Asian Perspectives, 2020 - Volume 59, Number 2 (Fall)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10125/104138
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Item type: Item , Item type: Item , Item type: Item , Advancing Archaeological Research of the Mongolian Altai through the Scientific Study of Deer Stones: New Discoveries from Buyant Valley(2020-10-04) Tishkin, Alexey A.In archaeology, the Mongolian Altai remains a poorly studied region of Asia. Since 2007, systematic studies have been conducted there by a joint expedition of three universities from Mongolia and Russia. This work has provided important information for the reconstruction of the history of ancient nomadic peoples. Of particular importance is the comprehensive documentation of deer stones dated to the Arjan-Mayemir period (the first few centuries of the first millenium B.C.). These stones are carved with images that allow archaeologists to date and reconstruct traits of the corresponding material culture. On the basis of results of exploration and documentation of deer stones in Buyant Valley (near the town of Khovd) and other places in the Mongolian Altai, the author proposes a new perspective on the peculiarities of the objects presented on these stelae and their relationship with funerary and commemorative structures. Comparing the objects the images portray to equivalent archaeological findings reveals their social significance. This approach and method to studying deer stones provides important insights into the ancient material culture as well as future prospects for research on Iron Age nomadic societies in Mongolia.Item type: Item , Quantifying Ritual Funerary Activity of the Late Prehistoric Southern Kanas Region (Xinjiang, China)(2020-10-04) Caspari, GinoIdentifying peaks in anthropogenic activity in a landscape is an important starting point for understanding past social dynamics in the longue durée. Through intensive surveys and remote sensing surveys of the Heiliutan Basin (Heiliutan Dacaoyuan 黑流滩大草原) in the southern Kanas Region (Kanasi 喀纳斯), Xinjiang, China, a high-resolution dataset for over 4000 years of material culture is established. The complete coverage of the area of interest allows for the quantification of ritual funerary activity based on the number of constructed monuments per century. The data show that the intensity of ritual funerary activity was very low and only left marginal traces in the landscape from the Eneolithic Age to the Late Bronze Age. During the Early Iron Age (ca. 850–200 B.C.E.), the basin became a center for construction of burials for social elites of nomadic tribes and the area was rapidly transformed into a landscape of the dead. The Late Iron Age (starting ≈200 B.C.E.) saw a decline of ritual funerary activities in the basin as it became an unimportant side scene to the cultural developments of the wider region.Item type: Item , Item type: Item , Archaeological Research in the Ili Region: A Review(2020-10-04) Chi, Xhang; Festa, MarcellaArchaeological research conducted in the Ili River Valley over the last century has revealed that the region was a crossroads in an early system of exchange throughout Eurasia. Relationships have been shown between findings in the area with the Andronovo (ca. 1900–1200 B.C.) and Saka (ca. first millennium B.C.) cultures from the prehistoric Bronze Age (ca. 1500–1000 B.C.) and Early Iron Age (ca. 1000–300 B.C.), respectively. The region has been intensively excavated by Chinese archaeologists in recent decades and an increasing number of cultural and spatial-temporal frameworks have been put forward to organize the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age finds since the late 1970s. A growing body of research has also addressed cultural change and contact. These studies and related debates are almost unknown to international scholars and need to be evaluated in greater detail. This article surveys the archaeological evidence and critically reviews the main data from Chinese research. In discussing the development of archaeology in the Ili region, the article provides a deeper understanding of the current state of research in Northwest China and a solid backdrop against which further studies can be conducted. Pointing out some of the main unsolved questions and obscure areas yet to be addressed, the article suggests future directions for research.Item type: Item , Item type: Item , Results of Field Research on Ancient Stonework in the River Valleys of Bortala and Ili in Western Tian Shan (Xinjiang, China)(2020-10-04) Chan, Annie; Cong, DexinGround-level stone structures constructed of unworked or minimally shaped slabs and cobbles are a ubiquitous feature of the archaeological landscape of western Tian Shan. However, little is known about their architecture other than surface morphology, which can appear quite homogeneous. This article presents the latest results of surveys and excavations of selected clusters of Bronze Age stonework from the contiguous Bortala River Valley and Ili River Valley in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. In examining the distinctive forms and layouts applied to different building functions, including burial and habitation, we delve into regional variations in construction and land use straddling the intermontane valleys. In Bortala, the configuration and characteristics of the building components evince cumulative phases of use and construction on staggered timescales resulting from the aggregation of burials, repurposing of building parts, and designation of specific locales as alternately transhumant encampments and sites of burial and commemoration of broad social networks and lineal relations. In comparison, the architectural remains in Ili reflect a prolonged temporality that correlates with sedentary agricultural practices, diversified space use, and localized craft production and exchange. The field research provides important data for identifying autochthonous features of building practices independent of existing typologies of highly homogenized architectural schemas to inform broader contexts of subsistence patterns and social customs that resurgent interests in the Andronovo of Xinjiang seek to address.Item type: Item , Skeletal and Dental Health of Precontact Marquesans: The Bioarchaeology of the Human Skeletons from Ha‘atuatua, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands(2020-10-04) Pietrusewsky, Michael; Douglas, Michele Toomey; Ikehara-Quebral, Rona MichiSkeletal and dental indicators (e.g., stature, linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, trauma, dental pathologies, and other evidence of disease) recorded in 45 subadult and 36 adult skeletons from the NHaa 1 site at Ha‘atuatua, Nuku Hiva, northern Marquesas, are used to examine the health, diet, and lifestyle of precontact Marquesans during the Expansion Period (ca. A.D. 1300–1600). Limited comparisons with skeletons from Hane on Ua Huka and other Pacific Island series augment this study. In addition to elevated numbers of subadult deaths, many during the first year of life, significant palaeopathology suggestive of infection, anemia, or metabolic disease was noted for seven subadults. In contrast, very little palaeopathology was noted in the adults and no significant sex differences for most indicators of health. With few exceptions, the skeletal and dental indicators of health in the Ha‘atuatua and Hane series were very similar. Compared to other precontact Pacific series, the Ha‘atuatua males were tall and similar to other East Polynesians. Higher frequencies of stress fracture in the lower back at Ha‘atuatua may be linked to activities associated with landscape changes and the construction of stone megalithic structures. The skeletal and dental indicators of health observed in the Ha‘atuatua burials are most like those reported for other East Polynesian series. The precontact inhabitants of the Marquesas were generally healthy, contrary to expectations of increased disease frequencies and evidence of warfare during the Expansion Period at Ha‘atuatua. These new bioarchaeological data broaden our understanding of the health and lifestyle of precontact Polynesians.Item type: Item , Settlement Relocation, Urban Construction, and Social Transformation in China’s Central Plain, 2300–1500 B.C.(2020-10-04) Xie, Liya; Daudjee, Zahid; Liu, Chun Fu; Sebillaud, PaulineSettlement relocation occurred repeatedly throughout global human history, often resulting in significant sociopolitical and economic changes. Historical records document the use of settlement relocation as a strategy for social engineering in China no later than the late Shang dynasty (1250–1046 B.C.). We employ placemaking theory to examine social changes associated with population movements to Taosi (2300–1900 B.C.) and Erlitou (1750–1520 B.C.) and the processes of urban construction concomitant to the movements at each site. Furthermore, we employ structuration theory to interpret the process of political knowledge building as concerns settlement relocation and social engineering. Based on our assessment of settlement histories, divisions of space, burial patterns, and community formation, we conclude that the use of settlement relocation as political strategy was formulated during the Taosi and Erlitou eras, and that it was intentionally implemented for political reform by Phase II of Erlitou.Item type: Item , Editor's Note(2020-10-04) Carson, Mike; Flad, RowanItem type: Item , Table of Contents(2020-10-04)Item type: Item , Covers 1-4(2020-10-04)