Overview of the exhibition rooms

CENTRAL STATE MUSEUM
OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

<< Overview of the exhibition rooms>>

The Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan comprises four exhibition rooms, in which evidence of Kazakhstan's long history is presented, starting from the beginning of life on earth and including the appearance and disappearance of prehistoric animals and plants, the appearance of the first traces of human activity, the formation of tribal unions and states, the development and interaction of nomadic and city civilisations, internecine wars and mass migration of populations, and finishing with the events of the 20th and 21st centuries, right up until the present day.

First exhibition room. Palaeontology and Archaeology.

The Paleontological section of this first room is represented by rich osteological (osteology=the study of bones) material, fragments of fossilised wood, imprints of insects and fish, microscopic spores and pollen from plants. The majority of the exhibition is millions of years old.

The next section of the exhibition includes archaeological artefacts discovered in the territory of Kazakhstan as a result of numerous archaeological expeditions, reflecting the history of our country from the Palaeolithic Age. Copies of the most valuable archaeological finds are displayed, including the 'Golden Man' from the Issyk Burial Mound, unique ancient gold articles from the Kargaly and Zhalauly treasure hoards, reconstructions of ancient burial structures and farming constructions, models of medieval architecture and colourful dioramas of the history of Earth.

The second exhibition room is dedicated to the history of Kazakhstan from the 15th century to the beginning of the 20th century. This was the period of the formation of the first Kazakh khanate, the establishment and development of the state, the fighting between Kazakh tribes and the Dzungarian invaders, and the inclusion of Kazakh territory into the Russian Empire. Ethnographic material, widely represented in the room, clearly reflects the centuries-long formation of Kazakh everyday life, the Kazakh philosophical worldview and the rich material and spiritual culture. Here you can see authentic photographs and documents, rare editions of books, extensive cartographical material, objects of everyday life and national applied art of the Kazakhs, and also a traditional Kazakh dwelling - a 'yurt' - and examples of Kazakh national clothing and rug weaving.

The main part of the exhibition in the museum's third room comprises sections showing historical and ethnographical materials of people currently settled on the territory of Kazakhstan. From the end of the 19th century, an active policy of occupation of Kazakh land by peasants and migrants from various areas of Russia and the Ukraine was implemented. The southern regions were occupied by Uigurs and Dungans. In the very next century Kazakhstan became an area of exile to which entire peoples, inconvenient to the authorities, were deported. Among the stands dedicated to this period, the exhibition of the Korean National Culture attracts particular attention '- an exhibition created with the help of the Korean State Ethnographical Museum.

Photographs, documents, objects of everyday life and invented and applied art of Russians, Ukrainians, Germans, Koreans, Uigurs, Jews and many others are displayed in the exhibition. The exhibition entitled 'Kazakhstan in the years of the Great Patriotic War 1914-1945' is also found in this room.

The fourth exhibition room reflects the history of Kazakhstan from the moment of the declaration of the Republic as an independent state in 1991 until the present day. The exhibition displays state symbols of the Republic of Kazakhstan - the coat of arms, the national anthem and the flag. The original Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, adopted in 1995 as the fundamental law of the country, is also found in this room. A separate section is dedicated to the state awards of the Republic of Kazakhstan - the order of 'Khalyk Kakharmany', 'Parasat', 'Altyn Kyran', 'Otan', 'Dank' and others. The 'youngest' exhibits in the museum are paper currency; stamps produced in Kazakhstan; objects of modern everyday life; material based on the development of space travel, the protection of the environment and the history of the religious denominations in Kazakhstan; works of national-applied art by Kazakh craftsmen, and examples of industrial and agricultural production.

In addition to this are exhibitions charting the development of the economy, science and culture of Kazakhstan today, and also gifts from heads of foreign states presented to the President of Kazakhstan.

For the first time in the museum's history an Open Collection has been organised as a new branch of the cultural-educational and scientific-research activity of our museum. Thanks to this, visitors have the opportunity to become familiar with previously unknown treasures of the museum's collections.
A leading place in the exhibition is occupied by the collections of gold articles, reflecting the cultural traditions of tribes from the age of early nomads in Kazakhstan. Among the treasure hoards presented are those from Zhalauly, Pokrovka and Kargaly. Gold was one of the first metals to be mastered by humans. Its high plasticity, natural nobility and beautiful colour made it one of the fundamental materials for jewellery art. Even when they date from the most distant periods of history, the artistic golden artefacts we see today look just as they did when they were first crafted. The Zhalauly treasure hoard is a unique example of the jewellery craftsmanship of the Saka people at Zhetysu, dating from the V-III centuries BC. It was discovered in Spring 1988 by school pupils from the village of Zhalauly, Kegen region, Almaty province. More than 600 works of gold were lying in a felt sack. Among the many articles from the hoard, the adornments crafted in the Scythian-Siberian 'wild animal' style are of particular interest.
The gold adornments from the second Pokrovka burial mound are an example of the jewellery art of ancient Savromat people from near the Aral Sea, and were excavated in 1911 in the Aktobe region. More than 20 gold adornments were discovered in a rich woman's grave from the 5th century BC.
A significant part of the exhibition room is taken up by a collection of jewellery items by the Khiva craftsmen of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. These include articles from horse harnesses, show weaponry and women's jewellery. The pendants and women's adornments will catch your attention with their wealth of decoration. The brightness, colourfulness and intricate detail in the jewellery adornments, and the multicoloured stones (blue turquoise, brownish-red sard, silver pearl), coloured glass and gilding used in one artefact correspond with the character of the silk and semi-silk fabrics.
The exhibition in the fifth room will from now on be constantly updated and added to with rarities and particularly impressive examples from the collections of the museum.

The anthropological exhibition is dedicated to the history of the establishment of humanity and the stages of the formation of the Kazakh people and their ancestors on the territory of Kazakhstan over a period of more than 40 centuries. Unique collections are presented with archaeological findings, which reflect on one hand the process of the formation of modern man and the origin and settlement of man on Earth, and on the other hand the racial-genetic and ethno-genetic history of the Kazakhs: the formation and establishment not only of the physical appearance of modern Kazakhs, but also their ethno-cultural foundations (language, traditions, type of economy, way of life etc).

This exhibition is made up of three parts: in the first part there is a display of maps, diagrams of evolutionary order, a classification of human races and their settlement in the different historical periods, photographs and sculptured depictions of representatives from the three biggest races; in the second part is a display of the processes of anthropogenesis and racial genesis, a series of anthropological reconstructions from early man to modern man (Homo sapiens) based on world famous findings, which illustrate the ancient periods of establishment and development of humanity; the third part of the exhibition is based on anthropological materials of the ancient and modern population of Kazakhstan: extensive material is presented showing anthropological investigations of modern Kazakhs, as is unique data on teeth systems, handprints and blood groups.

The anthropological types presented, typical of the population of the steppe region of Eurasia, characterise the racial types of different historical periods.

The most striking impression in this room is given by three wonderful dioramas:'Primitive society', 'A royal burial at the Berel burial mound' and 'Kazakh everyday life in the 19th century as an ethnographical subject'. The dioramas are complemented by diverse and detailed characters and decorations.

Crossing the threshold of this room, you immediately enter into an astounding experience of the past, combining the greatness and the austerity of the atmosphere of previous centuries. The exhibition is characterised by careful planning and is extremely informative and interesting to peruse. An unusual beauty has been bestowed on the room by the crimson decor, dioramas, diagrams and maps.

Every visitor is welcome to watch a short film in the exhibition, which also helps to bring the distant past to life: Walking with cavemen is dedicated to the history of the evolution of humanity, 'Fight for survival. Transformation into man' deals with the several resemblances between man and chimpanzees, and the new documentary film 'Superman' shows what we may become in the not-so-distant future and what the human body is capable of!