Abstract
The Eurasian steppes nomads left behind numerous statues across the vast territories of the Turkic states. These stone figures are found everywhere from Eastern Mongolia to the Elbe Valley. Many statues date back to the 6th-8th centuries. Based on an analysis of archaeological finds and the collections of the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the typology of these statues is examined: ranging from elite “khagan-type” seated figures to images of warriors and female stone sculptures.Stone statues of the Turkic period represent a complex semiotic system in which posture, attributes, and spatial arrangement encode the social status and sacral role of the depicted character. Most sculptural representations of Turkic monuments are executed as full-length standing figures; however, some statues depict only the head of the upper part of the body. Within large elite complexes sculptures of people in both standing and sitting positions are present. The study also provides a critical analysis of the museification process. It addresses the problem of “decontextualization” – the loss of an object’s sacral and semantic meaning when it is removed from its natural landscape and architectural ensemble. The research justifies the necessity of implementing new exhibition approaches to preserve the ancient Turkic heritage.