Yurt History

Yurt is one type of the human housing. Scientists consider that separation between nomadic herder tribes and hunter tribes was the main reason of the origin of Yurt. Most scientists who made studies on yurt hardly tried to reveal differences and similarities of demands of use yurt, traditional features of people who lived in yurt, their relations and distribution of yurt shaped residences.
Modern Mongol Yurt has experienced a long way of changes made to its structure and designs since wigwags resided by ancient hunter tribes. There some evidences about earlier designs and shapes of yurt, relates back to 3000s BC. Therefore scientific studies of Mongol Yurt are divided into 4 parts such as ancient study, ethnographical study, historical study and the study of literary. Ancient paintings on the rocks and potteries are the earliest historical evidence about the shapes and designs of Yurt. Mongol Yurt was originated thousands of years ago when Mongolians didn’t even begin to herd livestock. Ger and its design and structure have slowly changed throughout the history and finally found its own way to become independent residence and perfect collection of pieces.

Ancient residence origin

From 40 to 50 million years ago from now, first groups of human like apes lived in deep forests of Mongolian territory and ate fruits and other natural foods. Next generation of those apes had learned more how to coexist with the nature. They began making nests on the trees to protect them from wild animals and natural disasters. Frederich Engels once said that “Lifestyle of primitive man and the changes of environment had strongly affected the origination of first human residence”. Primitive humans had natural instinct to protect themselves from direct sunlight, strong winds, rain, thunder, lightning and attacks of wild animals. First homes of humanlike apes can be divided into 3 parts such as hevtesh or den, seat and nest. Those TYPES of homes were made out of same materials, but they were different in terms of size, shape and inner space. Because of apes used to love in groups like families, their den, seat and nests were different from the nests of other animals.