Pazyryk rug
The origin of the rug is unknown. There are different theories regarding the origin of the carpet. While a number of scholars presume a Oghuz-Turkic origin, Volkmar Gantzhorn assumes a Urartian and Armenian origin of the rug. A Persian theory also exists, but has not been further elaborated; The rug may have originated between the Iranian-Altaian corridor through ancient contacts. Some authors assume that the wool, the artistic conception, as well as the workmanship, may have been provided by Armenians of the Near East; The rug itself is considered as a Sakic funeral accessory. Although a previous study in 1983/1985 did not support an involvement of Armenian cochineal, a Soviet-based conference held in Riga (1987) still maintained the claim that the red threads of the rug resemble those of the Armenian cochineal type. Later it was found by an American research center (Bard Graduate Center, 1991) that the bluish-red color used for the rug and other felts was actually made from Polish cochineal (Porphyrophora polonica), a scale insect native to Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Western Siberia, or from one of the Porphyrophora species recently discovered in Kazakhstan: P. Altaiensis, P. Turaigiriensis (Jashenko, 1988), P. Akirtobiensis (Jashenko, 1988), P. eremospartonae (Jashenko, 1989), and P. matesovae (Jashenko, 1989). Armenian authors, however, still insist in the Soviet-based perception of 1987. Further confirmation on the nature of Ararat Kermes of the Armenian cochineal gained by the analysis of Porphyrophora hameli insects in 1990 by Harald Böhmer, has shown that the Pazyryk rug cannot have been dyed with this insect.