Kurumchi culture is an indigenous early medieval Siberian archaeological culture of 6th to 10th centuries CE, identified with Kurykan tribe and tribal union of the Chinese chronicles. Kurumchi culture extended in Eastern Siberia Lake Baikal area, and in the upper course of Lena and Angara rivers. The monuments of the culture include encampments, settlements, burials, petroglyphs, and inscriptions. Prominent monuments are cemeteries on Lake Baikal Olkhon Island with gravestone structures in a form of miniatures of wigwam type, rock images painted with red ocher in the upper course of the river Lena (Shishkin, and others) and on the river Kuda, depicting horsemen with banners, camels, men in long robes and other images. The petroglyph images have much in common with the art of the Altai Enisei Kirgizes and Altai Turks of the 1st millennium CE. Kurykan wrote their inscriptions in the Orkhon-Yenisei script. According to the Chinese sources, the Kurykan tribal Union was headed by two chieftains.
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Kurykans are traced to their anscestral Slab Grave Culture of 1,100-300 BCE. Kurumchi culture influenced the culture of the Sakha and Buryat Mongols, and Kurykans were among their ancestors.
History
Kurykans were largely displaced from their ancestor territories in the 6th century CE. According to the inscription of the Bilge Kagan, Uch-Kurykans (Union of Three Kurykan tribes, Guligan of the Chinese chronicles) sent their ambassadors to the Bumyn Kagan funeral in 552 and/or his brother Istemi Kagan in 576. Kurykans are listed among the enemies of Ilterish Kagan (r. 682–694), father of Bilge Kagan (r. 717–734). Ilterish Kagan campaigned against Uch-Kurykans 47 times, and gave 20 battles. At the funeral of Kul Tigin in 731 Uch-Kurykans are not mentioned. It is thought that the Kurykan-Turkic war resulted in the remaining Kurykans fleeing north-west to their present territories in the Sakha Republic. Genetic analysis of the Sakha population shows a botleneck dated approximately at that time, 1300 ± 200 ybp. That is taken as a selection of the Sakha ancestors through a "population bottleneck", the probability of loss of life in the defensive wars and those days' relocations to their modern home were apparently high.
Economy
Kurykans were semi-settled pastoralists and farmers, and producers of metal objects. Kurykan population engaged in cattle breeding and agriculture, they were skilled metalworkers.
Genetics
Extrapolating the genetic composition of the modern Sakha population, 94% of which belong to the haplogroup N1c1, it is thought that haplogroup N1c1 was a main haplogroup among the ancient Kurykan population.