Chronological table of the Bronze and Early Iron Ages of Mongolia.[1]
The Munkhkhairkhan culture, also Munkh-Khairkhan or Mönkhkhairkhan was a Middle
Bronze Age culture of southern
Siberia and western
Mongolia, named after
Mönkhkhairkhan Mountain in western Mongolia, and dating to 1800–1600 BCE.[2] It immediately follows the
Afanasievo culture and the
Khemtseg culture.[1] It was contemporary with the
Andronovo culture, but its very existence suggests that the Androvo culture did not extend far into Mongolia.[3]
Some of the best known sites of the Munkhkhairkhan culture are Ulaan Goviin Uzuur (UAA) 1&2 and Khukh Khoshuunii Boom (KHU).[4]
The domestication of horses using carts for transportation, was one of the characteristics of the Munkhkhairkhan culture.[5]
The Munkhkhairkhan culture had tin-bronze knives, of a type thought to have been developed in Western Siberia before 1900 BCE as part of the
Seima-Turbino phenomenon.[3] This knife technology was probably then transferred through Munkhkhairkhan to various Chinese cultures, such as the
Qijia culture,
Erlitou culture or
Lower Xiajiadian culture, where very similar knives have been found.[3]