This book reconsiders the archaeology of the Pazyryk, the horse-riding people of the Altai Mountains who lived in the 4th–3rd centuries BCE, in light of recent scientific studies and excavations not only in Russia but also Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China, together with new theories of landscape.Excavation of the Pazyryk burials sparked great interest because of their wealth of organic remains, including tattooed bodies and sacrificed horses, together with superb wooden carvings and ...

This volume examines the role of objects in the region north of early dynastic state centers, at the intersection of Ancient China and Eurasia, a large area that stretches from Xinjiang to the China Sea, from c.3000 BCE to the mid-eighth century BCE. This area was a frontier, an ambiguous space that lay at the margins of direct political control by the metropolitan states, where local and colonial ideas and practices were reconstructed transculturally. These identities were often merged an...

The roles of women in Chinese archaeology, with only a few exceptions, have at worst been overlooked, and at best consigned to conventional Marxist theory that prescribes formulaic frameworks for understanding gender-until now. Renowned archaeologist Katheryn M. Linduff and fellow researcher Yan Sun have brought together a fascinating collection that reexamines gender in ancient Chinese cultures. Acknowledging and negotiating the complications that challenge their efforts, the authors anal...

Gendered archaeology in Asia has been studied by archaeologists since the 1990s and scholars have posed questions such as the role and construction of gendered identities in ancient societies. In this Element, the authors review secondary literature, report on to what stage the research has evolved, evaluate methodologies, and use the concept of networking to examine the issues across East Asia, including China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Interestingly, those literatures are not e...

Are All Warriors Male? is a lively inquiry into questions of gender on the ancient Eurasian steppes. The book's contributors are archaeologists who work in eastern Europe, Central Asia, and eastern Asia, and this volume is the result of their field research in this vast. As little has been written about the evidence of gender roles in ancient-or modern-pastoralist societies, this book helps to fill an empty niche in our understanding of how sexual roles and identities have shaped ...

Exploding the traditional myth that view queens as simply an appendage to the king, these essays explore the social and cultural constructions of female power. This volume does more than merely identify and describe queens, but rather, offers its readers an understanding of the roles of these 'dominant women', situated within archaeological discourse that change our assumptions about female-ruled societies. Examining the ancient societies in Asia, North and South America, Europe and Africa...

The Silk Road is as iconic in world history as the Colossus of Rhodes or the Suez Canal. But what was it, exactly? It conjures up a hazy image of a caravan of camels laden with silk on a dusty desert track, reaching from China to Rome. The reality was different--and far more interesting--as revealed in this new history. In The Silk Road, Valerie Hansen describes the remarkable archeological finds that revolutionize our understanding of these trade routes. For centuries, key record...

The phrase "silk road" evokes vivid scenes of merchants leading camel caravans across vast stretches to trade exotic goods in glittering Oriental bazaars, of pilgrims braving bandits and frozen mountain passes to spread their faith across Asia. Looking at the reality behind these images, this Very Short Introduction illuminates the historical background against which the silk road flourished, shedding light on the importance of old-world cultural exchange to Eurasian and world history. On ...

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year: "remarkable . . . Anyone who does not believe there are lessons to be learned from history should start right here" ( The Economist ).Around 1750, English entrepreneurs unleashed the energies of steam and coal, and the world was forever changed. The emergence of factories, railroads, and gunboats propelled the West's rise to power in th...

The first complete history of Central Eurasia from ancient times to the present day, Empires of the Silk Road represents a fundamental rethinking of the origins, history, and significance of this major world region. Christopher Beckwith describes the rise and fall of the great Central Eurasian empires, including those of the Scythians, Attila the Hun, the Turks and Tibetans, and Genghis Khan and the Mongols. In addition, he explains why the heartland of Central Eurasia led the wor...

Roughly half the world's population speaks languages derived from a shared linguistic source known as Proto-Indo-European. But who were the early speakers of this ancient mother tongue, and how did they manage to spread it around the globe? Until now their identity has remained a tantalizing mystery to linguists, archaeologists, and even Nazis seeking the roots of the Aryan race. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language lifts the veil that has long shrouded these original Indo-European ...

"A virtuoso historical investigation" of the discovery and history of the sculptures of the first emperor of China's army ( Kirkus Reviews) .The Terra Cotta Army is an account of one of the greatest archaeological discoveries ever made. Over seven thousand life-size figures of warriors and horses were interred in the mausoleum of the first emperor of China'and each figure was individually carved.Weaving to...