Silk Road and Archaeology in Xinjiang：Insight from Adunqiaolu

Summary

The "Silk Road" describes the cultural communication routes established in the Han and Tang Dynasties. The term, coined by German scholar Richthofen (李希霍芬) in the historic literature, has since spread globally. The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China, located in the line of communication between East and West, was part of the Western Region in Chinese historic literature. Because of the unique climate conditions of Xinjiang, preservation of ancient remains is excellent, providing a rich array of materials for exploring ancient cultures of the Western Region. This study examines human remains from the Bronze Age site of Adunqiaolu through aDNA, stable isotopic, and palaeobotanic analyses. In addition, the bioarchaeological and archaeological data have been combined with extensive historic literature to investigate ancient human behavior, cultural exchanges, and life-ways that culminated in the formation of the "Silk Road". This multidisciplinary approach applied to the complex history of Xinjiang from prehistoric to Bronze Age times facilitates a growing understanding of the Silk Road and the people of this vast trading and cultural exchange network.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Human Lifestyle and Adaptation in Prehistoric China

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16749