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The '''Steppe Geoglyphs''' are a number of [[Neolithic]] earth constructions in the [[Turgai Trough]] area of Turgai in northern [[Kazakhstan]]. There are at least 260 of these [[Earthworks (archaeology)|earthworks]].<ref name=Blumnethal>{{cite news |last=Blumenthal |first=Ralph |date=October 30, 2015 |title=NASA Adds to Evidence of Mysterious Ancient Earthworks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/science/nasa-adds-to-evidence-of-mysterious-ancient-earthworks.html |subscription=yes |accessdate=November 1, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Epstein |first=Adam |date=October 31, 2015 |title=Even NASA is perplexed by these otherworldly 8,000-year-old formations in Kazakhstan |url=http://qz.com/537812/even-nasa-is-perplexed-by-these-otherworldly-8000-year-old-formations-in-kazakhstan/ |accessdate=November 1, 2015 |quote=Since then, Dey has found about 260 of the land designs—which resemble crop circles, but are much stranger.}}</ref>

==The constructions==
Many or all of them consist of smaller earthworks (mounds, trenches, and ramparts) arranged with each other to make geometric and other shapes (composite figures). These shapes are squares, rings, and three others.<ref name=Blumnethal/> The composite figures range from slightly under 90 m in length to over 400 m in diameter.<ref>[http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec53991/htm] {{dead link|date=November 2015}}</ref> Besides being made of earth dug out and piled up, some of the geoglyphs are made by placing stones next to each other.<ref>{{cite web |last=Zolfagharifard |first=Ellie |date=October 30, 2015 |title=Who drew a swastika on the steppe 8,000 years ago? NASA images reveal riddle of giant drawings that can only be seen from the air |website=dailymail.co.uk |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3297282/Mystery-ancient-patterns-Kazakhstan-Space-images-reveal-remarkable-structures-including-cross-swastika.html |accessdate=November 1, 2015}}</ref>

Some of the large shapes have been given names, including Bestamskoe Ring, Ushtogaysky (''or'' Ushtogay) Square, [[Turgay triradial swastika]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Jarus |first=Owen |date=September 23, 2014 |title=Nazca Lines of Kazakhstan: More Than 50 Geoglyphs Discovered |work= |url=http://www.livescience.com/47954-geoglyphs-discovered-in-kazakhstan.html |accessdate=November 1, 2015 |quote=More than 50 geoglyphs with various shapes and sizes, including a massive swastika, have been discovered across northern Kazakhstan in Central Asia, say archaeologists.}}</ref> Large cross Ashtasti, Ekedyn cross, Ashutasti ring, Kyzyloba line, Koga cross, and Shili square.<ref name=Blumnethal/><ref name=Dey>{{cite web|title=Geoglyph Turgay Trough|url=http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec53991/007.htm|website=turgay.kz|publisher=University of Pittsburgh|accessdate=9 November 2015|date=September 2015}}</ref>

These shapes are large enough to be easily visible on Google Earth. The Ushtogay Square is at {{Coord|50.832933|N|65.326276|E|type:landmark|display=inline}}. The Turgay triradial is at {{Coord|50.102778|N|65.360833|E|type:landmark|display=inline}}, only about half a mile from the town of [[Urpek]]. Both are inside [[Amangeldi District]], [[Kostanay Region]].

==Discovery and suggested origins==
The earthworks were discovered in 2007 by Dimitriy Dey.<ref name=Blumnethal_a>{{cite news |last=Blumnethal |first=Ralph |date=October 30, 2015 |title=NASA Adds to Evidence of Mysterious Ancient Earthworks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/science/nasa-adds-to-evidence-of-mysterious-ancient-earthworks.html |subscription=yes |accessdate=November 1, 2015 |quote=Spotted on Google Earth in 2007 by a Kazakh economist and archaeology enthusiast, Dmitriy Dey, the so-called Steppe Geoglyphs remain deeply puzzling and largely unknown to the outside world.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Jarus |first=Owen |date=September 23, 2014 |title=Nazca Lines of Kazakhstan: More Than 50 Geoglyphs Discovered |url=http://www.livescience.com/47954-geoglyphs-discovered-in-kazakhstan.html |accessdate=November 1, 2015 |quote=Discovered using Google Earth, the geoglyphs are designed...}}</ref> He found them by searching [[Google Earth]]'s satellite images for pyramids and similar configurations in Kazakhstan.<ref name="Blumnethal_a"/> They were first reported to the scientific community in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/8610704/Steppe_Geoglyphs_mark_the_ancient_routes_of_human_migration_across_Central_Asia_introduction_to_the_research |title=Steppe Geoglyphs mark the ancient routes of human migration across Central Asia introduction to the research | Irina Shevnina |publisher=Academia.edu |date=1970-01-01 |accessdate=2016-02-16}}</ref>

Optical dating ([[optically stimulated luminescence]]) has been used to determine that one of the mounds dates to around 800 B.C.<ref name=Blumnethal/><ref>[http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec53991/07-018.htm] {{dead link|date=November 2015}}</ref> Dey has proposed they were produced by the [[Mahandzhar culture]] between seven and nine thousand years ago.<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=October 30, 2015 |title=NASA releases images of enormous 8,000-year-old patterns |url=https://www.rt.com/usa/320195-nasa-releases-images-of-enormous/ |accessdate=November 1, 2015 |quote=Dey's research suggests that the figures could have been constructed by the Mahandzhar culture, who thrived in the vast steppes of what is now northern Kazakhstan between 5,000 and 7,000 B.C.}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://discovery.turgay.kz/ Turgay Discovery Research project]
* [https://opendrive.gsfc.nasa.gov/shortauth/w/c1wD7oC NASA photographs from space]
* [http://www.jqjacobs.net/kml/kazakhstan.kml Kazakhstan Earthworks] KML placemarks file for Google Earth.
* {{Coord|50.101705|65.370420|name=Turgay|notes=. Turgay triradial swastika}}

[[Category:Neolithic sites]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Megalithic monuments]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Geoglyphs]]

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