with either natural foods, such as plants, roots, fish, and etc., or with what the nomads could trade off with the SC nations: grains, vegetables, and etc. I write more about the nomadic traditional cuisine in Appendixes.
Nomadic production
The Eurasian Nomads developed their own way of production and industries. Some were advanced and happened for the first time in the Great Eurasian Steppe. For example, the metallurgy. The EN were the first to discover large deposits of metal ore in Altai, Central and Northern Kazakhstan. Most of them are still being extracted today on an industrial level.
The EN were equipped with bronze weapons and tools, when in some pockets of the world people still used Stone Age technologies. When the Altai nomads invented steel production from iron ore and started making steel tools and weapons, it gave them advantage over the Bronze Age adversaries. It helped them to forge mighty empires in the Early Iron Age, and also led to a spread of iron technology all over the Afro-EuroAsia, contributing to a transition to the Iron Age.
These mining and steel productions were stationary, tied to locations where the natural ore were found. Apart from that, the EN learned to provide themselves with all necessities on the move. The ever-roaming lifestyle prevented them from building large manufactures and craftsmen guilds, as it was common in the SC nations. Instead the nomads adjusted their needs and production mode to whatever technologies were possible within the nomadic economy.
The women and youth in nomadic families were skillful craftspersons, capable of producing high-quality felt and animal skins; they weaved wool goods, sew clothes, made yurt’s soft elements, bedding items, and etc. Men were always busy tanning the animal leathers and making leather goods: saddles, leather armor, belts, pouches, boots, horse and camel harnesses, and etc.; woodworking: building the yurt parts, furniture, wooden dishes, making bows and arrows; ironworks: making tools, weapons, equipment parts; and pottery. All of these works were produced either right in the yurts or simply outdoors, without city walls, factories, and shops.
The nomadic families were able to produce goods to cover 100% of their everyday needs. Of course, they never skipped the opportunity to buy or exchange goods with their neighboring SC nations. In fact, many nomadic tribes were heavily involved in trade, either directly or by providing security for passing trade caravans, especially during the Silk Road era. But overall they could get along on their own with complete self-sufficiency.
Therefore, we know that the nomadic production was highly versatile, adaptable, mobile, resourceful, ecological, minimalist, and waste-free. This is an important quality, as I will show how this approach can become crucial in the future of humanity.
Nomadic Dwelling
Mobile dwellings
The Eurasian Nomads also developed an entire new approach to living accommodations and comfort. Most of the EN mobile dwellings represent variations of a tent. There are a few types of these, incorrectly referred to as yurts. I describe this more in detail below in the Appendixes. Here it is sufficient to say that the Kazakhs call a yurt ui and the Mongols call it ger, while the term yurt («jurt» in Kazakh language) refers to a place where our EN ancestors used to put the uis and gers. But for the sake of convenience, I will continue calling it «yurt».
There are a few theories on how the modern-day Turkic (Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Bashkir, and Karakalpak) and Mongol yurts originated. One theory is that they represent a further evolution of a more primitive tepee-like conical tents that still exist in Siberia (chum, yaranga). The simple and narrow conical tents gradually became spacious dome-shaped tents with separate walls and roof. Through a series of improvements they arrived to their modern design. Other theory suggests that they repeat the design of Bronze Age’s stationary wigwam-style houses of the Eurasian agrarian societies. In this theory the early nomads were trying to adjust the old design to new conditions.
Whatever the origin of the yurt is, we know that by the Modern Era the yurts have evolved insomuch that even today we are still discovering their secrets and admire their design and engineering. Today there are modern-day yurts made with traditional materials and technologies, as well as high-tech yurts made with contemporary materials and technologies.
The yurt is mobile, collapsible, portable yet durable, comfortable and universal dwelling. Over the millennia the EN learned to make them climate-proof, wind-proof, and weather-proof; as well as pleasant to spent time in. They allow for a cozy, convenient lifestyle all year round, while living on the move. These are not your typical tourist tents, or even the military tents that are designed to provide for temporary shelter. The yurts are actual permanent houses, richly decorated and well-furnished, warm in winter and cool in summer; the only difference is that they are made to be fully portable.
The yurts were well-equipped with all necessary furniture and household items for a comfortable life, but without unnecessary extra stuff that clutters the houses of the SC peoples. The ground and walls were covered with woven and felt rugs, providing insulation and weatherproofing. The yurt dwellers had small portable tables, compact cabinets, kitchenware and dishware, many bedding items, and sufficient amount of clothes for all four seasons. The nomads rarely used chairs, because they were just an extra weight during the seasonal movements; instead they preferred to seat cross-legged on the rugged floor. The usually slept on soft matrasses that they put right on the floor, only using portable collapsible beds to sleep their kids or elders.
Overall, the yurt is an ingenious invention of the EN, ideally suited for nomadic lifestyle, and perfectly balancing comfort with practicality.
Nomadic Transportation
Chariots and wagons
The Eurasian Nomads also made a revolution in transportation. Not many people today realize that the wheel was an EN invention. As we know from archaeological evidence, such as the Botai Culture in Central Kazakhstan and others, the early cattle-breeders didn’t ride horses. Horses were herded mostly for food or ritual purposes, because they were much smaller than modern-day horses and weren’t able to carry a rider. Therefore, to use them as transportation, the nomads had to invent pulled carts on wheels, which later led to a development of chariots and wagons. Chariots, in turn, evolved into feared war chariots, a trademark tech in most of the Ancient world.
Wheeled transports of the Eurasian Nomads: a wagon (left) and petroglyphs showing chariots (right)
This technological evolutions got spread all over the Afro-Euro Asian world of the Bronze Age by the early EN conquerors, such as Cimmerians and others. Horses and chariots were widely adopted by the settled nations of the Middle East, Egypt, Greeks and Romans, Persians, Indians, and Chinese. Having more resources and production power, these settled civilizations learned to mass-produce the chariots and created large armies reinforced with chariot units.
Wheeled wagons formed military wagon-trains that took loads from shoulders of SC foot-soldiers, and allowed for more provisions to be taken in campaigns. This made army marches to go much faster and cover longer distances. This explains the raise of the SC conquerors and formation of early SC empires of Antiquity.
Ascent of Centaurs
But the EN once again showed their ingenuity and persistence: they gradually bred larger horses and learned to mount them, resulting in a brand new phenomenon – a horseback rider. At last, the true Eurasian nomad was born. Now a person could ride for longer distances and
