Journal "Silk Road" - Volume 1-4

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Our journal is dedicated to public education about the history and cultures of Eurasia, especially in pre-modern times. While we invoke the historic "Silk Road" in our title, our view of the Silk Roads is an expansive one, encompassing pre-history, the era beginning with the establishment of trans-Eurasian trade and cultural interaction some two millennia ago, and the subsequent history of those interactions down through the centuries. Modern evocations of cultural traditions are of interest, especially in the areas which historically have been the domain of pastoral nomads. We publish articles by well known scholars and those who have other expertise on the regions and material of interest. Where possible we are communicating the results of the latest research, including new archaeological investigations. The journal also serves as the means to alert readers about upcoming programs connected with Silk Road topics

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The Silk Road, Vol. 1, No. 2 (December 2003)

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From the Editor

It is my pleasure to introduce the second issue of the Silkroad Foundation’s Newsletter which contains a range of articles that should interest general reader and specialist alike. I respond to these essays on both a personal and a professional level. On the one hand, the Silk Road embodies a kind of romantic and romanticizing vision of a past which may come alive when I visit the locations where history unfolded. On the other hand the historian in me keeps whispering that I should beware of reading too much into the past from its remains that have survived to the present.

The Archaeology of Sogdiana

Sogdiana denotes the region including the Zeravshan and Kashkadarya River basins. Clearly, the archaeology of Sogdiana is dated no earlier than the first millennium BCE, when Sogdians emerged on the historical stage. However, for a more complete picture we need to note the monuments of earlier periods.

The most ancient archaeological findings on the territory of Sogdiana date to the Middle Paleolithic period. There are a few Upper Paleolithic settlements (in Samarkand, for example) as well; at the same time, nothing from the Neolithic period has yet been found. Sarasm, situated between Samarkand and Panjikent, is an Eneolithic monument dated to the fourth and third millennia BCE. Abdullo Isakov and his students, as well as Roland Besenval and Bertille Lyonnet, studied this monument which consists of several settlements that occupy hundreds of hectares.

Returning to Varakhsha

Varakhsha is one of the most welcoming and enjoyable sites where I have been fortunate to excavate. Even the wind performing its lonely dance in the roofless empty halls of the palace sounds like a distant chorale. As to the Sogdian lunar god Mah, whose light floods the uninterrupted dreamy plains stretching from the foot of the citadel to the flat horizon, I have not seen him so beautiful in any other part of the world. These personal feelings make me wish to revisit the site, but, by themselves, they do not constitute a legitimate reason for a scholarly return to Varakhsha, a monument which has held an exceptional place in the history of exploration of Sogdiana. Such a scholarly re-examination is necessary for our understanding of the site in order to update it in the context of recently-studied monuments and to make use of materials brought to light by the last decades of research.

Sogdians in China: A Short History and Some New Discoveries

The Sogdians were the inhabitants of fertile valleys surrounded by deserts, the most important of which was the Zeravshan valley, in today’s Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. This Iranian-speaking people had a fifteen-centuries-long historical identity between the sixth century BCE and the tenth century CE when it vanished in the Muslim, Persian-speaking world. Although the Sogdians constructed such famous towns as Samarkand and Bukhara, they are quite unknown. Only specialists on the Silk Road know that they were among the main go-betweens of the exchanges in the steppe, in Central Asia, and in China during the first millennium CE, and especially between the fifth and the eighth centuries CE. During this period, the “inland silk road” and the “Sogdian trading network” are almost synonymous. The contemporary Sogdian, Chinese, Arabic, Byzantine, and Armenian sources describe the Sogdians as the great traders of Inner Asia. They managed to sell their products - musk, slaves, silverware, silk and many other goods - to all the surrounding peoples. A Greek text describes their trading embassies to Byzantium, some caravaneers’ graffiti prove that they were in India, Turkish vocabulary is a testimony to their cultural and economic power in the Turkish steppe...

The Pre-Islamic Civilization of the Sogdians (seventh century BCE to eighth century CE): A Bibliographic Essay (studies since 1986)

In the second half of the 1980s, an unprecedented development in Sogdian studies began. This did not result from the discovery of a mass of new written documents (contrary to what happened with Bactrian studies), nor to a large extension of field archaeology (on the contrary, the great excavations inherited from the Soviet period have since shrunk due to financial difficulties, with a few exceptions such as Samarkand and Paykend). The main reason for the blossoming of Sogdian studies has been, on the one hand, better communication among the specialists involved, and, on the other hand, chance discoveries in China, which have added a new angle to the perception of the historical role of the Sogdians.
Bamiyan: Professor Tarzi’s Survey and Excavation Archaeological Mission, 2003

The Bamiyan Valley is one of the sites most often referred to in studies regarding the history and archaeology of Central Asia. It figures especially in studies of the expansion of Buddhism, thanks to the region’s strategic location between India and China. Bamiyan is best known for its two giant standing Buddha statues, carved into the rock of the great cliff dominating the north side of the peaceful valley. One statue was 55 meters high and the other 38 meters high. The destruction of these two colossal statues by the Taliban in 2001 was headline news in all the international media.

Ever since the signature of the Archaeological Convention between the French Republic and the Afghan kingdom in 1922, French archaeologists have expressed an interest in Bamiyan. In his first report on the archaeological remains of Afghanistan, Alfred Foucher, who had played a major role in drafting the convention, had underlined the importance of conducting archaeological studies in Bamiyan.

‘Knowing the Road That Leads You Home’: Family, Genealogy, and Migration in Post-Socialist Kazakhstan¹

I recall experiencing a somewhat surprised and euphoric feeling when I first saw a shezhyre displayed in one of the Almaty kiosks. The shezhyre, it had seemed to me, was a testimony that was guarded from people by public officials, hidden for decades in closed stacks with limited access in the National Library or other restricted archives among other historical records. Disclosing such documents, it seemed to me, was an act confirming an ideological change, and a movement toward the rediscovery of the historical dignity of the Kazakh people.

Among the Kazakhs of Xinjiang

I have no complaints about sleeping in a yurt here at Tianchi. It is warm and the sleeping quilts are more than adequate. It is large and roomy. I drank a great deal of beer with Sailik and two of his cousins last night. We drank by candlelight, Kazakh style, with each of us drinking in turn from the same bowl, refilling and passing it along. It is the way friends drink, he says. But Sailik is a clever guy. Maybe they had only one bowl. Though I slept well, my thighs are sore from riding a horse into the hills yesterday, balanced on a small, inadequately padded Kazakh saddle of wood. I fear the upcoming ride.

...The yurt was put up in ninety minutes in the family’s traditional spot overlooking a high alpine bowl, probably at about ten thousand feet. The mountains under my feet are rock and mottled green grass, cross-hatched here and there in patches where the grazing of sheep and goats is more noticeable. Only two other encampments are visible from here, far away across the bowl. The river creases the mountainside, and smaller watercourses are revealed by the upward advancing arrows of firs, a dark healthy green. Here and there are constellations of white sheep and goats set against the firmament of green meadows. It is all quite magnificent.

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The Silk Road, Vol. 2, No. 1 (June 2004)

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From the Editor

When did the “Silk Road” begin? To a considerable degree, the answer depends on how we interpret the archaeological evidence about Inner Asian nomads and their relations with sedentary peoples. Long-accepted views about the Silk Road situate its origins in the interaction between the Han and the Xiongnu beginning in the second century BCE, as related in the first instance in the Han histories. As the stimulating recent book by Nicola Di Cosmo reminds us though, if we are to gain an Inner Asian perspective on the development of nomadic power we need to distinguish carefully between the picture drawn from those written sources and what the archaeological evidence reveals. Although this is not the direct concern of Di Cosmo’s book, others with an Inner Asian perspective argue that we really should think of the “Silk Road” as part of a continuum of nomadic movement and interaction across Eurasia dating from much earlier times.

Archaeological Explorations of Bronze Age Pastoral Societies in the Mountains of Eastern Eurasia

Throughout history, nomadic societies of the Eurasian steppes are known to have played a major role in the transfer of technology, commodities, language, and culture between East Asia, the Near East, and Europe (e.g. The Silk Road). However, the organization of Eurasian steppe societies in prehistory is still poorly understood. The problem lies in the lack of scientifically analyzed archaeological data from the region, and in the ineffectiveness of previous archaeological

On the Antiquity of the Yurt: Evidence from Arjan and Elsewhere

For all the considerable interest that has been taken over the years in the nature and uses of the yurt — in, for example, its wide distribution (which stretches from Mongolia to Anatolia), in its prefabricated, eminently portable elements, and in the variety of different terms that are used to define its component parts — very little has been done to try to uncover the more remote history of this long-lived, highly adaptable type of dwelling. Thus, while Peter Andrews’ Nomad Tent Types in the Middle East, mentions all significant references to yurts in the Middle East that occur in documents of early Islamic date or in travellers’ accounts, these and other sources cited in this magisterial work are not enough to carry the story of the yurt back to any moment before 700 CE.

The Burial Rite: an Expression of Sogdian Beliefs and Practices

As a sequel to contributions on the life and times of the Sogdians, highlighted in volume 1/2 of this Newsletter, this article focuses on the treatment of the dead in a funerary monument from Sogdiana. In a review of the archaeology of Sogdiana in that Newsletter, Boris Marshak has brought attention to a change in the funerary practices of the Sogdians marked by the appearance, from the fifth century, of vaulted surface burial chambers (Marshak 2003). These chambers, which were built until the eighth century at Panjiket, Samarkand and Bukhara, housed ossuaries in which were collected and placed the bones of the dead in accordance to a manner that Marshak there com-pares with the Zoroastrian Persian custom. Marshak also draws attention to the appearance of the Zoroastrian-type fire cult in some Sogdian temple complexes that date to the fifth century. These observations now justify reexamination of the artistic context, meaning and function of a remarkable funerary rite associated with a Sogdian royal personage, depicted in a mural from the sanctuary of the Temple II complex, at Panjikent, dated to the early sixth century CE.

Palmyra as a Caravan City

Generally the caravan trade leaves few traces except for some anecdotal literature and what remains of the goods carried by it to its destinations. Hence the existence of Palmyra, which is recognized by even the most critical historians as a true caravan city, is an important resource in the study of the Silk Road. There are of course the impressive remains (Fig. 2) brought to light by travellers, first in 1678, and by archaeologists in more recent times. Even more importantly, there are the bilingual inscriptions in Aramaic and Greek which give first-hand information about at least one relatively short stretch of the Silk Road. Of added interest is the romantic story of Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, who is so celebrated in the works of Roman historians, in Chaucer’s “Monk’s Tale,” in art and in drama.
The “Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Road,” the “Silk Road” of Southwest China

The “Tea and Horse Caravan Road” of Southwest China is less well known than the famous Silk Road. Its route crosses some very high and dangerous terrain. It begins from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in Southwest China, runs along the eastern foothills of the Hengduan Mountains, a center of tea pro-duction in China, then crosses the Hengduan mountain range and deep canyons of several major rivers, the Yalong, the Jinsha (the upper reaches of Yangtze), the Lancang (Mekong), and the Nu (Salween), thus spanning the two highest plateaus of China (Qinghai-Tibet and Yunnan-Guizhou) before finally reaching India south of the Himalayas.

Klavdiia Antipina — a Tribute to the Ethnographer of the Kyrgyz

Born into nobility near Moscow, Russia, Klavdiia Ivanovna Antipina died at the age of 92 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. In those decades, she had seen the beginning and the end of the Soviet Union. Initially she had shared the exhilaration of the Marxist and the Leninist doctrines of Communism with fellow students in the finest and most selective of Soviet universities, Moscow State University. A happy marriage and promising career in the 1930s were soon destroyed by Stalinist repres-sions. Her husband was arrested and disappeared; she and her young son were exiled to Central Asia. “The stone must lie where it has fallen” is a Kyrgyz saying, an explanation for the acceptance of fate. Klavdiia Ivanovna lived in Kyrgyzstan for the remainder of her life, becoming a much-respected ethnographer of The Kyrgyz.
Mongolia: a different view

The typical foreign tourist or consultant who spends two weeks or so in the central sections of Ulaanbaatar and is escorted, on the weekends, to tourist ger(yurt) camps or to historic sites on the outskirts of the city may conclude that Mongolia, free of Soviet influence for more than a decade, is booming. Indian and Korean and faux Japanese, German, Italian, and Thai restaurants have sprouted in the city center. Markets, displaying canned goods and fresh vegetables and fruits, mostly imported from China, line Peace Avenue, the main thoroughfare, and adjacent areas. Computer stores and even a “Grease Salon” (i.e. beauty parlor) advertising the latest hairdos reflect Western influence in a country that had been one of the most isolated in the world. Discos blaring forth rock and rap music offer additional evidence of the Western impact. One local wag has asserted that Mongolia has more “tigers” (the Mongol word for “bar”) than Korea, Taiwan, or the other so-called tiger economies. More than 60,000 cars and SUVs clog the streets of a capital city which ten years ago hardly boasted any privately owned vehicles.

British Library Symposium on “The Kingdom of Khotan to AD 1000: A Meeting of Cultures”

An important scholarly meeting on the archaeology, literature, languages, history and culture of ancient Khotan took place at the British Library, London, on May 10 and 11, 2004. The symposium, organized by Ursula Sims-Williams and Susan Whitfield, was held in conjunction with the library’s spectacular special exhibit on “The Silk Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith” (May 7 to September 12, 2004). Thirteen prominent scholars from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States presented illustrated lectures on such diverse topics as art history, numismatics, geography, recent archaeological explorations, folk legends, historical chronology, and manuscript studies. (See the full list of presenters and lecture titles at the end of this article.) The audience consisted, in addition to the participants themselves, of some forty invited guests, many from abroad. Many specimens of the types of materials — manuscripts, paintings, coins, textiles, and the like — that were discussed in the lectures were also represented in the accompanying exhibits, which had the effect of vividly bringing to life the presentations about the world of Khotan.

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[b]The Silk Road, Vol. 2, No. 2 (December 2004)[/b]

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From the Editor by: Daniel Waugh

1907 was a year of remarkable coincidence. In March, after a winter of stunning discoveries in the desert, Aurel Stein arrived at the Mogao Caves near Dun-huang. After learning there of the "Library Cave," he returned to his excavations along the Dunhuang "limes," in the process uncovering the famous "Ancient Sogdian Letters." Back in Dunhuang, he would then pack off to London a major part of the treasures from what we now know as Cave 17. As readers of this newsletter know, the study of the Silk Road would never be the same.

THE MAIKOP TREASURE

To properly begin the story of the so-called Maikop treasure, one must say at least a little about M. A. Merle de Massoneau. The founder of the Bank of the Orient in Paris, he had worked for a long time as the director of the Russian royal vineyards in the Crimea and in the Caucasus. His position clearly indicates not only his material wealth, but also his high social status, and explains as well as the regular work-related trips he had to take between the Crimea (where he lived in Yalta) and the Caucasus.

During the nearly twenty years he lived in Russia, de Massoneau had amassed a truly enormous, unique collection.1 Several documents allow us to judge its size. Robert Zahn, a famous German archaeologist, for example, informs Berlin about de Massoneau’s collection: “The collection contains various Greek and Roman antiquities, typical for the south of Russia. Furthermore, it seems to me that the wares made during the time of the great migrations (golden decorations, etc.) are very good, the Islamic ancient objects as well as the medieval objects from Circassian tombs (a large collection of weapons) are all very rich.” ²

In Celebration of Aleksandr Leskov

Professor Aleksandr Leskov is known in Ukrainian and Russian archaeology as “Sasha the Golden Hand.” Indeed, gold jewelry and toreutic from his excavations in the Crimea and south Ukrainian steppes constitute a significant part of the collection in the Ukrainian Museum of National Treasures in Kiev, while his excavations on the northwestern Caucasus (Adygeia) formed the core of the “Golden Chamber” in the Moscow Museum of Oriental Art. Leskov is undoubtedly responsible for more discoveries of ancient gold than any living Scythian archaeologist.

Given that the odds of finding true treasures in archaeological excavations are about the same as for winning a major lottery jackpot, everybody unavoidably asks: what is the secret of Leskov’s never-fading luck? The truth is, there are no miracles which lead to buried treasure. At least three serious factors have always significantly increased the probability of Leskov’s success.

GREEKS, AMAZONS, AND ARCHAEOLOGY

The legends of the Amazons and their battles with the Greeks were popular subjects of ancient Greek art. Images of lone Amazons, of combat between an Amazon and a Greek hero, of general battle scenes,2 and occasionally of more amicable meetings appear in vase painting, sculpture, and other forms of art. The earliest representation known was made about 700 BCE [Schefold 1966, pp. 24-25, plate 7b]. The subjects appeared frequently in the fifth century BCE, eventually rivaling the popularity of depictions of centaurs [Encyclopedia Britannica (1957)].
Did Amazons really exist? Many modern writers deem them to be mythical beings as are the satyrs and centaurs. Others believe them to be symbols of the Persian or other peoples menacing the Greek borders and colonies. Still others believe that they may have been members of matriarchal societies of the Bronze Age.

Archaeological GIS in Central Asia

The following short articles describe the current state of several projects developing archaeological applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Chinese Turkestan (Xinjiang). Taken together, it is hoped that they point to some of the potential applications of GIS in Central Asia.

Archaeological GIS and Oasis Geography in the Tarim Basin

The "pivot of Asia," as Lattimore called Chinese Turkestan (more prosaically the modern Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region), is an area where a great deal of ancient history, and especially prehistory, remains uncharted. At its center lies the Tarim Basin and the Taklamakan desert (Fig. 1), an immense and harsh landscape of sand dunes, pebble deserts, and salt flats. But along the foothills and at "terminal deltas" where rivers end in the desert, for millennia oasis settlements have flourished which were culturally and geographically tied at once to China, South Asia, western Central Asia, and the Eurasian steppe.

Ever since the signature of the Archaeological Convention between the French Republic and the Afghan kingdom in 1922, French archaeologists have expressed an interest in Bamiyan. In his first report on the archaeological remains of Afghanistan, Alfred Foucher, who had played a major role in drafting the convention, had underlined the importance of conducting archaeological studies in Bamiyan.

An Archaeological GIS of the Surkhan Darya Province (Southern Uzbekistan)

This article presents some of the results of a long-term project undertaken by the author within the framework of the MAFOuz de Bactriane.1 It will be focused on the use of GIS for data organisation2 and the potential that this offers for developing and testing new models and theories.

Methods and Perspectives for Ancient Settlement Studies in the Middle Zeravshan Valley

The "Archaeological Map of the Middle Zeravshan Valley" Project, begun in 2001 [Shirinov and Tosi 2003], is a cooperation between the Institute of Archaeology of Samarkand and the Department of Archaeology of the University of Bologna. It was created and evolves with two main aims: the study of the ancient population and settlement dynamics of the Middle Zeravshan Valley (Fig.1), and the recovery, preservation and enhancing of Samarkand and its territory. This brief description will be concerned with the first.

[center]Reasoning with GIS : Tracing the Silk Road and the Defensive Systems of the Murghab Delta (Turkmenistan)

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Over the past fifteen years, a major joint Italian-Russian- Turkmen project has enabled the creation of an archaeological GIS of the Murghab delta. This project has involved some fifty different specialists, resulting in numerous studies and a preliminary project publication [Gubaev et al. 1998]. The GIS is still under construction. However, it already includes over 1000 sites with associated archaeological data and a great deal of cartographic and other geographical information. The project evolved at a time when GIS was only just starting to be applied to archaeology, and all information was classified in codified categories developed ad hoc for this purpose.

Evolving the Archaeological Mapping of Afghanistan

The application of GIS to the archaeological mapping of Afghanistan offers an excellent means of evolving a new platform for synthesizing and interpreting data, for assessing and monitoring the preservation of sites, and for the eventual collection of new data. In conjunction with other Central Asian GIS projects, it can also form a tool with which to study historical human geography within and across the region, and themes such as the evolution of settlement patterns and cultural interactions across the Iranian plateau and Central Asia. The GIS described in this section is a first step in this direction, containing over 2000 sites and associated data sets, derived from the Archaeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan [Ball 1982], the French surveys in eastern Bactria [Gardin 1998; Lyonnet 1997; Gentelle 1989] and other sources.

Storing and Sharing Central Asian GIS: The Alexandria Archive

While GIS and related technologies are revolutionizing archaeology and related disciplines, they present their own challenges. Vast amounts of data are generated in digitizing regional data-sets, and in contemporary techniques of data collection in "digital" archaeology. Projects that use GIS, such as those described in this section, are a case in point. A single archaeological excavation or survey can produce literally thousands of digital photos, maps, plans, drawings, analyses, databases and reports. Archaeologists produce all this information because such detailed recording and observation is fundamental to understanding the past.

The Search for the Origins of the Jew's Harp

As a player of the musical instrument known as the Jew's or jaws harp, the two most frequent questions asked by my audience are, "How did it get its name?" and "Where does it come from?" One of the challenging and, at times, frustrating aspects of researching popular instruments is the lack of reference material we have to work with. Early writers simply did not think the instrument worthy of comment, or if they did it was often in derisory terms, not meriting serious study and, like many throw-away items, once the novelty had worn off or the instrument had been broken, it was discarded. Nevertheless, we have enough information to help us understand an instrument manufactured and played worldwide...

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The Silk Road, Vol. 3, No. 1 (June 2005)

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From the Editor by: Daniel Waugh

Xinjiang, the focus of several contributions to this issue, hardly needs to be introduced to readers of The Silk Road. While the designation Xinjiang is a modern one, the territory occupied by today's Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region in China embraces the earliest history of exchange in and across Inner Asia. That framing of the region as an administrative unit has to be considered rather artificial though in view of its vast size and its geographic and ethnic diversity. Whatever the modern political myths and realities, Xinjiang was never really a unified territory historically. In the longue durée Chinese control of the region occupies a relatively small part of its history. It was even more rarely the center of an indepedent state with any longevity. The history is often one of attempting to control some portion of the region from its periphery - from just beyond its eastern edge at Dunhuang, or north of the mountains in Urumqi, or at its far western end at Kashgar. Not infrequently the political and cultural centers of importance for the region were beyond the Kunlun and Karakorum Mountains or over the passes in Ferghana.

Xinjiang: China’s Pre- and Post-Modern Crossroad

The author, one of the leading specialists on ethnic relations in China and modern developments in Xinjiang, offers a sweeping introduction to that region. He explores the paradoxes of official policies that on the one hand are intended to promote integration but simultaneously heighten ethnic consciousness. Xinjiang and its Turkic population face significant challenges in an era of globalization and "modernization."

Uyghur Art Music and the Ambiguities of Chinese Silk Roadism in Xinjiang*

Author of a forthcoming sweeping history of Xinjiang, James Millward uses the example of Uyghur music to illustrates the impact of official cultural policies on the preservation, study and promotion of the culture of Xinjiang's ethnic minorities. In particular, there is a discordant note between promotion of "silkroadism" as an international and cross-cultural exchange and the artificial isolation of the traditional musical form of the muqam as emblematic of Uyghur cultural autonomy. This apparent contradiction is analogous to that which has been studied with regard to the cultures of other peoples of Central Asia in countries such as Uzbekistan.

The Polychrome Rock Paintings in the Altay Mountains

A distinguished archaeologist who has specialized on Xinjiang, the author brings to the attention of English-speaking readers the little known rock paintings of the Altay Mountains of Northern Xinjiang. He interprets them as evidence of late Paleolithic beliefs and shamanic ritual, especially in matters concerning hunting and human fertility.

Viticulture and Viniculture in the Turfan Region

Well known for her publications on the relationship between religion and material culture along the silk roads, the author explores the history of viticulture and viniculture in the oases of the northern Silk Road. It seems likely that these enterprises spread from the Middle East into Central Asia simultaneously with the spread of Buddhism. The Turfan region became famous for its grapes and wine. Documents from Dunhuang provide interesting details about wine-drinking and production in Buddhist monasteries.

Annotated Bibliography of the History and Culture of Eastern Turkistan, Jungharia/Zungaria/Dzungaria, Chinese Central Asia, and Sinkiang/Xinjiang

Nathan Light, who maintains an extensive web site about Xinjiang and its cultures and specializes on Uyghur music and literature, presents here an updated systematized and annotated bibliography for the region and adjoining territories. Included is work in various languages, including the Turkic ones of the region and Chinese.

Bactrian Camels and Bactrian-Dromedary Hybrids

The author presented this material in the Stanford lecture series sponsored by the Silkroad Foundation. He brings together material from across Eurasia which illustrates the importance of hybridization of Bactrian camels and dromedaries and helps us to understand the evidence for the presence of the Bactrian ones in Western Eurasian regions that are beyond their indigenous range.
One of the Last Documents of the Silk Road: The Khataynameh of Ali Akbar
This communication brings to our attention a neglected source for the history of exchange across Inner Asia in early modern times, the "Khataynameh" of 'Ali Akbar Khata'i. Dr. Kauz, an specialist on Iranian culture, is preparing an annotated translation of this early sixteenth-century description of China.

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The Silk Road, Vol. 3, No. 2

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From the Editor by: Daniel Waugh

The International Dunhuang Project

The International Dunhuang Project (IDP) based at the British Library celebrates ten years of achievement. Thanks to generous funding from a variety of sources, it has been able to make significant progress in digitizing the textual and visual legacy of the Chinese Silk Road, starting with the collections in the British Library and now including those from other countries. Its website is now available in several languages; one of its notable achievements is a center in Beijing which is processing material from Chinese collections. IDP and the British Library have sponsored a number of cataloguing projects for this material, preservation of the fragile manuscripts is proceeding apace, and a variety of educational projects are being developed.
Monuments in the Desert: A Note on Economic and Social Roots of the Development of Buddhism along the Silk Road
The success of Buddhism along the Silk Road was anchored in the local communities and their economic support for the faith. This article explores the economic activities of the Buddhist institutions, with particular attention to those at Dunhuang, whose history can be written from the manuscript legacy of the famous "library cave" at the Mogao Caves. Included here are excerpts from a number of documents in the the Pelliot and Stein collections, some of them translated into English for the first time. Of particular interest is the role women and women's associations played in organizing support for Buddhism.

Solidi in China and Monetary Culture along the Silk Road

Although a few Byzantine coins and their imitations were discovered more than a century ago at sites along the Silk Road, significant numbers of these coins were discovered in central regions of China beginning only in the 1950s. This article summarizes what has been learned so far from these discoveries and explores the question of how the coins may have been used and perceived in local communities. While it is clear that the coins played a role in burial rituals, especially in regions where Sogdian merchants were active, they may well have been valued more generally for their symbolic representation of the West as a kingdom from which treasures came.

Silk Road or Paper Road?

The "Silk Road" might more appropriately be re-named the "Paper Road," given the fact that historically paper was the much more important substance in the transmission and development of culture over the centuries in Eurasia. Invented in China, paper began to spread westward in the early centuries of the first millennium CE. For a long time in Europe, the role of the Islamic world as the transmitter of paper technology had not been appreciated. Paper's widespread acceptance in Central and Western Asia and regions further to the west is to be connected with the rise of Islam, with its sponsorship of cultural initiatives and bureaucratic requirements that created a demand for an inexpensive and durable writing medium.

East Meets West under the Mongols

The Mongol Empire in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries helped to stimulate a broad range of cultural exchanges across Eurasia and a wide range of artistic innovation. This can be seen in Islamic architecture in places such as Natanz in central Iran and in the development of Islamic textiles. Communities of weavers were re-settled in Mongolia and China from the Middle East, bringing their techniques with them and then combining Middle Eastern and East Asian motifs in their work. There is extensive evidence about the rapid and reliable communications along the postal networks, which facilitated the sharing of cultural values among the elites of the empire. Of particular interest are the examples from the arts of the Ilkhanid rulers of Iran and Iraq.

TWO TRAVELERS IN YAZD

Yazd in Central Iran still preserves the atmosphere of one of the important commercial centers along the Silk Roads. Although the picture has changed more recently, as late as 1970 the crafts and bazaars in the city were quite traditional. Despite recent economic changes, the city offers the visitor the opportunity to stroll through winding alleys amidst mud-brick walls and enjoy some of the gems of Islamic architecture. Yazd is also the home of a sizeable and flourishing Zoroastrian community.

Kyrgyz Healing Practices: Some Field Notes

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, "alternative medicine," connected both with pre-Islamic and Islamic traditions, has re-emerged in Kyrgyzstan. The examples here from field work in 2001 highlight the activity of several women practitioners of traditional medicine. Of particular interest is the connection with local Sufi shrines and the importance of ancestor veneration. The article includes interviews in which the practitioners explain their approaches to healing and translations of some of the invocations pronounced during the rituals.

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