Socio-Environmental Dynamics along the Historical Silk Road

535 Pages·2019·22.4 MB·English

by  Liang Emlyn Yang

Liang Emlyn Yang · Hans-Rudolf Bork
Xiuqi Fang · Steffen Mischke Editors
Socio-
Environmental
Dynamics along
the Historical
Silk Road
Socio-Environmental Dynamics along the Historical
Silk Road
Liang Emlyn Yang Hans-Rudolf Bork
(cid:129) (cid:129)
Xiuqi Fang Steffen Mischke
(cid:129)
Editors
Socio-Environmental
Dynamics along
the Historical Silk Road
Editors
LiangEmlynYang Hans-Rudolf Bork
Graduate School“Human Development Institut für Ökosystemforschung
in Landscapes” Christian-Albrechts-UniversitätzuKiel
Christian-Albrechts-UniversitätzuKiel Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
SteffenMischke
XiuqiFang Faculty of EarthSciences
Faculty of Geographical Science University of Iceland
Beijing NormalUniversity Reykjavik, Iceland
Beijing,China
ISBN978-3-030-00727-0 ISBN978-3-030-00728-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00728-7
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2018960206
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Foreword I
The Graduate School of Human Development in Landscapes at Kiel University is
an advanced school engaged in studying and teaching interdisciplinarily the
interactive development of past human society and physical landscapes. Since it
was established 11 years ago, I have been involved many times in its project
reviews, advisory issues and have noticed its significant progress. A remarkable
aspect is its young researchers who explore human development from various
perspectives,includingtheleadauthorofthisbookDr.YangwhoIwasimpressed
by when I first heard him talk in November 2016 at the School. It is a promising
direction that he and others have taken to investigate the adaptation and resilience
of human society (both successfully and unsuccessfully) in facing of the past cli-
mate changes with the target to inform the present global climate problems.
Thisnewbook“Socio-EnvironmentalDynamicsalongtheHistoricalSilkRoad”
continues this direction as well as other aspects of climate-related social–environ-
mental changes, including landscape, water, disaster, population, empire, civiliza-
tion,cultureandheritage.Itisoftenchallengingtodiscussonsuchlarge-scaleand
long-termsocialdevelopmentissuesinonebook.However,theconceptSilkRoad
is a natural framework for these topics and thus perfectly links the international
contributions to this book. Especially, several chapters in the book focused on the
Central Asia area with the ever existed Han Dynasty (Chap. 3), Sogdiana civi-
lization (Chap. 9), Saljūq Empire (Chap. 13), Oxus civilization (Chap. 14), which
collectivelyevidencedcertaininteractivesbetweenphysicalenvironmentandsocial
systems.
It has been widely agreed that human migration and cultural exchanges in the
Eurasia hinterland existed much earlier than the traditionally recognized start time
of theSilk Road around theend of third century BC. Culture isrootedin the local
environment and associated living habits, but cultural change involves many
external factors, among which the exchange with others is a most significant one.
The Scythians of the Eurasia steppe in seventh century BC was formed like this,
where nomadic confederations developed either symbiotic or forced alliances with
v
vi ForewordI
agriculturepeoples—inexchangeforanimalproduceandmilitaryprotection.While
the rise of the Silk Road networks subsequently facilitated those exchanges, the
integration and coexistence of cultures from the West and the East of the Eurasia
continent performed more pronounced in Central Asia.
Theeditorsandauthorshavemadegreateffortsinputtingtogetheranimportant
bodyofknowledgeinthisbook.Itisveryimportantbecauseitrevealspartiallythe
history of man as well as human development. We have to learn how cultures
developedinthepasttounderstandwhywehavecertainprocessestoday.Learning
from the past experience will help us understand these exchanges and integrations
atthesystematiclevel.Forinstance,thecurrentproblemofclimatechangeisnota
problemonlyoftoday,butwasfacedbymanysocietiesinthepast.Thesesocieties’
experiencesandlessons,thedevelopmentofuniquesocialandculturalsystems,the
power of religions, tolerance and intolerance to each other should never be for-
gotten. Against this backdrop, the book includes state-of-the-art research on
socio-environmental dynamics, integrates knowledge on multiple aspects of
social-culturalexchanges, and highlights case studies on and references for human
development. Today, more than ever, we need sharp research like this.
The book is a collaborative venture. The chapters provide an interdisciplinary
perspective and document emerging and innovative knowledge of the past envi-
ronmental conditions and its links to social-culture development. Such knowledge
basedonsolidanalysisofdata,materialsandproxiesinthefieldisindispensableas
we move forward. We are still a long way from understanding the essential
mechanisms of the socio-environmental interactives in various scales and periods.
This book is a welcome addition to the literature.
Berlin, Germany Hermann Parzinger
June 2018 President, Professor Prussian Cultural
Heritage Foundation
Foreword II
The long history ofhuman–environmentinteractions hasattracted and isattracting
a large number of investigations by international scholars, and it is also a major
research field that I and my research team explored for many years. Our studies in
WesternChina,CentralAsiaandotheralpineAsiansub-regionshavebeenfocusing
on the paleoclimate records of loess sections and lake sediments to reveal climate
changes in the late Quaternary, especially in the Holocene, in the
Westerlies-dominated region. Exciting geo-archaeological studies revealed the
linkages between dramatic environmental changes in the past and prehistoric
human activities at regional scale. We have found that the cultural exchange was
certainly influenced by geographic setting and environmental changes, and the
proliferation of crops and agricultural technologies along theprehistoric Silk Road
fromthewestpromotedhumanadaptationandlivingattheTibetanPlateauduring
the late Holocene. These findings initiated extensive discussions in the global
academic community.
Recently, we are supporting and increasing integrative geoscientific research in
thePan-ThirdPoleRegion.Oneofthefocalthemesistherelationshipbetweenthe
cultural history and the environmental and climatic changes along the Silk Road
territory, and the implications to the formation and development of contemporary
China andtheEurasiansocieties. Fiveyears ago, theChinese President Xi Jinping
proposed “The Belt and Road Initiative” to strengthen economic ties and cooper-
ation between China and neighbouring countries in Central and West Asia. The
initiativeisincreasingdevelopmentopportunitiesforthecountriesandtheregionin
general, and at the same time, brings major opportunities for scientific research
focusing on this vast area. Traditionally, resources and environmental conditions
of the Pan-Third Pole Region are key constraints for the development of West
China and the countries along the ancient Silk Road. Therefore, the studies of the
human activities, environmental changes and the rise and fall of the Silk Road
civilizations as well as their mutual relations at different historical stages in the
Pan-Third Pole Region are of urgent and great significance to understand the
human–environment interactions in science, and to enhance the regional
eco-environment sustainability and socio-economic development in practice.
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viii ForewordII
I was excited to learn about the international workshop on the socio-
environmental issues of the historical Silk Road area that was organized and con-
ductedbytheauthorsofthisbookin2017.Thethemeoftheworkshopfitswellwith
ourresearchinterests,andIamhappytoseethatsomeofmycolleaguesparticipated
intheworkshopandcontributedtothebook.TheleadauthorDr.Yanghasasimilar
research philosophy as I have: investigating the past social-climate relationships
with a present geographical perspective. This may not be a perfect combination in
terms of scientific research, but it starts from the present social–environmental
challengesandseeksanswersfromthecomplexhistoricalexperiencesandlessons.
Thisperspectiveoftenhelpssincethelonghumanhistoryhasrichstoriestotellbut
onlytargetedresearcherscancomprehendthemeaningfulimplications.Ithinkthisis
one ofthe reasonswhy theworkshopwas very successful.
The publishing of this book “Socio-Environmental Dynamics along the
Historical Silk Road” is of cause the biggest success, in which the editors and
authorsputgreateffortsandinvestedlongtime.Itisawiseintegrationofexpertise
from different disciplines, including climatology (Dr. Yang), geo-archaeology
(Prof. Bork), geography (Prof. Fang) and geology (Prof. Mischke), and additional
disciplines represented by the authors of the chapters. Organizing contributions
fromsuchvariousdisciplinesandintegratingthemintoathematicbookiscertainly
challenging,buttheeditorssuccessfullyframedthemwithinalogicchainincluding
landscapeevolution,environmentaldisasters,climateimpacts,socialresilienceand
culture connections.
The chapters cover a broad research area, the historical Silk Road area in the
hinterland of the Eurasia. It naturally involves the diversity of natural landscapes
and environmental characteristics, while the diverse aspects are linked by one
essentialfactor:water.Waterwasrelatedtoagriculturedevelopmentandpopulation
growthduringwater-richperiods,butthescarcityofwateralsocauseddisastersthat
forced social system changes as described in case studies in Parts II and III of the
book. However, human societies were not always transformed when climate and
environmental stresses were faced. As the chapters in Part V indicate, social resi-
lienceexisted(human–waterrelationshipsinChap.16)andhumanknowledgewas
advanced (Karez Systems in Chap. 17), so that those societies maintained their
functionsanddevelopedintothepresent.Theexchangeofgoods,cultureandideas
along the Silk Road was an important power that promoted the mutual under-
standing and peaceful coexistence of different groups of people, as well as sharing
the experience living with tough natural conditions.
Thebookisafurtherresearchsteptoanswerthegrandquestion“Whycollapsed
some civilizations while others persisted?” from the perspective of
climate/environment changes. Though it does not provide a clear answer (maybe,
no clear answer may exist!), research in this direction will provide more case
studies and will improve our knowledge to inform a better strategy of social
development in this critical region. Especially in recent years, the revival and
reconstruction of exchange pathways and trade routes between the East and West
of the Eurasia continent call for better understanding of the evolution rules of
coupled social–environmental systems. This is the true value of studies such as
ForewordII ix
thosepresentedinthebook,reachingbeyondacademicresearch.Fromthispointof
view, this book could not come at a better time.
The effort of the editors and authors demonstrated in achieving this book is a
good sign that the “old” science is very alive and attractive to especially young
researchers.Ihopethatthisfreshbodyofknowledgecapturedhereinafterwillreach
an audience beyond the paleo-science communities and by doing so undoubtedly
become useful to everyone in the broader environment and development
community.
Beijing, China Fahu Chen
July 2018 Director, Professor
Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research
Academician of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences
Foreword III
Over the last decade, interdisciplinary efforts directed on past societies and their
environments arebroadeningourviewonsocio-environmentaldynamics andhave
opened exciting new perspectives on old archives. Among the key areas that
demonstrated these dynamics in the past and therefore attracted intensive investi-
gationsintherecentarethenortheastMediterranean,MiddleEast,CentralAsiaand
the Eurasia Steppe, which are linked by the modern concept Silk Road.
TheSilkRoadisoneoftheoldestroutesofinternationaltradeintheworld.Itis
first reported to have been used during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) in
China, but recent archaeological evidence indicates that trade managed by the
ancient steppe societies across the central Asian deserts began as early as 5000–
6000yearsago.Inseveralmillennia,territoryalongtheSilkRoadhasbeenboth,a
hometoancientcivilizationsandahotspotofenvironmentalhazards.Therefore,it
is a key region through which we may disentangle the interwoven forces of
long-term interaction between humans and the environment. Managing risks,
maintaining livelihoods and promoting development were unavoidable tasks for
local communities in the long past. Until now, however, there have been few
attempts to bring different archives together to form an integrated long-term nar-
rative of the interactions between humans and the environment in the region.
Inearly2017,Dr.YangproposedtheInternationalWorkshop“TheRiseandFall:
EnvironmentalFactorsintheSocio-CulturalChangesoftheAncientSilkRoadArea”
and raised this specific and significant research question. The workshop brought
togetherexpertsfrom12countrieswith19presentationsandenabledtoproducethis
bookasa proceedingvolume.The book“Socio-EnvironmentalDynamics along the
Historical Silk Road” is a manifestation of the research progress in the field and an
achievement made by the four editors, more over 30 (co-)authors and over 50
reviewers.BoththeworkshopandthebookweresponsoredbytheGraduateSchool
Human Development in Landscapes at Kiel University (GSC 208/2) and the Past
Global Changes project (PAGES) and are considered among the most fruitful ini-
tiatives by young researchers at the school and through the project.
xi