A fascinating link that is directly on topic to this group, as well as
touching on a few items picked by the sensationalists (the Xianjiang
mummies).
The Sauromatians, and earlier Sarmatians and Saka (Khotanese) tribes were
not the all-encompassing patriarchialists older historians would have us
believe. There are burials of female warriors directly comparable in time and
space to male warrior burials.
This article also reminds us that the ancient IE presence in Central Asia
was centered in the mountains -- the Tian Shan and Altai -- where the good
pastures were found.
The evidence is that they were not horrifically warlike, at least not in
the terms Attila or the Mongols are remembered in Western Europe. The
Sarmatians may have become this way later in their history, however: they seem
to have been the ones who invented the metal stirrup, which allows the
cavalryman a much more secure position on his mount.