It is said that the oldest known ger/yurt yet discovered was in a 13th century grave in the Khentei Mountains of Mongolia. Prior to that, recorded history can only testify to the likely age of the Ger/Yurt as being at least 2500 years.
The nomads of Mongolia, being the eternal desert wanderers, profess many variations in lifestyle. Some are seasonal, associated with herding goats, sheep or cattle in the search of greener pastures. Others are the great camel driving nomads of the Gobi desert. The commonality however, is the use of the easily dismantled and carried dwellings, as nomadic life, as its principal, requires an easy adaptation to conditions imposed by the desert milieu.
Yurts are made in various sizes to accommodate large family numbers and daily functions, they were predominately 5 and 6 mtrs diameter and covered with wool felt as an insulating liner, sometimes putting on many layers to guard against the harsh desert elements.
In working with and listening to the Mongolian people during my travels throughout the country, it has occurred to me that the Mongolian Ger/Yurt is the for-runner to the North American Tipi. In fact, if one looks at the principal components, which are very similar and if one imagines both the hub and the walls removed and the poles lengthened directly to the ground, one has a Tipi. By this process, with the reduction of weight enabling ease of handling and an increase in speed, larger distances would have been covered while following migrating herds. Given that the migration spread was from the Asian continent, across the Bering Straights to Alaska and into North America, it is highly probable that the influence of the Gers/Yurts design principal came with those ancient Mongols. ( e.g., that the door originally faced East–as it does in the North American tipi and Navaho hogan–prior to the 13th century, and then was moved to the South under Chinese influence, where it remains to this day).
North American continent runs predominantly North South and these nomads could have journeyed into hotter more fertile climates at lower altitudes with the assistance of dogs and man pulled the dismantled Tipi on skids. The Asian Mongols however, had Yaks more adept at carrying the extra weights at higher altitudes.
As far as I am aware, these ideas have not been Anthropologically researched however they are highly credible.
The Mongolian Yurt was transported across Asia with the Mongols and Genghis Khan. There is evidence of them having been in Persia and as far south as Greece.
Along with the dome which was introduced into Architecture by the Romans, the Ger/Yurt, with its reciprocal design of weight transfer to the outer wall, held in by the continuity of a completed circle, came a fundamental contribution to structural design principles.
To regard its strength and wonder at its flexibility under the weight of heavy snow and high winds, one can look at the reason and logic of employing many pieces and binding them in such a way that the loads are distributed evenly across many components. As such, the structure craftily becomes interdependent as a total entity and if one or more pieces are removed, its integral strength is not jeopadised.
Such is the unique, natural architecture of the YURT.
For more exciting Historical Photos look into Mongolian Heritage in Gallery. Also by purchasing Becky Kemery’s book;
YURTS ‘Living in the Round’ Published by Gibbs Smith 2006