Orazak Ismagulov (, born 1930) is the first and one of a few

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

s of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

(alongside his daughter, Ainagül Ismagulovna), he's founder of kazakh

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, wh ...

studies. the doctor of historical sciences (1984). Professor, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2003, Member of the Board of 1994), Corresponding Member of the Bologna Academy of Sciences, laureate of the Valikhanov Prize (1990), Honored Worker of Science and Technology of the

Republic of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

(1998). Ismagulov uses anthropological studies of

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

and modern people as a source of historical information for

ethnogenesis Ethnogenesis (; ) is the formation and development of an ethnic group. This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification. The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th-century neologism that was later introduce ...

and

ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

of the

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

peoples. This work shed light on the origin of the

Scythians The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; ; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples who dominated the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe from about the 5th century BCE to the 4t ...

, Kangars,

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

, and other

peoples, following the anthropological development from the ancient to the modern times in the Central Asia.

Biography

Orazak was born in the Mendykara District,

Kostanay Region Kostanay Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. Its administrative center is the city of Kostanay. The population of the region is 835,686. The population living in Kostanay is 207,000 which is equivalent to 23% of the region. Geography Kosta ...

, Kazakh ASSR and graduated the Mendykara teacher school in 1950 and the historical faculty of the Al-Farabi National University in 1955. In the year 1956, worked as a teacher. Next year, worked in the Shoqan Walikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology ( ru), while also being a trainee in an Almaty Medical Institute. In 1958 he worked at the Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of the Moscow State University. In 1958-1961 a post-graduate student of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (scientific adviser G. F. Debets). Since 1965 a senior researcher. Between the years 1984 and 1986, Head of the Department of the Code of Historical Monuments of Kazakhstan and the New History of Kazakhstan, since 1989 is the Head of the Laboratory in the

Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences The Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences (official name National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan) is the highest scientific organization of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Academy of Sciences was founded on 1 June 1946 on the basis of ...

. From 1960, Ismagulov was a permanent participant and a head of anthropological expeditions in

and beyond:

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(1974-1975), Kazakh-

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

n (1991-1993), Kazakh-

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

(1993-1994). In the 1993–1994, within the framework of scientific cooperation with the Institute of Anthropology at the Bolonia University in Italy, Ismagulov headed an international project for problems of adaptation of high-mountain

and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

populations in respect to ethno-cultural processes in the region. Ismagulov is the author of about 100 scientific works. Among them a special place takes a compendium of

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

s for craniological series, genetic markers, and odontological attributes, compiled to establish a genetic continuity between ancient and modern populations of the Middle Asia, integrity of the historical process, study the Kazakh genetic fund, and the sources of its formation, and major historical phases of Kazakhstan local ancient populations and newcoming ethnic groups from

. Ismagulov is a frequent lecturer about

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and Bolonia universities. His only known child is his daughter Ainagül Ismagulova Orazaqqyzy, a person he often works and collaborates with when it comes to research and publishing. He mentioned her as his successor, saying that "our work combined equals a 100 years, we two did a job of a whole institute" Under his scientific supervision 4 doctors and 3 candidates of sciences were trained. He credits Georgy Debets ( rus), Yakov Roginskiy ( rus) and Viktor Bunak ( rus) as his tutors.

Main scientific works

* Population of Kazakhstan from Bronze Epoch to present: (paleoanthropological research). Alma-Ata, 1970. * Ethnic genetic geography of Kazakhstan: (serological research). Alma-Ata, 1977. * Ethnic anthropology of Kazakhstan: (somatological research). Alma-Ata, 1982. * Ethnic odontology of Kazakhstan. Alma-Ata, 1989. (co-author).

References

Исмагулов Оразак

Trading Genes along the Silk Road: mtDNA Sequences and the Origin of Central Asian Population
Am. J. Hum. Genet. 63:1824–1838, 1998. * Jeannine Davis-Kimball. "Chieftain or Warrior Priestess" Archaeology, September 1997: 40–41. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ismagulov, Orazak Kazakhstani scientists Kazakhstani anthropologists Turkologists 1930 births Living people