In this study we report thefirst87Sr/86Sr isotopic data and mobility analyses of the Pazyryk culture in CentralAsia. Throughout prehistory the Altai Mountains represent a unique cultural frontier characterised by a per-petual state of transition, resulting from highly mobile nomadic inhabitants. We analysed human skeletal re-mains from barrows in the Manzherok region of the Altai Republic, Russian Federation. The analysis was basedon 160 measurements of87Sr/86Sr from Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (TIMS), in tandem with environmental samples and comparativeanimal material.The combined dating evidence and strontium isotopic values indicate that after the 5th century BC, re-sidential mobility amongst Altaic nomads is rising, especially long-distance female mobility, leading to contactacquisition with extrinsic territories of Central Asia. The87Sr/86Sr isotopic evidence from Manzherok suggeststhat members of the Altaic population might have been buried in Scythian tombs located in Tuva and Khakassia,most notably in the Arzhan barrows.