilisation which Shnirelman calls the "Russian idea".[19]"[11]
...Hmmm, what have we here? The archaeologists who are calling triskelions "swastikas" have also attempted to make a connection back to Arkaim:[10]
"The Torgai swastika has certain parallels with a three-beam layout on The Cherkasyn Hill in the Arkaim Museum of the Kizil District of the Che-Lyabinsk Region. This layout is constructed of earth and stone in the form of three straight shafts diverging from the center."
"Определенные параллели Торгайская свастика имеет с трехлучевой выкладкой на горе Черкасинская Сопка в музее-запо-веднике «Аркаим» Кизильского района Че-лябинской области. Эта выкладка сооруже-на из земли и камня в форме трех прямых, расходящихся от центра валов."
Recall also that the Mezine artifact (which is incorrectly said to be the oldest example of a swastika) also comes from the Eurasian steppe region...
Illustrations claiming that the Mezine artifact is a swastika at least tried to be convincing, but disinformation has gone to a new level when people start claiming three-legged triskelions are the same thing as four-legged swastikas!!!
***
***
We have shown that the earliest known swastikas were actually found in the Neolithic farming societies of Mesopotamia:
https://aryan-anthropology.blogspot.com/p/worlds-oldest-swastikas.html#Samarra
From there, the swastika followed the Neolithic spread of farming into Europe--thousands of years before the dispersion of the Indo-European languages:
https://aryan-anthropology.blogspot.com/p/worlds-oldest-swastikas.html#VincaTurdasPetresti
Even in India, the Indus Valley Civilization used the swastika long before the Indo-European-speaking Vedic invaders arrived on the scene:
https://aryan-anthropology.blogspot.com/p/worlds-oldest-swastikas.html#IndusValley
To spell it out: the swastika did not originate with the Proto-Indo-European speakers, nor were their migrations responsible for its spread. Neither were the steppe herders "Aryans" in the first place. Instead, it was the Neolithic farmers who spread the swastika.
A summary of what we've learned.
References
[1] Ralph Blumenthal. (October 30, 2015). NASA Adds to Evidence of Mysterious Ancient Earthworks. New York Times.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190701122105/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/science/nasa-adds-to-evidence-of-mysterious-ancient-earthworks.html
[2] Danny Lewis. (November 2, 2015). NASA is Helping Study These Massive Earthworks from Space. Smithsonian Magazine.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasa-helping-study-massive-earthworks-space-180957123/
[3] Dmitriy Dey. (September 9, 2015). Turgay Trough Geoglyphs. Slide 2.
https://sites.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec53991/002.htm
[4] Dmitriy Dey. (September 9, 2015). Turgay Trough Geoglyphs. Slide 7.
https://sites.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec53991/007.htm
[5] Andrey Logvin, Irina Shevnina, and Dmitriy Dey. (September 30, 2013). Geoglyphs of Torgay. Kazakhstan History Portal.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170830233123/http://e-history.kz/en/contents/view/1562
[6] Dmitriy Dey. (September 9, 2015). Turgay Trough Geoglyphs. Slide 9.
https://sites.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec53991/009.htm
[7] Dmitriy Dey. (September 9, 2015). Turgay Trough Geoglyphs. Slide 18.
https://sites.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec53991/018.htm
[8] Owen Jarus. (November 5, 2015). Mysterious Symbols in Kazakhstan: How Old Are They, Really? Live Science.
https://www.livescience.com/52700-mysterious-geoglyphs-in-kazakhstan-revealed.html
[9] Andrey V. Logvin, Irina V. Shevnina, Abay M. Seitov, and A.V. Neteta. (2018). RITUAL COMPLEXES ("GEOGLIFS") OF THE TURGAY DEFLECTION (PRELIMINARY MESSAGE)//Логвин А.В., Шевнина И.В., Сеитов А.М., Нетета А.В. РИТУАЛЬНЫЕ КОМПЛЕКСЫ («ГЕОГЛИФЫ») ТУРГАЙСКОГО ПРОГИБА (ПРЕДВАРИТЕЛЬНОЕ СООБЩЕНИЕ). Archaeoastronomy and Ancient Technologies, 6(1), page 30-63.
https://www.academia.edu/es/36126584/Logvin_A_V_Shevnina_I_V_Seitov_A_M_Neteta_A_V_RITUAL_COMPLEXES_GEOGLIFS_OF_THE_TURGAY_DEFLECTION_PRELIMINARY_MESSAGE_%D0%9B%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BD_%D0%90_%D0%92_%D0%A8%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%98_%D0%92_%D0%A1%D0%B5%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2_%D0%90_%D0%9C_%D0%9D%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B0_%D0%90_%D0%92_%D0%A0%D0%98%D0%A2%D0%A3%D0%90%D0%9B%D0%AC%D0%9D%D0%AB%D0%95_%D0%9A%D0%9E%D0%9C%D0%9F%D0%9B%D0%95%D0%9A%D0%A1%D0%AB_%D0%93%D0%95%D0%9E%D0%93%D0%9B%D0%98%D0%A4%D0%AB_%D0%A2%D0%A3%D0%A0%D0%93%D0%90%D0%99%D0%A1%D0%9A%D0%9E%D0%93%D0%9E_%D0%9F%D0%A0%D0%9E%D0%93%D0%98%D0%91%D0%90_%D0%9F%D0%A0%D0%95%D0%94%D0%92%D0%90%D0%A0%D0%98%D0%A2%D0%95%D0%9B%D0%AC%D0%9D%D0%9E%D0%95_%D0%A1%D0%9E%D0%9E%D0%91%D0%A9%D0%95%D0%9D%D0%98%D0%95_
[10] Irina V. Shevnina, Andrey V. Logvin, and Abay M. Seitov. (2016). RITUAL COMPLEX URPEK (preliminary report)//РИТУАЛЬНЫЙ КОМПЛЕКС УРПЕК (ПРЕДВАРИТЕЛЬНОЕ СООБЩЕНИЕ). Religion and System of Worldviews of Ancient and Medieval Nomads of Eurasia (2016), page 56-65.
https://www.academia.edu/31481202/RITUAL_COMPLEX_URPEK_preliminary_report_%D0%A0%D0%98%D0%A2%D0%A3%D0%90%D0%9B%D0%AC%D0%9D%D0%AB%D0%99_%D0%9A%D0%9E%D0%9C%D0%9F%D0%9B%D0%95%D0%9A%D0%A1_%D0%A3%D0%A0%D0%9F%D0%95%D0%9A_%D0%9F%D0%A0%D0%95%D0%94%D0%92%D0%90%D0%A0%D0%98%D0%A2%D0%95%D0%9B%D0%AC%D0%9D%D0%9E%D0%95_%D0%A1%D0%9E%D0%9E%D0%91%D0%A9%D0%95%D0%9D%D0%98%D0%95_
[11] Wikipedia. Arkaim. Subsections "Religious movements and mysticism" and "Vladimir Putin's visit and the "Russian idea"". Page version May 31, 2022.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arkaim&oldid=1090776951
See also:
Wikipedia. Steppe Geoglyphs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steppe_Geoglyphs
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