A modern yayla at Song Kol Lake, Kyrgyzstan Yaylak () is a Turkic term meaning " summer highland pasture " (from   yay "summer" and -lagh or -lağ, a deverbal plus denominal suffix ) . The converse term is gishlag (also spelled as kışlak or qhishloq), a winter pasture (from kış, qish or gish "winter"). The latter one gave rise to the term kishlak for rural settlements in Central Asia. Transcriptions of the term include yaylak (), yaylaq (), یایلاق (), ailoq, jaylaw (), or jayloo (), and yeylāq (Persian).   Anatoly Khazanov, an anthropologist and historian studying mobile pastoralism, notes: "The specific significance of pastoralism is usually at its most apparent in the specialized mountain variant of herdsman husbandry; in Soviet anthropology this is often referred to as yaylag pastoralism..."Anatoly Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World, Second Edition, University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, p. 23 In Western anthropology yaylak pastoralism more or less corresponds to the notion of transhumance (Transhumanz).Khazanov, ibid., 23; Krader, L. Peoples of Central Asia. Uralic and Altaic Series, Vol. 26, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 1966, p. 409 There are different variants of yaylak pastoralism forms of alpine transhumance, some of which are similar to seminomadic pastoralism, although most are similar to herdsman husbandry (such as in mountainous areas of Europe and the Caucasus). However, in the Eurasian steppes, the Middle East and North Africa, yaylak pastoralism often coexists with seminomadic pastoralism and pastoral nomadism.Anatoly Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World, Second Edition, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, p. 24 In the description of another Western specialist on nomads and pastoralism, Khazanov's classification system is the most modern approach, "classifying nomadic forms according to a society’s extent of migratory mobility, the primacy of specific animals in producing their subsistence products, and the level of symbiosis between nomadic and settled agricultural societies. He categorizes pastoralists into five types, ranging from “pure pastoral nomadism” to “semi-nomadic pastoralism,” “semi-sedentary pastoralism,” and finally to “distant-pastures husbandry” and “seasonal transhumance” (Khazanov’s yaylak – Khazanov 1994, 19-23)".Michael Frachetti, "Bronze Age Pastoral Landscapes Of Eurasia And The Nature Of Social Interaction In The Mountain Steppe Zone Of Eastern Kazakhstan", Chapter 2, Ph.D. Dissertation in Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 2004   Yaylak pastoralism enables people occupied with agriculture in specific ecological zones to use other areas as seasonal pastures when they are at their most productive.Barth, Fredrik. Nomadism in the Mountain and Plateau Areas of South West Asia. In: The Problems of the Arid Zone, 1962, p. 342 During one part of the year the livestock is kept in mountain pastures and during the other parts is driven to lower zones. Another source provides additional background on yaylak pastoralism in Iran and Caucasus: "The seminomads live in a valley or on a plain in winter and in the highlands during the summer. Their "seasonal home" can mark the beginning of their transition from seminomadic pastoralism to a settled village life. Another example of this way of life from another part of the Northern Tier is the Bakhtiari tribes of Iran. All along the Zagros mountain range from Azerbaijan to the Arabian Sea, pastoral tribes move back and forth with their herds every year between their home in the valley and the one in the foothills."Rouhollah Ramazani, The Northern Tie. Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. D. Van Nostrand Company: New Jersey, 1966, p. 85 A number of scholars have suggested that yaylak pastoralism has ancient roots in Neolithic Western Asia, alleging that already in the seventh millennium B.C. the pastoralism of the inhabitants of the Zagros Mountains had taken on a yaylak form, and that besides their permanent settlements these people also had seasonal camps in the mountains. Flannery, 1965: 1254-5, Narr, 1959: 85, Masson 1976: 39. Although, "recent research has demonstrated, however, that yaylak pastoralism in the Zagros Mountains can be dated no earlier than the second half of the fourth millennium B.C. (Mortensen, 1975: 23f., 32-3). However, as yet there is insufficient data for this question to be finally resolved."Anatoly Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World, Second Edition, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, p. 97
A modern yayla at Song Kol Lake, Kyrgyzstan Yaylak () is a summer highland pasture associated with transhumance pastoralism in several Central and Western Asian communities. There are different variants of yaylak pastoralism forms of alpine transhumance, some of which are similar to seminomadic pastoralism, although most are similar to herdsman husbandry (such as in mountainous areas of Europe and the Caucasus). However, in the Eurasian steppes, the Middle East and North Africa, yaylak pastoralism often coexists with seminomadic pastoralism and pastoral nomadism.Anatoly Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World, Second Edition, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, p. 24 The term had been commonly used in Soviet anthropology. The converse term is gishlag, a winter pasture. The word gave rise to the term kishlak for rural settlements in Central Asia. Etymology and terminology Yaylak is a portmanteau which derived from Turkic roots yay "summer" and -lagh or -lağ, a deverbal plus denominal suffix . The converse term is gishlag (also spelled as kışlak or qhishloq), a winter pasture (from kış, qish or gish "winter"). The latter one gave rise to the term kishlak for rural settlements in Central Asia. Transcriptions of the term include yaylak (), yaylaq (), یایلاق (), ailoq, jaylaw (), or jayloo (), and yeylāq (Persian). The first recorded use of the word in a written source can be traced back to 9th century Old Turkic work Irk Bitig. Definitions Anatoly Khazanov, an anthropologist and historian studying mobile pastoralism, notes: "The specific significance of pastoralism is usually at its most apparent in the specialized mountain variant of herdsman husbandry; in Soviet anthropology this is often referred to as yaylag pastoralism..."Anatoly Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World, Second Edition, University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, p. 23 In Western anthropology yaylak pastoralism more or less corresponds to the notion of transhumance (Transhumanz).Khazanov, ibid., 23; Krader, L. Peoples of Central Asia. Uralic and Altaic Series, Vol. 26, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 1966, p. 409 In the description of another Western specialist on nomads and pastoralism, Khazanov's classification system is the most modern approach, "classifying nomadic forms according to a society’s extent of migratory mobility, the primacy of specific animals in producing their subsistence products, and the level of symbiosis between nomadic and settled agricultural societies. He categorizes pastoralists into five types, ranging from “pure pastoral nomadism” to “semi-nomadic pastoralism,” “semi-sedentary pastoralism,” and finally to “distant-pastures husbandry” and “seasonal transhumance” (Khazanov’s yaylak – Khazanov 1994, 19-23)".Michael Frachetti, "Bronze Age Pastoral Landscapes Of Eurasia And The Nature Of Social Interaction In The Mountain Steppe Zone Of Eastern Kazakhstan", Chapter 2, Ph.D. Dissertation in Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 2004 History A number of scholars have suggested that yaylak pastoralism has ancient roots in Neolithic Western Asia, alleging that already in the seventh millennium B.C. the pastoralism of the inhabitants of the Zagros Mountains had taken on a yaylak form, and that besides their permanent settlements these people also had seasonal camps in the mountains. Flannery, 1965: 1254-5, Narr, 1959: 85, Masson 1976: 39. Although, "recent research has demonstrated, however, that yaylak pastoralism in the Zagros Mountains can be dated no earlier than the second half of the fourth millennium B.C. (Mortensen, 1975: 23f., 32-3). However, as yet there is insufficient data for this question to be finally resolved."Anatoly Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World, Second Edition, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, p. 97 Importance on pastoral communities Yaylak pastoralism enables people occupied with agriculture in specific ecological zones to use other areas as seasonal pastures when they are at their most productive.Barth, Fredrik. Nomadism in the Mountain and Plateau Areas of South West Asia. In: The Problems of the Arid Zone, 1962, p. 342 During one part of the year the livestock is kept in mountain pastures and during the other parts is driven to lower zones. Another source provides additional background on yaylak pastoralism in Iran and Caucasus: "The seminomads live in a valley or on a plain in winter and in the highlands during the summer. Their "seasonal home" can mark the beginning of their transition from seminomadic pastoralism to a settled village life. Another example of this way of life from another part of the Northern Tier is the Bakhtiari tribes of Iran. All along the Zagros mountain range from Azerbaijan to the Arabian Sea, pastoral tribes move back and forth with their herds every year between their home in the valley and the one in the foothills."Rouhollah Ramazani, The Northern Tie. Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. D. Van Nostrand Company: New Jersey, 1966, p. 85 
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Turkic term meaning "
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associated with transhumance pastoralism in several Central and Western Asian communities. There are different variants of yaylak pastoralism forms of alpine transhumance, some of which are similar to seminomadic pastoralism, although most are similar to herdsman husbandry (such as in mountainous areas of Europe and the Caucasus). However, in the Eurasian steppes, the Middle East and North Africa, yaylak pastoralism often coexists with seminomadic pastoralism and pastoral nomadism.Anatoly Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World, Second Edition, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, p. 24 The term had been commonly used in Soviet anthropology.
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The converse term is gishlag, a winter pasture. The word gave rise to the term kishlak for rural settlements in Central Asia.
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Etymology and terminology Yaylak is a portmanteau which derived from Turkic roots
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The first recorded use of the word in a written source can be traced back to 9th century Old Turkic work Irk Bitig.
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Definitions
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There are different variants of yaylak pastoralism forms of alpine transhumance, some of which are similar to seminomadic pastoralism, although most are similar to herdsman husbandry (such as in mountainous areas of Europe and the Caucasus). However, in the Eurasian steppes, the Middle East and North Africa, yaylak pastoralism often coexists with seminomadic pastoralism and pastoral nomadism.Anatoly Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World, Second Edition, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, p. 24
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History A number of scholars have suggested that yaylak pastoralism has ancient roots in Neolithic Western Asia, alleging that already in the seventh millennium B.C. the pastoralism of the inhabitants of the Zagros Mountains had taken on a yaylak form, and that besides their permanent settlements these people also had seasonal camps in the mountains. Flannery, 1965: 1254-5, Narr, 1959: 85, Masson 1976: 39. Although, "recent research has demonstrated, however, that yaylak pastoralism in the Zagros Mountains can be dated no earlier than the second half of the fourth millennium B.C. (Mortensen, 1975: 23f., 32-3). However, as yet there is insufficient data for this question to be finally resolved."Anatoly Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World, Second Edition, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, p. 97
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Importance on pastoral communities
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A number of scholars have suggested that yaylak pastoralism has ancient roots in Neolithic Western Asia, alleging that already in the seventh millennium B.C. the pastoralism of the inhabitants of the Zagros Mountains had taken on a yaylak form, and that besides their permanent settlements these people also had seasonal camps in the mountains. Flannery, 1965: 1254-5, Narr, 1959: 85, Masson 1976: 39. Although, "recent research has demonstrated, however, that yaylak pastoralism in the Zagros Mountains can be dated no earlier than the second half of the fourth millennium B.C. (Mortensen, 1975: 23f., 32-3). However, as yet there is insufficient data for this question to be finally resolved."Anatoly Khazanov, Nomads and the Outside World, Second Edition, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, p. 97