History of Civilizations of Central Asia - Vol. 1: The Dawn of Civilization : Earliest Times to 700 B.C.

537 Pages·1993·16.13 MB·english

by  A. H. Dani

History ofcivilizations ofCentral Asia - I
Historyofcivilizations ofCentral Asia
Volume I
Thedawn ofcivilization:
earliest times to 700 B.c.
Volume II
Thedevelopmentofsedentaryandnomadic civilizations:
700 b.c. toA.D. 250
Volume III
Thecrossroads ofcivilizations:
a.D. 250to 750
Volume IV
The ageofachievement:
a.D. 750 to theend ofthefifteenth century:
Part I:
Thehistorical, socialandeconomicsetting
Part II:
Theachievements
Volume V
Developmentincontrast:
sixteenth toeighteenthcenturies
Volume VI
Towardscontemporarycivilization:
from thebeginningofthe nineteenthcentury
tothepresenttime
History of
civilizations
of Central
Asia
Volume I
The dawn of civilization:
earliest times to 700 b.c.
Editors:
A. H. Dani
V. M. Masson
U N E S C O Publishing
The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation
of the facts contained in this book and for the opinions
expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO
and do not commit the Organization.
The designations employed and the presentation of material
throughout this publication do not imply the expression
of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning
the legal status of any country, territory, city or
area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation
of its frontiers or boundaries.
Firstpublishedin 1992bytheUnitedNationsEducational,
ScientificandCulturalOrganization
7placedeFontenoy,75352Paris07SP
ComposedbyUNESCOPublishing,Paris
PrintedbyImprimeriedesPressesUniversitairesdeFrance,
Vendôme
Secondimpression 1996
ISBN92-3-102719-0
©Unesco 1992
PrintedinFrance
Preface
Federico Mayor
Director-General ofUNESCO
One ofthepurposes ofUNESCO, as proclaimedinits Constitution, is 'to
develop and to increase the means of communication between . . .
peoples and to employ these means for the purposes ofmutual under¬
standingandatruerandmoreperfectknowledgeofeachother'slives'. TheHistory
ofthe Scientific and CulturalDevelopment ofMankind, published in 1968, was a major
early response on thepart ofUNESCO to the taskofenablingthepeoples ofthe
worldtohave akeenersenseoftheircollectivedestinybyhighlightingtheirindi¬
vidual contributions to the history of humanity. This universal history - itself
now undergoing a fundamental revision - has been followed by a number of
regional projects, includingthe GeneralHistoryofAfrica and the planned volumes
on Latin America, the Caribbean and on aspects ofIslamic culture. TheHistoryof
CivilizationsofCentralAsia, hereby initiated, is an integral part ofthiswiderenter¬
prise.
Itis appropriate that the second ofUNESCO's regional histories shouldbe
concerned with Central Asia. For, like Africa, Central Asia is a region whose
cultural heritage has tended to be excluded from the main focus of historical
attention. Yet from time immemorial the area has served as the generator of
population movements within the Eurasian land-mass. The history of the
ancientand medieval worlds, in particular, was shapedto an importantextentby
the succession ofpeoples thataroseout ofthe steppe, desert, oases and mountain
ranges ofthis vast area extending from the Caspian Sea to the high plateaux of
Mongolia. From the Cimmerians mentioned in Homer's Odyssey, the Scythians
described by Herodotus, the Hsiung-nu whose incursions led the Emperors of
China to build the Great Wall, the sixth-century Turks who extended their
empire to the boundaries of Byzantium, the Khitans who gave their name to
ancient Cathay, through to the Mongols who erupted into world history in the
thirteenth centuryunder Genghis Khan, the nomadic horsemen ofCentral Asia
helped to define thelimits and testthe mettle ofthegreat civilizations ofEurope
and Asia.
Preface
Nor is it sufficient to identify the peoples of Central Asia simply with
nomadic cultures. This is to ignore the complex symbiosis within Central Asia
itself between nomadism and settlement, between pastoralists and agricultura¬
lists. Itis to overlook above all the burgeoningofthegreat cities ofCentral Asia
such asSamarkand, BukharaandKhiva, whichestablished themselves inthelate
Middle Ages as outstanding centres ofintellectual inquiry and artistic creation.
Theseminalwritingsofthephilosopher-scientistAvicenna(anativeofBukhara)
andthetimeless masterpieces ofTimuridarchitectureepitomize thefloweringof
medieval culture in the steppes and deserts ofCentral Asia.
The civilizations ofCentral Asia did not, ofcourse, develop in a vacuum.
The impact ofIslam was pervasive and fundamental. The great civilizations on
theperiphery ofthe Eurasian continentlikewise exerted an important influence
on these lands. For some 1,500 years this arid inland sea - far removed from the
earth's true oceans - was crucial as the route alongwhich merchandise (notably
silk) and ideas flowed between China, India, Iran and Europe. The influence of
Iran - although the core of its civilization lies in south-west Asia - was parti¬
cularlystrong, totheextentthat itis sometimesdifficulttoestablishaclearboun¬
darybetween the civilization ofthe Iranian motherland and that ofthe outlying
lands ofCentral Asia.
To the rich varietyofpeoplesofCentral Asia was thus addedamultiplicity
of external influences. For century after century, the region experienced the
influx offoreign art and ideas, colliding and merging with the indigenous pat¬
terns ofCentral Asia. Migrations and the recurrent shock of military invasion,
mingling and displacing peoples and cultures, combined to maintain the vast
region in flux.
Thesystoleanddiastoleofpopulationmovementsdowntheagesaddtothe
difficulty of delimiting a region whose topology alone does not prescribe clear
boundaries. Thus, when, at the nineteenth session of its General Conference,
UNESCO decided to embark on a History ofCivilizations ofCentralAsia the first
problem to be resolved was to define the scope ofthe region concerned. Subse¬
quently, ataUNESCOmeetingheldin 1978, itwasagreed thatthestudyon Cen¬
tral Asia should deal with the civilizations of Afghanistan, north-eastern Iran,
Pakistan, northern India,western China, Mongolia andthe Soviet CentralAsian
republics. Theappellation'CentralAsia',asemployedinthisHistory, referstothis
area, which corresponds to a clearly discernible cultural and historical reality.
UNESCO's call to specialists, and particularly to scholars native to the
region, toparticipate in theundertakingmetwith awide andgenerous response.
The project was deemed by academics to be an excellent opportunity to draw
backthecurtain thathad veiled Central Asiaforsolong. However, nonewerein
any doubt as to the huge dimensions ofthe task.
An ad hoc International Scientific Committee was formed in 1980 to plan
and prepare the work, which it was agreed should cover, in six volumes, the
Preface
history ofCentral Asia from earliest times to the present day. The Committee's
initial task was to decide where pre-eminence should be given in the very wide
canvas before it. Indue course, a properbalancewas struckand teams ofeditors
and authors were selected.
The preparation of the History ofCivilizations ofCentral Asia is now well
advanced. The best resources of research and archaeology have been used to
make the work as thorough as possible, and countless annals consulted in major
centres throughout the region. It is my sincere wish that this, the first volume,
and those that follow will bring instruction and pleasure to readers all over the
world.
It remains for me to thank the President, Rapporteur and members ofthe
InternationalScientificCommittee,andtheeditors, authorsandteamsofspecial¬
ists who have collaborated to shed new light on Central Asia with this detailed
accountofitsvital andstirringpast. Iamsureitwillproveanotablecontribution
to the study and mutual appreciation ofthe cultures that are the common herit¬
age ofmankind.
I
Vly^UY
Contents
Description ofthe project
MohammadS. Asimov, President, InternationalScientific Committee . .11
Members ofthe International Scientific Committee for the Drafting
ofa History ofCivilizations ofCentral Asia . . . .15
List ofcontributors . . . . . . . . .17
Introduction A. H. Daniand V. M. Masson . . . . .19
1 The environment V. M. Masson ...... 29
2 Lower Palaeolithic cultures V. A. Kanov, D. DorjandLii Zun-E . 45
3 Middle Palaeolithic culture BridgetAllchin. . . . .65
4 Upper Palaeolithic cultures A. P. Derevyanko andLii Zun-E . . 89
5 Food-producingand other Neolithic communities in Khorasan and
Transoxania: eastern Iran, Soviet Central Asia and
Afghanistan V. Sarianidi . . . . . .109
6 Food-producingcommunities in Pakistan and northern India
M. SharifandB.K. Thapar (cid:9) 127
7 Neolithic communities in eastern parts ofCentral Asia An Zhimin . 153
8 Neolithic tribes in northern parts ofCentral Asia
A. P. DerevyankoandD. Dory . . . . . .169
9 The Bronze Age in Iran and Afghanistan
M. Tosi, S. MalekShabmirzadiandM. A.Joyenda . . .191
10 The Bronze Age in Khorasan and Transoxania V. M. Masson . . 225
11 Pre-Indus and early Indus cultures ofPakistan and India
]. G. ShafferandB. K. Thapar (cid:9) 247
12 The Indus Civilization A. H. DaniandB. K. Thapar . . . 283
13 The Bronze Age in eastern parts ofCentral Asia AnZhimin . .319
14 The decline ofthe Bronze Age civilization and movements ofthe
tribes V. M. Masson ...... 337
15 The emergence ofthe Indo-Iranians: the Indo-Iranian languages
/. Harmatta ........ 357
16 Pastoral tribes ofthe Bronze Age in the Oxus Valley (Bactria)
B. A. LitvinskyandL. T. P'yankova ..... 379
17 Pastoral-agricultural tribes ofPakistan in the post-Indus period
A. H. Dani (cid:9) 395
18 The Painted Grey Ware Culture ofthe Iron Age B. B. Lai . . 421
19 The beginningofthe Iron Age in Transoxania A. Askarov . .441
20 Pastoral and nomadic tribes at the beginningofthe first
millennium b.c. A. Askarov, V.VolkovandN. Ser-Odjav. . 459
Conclusion TheEditors ..... ... 473
Appendix: A note on the meaningofthe term 'Central Asia' as used
in this book L. I. Miroshnikov ...... All
Bibliography and References. ....... 481
Index ........... 521