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