A documentary exhibition
commemorating the 120th anniversary of Alkei Margulan, the founder of the
school of ethnography and archeology, has opened at the National Archive of
Kazakhstan. A prominent scholar in various fields of knowledge, including
history, literary studies, and art history as well as an academician of the
Academy of Sciences left behind a rich legacy. His research focused on both the
monuments of material culture and ancient art and the historical and heroic
epic of the Kazakh people. The scholar discovered unique archeological sites
from the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.
“He left behind a rich legacy. For
example, there is a letter from an 18-year-old Ybyrai Altynsarin written to Leo
Tolstoy. The National Archive of Kazakhstan also stores documents proving that
the Kazakh people have a rich 1000-year history. He studied 150 archeological
sites in the Ulytau region. Unfortunately, half of them no longer exist. But
thanks to the research done by Alkei Margulan, we still have archival materials,”
said Sagila Nurlanova, Director of the National Archive of Kazakhstan.
Previously, these archival documents were only
accessible to students of Master’s and PhD programs. Now, materials
collected by Alkei Margulan, which contain valuable information about the
history of Kazakhstan, will be available for Bachelor’s degree students as
well.
