Yurt (ger): felt dwelling with lattice frame
Yurta (ger): vivienda de fieltro con armazón de celosía
- Date
- c. 500 BCE (discutido) · confidence low
- Place
- Central Mongolian steppe, Mongolia
- Credited to
- Nomadic steppe peoples (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks and Mongols)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A circular, dismountable felt tent on a folding lattice frame and a pole roof, which protects against extreme cold and can be assembled in an hour. It is the basic dwelling of Central Asian pastoral nomadism.
Very hard to date: felt and wood leave few remains, and one must rely on descriptions (Herodotus) and depictions. The current lattice frame may date to the 1st century BC-1st AD, but the date is a hypothesis.
What it led to
- seasonal mobility of large herds and cavalry armies
- royal tents and camps of the Golden Horde and Mongol Empire
- basis of the nomadic Ordo capital and traditional housing across the steppe