ANCIENT TURKIC AKBAUYR FENCES
The small number of studied early medieval sites in Central Kazakhstan actualizes interest in each new studied complex. The ancient Turkic enclosures of Akbauyr (Shet district of Karagandy region) represented an elongated arc of 6 structures of the Kudyrginsky and Yakonur types. Of particular interest is the miniature stone box in the fence number 3. Such objects are a distinctive feature of the early group of ancient Turkic complexes of Altai and continue the tradition of Bulan-Kobin culture. The iconographic design of the half-length anthropomorphic sculpture confirms the cultural affiliation of the Akbauyr enclosures. The first successes in the study of the Xiongnu complexes of Central Kazakhstan open up new possibilities for clarifying the lower chronological boundary of the ancient Turkic sites of the region, which can be determined by the second half of the 6th century, given the comparability of the data of radiocarbon analysis and historical evidence. The opposite situation has developed with the upper limit, which remains hypothetical and is based on disappearance of the tradition of erecting quadrangular enclosures among the Kipchak tribes. In any case, in neighboring territories, according to some researchers, it is limited to the 10th century.