New Directions in Silk Road Archaeology Thursday, 6th April. 09:00h - 14:30h Coordinator: Alison Betts 09:00 - 09:20 The Indian Iconography of the Sogdian Divinities: the archaeological and the textual evidence Matteo Compareti (Italy) Abstract Thanks to the archaeological activity in modern southeastern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan, the culture of the Sogdians in their motherland is becoming less mysterious. In particular, it is now possible to state that the Iranian-culture population of Sogdiana worshipped local divinities slightly different than the Persian ones but still belonging to the Mazdean pantheon. An interesting aspect of these divinities is constituted by their iconography: at least since the 6th century the Sogdians adopted iconographic formulae proper of Indian gods. Traces of such an adoption can be found in archaeological and literary contexts although the passages are not always clear. There is then the problem of the arrival of the Indian iconography. There are two main hypotheses: the iconography arrived with Buddhism, a religion which had not many followers in Sogdiana but in the numerous Sogdian colonies abroad. The Buddhist creed itself was expelled and the Sogdians adopted the images of Hindu divinities to represent their own ones. According to the second hypothesis, the Hindu iconography arrived directly from India and evidences of such a path can be traced, lso considering similar phenomena in other parts of Central Asia. The second hypothesis seems to be the most convincing even if many gaps still need to be filled. The argument of this paper has been also the focus of my Ph.D. thesis defended at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, Italy. 09:20 - 09:40 Sogdian costume inside out. The identification of “Sogdians” on the basis of their costume Fiona Kidd (Australia) Abstract Sogdiana was a nexus between China and the West, whose interactions with its nomad neighbours to the east and north, particularly prior to the 4th century CE, has rendered it highly enigmatic. The period between the 2nd-1st century BCE and the 4th century CE was a formative one, a prelude to the increasing internationalism of the early medieval period. Terracotta figurines are the only source of visual evidence from the Samarkand region of Sogdiana dated to this period. The costume portrayed on these figurines provides a rich database for exploring regional identity in Samarkand. Yet when compared with the costume portrayed on figures identified as Sogdian outside the Sogdian heartland of the Zerafshan Valley – dated before and after, but only rarely contemporary with this period - there are few parallels. This paper will explore internal and external evidence regarding the identification of “Sogdians” on the basis of their costume prior to the Arab invasions of the early 8th century. 09:40 - 10:00 Some Costume Contacts of Ancient Central Asia Sergey A. Yatsenko (Russia) Abstract Among the manifestations of the costume contacts the sets of some elements or separate garments acquired by nomadic aristocracy of the Central Asia present significant interest. The gifts of kings of the Persian Achaemenid empire to foreign ambassadors (Aelian. Var. Hist. 1.22) as well as supposed presents of satraps influenced the decoration of fabrics and costume accessories of different northern tribes from Pazyrykians of the Altai mountains to European Scythians. Among the gifts of Chinese emperors to the nomads the garments, in contrast to cuts of silk, formed only 1 % for Hsiung-nu (49-1 BC) and aproximately 10% for Early Turks (612 AD). The garments of sedentary neighbours were often not only wanted presents for members of the families of the aristocrats from the foreign diplomats and merchants but also the single "permit" on territory of the certain tribe (the long sleeved coats and the female head shawls of Early Islamic Kwarezm). The diplomatic presents, as judged by pictorial materials and discoveries in burials of nobility, rendered only indirect influence; in the context of nomadic culture they had usually marginal status. The tradition to make the parties of the garments for regular trade with nomads with provision for their taste as was known in East Mediterranean region since the turn of the era (Strabo. Geogr. 11.2.3), probably had no analogues in the Central Asia. The direct import, booty or imitations of the gala belts of big and culturally related “nomadic empires” and communities (Yuezhi of Bactria, Hsiung-nu, Early Turks) among the nomads of the Central Asia were of the greatest importance. 10:00 - 10:20 Expansion of the Kura Araxes culture into the Qazvin Plain and the Iranian Zagros and its effect on the archaic Silk Road through the 3rd millennium BC Bahram Adjerloo (Iran) Abstract The Late Chalcolithic societies of the Iranian central plateau and Iranian Zagros across the archaic Silk Road had their development during ca. 3200-3000 B.C. According to archaeological research by Tehran University, there were also economic relationships between Uruk Mesopotamia and the Iranian central plateau. However, there is not enough evidence to prove such relationships with eastern Anatolia. By ca. 3000 B.C Chalcolithic societies of the Qazvin plain and the Iranian Zagros collapsed. According to the author that collapse is related to the migration of Kura – Araxes culture into Iranian plateau. Archaeological data suggests that expansion of the Kura-Araxes migrant culture cut the archaic silk road; the so-called the Great Road of Khorassan in Persian. The Late Chalcolithic socities of the Iranian central plateau, such as Tepe Qabristan and Sialk, and the Iranian Zagros zone, for instance Godin Tepe, lost their economic relations with the Uruk World. The Kura-Araxes expansion may have become a major factor. 10:20 - 10:40 Neolithic Sites on the Natural Pass of the later known Silk Road on the central Iranian plateau Sadegh Malek Shahmirzadi (Iran) Abstract Almost 1000 Kms of the well known Silk Road that connects the most eastern part of Asia to Europe passes through the Central Iranian Plateau. Many early sites have been investigated on this part of the route. They date from the Neolithic period to medieval times. A few important Neolithic sites such as Agh Tepe in the Gorgan Plain, Sang-e Chakhmagh in the Shahrood district, which is located in one of the valley of the Alborz Mountain, Tepe Zaghe in the,Qazvin Plain and Hajji Firuz in Azarbayjan have been investigated already by archaeologists. The similarities between the archaeological inventories show that there was some kind of cultural interactions between the occupants of these sites. I have excavated in Agh Tepe and Zagheh in the central part of this route and recently I have been digging at Sialk of Kashan. Considering the extreme similarities that existed between the cultural material and materials of culture obtained from the excavations of these sites, it seem that the historically known Silk Road was originated on the natural pass that used to connect these locally developed communities in the Neolithic era. To document my arguments I will consider and present the architectural remains and the techniques applied for building the houses, pottery traditions and stone artifacts from some of these Neolithic sites. During the Bronze and Iron Ages the nature of the cultural exchange between the sites on this road was even more clearly indicated. The last part of my arguments will be devoted to the immigration of the Iron Age nomads from east, Central Asia, to Iran via the northern branch, or as have been mentioned by some scholars the Summer Route, of the Silk Road. 10:40 - 11:00 The Bronze Age Relations of Southern Central Asia Kai Kaniuth (Germany) Abstract The contribution reviews the external relations of Southern Central Asia in the Middle- and Late Bronze Age (late third and early second millennium BC). During this time period, several larger cultural entities, the Eurasian steppes, the eastern Iranian and Indus spheres, interacted with Bactria, Margiana and the Kopet Dagh foothill zone, exerting varying degrees of influence on the local communities. Similarly, objects of Central Asian derivation have been found all the way down to the Persian Gulf, suggesting that it was a very active participant in a larger exchange system rather than a migratory zone. It shall be attempted to go beyond using imports merely as a convenient means for cross-cultural synchronization by showing patterns of association that will help to improve our understanding of the nature of the prehistory of the Silk Roads. 11:00 - 11:30 Cofee break 11:30 - 11:50 Strangers at the gates: nomads of the Aralo Caspian region Vadim N. Yagodin (Uzbekistan) Abstract The floruit of the Great Silk Roads in the period from the 2nd century BC to the 14th century AD created a system of communication and trade across the vast stretch of Eurasia from Xi’an and Lanzhou in China to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The Great Silk Roads linked together a system of prehistoric trade routes and was a strong factor in the development of cultural communications between China, India, Central Asia, the Near East and Eastern Europe. This massive redistribution system encompassed not only the inhabitants of cities and towns along the routes, but also the many nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppes. Using selected examples, this paper will illustrate some aspects of the involvement of the early nomads of the Aral-Caspian deserts with the trade networks of the Great Silk Roads. The nomads regularly exchanged goods in the Silk Road trading centres that lay along their natural migration routes as an integral part of their economic system. The existence of a waterway linking the lower reaches of the Amu-dar’ya river with the Caspian Sea by the old branch of the river known as the Uzboi will also be discussed. 11:50 - 12:10 Les rites mortuaires à l’âge du Fer (Ier millénaire) chez les Saka de la mer d’Aral (Ouzbékistan) Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento (France) and Vadim N. Yagodin (Uzbekistan) Abstract Il s’agit de l’étude d’un matériel anthropologique inédit provenant des fouilles anciennes sur des kourganes des nomades Saka de l’âge du Fer (Ier millénaire avant J.-C.) sur le plateau d’Ust’jurt situé entre la mer d’Aral et la mer Caspienne (Karakalpakistan). Le travail archéologique réalisé sur la région est important mais très peu diffusé. L’étude du matériel anthropologique a déjà partiellement fait l’objet d’une approche crâniologique qui semble montrer un «rapprochement» avec les populations Sarmate de l’Oural et de la culture Tagar en Sibérie (datées tous deux de l’âge du Fer). Nos résultats préliminaires montrent des sujets dont l’état sanitaire est particulièrement dégradé en comparaison avec des populations contemporaines étudiées sur le territoire du Kazakhstan. Au niveau des pratiques funéraires nous retrouvons des sépultures individuelles mais également multiples, voire collectives (contenant des femmes, des hommes et des enfants) qui restent exceptionnelles pour cette période dans l’histoire de l’Asie centrale steppique. 12:10 - 12:30 TBetween East and West: the frontier city of Liao Empire Chintolgoi balgas in the Mongolian steppe Nikolay Kradin (Russia) Abstract In the summer of 2004 an international Mongolian-Russian expedition undertook archaeological research in the Kitan epoch Chintolgoi balgas mediaeval town. At the beginning of the 11th century the Kitan empire reached its floruit. Simultaneously with success against Song in the south, the Kitans consolidated their grip on the western borders. As early as 994 the Kitans conducted a campaign to “pacify” the “western border” (Liao shi, ch.13). They also started construction of a network of frontier fortresses in the valleys of Kerulen and Tola rivers. Garrisons of these fortresses consisted of transferred subdued peoples from the eastern borders of Liao – Jurchens, Bohais, and Hans (Northern Chinese). In 1004, Zhenzhou fortress –most north-western boundary town of Kitan Empire– was built in the place of “old town Kedun”. 20000 Kitan horsemen were sent to serve here. Also 700 households of Bohai, Jurchen, and Han people were attached to provide them with provisions. It is a very important point of transit trade in this period between Northern China and Central Asia. We have found evidence for several different cultural traditions: China, Manchuria, Mongolia, Central Asia. 12:30 - 12:50 Temples and Cult Practice in the Tash-k’irman oasis, Karakalpakstan Alison Betts (Australia) Abstract A collaborative Karakalpak-Australian expedition has been excavating two important sites of the Early Antique Period in ancient Chorasmia (4th century BC – 2nd century AD). One, Tash-k’irman-tepe, is a Fire Temple complex. The other, Kazakl’i-yatkan, is a major sacral centre containing within it a richly decorated monumental building of unique design, believed to be a temple of a quite different style. Chorasmia was briefly a satrapy of the Persian Achaemenid Empire but reverted to independence at sometime around the late 5th to early 4th centuries BC. While to a degree Chorasmia absorbed Achaemenid religious beliefs, the population also developed its own local traditions, strongly influenced by earlier Indo-Iranian and nomadic cult practice. The paper will present evidence for religion and cult in ancient Chorasmia and discuss the information provided by these new and important discoveries. 12:50 - 13:10 Resource exploitation and settlement dynamics in high mountain areas – The case of Medieval Ustrushana (Northern Tajikistan) Sören Stark (Germany) Abstract The valley systems in the northern slopes of the Turkestan range form a distinct micro-region immediately to the south of the irrigation oases of medieval Ustrushana. Historical and ethnographical data mostly emphasize their seasonal use by nomads and transhumant pastoralists as summer pastures. But archaeological data from the north of the Turkestan range are still very scarce. Since 2005 a joint Tajik-German expedition is carrying out archaeological prospections in the high mountain zone south of present-day Shahriston. The paper will present results from the first field season which point to complex resource exploitation and settlement dynamics in this area. In particular, there is evidence of significant changes in the high mountain zone from the 11th to the early 13th cent. AD. At the same time, ties with the Shahriston oasis seem to increase remarkably. 13:10 - 13:30 Archaeological Aspects of the Early Islamic Period in Khorezm Shamil Amirov (Russia) Abstract In the early 8th century Khorezm fell under the influence of the Arabian Caliphate, thus commencing the gradual process of acculturation and conversion of the Khorezmian population to Islam. Research on historical sources relating to Khorezm in the early Islamic period dates back to the beginning of the 20th century but very limited attention has been paid to the archaeological evidence, despite the excavation of a number of Muslim necropoles. The archaeological study of necropoles focuses on questions of typology, classification and dating. The results of these analyses can shed new light on our understanding of the adoption of Islam into Khorezmian culture and its relationship with indigenous culture and pre-Islamic religious beliefs. This paper addresses these questions. 13:30 - 13:50 When East Met West: interpretive problems involved with assessing East-West contact and exchange in antiquity Irene Good (USA) Abstract The theme of this paper is to highlight some of the interpretive problems involved with assessing East-West contact and exchange in antiquity, from a materials science point of view and from the vantage point of material culture studies. Much of our understanding of the development of civilizations rests on our understanding of contact between culture groups in prehistory. This is particularly so for the area of inner Eurasia, and it is therefore of utmost scientific interest to refine and revise, when necessary, our evidentiary interpretations of past contact and exchange between East and West. There are also more basic problems to deal with in Central Asian studies, which range from differences (and lacunae) in chronometric data from relevant sites, to problems of access to published site reports due to language barriers. This paper overviews current problems and suggests practice towards amelioration for future, international collaborative archaeologies of the Silk Road. 13:50 - 14:10 Silk Roads in the Digital Era: Creating an Archaeological Information System of Central Asia Bernardo Rondelli and Sebastian Stride (Spain) Abstract AISCA (Archaeological Information System of Central Asia) aims to manage the ever-increasing data mountain created by scholars working in many different countries and languages. Although AISCA is first and foremost a practical and technical project, we believe that it will profoundly influence future research along the Silk Road from all points of view – including the theoretical. It includes a Geographical Information System (GIS) of Central Asia, a Site Database, various other Databases (such as statuettes, coins, etc.), an E-library and a link to the teams whose work is included in the system. It is an open, evolutive, system, which allows easy access to any data about Central Asia and will be directly accessible via the Internet. AISCA aims to function as a platform for collaboration between institutions and to guarantee that all Data included is linked exclusively to the original author – even in the case where this data has been digitised at a later date. 14:10 - 14:30 Discussion