1 00:00:00,179 --> 00:00:02,700 good morning ladies and gentlemen it's a 2 00:00:02,700 --> 00:00:04,679 great pleasure to see so many people at 3 00:00:04,679 --> 00:00:06,870 9 o'clock in the morning in this theater 4 00:00:06,870 --> 00:00:09,839 an extraordinary experience for us as 5 00:00:09,839 --> 00:00:12,660 this whole exhibition secrets of the 6 00:00:12,660 --> 00:00:15,150 Silk Road has proved to be you might 7 00:00:15,150 --> 00:00:18,559 like to know that we've so far had 8 00:00:18,559 --> 00:00:22,589 35,000 people visits the exhibit that's 9 00:00:22,589 --> 00:00:25,050 upstairs which is virtually what we will 10 00:00:25,050 --> 00:00:28,890 get in a year in one month and for us 11 00:00:28,890 --> 00:00:31,768 it's been an enormous transformation 12 00:00:31,768 --> 00:00:34,859 that we were we hope will lead to the 13 00:00:34,859 --> 00:00:37,679 remaking of our galleries and better 14 00:00:37,679 --> 00:00:40,558 stewarding of our own collections but 15 00:00:40,558 --> 00:00:42,780 most of all - we hope that it will lead 16 00:00:42,780 --> 00:00:45,689 to more research research of the kind 17 00:00:45,689 --> 00:00:47,820 that I think is going to be on show 18 00:00:47,820 --> 00:00:51,840 today this conference reconfiguring the 19 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:56,128 Silk Road really is a reprise of a major 20 00:00:56,128 --> 00:00:59,369 conference that Victor Mayer the curator 21 00:00:59,369 --> 00:01:02,729 of secrets of the Silk Road 15 years ago 22 00:01:02,729 --> 00:01:05,728 held to great acclaim here in this 23 00:01:05,728 --> 00:01:08,969 museum and subsequently published about 24 00:01:08,969 --> 00:01:11,790 the tower and basin it's mummies and 25 00:01:11,790 --> 00:01:13,560 most of all the archaeological issues 26 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:16,769 arising from those wonderful discoveries 27 00:01:16,769 --> 00:01:20,250 by our Chinese colleagues so 15 years on 28 00:01:20,250 --> 00:01:22,799 we're very grateful to be able to have 29 00:01:22,799 --> 00:01:26,340 this reprise a reprise that will take us 30 00:01:26,340 --> 00:01:28,799 from prehistory without well into the 31 00:01:28,799 --> 00:01:31,049 Middle Ages in the course of the next 32 00:01:31,049 --> 00:01:31,969 eight hours 33 00:01:31,969 --> 00:01:35,219 our thanks in particular to the Henry 34 00:01:35,219 --> 00:01:37,259 Luce foundation for making it possible 35 00:01:37,259 --> 00:01:41,578 to hold today's conference symposium in 36 00:01:41,578 --> 00:01:44,009 particular their Program Officer Helena 37 00:01:44,009 --> 00:01:46,409 calendar who is here today and there's 38 00:01:46,409 --> 00:01:48,359 been a great friend to this museum as 39 00:01:48,359 --> 00:01:50,969 it's worked on Asian archaeology our 40 00:01:50,969 --> 00:01:52,920 thanks to to the University of 41 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:54,959 Pennsylvania Centre for ancient studies 42 00:01:54,959 --> 00:01:57,718 and its director professor Bob astahov 43 00:01:57,718 --> 00:02:01,228 who's also here today who's also funded 44 00:02:01,228 --> 00:02:04,799 this symposium this symposium will be 45 00:02:04,799 --> 00:02:07,379 videotaped and you will be able to see 46 00:02:07,379 --> 00:02:09,008 it on the website so if you 47 00:02:09,008 --> 00:02:11,019 miss some of the provocation during the 48 00:02:11,019 --> 00:02:13,269 course of the day you will be able to 49 00:02:13,269 --> 00:02:15,840 catch up with it subsequently his 50 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,060 organization is doing a large merit to 51 00:02:19,060 --> 00:02:21,729 Victor mayor himself who will speak this 52 00:02:21,729 --> 00:02:24,878 morning and to Jane Hickman the editor 53 00:02:24,878 --> 00:02:27,189 of expedition and our special programs 54 00:02:27,189 --> 00:02:32,560 manager she is the the maestro of all 55 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:34,959 the proceedings the various elements 56 00:02:34,959 --> 00:02:37,199 that go on today and if you have any 57 00:02:37,199 --> 00:02:40,419 difficulties whatsoever address yourself 58 00:02:40,419 --> 00:02:43,750 to her these are the coffee lunch or the 59 00:02:43,750 --> 00:02:46,780 subsequent reception we have a fairly 60 00:02:46,780 --> 00:02:49,180 tight schedule but we hope to have a 61 00:02:49,180 --> 00:02:51,579 major discussion at the end 62 00:02:51,579 --> 00:02:54,068 sadly Philip Cole professor of 63 00:02:54,068 --> 00:02:56,799 anthropology it's a Atwells and he can't 64 00:02:56,799 --> 00:02:58,959 be here because of ill health though 65 00:02:58,959 --> 00:03:01,658 he's prepared some remarks and dr. Chris 66 00:03:01,658 --> 00:03:04,568 Thornton one of our own so to speak will 67 00:03:04,568 --> 00:03:06,848 be giving those remarks and knowing 68 00:03:06,848 --> 00:03:09,189 Chris he will also add his own views on 69 00:03:09,189 --> 00:03:12,579 these things since he's well versed in 70 00:03:12,579 --> 00:03:16,659 that part of of Eurasia with that I'd 71 00:03:16,659 --> 00:03:18,400 like to hand the podium over to my 72 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:20,739 colleague Brian Rose the deputy director 73 00:03:20,739 --> 00:03:22,959 who will now chair the the morning 74 00:03:22,959 --> 00:03:30,090 session Brian 75 00:03:30,090 --> 00:03:32,340 thank you Richard and welcome everyone 76 00:03:32,340 --> 00:03:34,379 there will be four papers in the morning 77 00:03:34,379 --> 00:03:36,989 session with a break after the first two 78 00:03:36,989 --> 00:03:39,150 papers and there will be time at the end 79 00:03:39,150 --> 00:03:41,098 of each of the papers for some questions 80 00:03:41,098 --> 00:03:42,989 we have microphones set up on either 81 00:03:42,989 --> 00:03:44,818 side of the auditorium and there'll be 82 00:03:44,818 --> 00:03:47,129 students who will take the microphone to 83 00:03:47,129 --> 00:03:48,419 you in the audience if you have 84 00:03:48,419 --> 00:03:51,120 questions we begin with Colin Renfrew 85 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:53,489 who was disney professor emeritus of 86 00:03:53,489 --> 00:03:55,860 archeology and former director of the 87 00:03:55,860 --> 00:03:57,449 McDonald Institute for archaeological 88 00:03:57,449 --> 00:04:00,209 research at the University of Cambridge 89 00:04:00,209 --> 00:04:03,180 he is now senior fellow of the McDonald 90 00:04:03,180 --> 00:04:05,489 Institute his first book the emergence 91 00:04:05,489 --> 00:04:07,709 of civilization the Cyclades in the 92 00:04:07,709 --> 00:04:09,409 aegean in the third millennium BC 93 00:04:09,409 --> 00:04:13,049 published in 1972 established Professor 94 00:04:13,049 --> 00:04:15,389 Renfrew as a leading scholar of Aegean 95 00:04:15,389 --> 00:04:18,000 prehistory in addition to his continuing 96 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,069 work in the Aegean professor renfro's 97 00:04:20,069 --> 00:04:21,410 research interests include 98 00:04:21,410 --> 00:04:23,430 archaeological theory and science 99 00:04:23,430 --> 00:04:26,220 especially DNA and molecular genetics 100 00:04:26,220 --> 00:04:28,829 and the origins of linguistic diversity 101 00:04:28,829 --> 00:04:30,930 among his many publications is 102 00:04:30,930 --> 00:04:33,360 archaeology and language the puzzle of 103 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:35,939 the indo-european origins his talk for 104 00:04:35,939 --> 00:04:37,978 us today is entitled before silk 105 00:04:37,978 --> 00:04:49,779 unsolved mysteries of the Silk Road Kali 106 00:04:49,779 --> 00:04:51,610 well good morning ladies and gentlemen 107 00:04:51,610 --> 00:04:53,560 and thank you very much Brian and thank 108 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:55,990 you Richard it's a great pleasure to be 109 00:04:55,990 --> 00:04:56,800 here again 110 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,970 at one of these controversial symposia I 111 00:05:00,970 --> 00:05:03,670 very much enjoyed the first one which 112 00:05:03,670 --> 00:05:06,160 Victor organized and I hope we are going 113 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:09,209 to have some very lively and interesting 114 00:05:09,209 --> 00:05:18,870 discussions today really for me I'm 115 00:05:18,870 --> 00:05:23,800 talking about the period before silk or 116 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,439 a 10 rate before the Silk Road really 117 00:05:26,439 --> 00:05:29,019 opened up as I understand it and we'll 118 00:05:29,019 --> 00:05:30,519 hear more about this later 119 00:05:30,519 --> 00:05:33,519 the earliest finds of silk in the 120 00:05:33,519 --> 00:05:35,920 Western world are more less Hellenistic 121 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,470 date so the things I'm talking about are 122 00:05:38,470 --> 00:05:41,740 before the Silk Road opened up for silk 123 00:05:41,740 --> 00:05:46,600 and so one is talking about the even 124 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,949 vaster issue of the early connections 125 00:05:50,949 --> 00:05:54,879 between east and west between Asia 126 00:05:54,879 --> 00:05:57,399 between East and Asia between China on 127 00:05:57,399 --> 00:06:00,160 the one hand and the West that is to say 128 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,680 the Near East as we call it Western Asia 129 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,970 and Europe on the other hand and it 130 00:06:06,970 --> 00:06:10,180 turns out to be one of the liveliest 131 00:06:10,180 --> 00:06:13,620 themes in world archaeology today 132 00:06:13,620 --> 00:06:16,180 because it's only in the past two 133 00:06:16,180 --> 00:06:19,110 decades that it's been easy for 134 00:06:19,110 --> 00:06:22,389 researchers from one part of the world 135 00:06:22,389 --> 00:06:25,329 to work in another part of the world so 136 00:06:25,329 --> 00:06:28,509 it's only recently that the steppe lands 137 00:06:28,509 --> 00:06:32,949 of Russia and Beyond to the east and the 138 00:06:32,949 --> 00:06:35,949 pars of the Silk Road have become open 139 00:06:35,949 --> 00:06:40,810 to investigation and that Eastern 140 00:06:40,810 --> 00:06:42,639 scholars Chinese and we go and other 141 00:06:42,639 --> 00:06:44,680 scholars have been able to visit the 142 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:46,509 Western world and study in the Western 143 00:06:46,509 --> 00:06:48,430 world and vice versa 144 00:06:48,430 --> 00:06:52,079 so we're talking about the vast terrain 145 00:06:52,079 --> 00:06:57,279 which is indicated in that slide now 146 00:06:57,279 --> 00:06:59,839 there are many Silk Roads 147 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,649 fair to say but we are focusing on the 148 00:07:03,649 --> 00:07:07,519 Tarim basin on shinjang the shinjang 149 00:07:07,519 --> 00:07:11,029 autonomous riga republic or province of 150 00:07:11,029 --> 00:07:14,209 the People's Republic of China and so 151 00:07:14,209 --> 00:07:17,689 we're dealing I think primarily with 152 00:07:17,689 --> 00:07:20,240 this part of the Silk Road but it's 153 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:24,709 worth remembering that there are many 154 00:07:24,709 --> 00:07:29,149 Silk Roads really and we have to bear in 155 00:07:29,149 --> 00:07:32,810 mind the maritime route although that no 156 00:07:32,810 --> 00:07:35,629 doubt opened up rather late in the day 157 00:07:35,629 --> 00:07:40,100 and the whole range of routes which 158 00:07:40,100 --> 00:07:43,129 there are between east and west 159 00:07:43,129 --> 00:07:45,918 but I want to make one of the key notes 160 00:07:45,918 --> 00:07:49,100 of my talk today even if it means being 161 00:07:49,100 --> 00:07:53,000 a little provocative that I think the 162 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,418 main Silk Road is as indicated on that 163 00:07:56,418 --> 00:08:00,889 map and it runs south there of the 164 00:08:00,889 --> 00:08:05,269 Caspian Sea and it runs down along the 165 00:08:05,269 --> 00:08:08,269 the route to places like Antioch on the 166 00:08:08,269 --> 00:08:11,269 Iran T's places on the Mediterranean 167 00:08:11,269 --> 00:08:17,478 coast and so I shall be making the point 168 00:08:17,478 --> 00:08:20,598 that it is important to distinguish 169 00:08:20,598 --> 00:08:23,149 between the steppe lands and the Silk 170 00:08:23,149 --> 00:08:26,029 Road and I think a lot of confusion has 171 00:08:26,029 --> 00:08:29,089 arisen in recent years by eliding the 172 00:08:29,089 --> 00:08:33,229 two both are important now of course the 173 00:08:33,229 --> 00:08:36,908 great romance of the Silk Road was 174 00:08:36,908 --> 00:08:40,940 revealed to us in the late nineteenth 175 00:08:40,940 --> 00:08:44,149 and the early 20th century when the 176 00:08:44,149 --> 00:08:47,958 Taklamakan desert was first explored and 177 00:08:47,958 --> 00:08:51,440 then for some decades rather neglected 178 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,820 and so this was the stamping ground of 179 00:08:55,820 --> 00:08:58,789 sororal Stein and other intrepid 180 00:08:58,789 --> 00:09:02,240 explorers in the early decades of the 181 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:04,970 20th century both before and after the 182 00:09:04,970 --> 00:09:07,669 first world war and it was there in 183 00:09:07,669 --> 00:09:10,100 these lost cities 184 00:09:10,100 --> 00:09:14,779 of the desert that oral sign and his 185 00:09:14,779 --> 00:09:17,570 contemporaries made astonishing 186 00:09:17,570 --> 00:09:20,450 discoveries and of course one of the 187 00:09:20,450 --> 00:09:23,679 most interesting was the documents 188 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:26,750 mainly Buddhist documents of about the 189 00:09:26,750 --> 00:09:30,049 eighth century AD which all of Stein and 190 00:09:30,049 --> 00:09:35,000 his contemporaries found and he was able 191 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,370 to get access to the great cache of 192 00:09:37,370 --> 00:09:40,460 documents at Dunn Wang and indeed bring 193 00:09:40,460 --> 00:09:43,639 many of them to the Western world a 194 00:09:43,639 --> 00:09:45,649 controversial issue which I'm not 195 00:09:45,649 --> 00:09:48,440 proposing to go into this evening except 196 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:52,700 to remind you that among these documents 197 00:09:52,700 --> 00:09:57,139 were documents of what we now call the 198 00:09:57,139 --> 00:10:00,289 talk rem language and when this was 199 00:10:00,289 --> 00:10:04,159 deciphered fairly rapidly the the script 200 00:10:04,159 --> 00:10:06,230 is not a problem it's an alphabetic 201 00:10:06,230 --> 00:10:08,360 script but when the language was 202 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,419 deciphered and translated it turned out 203 00:10:11,419 --> 00:10:14,720 to be an indo-european language and this 204 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:18,070 was a very surprising discovery to find 205 00:10:18,070 --> 00:10:22,159 an indo-european language placed so far 206 00:10:22,159 --> 00:10:26,000 to the east in the Tarim depression in 207 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,399 the Taklamakan desert and it remains 208 00:10:30,399 --> 00:10:34,070 documented there and essentially nowhere 209 00:10:34,070 --> 00:10:36,679 else about its relationship to the 210 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:39,320 indo-european language family is well 211 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:42,230 attested and dr. Mallory will no doubt 212 00:10:42,230 --> 00:10:45,009 be talking more about that this morning 213 00:10:45,009 --> 00:10:50,750 now the preservation is extraordinary in 214 00:10:50,750 --> 00:10:53,840 this desert climate and this is one of 215 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,129 the cities there this is go Chiang and 216 00:10:57,129 --> 00:10:59,840 there are well preserved buildings in 217 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:03,259 these totally abandoned cities where I 218 00:11:03,259 --> 00:11:05,090 say well preserve their ruin but there's 219 00:11:05,090 --> 00:11:08,690 lots of them but it is in recent years 220 00:11:08,690 --> 00:11:13,389 that the human remains 221 00:11:13,389 --> 00:11:17,110 so well preserved in the burials they're 222 00:11:17,110 --> 00:11:18,999 sometimes called mammoth mummies but 223 00:11:18,999 --> 00:11:21,249 they're naturally desiccated remains 224 00:11:21,249 --> 00:11:24,509 have been discovered or rediscovered 225 00:11:24,509 --> 00:11:27,188 because some were in fact found by 226 00:11:27,188 --> 00:11:30,669 Alstyne and his contemporaries and by 227 00:11:30,669 --> 00:11:35,438 our Chinese and Weger colleagues and so 228 00:11:35,438 --> 00:11:38,769 I had the privilege of visiting this 229 00:11:38,769 --> 00:11:42,339 site to VEISHEA with its excavator luang 230 00:11:42,339 --> 00:11:46,899 guo some years ago and its outside or to 231 00:11:46,899 --> 00:11:48,999 a fan at the foot of the flaming 232 00:11:48,999 --> 00:11:51,339 mountains and here are the flaming 233 00:11:51,339 --> 00:11:53,169 mountains it must have been an 234 00:11:53,169 --> 00:11:55,778 extraordinary experience to go from 235 00:11:55,778 --> 00:11:58,869 xi'an the great capital of china at the 236 00:11:58,869 --> 00:12:01,778 period and go west and pursue along the 237 00:12:01,778 --> 00:12:04,480 Silk Road down as far as as the 238 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:05,798 Mediterranean world 239 00:12:05,798 --> 00:12:08,980 and of course it's hugely drives less 240 00:12:08,980 --> 00:12:12,249 soil so when there is rainfall when or 241 00:12:12,249 --> 00:12:13,688 when there is water there isn't a 242 00:12:13,688 --> 00:12:15,938 rainfall but when there's a water course 243 00:12:15,938 --> 00:12:19,058 then you see how the less soil is cut 244 00:12:19,058 --> 00:12:23,278 through by the river and here is the 245 00:12:23,278 --> 00:12:27,418 cemetery itself at the time of its 246 00:12:27,418 --> 00:12:32,100 excavation and here is this 247 00:12:32,100 --> 00:12:34,948 extraordinary figure this female burial 248 00:12:34,948 --> 00:12:37,749 which of which apart is in the 249 00:12:37,749 --> 00:12:42,610 exhibition here this woman with winter 250 00:12:42,610 --> 00:12:47,139 clothing and her extraordinary hat which 251 00:12:47,139 --> 00:12:49,389 looks like a magician's or which is a 252 00:12:49,389 --> 00:12:52,889 hat this very interesting form of at and 253 00:12:52,889 --> 00:12:55,989 there is this extraordinary garment 254 00:12:55,989 --> 00:12:59,409 again now this really is why the Silk 255 00:12:59,409 --> 00:13:03,068 Road is so important to us and I think 256 00:13:03,068 --> 00:13:04,889 it sometimes gives rise to 257 00:13:04,889 --> 00:13:06,548 misunderstandings which we find 258 00:13:06,548 --> 00:13:10,298 wonderfully preserved things in these 259 00:13:10,298 --> 00:13:13,178 sites and sometimes the nearest compr 260 00:13:13,178 --> 00:13:18,548 anda are far away to the west and that 261 00:13:18,548 --> 00:13:21,818 suggests links but I think part of the 262 00:13:21,818 --> 00:13:24,100 reason for that is that the intermediate 263 00:13:24,100 --> 00:13:26,139 evidence has often been 264 00:13:26,139 --> 00:13:28,029 completely lost and there is the 265 00:13:28,029 --> 00:13:30,759 excavator doing grow on the left of this 266 00:13:30,759 --> 00:13:37,330 slide now I think it's helpful to remind 267 00:13:37,330 --> 00:13:40,659 ourselves of the steppe lands and we'll 268 00:13:40,659 --> 00:13:42,070 see no doubt in the course of this 269 00:13:42,070 --> 00:13:44,529 conference many diagrams of the steppe 270 00:13:44,529 --> 00:13:48,340 lands and the steppe lands as sketch 271 00:13:48,340 --> 00:13:52,419 there are the yellow area on the map but 272 00:13:52,419 --> 00:13:56,110 we see a shinjang province with the 273 00:13:56,110 --> 00:14:00,039 Russia and so on in the area there to 274 00:14:00,039 --> 00:14:04,240 the south and most of shinjang province 275 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:07,720 lies well to the south of the steppe 276 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:09,909 lands and this is a point I want to 277 00:14:09,909 --> 00:14:12,639 emphasize today because I think there 278 00:14:12,639 --> 00:14:16,240 have been confusions and I almost gave 279 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:21,100 the subtitle of my lecture one wheel few 280 00:14:21,100 --> 00:14:24,070 horses but I thought that might be too 281 00:14:24,070 --> 00:14:26,440 provocative so I thought I would 282 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,350 introduce that only later but here is 283 00:14:29,350 --> 00:14:32,649 indeed the saddle profound in the 284 00:14:32,649 --> 00:14:35,679 burials at survey XI which is indeed a 285 00:14:35,679 --> 00:14:38,769 horse's saddle and thus the excavators 286 00:14:38,769 --> 00:14:41,559 indicated this is what it would have 287 00:14:41,559 --> 00:14:48,580 looked like when in use but it is not 288 00:14:48,580 --> 00:14:51,759 the case that horses are particularly 289 00:14:51,759 --> 00:14:55,509 well documented in this area and they're 290 00:14:55,509 --> 00:14:58,269 certainly not documented significantly 291 00:14:58,269 --> 00:15:02,529 in the burials before the first 292 00:15:02,529 --> 00:15:06,340 millennium BC and of course we have no 293 00:15:06,340 --> 00:15:10,840 finds to speak of yet prior to the 294 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:16,690 second millennium BC the glory or the PS 295 00:15:16,690 --> 00:15:19,929 that the glory of the finds from 296 00:15:19,929 --> 00:15:23,230 shinjang are the wonderful textiles 297 00:15:23,230 --> 00:15:27,070 mainly woolen textiles and Elisabeth 298 00:15:27,070 --> 00:15:28,960 barber who is the greatest expert we'll 299 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,980 be talking about them later on today so 300 00:15:32,980 --> 00:15:36,519 I'm not going to try and say very much 301 00:15:36,519 --> 00:15:39,929 about them and this example is from 302 00:15:39,929 --> 00:15:43,448 1300 before the Common Era from the site 303 00:15:43,448 --> 00:15:47,169 of hammy whoo poo and I bring it on 304 00:15:47,169 --> 00:15:51,250 because this wheel it's the maybe other 305 00:15:51,250 --> 00:15:54,009 discoveries of wheels but this is here 306 00:15:54,009 --> 00:15:55,629 new one with which I'm familiar and I 307 00:15:55,629 --> 00:15:57,940 hope to be corrected and told of others 308 00:15:57,940 --> 00:16:00,610 if they do exist and this of course is a 309 00:16:00,610 --> 00:16:04,089 wooden wheel of the same date and I 310 00:16:04,089 --> 00:16:07,389 think it's worth saying that wheels were 311 00:16:07,389 --> 00:16:09,549 not very important on the Silk Road and 312 00:16:09,549 --> 00:16:11,980 you wouldn't expect them to be because 313 00:16:11,980 --> 00:16:13,509 if you are traveling from Chien 314 00:16:13,509 --> 00:16:15,490 westwards through the Taklamakan desert 315 00:16:15,490 --> 00:16:18,818 a horse and cart or even a Bulacan 316 00:16:18,818 --> 00:16:21,009 garter even a camel and cart would not 317 00:16:21,009 --> 00:16:23,318 be your first requisite because 318 00:16:23,318 --> 00:16:27,389 traveling on the Silk Road before tarmac 319 00:16:27,389 --> 00:16:32,169 was not an easy task for wheels and so I 320 00:16:32,169 --> 00:16:34,778 want to make that point because it may 321 00:16:34,778 --> 00:16:37,059 be that I will fall into disagreement 322 00:16:37,059 --> 00:16:38,919 with some of my colleagues who will be 323 00:16:38,919 --> 00:16:42,339 speaking later on this theme and I want 324 00:16:42,339 --> 00:16:45,009 to make the point that whereas I deeply 325 00:16:45,009 --> 00:16:47,409 respect the work that has been done to 326 00:16:47,409 --> 00:16:49,629 show the early use of the wheel on the 327 00:16:49,629 --> 00:16:51,698 steppe lands I don't think it's a very 328 00:16:51,698 --> 00:16:54,688 important part of the Silk Road story 329 00:16:54,688 --> 00:16:59,889 and then we go on to this wonderful fine 330 00:16:59,889 --> 00:17:03,669 from Yin pan which is in the exhibition 331 00:17:03,669 --> 00:17:08,919 and this emphasizes the richness of the 332 00:17:08,919 --> 00:17:12,038 textiles of the Silk Road in the early 333 00:17:12,038 --> 00:17:12,970 Han period 334 00:17:12,970 --> 00:17:14,380 more or less we thought now about 335 00:17:14,380 --> 00:17:17,859 heaviness Roman times and the fines as 336 00:17:17,859 --> 00:17:20,338 you would have seen are exquisite and 337 00:17:20,338 --> 00:17:23,500 breathtaking and there's nothing like 338 00:17:23,500 --> 00:17:26,349 this anywhere else in the world of this 339 00:17:26,349 --> 00:17:28,449 kind of preservation when you're lucky 340 00:17:28,449 --> 00:17:31,538 you find textiles and silks in very 341 00:17:31,538 --> 00:17:34,000 early Christian contexts which I hope 342 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,069 we'll be hearing about later today but 343 00:17:36,069 --> 00:17:38,440 this kind of preservation is totally 344 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:41,650 exceptional and so here are some of 345 00:17:41,650 --> 00:17:43,779 these sticks out with these nice pretty 346 00:17:43,779 --> 00:17:46,599 clearly some inspiration from the 347 00:17:46,599 --> 00:17:49,269 Western world by now but as I say we're 348 00:17:49,269 --> 00:17:51,890 talking about the other period of 349 00:17:51,890 --> 00:17:55,809 and Industry so I want to make this 350 00:17:55,809 --> 00:18:00,079 point again that I think the elision 351 00:18:00,079 --> 00:18:04,009 between the steppe lands and the Silk 352 00:18:04,009 --> 00:18:08,950 Road which enter some discussions is 353 00:18:08,950 --> 00:18:11,690 insufficiently discriminating and I 354 00:18:11,690 --> 00:18:14,359 think it's very useful to try and make 355 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:16,910 the distinction and the exceptional 356 00:18:16,910 --> 00:18:19,339 preservation in the Taklamakan desert 357 00:18:19,339 --> 00:18:22,549 and related areas is because of the 358 00:18:22,549 --> 00:18:27,079 aridity of the Silk Road which made the 359 00:18:27,079 --> 00:18:30,109 Silk Road inappropriate for a wheel 360 00:18:30,109 --> 00:18:33,589 transport and less than ideal for pack 361 00:18:33,589 --> 00:18:38,809 horses either so I want to give my 362 00:18:38,809 --> 00:18:43,339 thanks to the colleagues who've helped 363 00:18:43,339 --> 00:18:45,500 me on my visit and who have indeed 364 00:18:45,500 --> 00:18:48,319 helped me subsequently I had the 365 00:18:48,319 --> 00:18:50,119 pleasure of going to shinjang with 366 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:52,099 Professor mage and rune of the 367 00:18:52,099 --> 00:18:54,890 University of Science and Technology and 368 00:18:54,890 --> 00:18:59,900 was much assisted by the excavators of 369 00:18:59,900 --> 00:19:01,339 some of the things that we're going to 370 00:19:01,339 --> 00:19:05,869 see so there is my subtitle I've allowed 371 00:19:05,869 --> 00:19:08,720 it to creep in now one wheel few horses 372 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:12,190 and so I want to deal with these topics 373 00:19:12,190 --> 00:19:16,160 the earliest contacts and the millet 374 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,619 question then the first settlers in 375 00:19:18,619 --> 00:19:21,740 Xinjiang very well documented the first 376 00:19:21,740 --> 00:19:24,140 known settlers at present very well 377 00:19:24,140 --> 00:19:26,720 documented by the wonderful exhibits 378 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:30,259 from chaja in the exhibition and then 379 00:19:30,259 --> 00:19:31,759 the question of the first copper 380 00:19:31,759 --> 00:19:34,759 metallurgy the question of the first 381 00:19:34,759 --> 00:19:37,759 chariots in China and then the first 382 00:19:37,759 --> 00:19:40,869 mountain warriors and really this is an 383 00:19:40,869 --> 00:19:43,759 important point which I think has been 384 00:19:43,759 --> 00:19:47,900 overlooked in many discussions it really 385 00:19:47,900 --> 00:19:52,970 does seem to be possibly the case I'm 386 00:19:52,970 --> 00:19:55,099 rather persuaded or I say possibly so as 387 00:19:55,099 --> 00:19:58,519 not to appear overly contentious that's 388 00:19:58,519 --> 00:20:04,430 the first mounted warriors on any degree 389 00:20:04,430 --> 00:20:06,910 their appearance in the steppe lands 390 00:20:06,910 --> 00:20:11,029 around about a thousand before the 391 00:20:11,029 --> 00:20:12,980 Common Era or perhaps a little earlier 392 00:20:12,980 --> 00:20:16,759 in the heartlands of the steppes 1200 393 00:20:16,759 --> 00:20:20,420 before the Common Era in the andronovo 394 00:20:20,420 --> 00:20:25,579 culture of the Eurasian steps and so all 395 00:20:25,579 --> 00:20:28,450 the talk about mounted warrior nomads 396 00:20:28,450 --> 00:20:31,279 spreading indo-european languages either 397 00:20:31,279 --> 00:20:34,240 and liver I think is profoundly 398 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:36,920 misguided this is a matter of 399 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:39,470 controversy and you may hear alternative 400 00:20:39,470 --> 00:20:41,180 views expressed in the course of the 401 00:20:41,180 --> 00:20:43,279 morning which I shall suffer with the 402 00:20:43,279 --> 00:20:46,329 greatest good good humour and patience 403 00:20:46,329 --> 00:20:50,390 but as a say later in my talk I think 404 00:20:50,390 --> 00:20:53,420 there are matters which are suitable 405 00:20:53,420 --> 00:20:58,160 grounds for controversy and then I'll 406 00:20:58,160 --> 00:20:59,599 say a little about the indo-european 407 00:20:59,599 --> 00:21:05,619 question now the this slide I go to 408 00:21:05,619 --> 00:21:12,410 doctor shin Yi Liu and it highlights the 409 00:21:12,410 --> 00:21:16,609 two interesting and most striking events 410 00:21:16,609 --> 00:21:20,180 in East West contacts which we don't 411 00:21:20,180 --> 00:21:22,880 understand very well the finding of 412 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:29,450 broom corn millet panicum milli Assam in 413 00:21:29,450 --> 00:21:33,349 context before 5000 BC on the one hand 414 00:21:33,349 --> 00:21:36,430 in China and on the other hand in 415 00:21:36,430 --> 00:21:39,619 Western Asia and in Europe how can that 416 00:21:39,619 --> 00:21:44,150 be well it is the case and secondly the 417 00:21:44,150 --> 00:21:48,319 finding of wheat hexaploid wheat bread 418 00:21:48,319 --> 00:21:53,599 wheat in shower and other settlements 419 00:21:53,599 --> 00:21:55,940 but shalva is the one where it's been 420 00:21:55,940 --> 00:22:00,589 most effectively identified and I think 421 00:22:00,589 --> 00:22:04,369 identified beyond doubt and it's 422 00:22:04,369 --> 00:22:06,740 generally understood and I think it must 423 00:22:06,740 --> 00:22:10,369 be right that this wheat originates in 424 00:22:10,369 --> 00:22:13,460 the West now if we're going to talk 425 00:22:13,460 --> 00:22:19,640 first of all about the millet 426 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:24,150 there is the map from Harriet hunt as 427 00:22:24,150 --> 00:22:28,039 modified by Cheney new and this shows us 428 00:22:28,039 --> 00:22:34,440 the finds of minute before that there 429 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,400 can be fairly confidently assigned 430 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:42,259 before five thousand before Common Era 431 00:22:42,259 --> 00:22:46,970 now there is the possibility that 432 00:22:46,970 --> 00:22:51,059 Millett was independently domesticated 433 00:22:51,059 --> 00:22:54,539 more than once and though that may seem 434 00:22:54,539 --> 00:22:57,779 improbable it seems to me more likely 435 00:22:57,779 --> 00:23:02,400 than to have quite profuse contacts 436 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,799 between east and west along what we're 437 00:23:04,799 --> 00:23:07,380 calling the Silk Road before five 438 00:23:07,380 --> 00:23:11,519 thousand before the Common Era and I 439 00:23:11,519 --> 00:23:13,829 don't have time to go through the work 440 00:23:13,829 --> 00:23:18,140 that's been done on the mid it but DNA 441 00:23:18,140 --> 00:23:21,259 analyses on on living on recent Lititz 442 00:23:21,259 --> 00:23:27,119 does seem to show two main gene pools if 443 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:29,309 you look at the primary split which 444 00:23:29,309 --> 00:23:31,529 perhaps encourages the notion of 445 00:23:31,529 --> 00:23:33,809 independent domestication but a more 446 00:23:33,809 --> 00:23:35,670 detailed analysis this is from the work 447 00:23:35,670 --> 00:23:40,140 of Ariat hunt shows a number of gene 448 00:23:40,140 --> 00:23:45,240 pools and the matter is still unclear so 449 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:50,250 I just raise that as one of the first 450 00:23:50,250 --> 00:23:53,150 unresolved mysteries of the Silk Road 451 00:23:53,150 --> 00:23:57,900 the next issue is the first setters in 452 00:23:57,900 --> 00:24:02,430 Xinjiang province and the site here that 453 00:24:02,430 --> 00:24:06,150 we see on the right with the red dot is 454 00:24:06,150 --> 00:24:08,759 this wonderful site of Shalva which is 455 00:24:08,759 --> 00:24:12,960 so richly documented in the in the 456 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:18,450 exhibition and the original excavator is 457 00:24:18,450 --> 00:24:22,009 with us today and person who first 458 00:24:22,009 --> 00:24:25,460 relocated the site and it was of course 459 00:24:25,460 --> 00:24:28,179 investigated and published as 460 00:24:28,179 --> 00:24:32,769 Dick's Necropolis in the early 20th 461 00:24:32,769 --> 00:24:36,128 century and Viktor Mayer has written a 462 00:24:36,128 --> 00:24:39,220 very good paper about that but dr. Wang 463 00:24:39,220 --> 00:24:42,970 bingo ha is the person who relocated it 464 00:24:42,970 --> 00:24:47,919 and then dr. idris abdul rasul is the 465 00:24:47,919 --> 00:24:51,069 person who has reactivated it in recent 466 00:24:51,069 --> 00:24:55,569 years and that is him at the left of 467 00:24:55,569 --> 00:24:59,138 that photograph and so what we see in 468 00:24:59,138 --> 00:25:02,730 the exhibition is largely the work of 469 00:25:02,730 --> 00:25:08,909 his excavation and his team at arun qi 470 00:25:08,909 --> 00:25:12,519 in the institute of archaeology of the 471 00:25:12,519 --> 00:25:15,730 Uighur autonomous republic so here are 472 00:25:15,730 --> 00:25:17,888 as you've seen also from the exhibition 473 00:25:17,888 --> 00:25:20,648 the remarkable indications the 474 00:25:20,648 --> 00:25:24,548 astonishing preservation these posts 475 00:25:24,548 --> 00:25:27,638 still stand when excavated still 476 00:25:27,638 --> 00:25:30,398 standing for all those years I mean it's 477 00:25:30,398 --> 00:25:33,359 extraordinary for 4,000 years these 478 00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:38,398 Timbers have stood in the desert and 479 00:25:38,398 --> 00:25:42,249 there's very good evidence of the 480 00:25:42,249 --> 00:25:45,038 artifacts the pottery is not discovered 481 00:25:45,038 --> 00:25:47,259 at the site although it must have been 482 00:25:47,259 --> 00:25:50,349 owned earlier but perhaps clays were not 483 00:25:50,349 --> 00:25:51,339 available 484 00:25:51,339 --> 00:25:53,409 but the preservation the extraordinary 485 00:25:53,409 --> 00:25:57,878 here is my snapshot photo of the the 486 00:25:57,878 --> 00:26:00,730 coffins just for storage piled one on 487 00:26:00,730 --> 00:26:03,398 top of each other in the room Chi 488 00:26:03,398 --> 00:26:06,159 Institute and here is one of the 489 00:26:06,159 --> 00:26:08,138 beauties there are several beauties from 490 00:26:08,138 --> 00:26:12,429 the area but this is the beauty of shahe 491 00:26:12,429 --> 00:26:17,339 and a great deal has been made of the 492 00:26:17,339 --> 00:26:21,069 seemingly Eurasian look but I was very 493 00:26:21,069 --> 00:26:23,740 impressed by some of the beauties whom I 494 00:26:23,740 --> 00:26:27,999 met and saw in in shinjang these are 495 00:26:27,999 --> 00:26:32,919 these are we ger speaking ladies and I'm 496 00:26:32,919 --> 00:26:35,409 not altogether persuaded that there is 497 00:26:35,409 --> 00:26:38,048 any a huge difference and I'll say a 498 00:26:38,048 --> 00:26:40,269 word about the molecular genetic 499 00:26:40,269 --> 00:26:40,869 evidence 500 00:26:40,869 --> 00:26:45,460 in a moment to make su categorical a 501 00:26:45,460 --> 00:26:47,409 distinction and there is my wife 502 00:26:47,409 --> 00:26:49,450 enjoying the company of these very 503 00:26:49,450 --> 00:26:54,878 charming young ladies and in the burials 504 00:26:54,878 --> 00:26:58,929 at Chow her are found these wonderfully 505 00:26:58,929 --> 00:27:02,230 preserved baskets containing cereal 506 00:27:02,230 --> 00:27:06,429 grain and this wheat mainly and millet 507 00:27:06,429 --> 00:27:11,019 broom corn millet and ephedra and so 508 00:27:11,019 --> 00:27:15,579 it's a remarkable excavation and gives a 509 00:27:15,579 --> 00:27:20,618 great deal of new information but I 510 00:27:20,618 --> 00:27:24,359 should mention the the molecular genetic 511 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:28,269 results on ancient DNA which have been 512 00:27:28,269 --> 00:27:30,940 interpreted sometimes as giving clear 513 00:27:30,940 --> 00:27:36,009 indication of influence of population 514 00:27:36,009 --> 00:27:38,440 from the West and I'm sure in a general 515 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:40,778 sense that's true but it really is not 516 00:27:40,778 --> 00:27:44,349 clear when that took place it might have 517 00:27:44,349 --> 00:27:46,628 taken place thousands of years earlier 518 00:27:46,628 --> 00:27:50,048 so I think a simplistic notion of a 519 00:27:50,048 --> 00:27:53,499 quick equating language with culture 520 00:27:53,499 --> 00:27:56,859 with genetics can be an 521 00:27:56,859 --> 00:28:00,038 oversimplification and so though I agree 522 00:28:00,038 --> 00:28:04,259 with scholars who suggests that the 523 00:28:04,259 --> 00:28:06,909 tellurian language which is not attested 524 00:28:06,909 --> 00:28:09,249 at about the 8th century AD the Turk 525 00:28:09,249 --> 00:28:12,099 Arian language this Indian language may 526 00:28:12,099 --> 00:28:14,710 well have come must really have come 527 00:28:14,710 --> 00:28:18,308 from the West and may well have come in 528 00:28:18,308 --> 00:28:21,609 in proto to carry inform with the first 529 00:28:21,609 --> 00:28:24,788 population or an early population of 530 00:28:24,788 --> 00:28:27,970 Xinjiang that early population may have 531 00:28:27,970 --> 00:28:31,359 been very much earlier and also I'd like 532 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:32,859 to make the point which hasn't been 533 00:28:32,859 --> 00:28:35,378 emphasized sufficiently that I think 534 00:28:35,378 --> 00:28:38,859 it's possible that the approach of the 535 00:28:38,859 --> 00:28:41,769 arrival of proto ZOA carrion may have 536 00:28:41,769 --> 00:28:44,349 been along the Silk Road and I've been 537 00:28:44,349 --> 00:28:46,690 at pains to distinguish between the Silk 538 00:28:46,690 --> 00:28:50,669 Road and the step the step region and 539 00:28:50,669 --> 00:28:53,349 takari and may well have come along 540 00:28:53,349 --> 00:28:54,140 through 541 00:28:54,140 --> 00:28:58,670 these passes of the Silk Road as indeed 542 00:28:58,670 --> 00:29:00,769 the first week the first week we've been 543 00:29:00,769 --> 00:29:02,900 speaking of and maybe even the first 544 00:29:02,900 --> 00:29:05,089 minute if that really was a single 545 00:29:05,089 --> 00:29:08,390 domestication process although if it was 546 00:29:08,390 --> 00:29:10,609 a single domestication process perhaps 547 00:29:10,609 --> 00:29:12,319 the flow was the other way from China to 548 00:29:12,319 --> 00:29:15,829 the west but I think we should be 549 00:29:15,829 --> 00:29:19,119 thinking about the possibility that 550 00:29:19,119 --> 00:29:22,940 relative languages to early talk Arion 551 00:29:22,940 --> 00:29:26,599 may have existed further west along the 552 00:29:26,599 --> 00:29:29,000 Silk Road although without any direct 553 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:30,680 evidence that's very difficult to 554 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:33,380 discuss wonderful preservation of shaho 555 00:29:33,380 --> 00:29:35,329 this is a Phelps ihat it's just 556 00:29:35,329 --> 00:29:37,130 absolutely extraordinary 557 00:29:37,130 --> 00:29:40,700 you know I must move on and say a word 558 00:29:40,700 --> 00:29:42,799 about the earliest metallurgy in 559 00:29:42,799 --> 00:29:45,230 shinjang and this is a subject that's 560 00:29:45,230 --> 00:29:48,200 being very well treated by May Jan June 561 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,900 and so I don't have very much to add to 562 00:29:50,900 --> 00:29:53,630 it and these sides are ones which he 563 00:29:53,630 --> 00:29:57,019 kindly lent to me for this talk and 564 00:29:57,019 --> 00:29:59,299 there you have on the right you have the 565 00:29:59,299 --> 00:30:02,720 early metallurgy of shout of the Shang 566 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,240 Dynasty of China from sites like a veto 567 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:08,359 and then on the left you have the fines 568 00:30:08,359 --> 00:30:10,849 which are just as early or maybe earlier 569 00:30:10,849 --> 00:30:14,930 in a shinjang province which has some of 570 00:30:14,930 --> 00:30:17,690 the earliest copper finds of China and 571 00:30:17,690 --> 00:30:20,359 so it seems very possible indeed 572 00:30:20,359 --> 00:30:26,599 probable that the technology copper 573 00:30:26,599 --> 00:30:28,970 working technology did indeed come to 574 00:30:28,970 --> 00:30:32,150 China either along the Silk Road or more 575 00:30:32,150 --> 00:30:35,599 likely along the steppe route and that 576 00:30:35,599 --> 00:30:39,349 these finds which may Jan June has 577 00:30:39,349 --> 00:30:44,809 documented these finds from around 1500 578 00:30:44,809 --> 00:30:48,380 BC or a little earlier this may be the 579 00:30:48,380 --> 00:30:50,690 still to me very surprisingly late 580 00:30:50,690 --> 00:30:53,569 origin of copper metallurgy in China 581 00:30:53,569 --> 00:30:58,519 which so rapidly became so influential 582 00:30:58,519 --> 00:31:00,829 with the development of the wonderful 583 00:31:00,829 --> 00:31:04,730 Shang bronzes and Jo bronzes and so on 584 00:31:04,730 --> 00:31:07,640 however this is a story that's been well 585 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:11,180 discussed a bi mage and June and and his 586 00:31:11,180 --> 00:31:13,730 colleagues so I don't have anything to 587 00:31:13,730 --> 00:31:15,799 add to that except to say that I think 588 00:31:15,799 --> 00:31:17,630 there's still a great deal to learn 589 00:31:17,630 --> 00:31:20,440 about that process and certainly these 590 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:23,569 intermediate areas including Xinjiang 591 00:31:23,569 --> 00:31:27,440 are an important part of the story the 592 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:33,019 same is true of the first chariots David 593 00:31:33,019 --> 00:31:34,940 Antony will be talking to us I hope 594 00:31:34,940 --> 00:31:38,630 about those today and I think the work 595 00:31:38,630 --> 00:31:42,200 of himself and the his Russian 596 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:45,230 colleagues has really clarified the 597 00:31:45,230 --> 00:31:49,369 origins of the chariot which is first 598 00:31:49,369 --> 00:31:54,829 documented at sym - - around 2000 BC as 599 00:31:54,829 --> 00:31:58,640 he indicated in his article in antiquity 600 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:03,319 many years ago and again I want to 601 00:32:03,319 --> 00:32:08,420 emphasize that the chariot is associated 602 00:32:08,420 --> 00:32:11,269 with the steppe lands as indeed is the 603 00:32:11,269 --> 00:32:13,220 horse and indeed as we'll see in a 604 00:32:13,220 --> 00:32:15,589 moment are the mounted warrior horsemen 605 00:32:15,589 --> 00:32:18,619 but it is impressive that the chariot 606 00:32:18,619 --> 00:32:22,609 became so important in Mesopotamia and 607 00:32:22,609 --> 00:32:27,200 indeed ultimately in in Egypt and was a 608 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:32,240 chosen vehicle for transport in warfare 609 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:37,309 just as it became in injo times in China 610 00:32:37,309 --> 00:32:43,119 and it's still unclear to me how the 611 00:32:43,119 --> 00:32:46,670 chariot reached China at a detailed 612 00:32:46,670 --> 00:32:50,390 level I think we don't doubt that these 613 00:32:50,390 --> 00:32:54,829 fines from syntactic are just about the 614 00:32:54,829 --> 00:32:56,569 earliest chariot fines that there are 615 00:32:56,569 --> 00:33:01,390 and presumably the chariot reached China 616 00:33:01,390 --> 00:33:05,359 along the steppe lands but the chariot 617 00:33:05,359 --> 00:33:08,150 is not found significantly or indeed I 618 00:33:08,150 --> 00:33:08,960 think at all 619 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:11,779 in shinjang nor would you expect to be 620 00:33:11,779 --> 00:33:13,369 in that terrain which would not be 621 00:33:13,369 --> 00:33:14,619 suitable for chariot 622 00:33:14,619 --> 00:33:17,079 so it must have been a more northern 623 00:33:17,079 --> 00:33:18,460 route and though there's great 624 00:33:18,460 --> 00:33:22,480 scholarship on the chariots of the Jo 625 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,180 period in China the distinguished 626 00:33:25,180 --> 00:33:27,880 article by Shaughnessy and so on the 627 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:30,819 question of the actual mechanism of the 628 00:33:30,819 --> 00:33:33,190 transmission of the chariot as I think 629 00:33:33,190 --> 00:33:34,990 not been well addressed yet or not that 630 00:33:34,990 --> 00:33:37,420 I'm aware of and here again there's the 631 00:33:37,420 --> 00:33:40,569 syntax defines which are very clear it's 632 00:33:40,569 --> 00:33:43,299 further east that the picture becomes 633 00:33:43,299 --> 00:33:45,670 less clear until you find them of course 634 00:33:45,670 --> 00:33:50,200 at an yang and so on in the burials of 635 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:54,160 the Shang and Jo of periods do I say the 636 00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:56,170 mechanism of transmission is not very 637 00:33:56,170 --> 00:34:00,880 clear now to my penultimate point the 638 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:04,690 first mounted warriors in China and I 639 00:34:04,690 --> 00:34:06,369 think it's clear that the first mounted 640 00:34:06,369 --> 00:34:08,739 warriors in China were around a thousand 641 00:34:08,739 --> 00:34:12,760 BC there is very interestingly new radio 642 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:15,789 carbon carbon Evans from the site of Li 643 00:34:15,789 --> 00:34:19,000 Shu II in the Kunlun mountains at the 644 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:23,289 south side of the Taklamakan desert in 645 00:34:23,289 --> 00:34:27,878 Xinjiang province and these dates seem 646 00:34:27,878 --> 00:34:31,000 to be earlier than the dates from the so 647 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,269 called Scythian tombs at Arjun which are 648 00:34:34,269 --> 00:34:39,280 around 800 BC further to the north and 649 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:42,280 these are the first documented mounted 650 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:47,199 nomad warriors and that is when as I 651 00:34:47,199 --> 00:34:50,159 understand it the economy of the steppes 652 00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:53,349 changed very significantly no doubt with 653 00:34:53,349 --> 00:34:56,230 antecedents in the and Renova culture as 654 00:34:56,230 --> 00:34:58,960 Russian scholars have argued but this is 655 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:04,420 a approximately 1000 BC and that I lay 656 00:35:04,420 --> 00:35:06,789 evidence is becoming clearer and better 657 00:35:06,789 --> 00:35:09,219 and better documented and indeed better 658 00:35:09,219 --> 00:35:12,429 and better understood and I know Michael 659 00:35:12,429 --> 00:35:14,380 4kg who's going to be talking to us this 660 00:35:14,380 --> 00:35:18,219 morning has views about the development 661 00:35:18,219 --> 00:35:20,739 of local economies and the way if you 662 00:35:20,739 --> 00:35:23,469 rightly on study individual areas you 663 00:35:23,469 --> 00:35:26,590 begin to understand the the processes of 664 00:35:26,590 --> 00:35:28,119 transformation 665 00:35:28,119 --> 00:35:31,809 which led to these fundamental changes 666 00:35:31,809 --> 00:35:34,809 in the economy of the steppe lands which 667 00:35:34,809 --> 00:35:38,280 had their impact also on the Silk Road 668 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:43,150 so there is Herman parsing as map of the 669 00:35:43,150 --> 00:35:45,369 andronovo culture and there at the right 670 00:35:45,369 --> 00:35:48,429 is the site of saasy in Xinjiang 671 00:35:48,429 --> 00:35:50,710 province and there is may genuine 672 00:35:50,710 --> 00:35:53,349 sketches of pottery of the andronovo 673 00:35:53,349 --> 00:35:59,800 culture at that locality and his drawing 674 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:03,130 of pieces of broadly Scythian character 675 00:36:03,130 --> 00:36:05,679 i dislike using the word city and far to 676 00:36:05,679 --> 00:36:07,630 the east because we know something about 677 00:36:07,630 --> 00:36:10,570 the city ins in the ukraine and about 678 00:36:10,570 --> 00:36:11,980 the language of the Citians 679 00:36:11,980 --> 00:36:15,159 and i'm not sure that it's appropriate 680 00:36:15,159 --> 00:36:17,739 to use the term city and so far east of 681 00:36:17,739 --> 00:36:19,840 this but it's similar mounted warrior 682 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:22,929 nomads anyway and there is one of those 683 00:36:22,929 --> 00:36:28,090 wonderful gold and nick rings from our 684 00:36:28,090 --> 00:36:30,519 john from the very rich burials that 685 00:36:30,519 --> 00:36:32,949 harem which I was just mentioning and 686 00:36:32,949 --> 00:36:35,349 some of the horse accoutrements there 687 00:36:35,349 --> 00:36:38,079 and then here's this wonderful piece of 688 00:36:38,079 --> 00:36:42,460 preserved textile from Paz Erick from 689 00:36:42,460 --> 00:36:45,190 the burials at Pass Eric well that leads 690 00:36:45,190 --> 00:36:49,750 me very rapidly to my final point and 691 00:36:49,750 --> 00:36:53,199 that is indo-european origins and now 692 00:36:53,199 --> 00:36:54,969 this may not be the occasion for a 693 00:36:54,969 --> 00:36:56,980 complete reversal of the indo-european 694 00:36:56,980 --> 00:36:59,530 problem there would be a pleasure but 695 00:36:59,530 --> 00:37:02,260 maybe for later on in the day but there 696 00:37:02,260 --> 00:37:04,420 are at the moment I think to the 697 00:37:04,420 --> 00:37:07,329 preferred models one is for an early 698 00:37:07,329 --> 00:37:11,019 origin and in Anatolia in Turkey around 699 00:37:11,019 --> 00:37:13,659 six seven thousand before the Common Era 700 00:37:13,659 --> 00:37:16,809 and that is a farming language dispersal 701 00:37:16,809 --> 00:37:19,750 model and the other is for the core gun 702 00:37:19,750 --> 00:37:22,809 mounted nomad warriors Maria Gimbert 703 00:37:22,809 --> 00:37:25,329 asses theory following that of warden 704 00:37:25,329 --> 00:37:28,449 child and predecessors centered in the 705 00:37:28,449 --> 00:37:31,750 Ukraine and as I've already indicated I 706 00:37:31,750 --> 00:37:34,480 think this is based on a misconception I 707 00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:36,280 do understand that the horse was 708 00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:39,250 domesticated for food feeding purposes 709 00:37:39,250 --> 00:37:40,409 much earlier 710 00:37:40,409 --> 00:37:43,380 and then you see it first used in 711 00:37:43,380 --> 00:37:46,260 warfare with these chariots around 2000 712 00:37:46,260 --> 00:37:48,900 BC and then the mounted were nomads 713 00:37:48,900 --> 00:37:51,059 warriors really spring onto their horses 714 00:37:51,059 --> 00:37:55,050 and gallop off making warfare around a 715 00:37:55,050 --> 00:37:58,289 thousand BC and not much earlier in in 716 00:37:58,289 --> 00:38:01,110 my view so that just summarizes not much 717 00:38:01,110 --> 00:38:02,880 more to say about that 718 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:06,389 for the steppe lands I think the work of 719 00:38:06,389 --> 00:38:08,659 David Antony and colleagues has 720 00:38:08,659 --> 00:38:11,550 indicated site site director and others 721 00:38:11,550 --> 00:38:14,909 in Kazakhstan site of bata and you have 722 00:38:14,909 --> 00:38:18,210 horses being extensively used for the 723 00:38:18,210 --> 00:38:21,210 food from 3,500 and very possibly being 724 00:38:21,210 --> 00:38:23,489 ridden for horse management purposes and 725 00:38:23,489 --> 00:38:24,960 then I've already mentioned there's 726 00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:27,510 other points now to turn to the 727 00:38:27,510 --> 00:38:29,280 indo-european family this is the tree 728 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:31,500 from Don Rindge and his colleagues and 729 00:38:31,500 --> 00:38:34,130 the beginning above it I tis 730 00:38:34,130 --> 00:38:36,599 proto-indo-european and then Hittite 731 00:38:36,599 --> 00:38:39,030 which of course is one of the in 732 00:38:39,030 --> 00:38:41,760 European languages of what is now Turkey 733 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:44,969 of Anatolia is the earliest and then 734 00:38:44,969 --> 00:38:47,489 talk Arian is the next branch and you 735 00:38:47,489 --> 00:38:49,559 have to come right down to the bottom of 736 00:38:49,559 --> 00:38:51,840 the tree to get to Vedic and a vestan 737 00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:53,510 when you come to the indo-iranian 738 00:38:53,510 --> 00:38:57,630 languages of which Sogdian and probably 739 00:38:57,630 --> 00:39:02,550 Scythian are examples around the 1st 740 00:39:02,550 --> 00:39:05,820 millennium BC reaching as far as this 741 00:39:05,820 --> 00:39:07,469 area solved and as we've seen in the 742 00:39:07,469 --> 00:39:10,170 exhibition was spoken in the first 743 00:39:10,170 --> 00:39:13,829 millennium ad in this area and so I 744 00:39:13,829 --> 00:39:17,369 would now keep on changing my mind on 745 00:39:17,369 --> 00:39:18,809 this I said something slightly different 746 00:39:18,809 --> 00:39:22,199 at the symposium here a decade ago I 747 00:39:22,199 --> 00:39:25,530 rather wonder if Johar Ian did indeed 748 00:39:25,530 --> 00:39:30,000 reach shinjang along the Silk Road maybe 749 00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:32,190 from I'm not saying it with the language 750 00:39:32,190 --> 00:39:34,889 of the bactrian MA mouth bacteria 751 00:39:34,889 --> 00:39:37,050 margiana archaeological compacts 752 00:39:37,050 --> 00:39:38,969 so-called BMAC but it may have been 753 00:39:38,969 --> 00:39:41,460 spoken in that area and it may well have 754 00:39:41,460 --> 00:39:45,360 been learnt there directly from a turkey 755 00:39:45,360 --> 00:39:47,969 which lies to the west a point that 756 00:39:47,969 --> 00:39:50,539 viktor sarianidi himself has made in the 757 00:39:50,539 --> 00:39:54,019 past well and this is the rather 758 00:39:54,019 --> 00:39:57,679 complicated diagram from a grey and a 759 00:39:57,679 --> 00:40:00,739 concern but I want to indicate to you 760 00:40:00,739 --> 00:40:05,570 the the dates if I press the right 761 00:40:05,570 --> 00:40:10,239 button here I may I'm going to show you 762 00:40:10,239 --> 00:40:16,070 other well these dates here are years BP 763 00:40:16,070 --> 00:40:19,070 before the present and the earliest 764 00:40:19,070 --> 00:40:21,880 division between Hittites and the rest 765 00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:28,190 on their system is 6700 before the 766 00:40:28,190 --> 00:40:32,690 Common Era and then you get Tahari and 767 00:40:32,690 --> 00:40:35,780 very soon afterwards and then it's 768 00:40:35,780 --> 00:40:38,690 rather later that you get the relevant 769 00:40:38,690 --> 00:40:42,980 dates or the indo-iranian family well I 770 00:40:42,980 --> 00:40:44,989 can't go into that in detail now and 771 00:40:44,989 --> 00:40:47,539 dates are always controversial matters 772 00:40:47,539 --> 00:40:50,210 among linguists so it would be 773 00:40:50,210 --> 00:40:52,760 completely wrong to put the same weight 774 00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:56,480 on calculated dates calculated by 775 00:40:56,480 --> 00:41:00,230 skilled linguists whereas radiocarbon 776 00:41:00,230 --> 00:41:03,500 dates are not precise always but I think 777 00:41:03,500 --> 00:41:05,449 in a general sense they're fairly 778 00:41:05,449 --> 00:41:09,489 reliable but on that system you will see 779 00:41:09,489 --> 00:41:12,230 that the dates for the original 780 00:41:12,230 --> 00:41:16,760 indo-european dispersal are there is the 781 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:20,179 age in millennia before the present and 782 00:41:20,179 --> 00:41:22,789 the the pale green shading where they 783 00:41:22,789 --> 00:41:25,670 happen to lie is what would be predicted 784 00:41:25,670 --> 00:41:27,829 on the farming language dispersal 785 00:41:27,829 --> 00:41:31,610 hypothesis and the pale blue shading is 786 00:41:31,610 --> 00:41:34,070 what would be predicted on the corgin 787 00:41:34,070 --> 00:41:36,710 hypothesis and without being unduly 788 00:41:36,710 --> 00:41:38,690 contentious I would point out that they 789 00:41:38,690 --> 00:41:43,309 do not lie in the pale blue area so 790 00:41:43,309 --> 00:41:46,389 that's more of more detail of the same 791 00:41:46,389 --> 00:41:50,630 really so I think this is a possible 792 00:41:50,630 --> 00:41:53,480 scenario for the early occupation of the 793 00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:55,789 Silk Road sparse hunter-gatherer 794 00:41:55,789 --> 00:41:58,820 population in the 5th millennium BC and 795 00:41:58,820 --> 00:42:00,320 that's what we don't really know very 796 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:01,889 much about yet 797 00:42:01,889 --> 00:42:04,110 this is what we must expect our Chinese 798 00:42:04,110 --> 00:42:07,199 and Weger colleagues to work on that's 799 00:42:07,199 --> 00:42:09,059 what we want to know about and the 800 00:42:09,059 --> 00:42:11,340 evidence must be there then the 801 00:42:11,340 --> 00:42:13,650 acquisition of millet cultivation from 802 00:42:13,650 --> 00:42:17,780 Gansu in the fourth millennium I imagine 803 00:42:17,780 --> 00:42:20,639 and I've left open the question of 804 00:42:20,639 --> 00:42:24,059 whether there was really contacts with 805 00:42:24,059 --> 00:42:26,460 the West that home iddat question that 806 00:42:26,460 --> 00:42:30,690 I've discussed and then around 3000 BC I 807 00:42:30,690 --> 00:42:34,289 imagine we have a farming language 808 00:42:34,289 --> 00:42:36,750 dispersal from the West are certainly 809 00:42:36,750 --> 00:42:41,699 documented at shower by a 2000 BC with 810 00:42:41,699 --> 00:42:44,760 that exploit wheat that red wheat and as 811 00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:45,929 I've indicated though it's very 812 00:42:45,929 --> 00:42:48,539 hypothetical I imagine that there may be 813 00:42:48,539 --> 00:42:52,110 an association with prototype Aryan 814 00:42:52,110 --> 00:42:54,119 coming in maybe from somewhere like 815 00:42:54,119 --> 00:42:58,440 toque mania around that time and then we 816 00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:02,239 have the Cheerios getting going at 1500 817 00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:05,250 BC but not making any great impact on 818 00:43:05,250 --> 00:43:07,500 the Silk Road itself and then the 819 00:43:07,500 --> 00:43:10,380 mounted Nomad warriors around a thousand 820 00:43:10,380 --> 00:43:12,900 BC do change the world that was a 821 00:43:12,900 --> 00:43:15,960 massive change of the world and then we 822 00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:19,530 have later on to carrion and Sogdian and 823 00:43:19,530 --> 00:43:21,719 so on and then of course it's after that 824 00:43:21,719 --> 00:43:24,900 that the Silk Road really opens up as a 825 00:43:24,900 --> 00:43:27,210 Silk Road which we're looking forward to 826 00:43:27,210 --> 00:43:29,699 hearing about from Peter Brown Joseph 827 00:43:29,699 --> 00:43:32,369 Manning this afternoon and here is this 828 00:43:32,369 --> 00:43:34,980 famous image allegedly representing to 829 00:43:34,980 --> 00:43:38,309 carrion warriors of the around the 8th 830 00:43:38,309 --> 00:43:41,519 century BC and there is here I take my 831 00:43:41,519 --> 00:43:52,750 bow and thank you very much 832 00:43:52,750 --> 00:43:56,420 thank you for that masterful overview of 833 00:43:56,420 --> 00:44:06,559 the Silk Road I would like to throw the 834 00:44:06,559 --> 00:44:17,230 floor open to the audience 835 00:44:17,230 --> 00:44:39,809 I try to be provocative sighs somebody 836 00:44:39,809 --> 00:44:42,000 would you be willing to consider a seed 837 00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:44,429 dispersal for early millet for example 838 00:44:44,429 --> 00:44:48,510 or metal or anything else and I'd 839 00:44:48,510 --> 00:44:52,469 certainly be willing to consider such a 840 00:44:52,469 --> 00:44:58,349 thing but it's difficult if we're 841 00:44:58,349 --> 00:45:00,480 talking about millet and we're talking 842 00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:02,849 about before 843 00:45:02,849 --> 00:45:06,059 five thousand before the Common Era 5000 844 00:45:06,059 --> 00:45:11,000 BC I think it's quite difficult to 845 00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:14,519 imagine communication between the 846 00:45:14,519 --> 00:45:18,090 Mediterranean world and the and the Far 847 00:45:18,090 --> 00:45:22,230 East by that day - bye see if we're 848 00:45:22,230 --> 00:45:26,190 talking about copper when we are talking 849 00:45:26,190 --> 00:45:32,659 copper metallurgy around 1500 BC I think 850 00:45:32,659 --> 00:45:38,219 it's still quite difficult I'm not sure 851 00:45:38,219 --> 00:45:42,119 that the distribution of early copper 852 00:45:42,119 --> 00:45:46,860 working in China is particularly focused 853 00:45:46,860 --> 00:45:49,050 on the coast not that it would have to 854 00:45:49,050 --> 00:45:52,679 be if it was a maritime distribution so 855 00:45:52,679 --> 00:45:58,110 I would think that really prolonged 856 00:45:58,110 --> 00:46:02,730 contact by sea between the West and 857 00:46:02,730 --> 00:46:06,269 China didn't really develop until after 858 00:46:06,269 --> 00:46:09,090 the Silk Road had got underway it's 859 00:46:09,090 --> 00:46:10,619 another question if we're talking about 860 00:46:10,619 --> 00:46:13,769 a southern Silk Road a land Silk Road 861 00:46:13,769 --> 00:46:16,829 but going down into South China and then 862 00:46:16,829 --> 00:46:19,679 through Southeast Asia but there isn't 863 00:46:19,679 --> 00:46:23,880 very much evidence for that yet so sorry 864 00:46:23,880 --> 00:46:25,079 have been rather than lengthy I think 865 00:46:25,079 --> 00:46:38,130 the answer to your question is no 866 00:46:38,130 --> 00:46:40,260 if you were a stock raiser and you were 867 00:46:40,260 --> 00:46:43,710 living in the teram Basin and possibly 868 00:46:43,710 --> 00:46:47,639 going north to graze your livestock in 869 00:46:47,639 --> 00:46:50,789 the winter then the remains in the Terra 870 00:46:50,789 --> 00:46:53,579 Basin would be only half of the evidence 871 00:46:53,579 --> 00:46:59,599 of those people that's very right and 872 00:46:59,599 --> 00:47:03,300 one thing that supports that point of 873 00:47:03,300 --> 00:47:09,449 view is the the wonderful variation in 874 00:47:09,449 --> 00:47:12,420 the clothing that you find in the 875 00:47:12,420 --> 00:47:15,150 burials Elizabeth Barbour could speak to 876 00:47:15,150 --> 00:47:18,869 this much better than I but you have you 877 00:47:18,869 --> 00:47:23,010 see clothing that's suited for winter 878 00:47:23,010 --> 00:47:25,469 and in some burials you see clothing 879 00:47:25,469 --> 00:47:28,320 that is suited for summer and you're 880 00:47:28,320 --> 00:47:30,539 quite right they must have been on the 881 00:47:30,539 --> 00:47:35,510 move I haven't really seen any very 882 00:47:35,510 --> 00:47:41,099 careful discussions of what the pattern 883 00:47:41,099 --> 00:47:43,920 of movement of one community would have 884 00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:47,489 been at any particular time the sort of 885 00:47:47,489 --> 00:47:50,670 work that microfolk Ettie has been doing 886 00:47:50,670 --> 00:47:55,260 in in in Kazakhstan and he may have some 887 00:47:55,260 --> 00:47:59,579 ideas on that I think there is a real 888 00:47:59,579 --> 00:48:02,309 problem as victim air has emphasized 889 00:48:02,309 --> 00:48:06,239 that the burials at shava are burials 890 00:48:06,239 --> 00:48:09,030 it's a cemetery it's a concentration and 891 00:48:09,030 --> 00:48:11,579 they're dwelling places and have not 892 00:48:11,579 --> 00:48:16,110 been located this is not too surprising 893 00:48:16,110 --> 00:48:18,659 with what may have been a mobile 894 00:48:18,659 --> 00:48:24,389 community but it is not clear that these 895 00:48:24,389 --> 00:48:29,929 were nomads in the sense of having 896 00:48:29,929 --> 00:48:32,699 significant ransom ins which I think you 897 00:48:32,699 --> 00:48:35,429 were perhaps referring to which may have 898 00:48:35,429 --> 00:48:38,639 developed later they were mobile people 899 00:48:38,639 --> 00:48:41,880 but they may have been partly mobile in 900 00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:43,619 the way that hunter-gatherers tended to 901 00:48:43,619 --> 00:48:45,679 be of course they had their 902 00:48:45,679 --> 00:48:49,239 their livestock including some cattle 903 00:48:49,239 --> 00:48:55,389 but I don't think in the absence of 904 00:48:55,389 --> 00:48:58,969 their settlement evidence it's been 905 00:48:58,969 --> 00:49:01,219 possible to give any very deep thought 906 00:49:01,219 --> 00:49:06,019 as to the extent of the mobility of that 907 00:49:06,019 --> 00:49:09,409 community on an annual basis and that 908 00:49:09,409 --> 00:49:10,760 would be something would be very 909 00:49:10,760 --> 00:49:13,699 interesting to take further so I think 910 00:49:13,699 --> 00:49:16,969 your point is right but it's not really 911 00:49:16,969 --> 00:49:27,059 been very much addressed so far 912 00:49:27,059 --> 00:49:31,710 one tiny little addition to your point 913 00:49:31,710 --> 00:49:33,929 about the broom corn millet suddenly 914 00:49:33,929 --> 00:49:37,050 turning up at two ends of Eurasia there 915 00:49:37,050 --> 00:49:38,909 are some interesting things to do with 916 00:49:38,909 --> 00:49:41,250 weaving that suddenly turn up at both 917 00:49:41,250 --> 00:49:43,889 ends of Eurasia at about that same time 918 00:49:43,889 --> 00:49:47,250 so there's more out there too to answer 919 00:49:47,250 --> 00:49:50,190 for that we haven't found there are 920 00:49:50,190 --> 00:49:54,139 clear fairly clear connections between 921 00:49:54,139 --> 00:49:57,869 what's happening in terms of textiles in 922 00:49:57,869 --> 00:50:00,449 East Asia and what's happening in terms 923 00:50:00,449 --> 00:50:03,929 of textiles in western Eurasia at about 924 00:50:03,929 --> 00:50:08,610 five thousand BC I too don't know how 925 00:50:08,610 --> 00:50:10,349 these were getting through but what it 926 00:50:10,349 --> 00:50:12,449 means is we need to keep looking in the 927 00:50:12,449 --> 00:50:15,030 middle what what textiles do we have at 928 00:50:15,030 --> 00:50:17,880 5,000 BC I could understand what you 929 00:50:17,880 --> 00:50:19,400 were saying if you were speaking around 930 00:50:19,400 --> 00:50:22,469 2,000 BC but where we got the textiles 931 00:50:22,469 --> 00:50:25,170 to make the comparisons at five well we 932 00:50:25,170 --> 00:50:28,260 have the impressions on pottery that 933 00:50:28,260 --> 00:50:30,750 showed that they were making and we also 934 00:50:30,750 --> 00:50:32,789 have evidence apparently that they were 935 00:50:32,789 --> 00:50:37,199 using him in East Asia before they 936 00:50:37,199 --> 00:50:39,750 started using things like silk that's 937 00:50:39,750 --> 00:50:42,059 much later they were already making 938 00:50:42,059 --> 00:50:43,679 textiles they were apparently making 939 00:50:43,679 --> 00:50:47,670 them out of him and the impressions on 940 00:50:47,670 --> 00:50:49,289 the pottery suggest that they already 941 00:50:49,289 --> 00:50:52,380 knew the heddle and the Hetal is such a 942 00:50:52,380 --> 00:50:57,619 strange conceptually difficult device 943 00:50:57,619 --> 00:51:01,139 that it is probable that it was only 944 00:51:01,139 --> 00:51:04,880 thought up once in the late Paleolithic 945 00:51:04,880 --> 00:51:09,480 and about 5000 BC you start getting this 946 00:51:09,480 --> 00:51:12,690 evidence welling up in East Asia and 947 00:51:12,690 --> 00:51:15,480 you're getting much much more of it in 948 00:51:15,480 --> 00:51:17,130 Western Eurasia 949 00:51:17,130 --> 00:51:20,219 we have a more we have a lot more data 950 00:51:20,219 --> 00:51:23,400 in western Eurasia but it's very 951 00:51:23,400 --> 00:51:25,679 peculiar that it suddenly turns up in 952 00:51:25,679 --> 00:51:30,030 East Asia about 5000 BC I think we've 953 00:51:30,030 --> 00:51:34,619 got to be very cautious about 954 00:51:34,619 --> 00:51:37,719 you can propose but they very cautious 955 00:51:37,719 --> 00:51:40,960 about accepting long-distance 956 00:51:40,960 --> 00:51:43,329 connections at a particular time period 957 00:51:43,329 --> 00:51:45,849 and as you've said and as you know much 958 00:51:45,849 --> 00:51:50,760 more about it than I do the evidence for 959 00:51:50,760 --> 00:51:54,130 textile production or weaving order sort 960 00:51:54,130 --> 00:51:58,300 of simple techniques of that kind is 961 00:51:58,300 --> 00:52:00,730 increasingly emerging in the Upper 962 00:52:00,730 --> 00:52:05,260 Paleolithic period and so if we see 963 00:52:05,260 --> 00:52:08,139 something occurring time for the 964 00:52:08,139 --> 00:52:10,119 preservation is not good we don't 965 00:52:10,119 --> 00:52:12,789 actually have textiles to speak of in 966 00:52:12,789 --> 00:52:14,769 the sense of you can actually feel the 967 00:52:14,769 --> 00:52:17,380 textiles in very many cases it's so 968 00:52:17,380 --> 00:52:19,989 earlier date so it's perfectly possible 969 00:52:19,989 --> 00:52:23,349 that some of the things we may notice 970 00:52:23,349 --> 00:52:25,539 here at one time and there another time 971 00:52:25,539 --> 00:52:29,469 do go back to the to the Upper 972 00:52:29,469 --> 00:52:31,750 Paleolithic period I'm not suggesting 973 00:52:31,750 --> 00:52:34,090 that about the minute although maybe not 974 00:52:34,090 --> 00:52:38,409 excluded but I think we have to be 975 00:52:38,409 --> 00:52:42,340 cautious and about suggesting very long 976 00:52:42,340 --> 00:52:45,190 distance connections of any individual 977 00:52:45,190 --> 00:52:47,860 period particularly if it's possible 978 00:52:47,860 --> 00:52:50,760 they may both be the product of a 979 00:52:50,760 --> 00:52:54,219 descent as it were cultural descent from 980 00:52:54,219 --> 00:52:56,619 a much earlier time period so I think 981 00:52:56,619 --> 00:52:58,630 it's a very interesting area but I think 982 00:52:58,630 --> 00:53:02,500 that we shouldn't reach a conclusion too 983 00:53:02,500 --> 00:53:11,639 readily on those problems 984 00:53:11,639 --> 00:53:14,039 thank you again Kampf that lecture um 985 00:53:14,039 --> 00:53:16,199 first I want to make a quick response in 986 00:53:16,199 --> 00:53:18,030 terms of the migratory patterns just 987 00:53:18,030 --> 00:53:19,710 because it was it was brought up and I 988 00:53:19,710 --> 00:53:23,369 do have a question my best understanding 989 00:53:23,369 --> 00:53:24,510 as someone who's worked in that region 990 00:53:24,510 --> 00:53:27,360 with sure is that better my best 991 00:53:27,360 --> 00:53:29,099 understanding of the migratory patterns 992 00:53:29,099 --> 00:53:30,989 of pastoralists who live sort of around 993 00:53:30,989 --> 00:53:34,670 the Terran Basin is as Colin mentioned 994 00:53:34,670 --> 00:53:38,460 the use of mountains rather than sort of 995 00:53:38,460 --> 00:53:40,469 grasslands and so if you imagine that 996 00:53:40,469 --> 00:53:42,719 the basin literally as a depression of 997 00:53:42,719 --> 00:53:45,210 pretty poor pasture land the only 998 00:53:45,210 --> 00:53:46,380 territories where you're going to get 999 00:53:46,380 --> 00:53:48,329 any kind of pasture is actually up not 1000 00:53:48,329 --> 00:53:50,340 necessarily north so you can imagine the 1001 00:53:50,340 --> 00:53:51,750 towering base and effectively ringed by 1002 00:53:51,750 --> 00:53:52,980 mountains and I'll say more about that 1003 00:53:52,980 --> 00:53:54,539 later but I think that that's an 1004 00:53:54,539 --> 00:53:56,460 important distinction when considering 1005 00:53:56,460 --> 00:53:58,230 that this is a populate a region that's 1006 00:53:58,230 --> 00:54:00,420 very different from the open steps of 1007 00:54:00,420 --> 00:54:03,449 your of your Asia um so that's just that 1008 00:54:03,449 --> 00:54:06,210 point my question in fact it comes back 1009 00:54:06,210 --> 00:54:07,739 to what you mentioned about genetics and 1010 00:54:07,739 --> 00:54:08,849 I was hoping that you would say a bit 1011 00:54:08,849 --> 00:54:10,710 more about some of the detailed evidence 1012 00:54:10,710 --> 00:54:13,469 just a few more words about what the 1013 00:54:13,469 --> 00:54:17,880 various lines of evidence are and what 1014 00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:19,889 your best understanding I suppose of how 1015 00:54:19,889 --> 00:54:21,869 to package them in terms of some of 1016 00:54:21,869 --> 00:54:23,280 these broader questions of East and West 1017 00:54:23,280 --> 00:54:25,139 I think that as you rightly pointed out 1018 00:54:25,139 --> 00:54:27,329 from my perspective genetics can be a 1019 00:54:27,329 --> 00:54:29,969 very dangerous and exciting scientific 1020 00:54:29,969 --> 00:54:33,179 tool and one that oftentimes leads to 1021 00:54:33,179 --> 00:54:35,789 fantastic conclusions but ones that have 1022 00:54:35,789 --> 00:54:37,980 to course be tested so I wondering if 1023 00:54:37,980 --> 00:54:38,969 you could say a few more words about 1024 00:54:38,969 --> 00:54:40,170 that thank you 1025 00:54:40,170 --> 00:54:44,489 first of all your first point I think is 1026 00:54:44,489 --> 00:54:47,969 very well taken and it perhaps gives a 1027 00:54:47,969 --> 00:54:51,539 hint at the way archaeology should or 1028 00:54:51,539 --> 00:54:53,460 ought or research should be developing 1029 00:54:53,460 --> 00:54:59,010 in Xinjiang the really ought to be cave 1030 00:54:59,010 --> 00:55:01,829 sites and shelter sites to slightly 1031 00:55:01,829 --> 00:55:06,809 higher altitude where one can find upper 1032 00:55:06,809 --> 00:55:09,599 paleolithic or maybe very early 1033 00:55:09,599 --> 00:55:13,440 neolithic traces and it doesn't all have 1034 00:55:13,440 --> 00:55:15,869 to be in the desert sands of the basin 1035 00:55:15,869 --> 00:55:18,329 itself and I'm not sure that very much 1036 00:55:18,329 --> 00:55:21,809 surface survey that much site survey 1037 00:55:21,809 --> 00:55:24,869 of an intensive nature has been carried 1038 00:55:24,869 --> 00:55:26,760 out of those slightly higher altitudes 1039 00:55:26,760 --> 00:55:30,119 and I'm sure what you say is right that 1040 00:55:30,119 --> 00:55:34,260 the really ought to be summer sites on 1041 00:55:34,260 --> 00:55:37,980 the uplands which it would be very 1042 00:55:37,980 --> 00:55:40,769 profitable to discover and that is maybe 1043 00:55:40,769 --> 00:55:43,469 where to look for more traces of the 1044 00:55:43,469 --> 00:55:45,989 shall earth community so I agree with 1045 00:55:45,989 --> 00:55:48,949 that very much and on the molecular 1046 00:55:48,949 --> 00:55:51,179 genetic front 1047 00:55:51,179 --> 00:55:53,849 it was our closing speaker today 1048 00:55:53,849 --> 00:55:55,889 Christopher fountain who wrote an 1049 00:55:55,889 --> 00:55:58,650 interesting article with tad Shaw some 1050 00:55:58,650 --> 00:56:01,530 years ago in the oxford journal of 1051 00:56:01,530 --> 00:56:04,170 archaeology taking I think it's fair to 1052 00:56:04,170 --> 00:56:09,119 say a rather cautious view I think first 1053 00:56:09,119 --> 00:56:11,719 of all the molecular genetics of the 1054 00:56:11,719 --> 00:56:14,519 contemporary populations have not yet 1055 00:56:14,519 --> 00:56:18,150 been very fully explored and I think it 1056 00:56:18,150 --> 00:56:21,750 always makes sense to imagine how much 1057 00:56:21,750 --> 00:56:26,880 of what one sees may be a product of 1058 00:56:26,880 --> 00:56:29,550 local continuities rather than all kinds 1059 00:56:29,550 --> 00:56:32,909 of comings and goings and as I 1060 00:56:32,909 --> 00:56:35,699 understand it the mitochondrial DNA data 1061 00:56:35,699 --> 00:56:38,639 that's the data in the female line it 1062 00:56:38,639 --> 00:56:44,369 shows very strong local continuities if 1063 00:56:44,369 --> 00:56:47,360 we're talking about the relatively few 1064 00:56:47,360 --> 00:56:50,039 samples that have been analyzed although 1065 00:56:50,039 --> 00:56:52,849 it's great that they have been by 1066 00:56:52,849 --> 00:56:55,500 Chinese colleagues from the site of 1067 00:56:55,500 --> 00:57:01,110 shower and other nearby sites and the 1068 00:57:01,110 --> 00:57:05,119 the female lineages that do seem to be 1069 00:57:05,119 --> 00:57:08,940 local of East Asian types whereas it's 1070 00:57:08,940 --> 00:57:13,460 certainly the case that the Y chromosome 1071 00:57:13,460 --> 00:57:17,050 which indicates the male line does 1072 00:57:17,050 --> 00:57:21,019 suggest some strong influences from the 1073 00:57:21,019 --> 00:57:21,619 West 1074 00:57:21,619 --> 00:57:25,070 but there the problem is that our 1075 00:57:25,070 --> 00:57:30,170 knowledge about the the y-chromosome 1076 00:57:30,170 --> 00:57:34,579 data in the West is built mainly on the 1077 00:57:34,579 --> 00:57:37,309 understanding of recent populations of 1078 00:57:37,309 --> 00:57:40,550 living populations there are rather few 1079 00:57:40,550 --> 00:57:44,389 ancient DNA analyses that have been 1080 00:57:44,389 --> 00:57:48,079 conducted in the west up to now there 1081 00:57:48,079 --> 00:57:49,880 are come have been happening in the past 1082 00:57:49,880 --> 00:57:53,210 two or three years and the influences 1083 00:57:53,210 --> 00:57:56,360 that one is beginning to draw from those 1084 00:57:56,360 --> 00:57:58,940 Western analyses if we're talking about 1085 00:57:58,940 --> 00:58:01,489 the spread of Agriculture and so on in 1086 00:58:01,489 --> 00:58:04,670 Western Europe do suggest a lot of 1087 00:58:04,670 --> 00:58:06,349 surprises when you actually compare 1088 00:58:06,349 --> 00:58:09,829 ancient DNA with ancient DNA it doesn't 1089 00:58:09,829 --> 00:58:12,469 suggest that the ancient DNA just and 1090 00:58:12,469 --> 00:58:15,199 automatically the parents of the living 1091 00:58:15,199 --> 00:58:17,719 population of today so I think it's a 1092 00:58:17,719 --> 00:58:19,940 field of some complexity that is of 1093 00:58:19,940 --> 00:58:22,909 great promise but it may be as I already 1094 00:58:22,909 --> 00:58:26,300 hinted that the Y chromosome features 1095 00:58:26,300 --> 00:58:28,849 that seem to be Western features could 1096 00:58:28,849 --> 00:58:31,190 be thousands of years earlier in 1097 00:58:31,190 --> 00:58:33,320 xinjiang province and we shouldn't 1098 00:58:33,320 --> 00:58:36,099 imagine people just a complete new 1099 00:58:36,099 --> 00:58:40,300 population sleeping in around 2000 BC 1100 00:58:40,300 --> 00:58:43,760 from the West that is an implication 1101 00:58:43,760 --> 00:58:46,960 that has been suggested but the strong 1102 00:58:46,960 --> 00:58:49,789 mitochondrial DNA lineages some of them 1103 00:58:49,789 --> 00:58:52,869 that are taken some time to sort of work 1104 00:58:52,869 --> 00:58:58,010 for the admixture of genes to work out 1105 00:58:58,010 --> 00:59:00,980 I think suggest caution and I believe 1106 00:59:00,980 --> 00:59:04,550 that the next 10 or 20 years again to be 1107 00:59:04,550 --> 00:59:07,070 very rewarding as we have more and more 1108 00:59:07,070 --> 00:59:10,190 ancient DNA dates we should remember 1109 00:59:10,190 --> 00:59:11,780 that most of what we know about 1110 00:59:11,780 --> 00:59:14,539 molecular genetics at present comes from 1111 00:59:14,539 --> 00:59:16,340 the molecular genetics of living 1112 00:59:16,340 --> 00:59:18,440 populations which are much easier to 1113 00:59:18,440 --> 00:59:20,750 work with but I hope Chris himself will 1114 00:59:20,750 --> 00:59:22,420 say something about that in his 1115 00:59:22,420 --> 00:59:30,989 including remarks 1116 00:59:30,989 --> 00:59:32,019 you