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Millennia B.C./* by Jettmar Karl (Original print at Asian
Perspectives, XXIV (2), 1981) 

We have seen the external diffusionist
"Western Origins Theory' discarded except for a few very isolated
traits." In this sentence, proclaimed during the Conference on the
Origins of Chinese Civilization (Berkeley, 1978), Meacham (1983:
170-171) seemed to express the predominant opinion. But the question
remians whether these "very isolated traits" indicate ethnic movements
of considerable political and demographic dimension. Perhaps we can
appreciate their full importance by studying the counter-current
diffusion of technical achievements of Chinese origin toward the West.
They may be explained by trade, or as goods brought back by
withdrawing invaders. Arguments will be presented in chronological
sequence up to the end of the Sandai period. We should keep in mind
that the better-explored areas (Soviet-ruled Middle Asia and south
Siberia) lie more than 3000 km west of the Sandai territories.
(Archaeological work done there rests upon broad and solid
foundations, incomparable with the hastily done excavations in eastern
Siberia.) Finds between the two areas, in Tibet, Sinkiang, Chinghai,
and Kansu (now called Central Asia in the Sovient literature), are
scanty, despite all the efforts of the last few years. The mechanism
of contact will remian mostly unexplained. THE THIRD AND EARLY SECOND
MILLENNIUM B.C. The Neolithic period of the western steppes (with very
few and very late indications of a food-producing econmony) was
included in the Kel'teminar culture. Along the uppercourse of the
Yenisei an Aeneolithic culture called Afanasievo was observed and
dated in the first centuries of the second millennium B.C. It was
followed by a period known as the Bronze Age of the Steppes, when
people lived from farming and stock-breeding, a period which is
summarized under the name Andronovo culture (Jettmar 1966a). Loehr
believed that the Afanasievo and Andronovo cultures of the steppes
might have stimulated metallurgy in CHina (Loehr 1949). According to
the unanimous opinion of our Soviet colleagues, the cultures of
militant horsemen came into existence only at the beginning of the
first millennium B.C. Research in recent years has led to two main
conclusions. First, the Neolithic cultures of the steppes of Central
Asia and Kazakhstan (Vinogradov and Mamedov 1975) do not give the
impression of great radiation from their centers. In this respect they
are clearly different from those existing in the steppes west of the
River Ural (i.e., in Europe) during the fourth and third millennia
B.C. Since the Mesolithic substratum in the East is rather archaic
(Matjusin 1976), and since transition to a productive economy takes
place much later than in the steppes between the Urals and the River
Dnieper (Yamno or *Kurgan* Culture, Merpert 1977), it is an error to
look for sources of the *Kurgan* Culture in the East (cf. *Gimbutas*
1975--as far as Lake Balkash!). Secondly, the name Andronovo Culture
ought to be used with great caution in the future, inasmuch as it
suggests a uniform ethnic substratum of Indo-Iranians or Iranians,
which cannot possibly he maintained (Itina 1977). Only marginal groups
influenced by the Timber Grave Culture, for example, the Novokumak
complex between the Rivers Ural and Tobol (Sintasta, Gening 1977;
Smirnov and Kuz'mina 1977) made use of chariots and perhaps spoke an
Indo-Iranian idiom. Farther to the East were peasants evolving from a
local substratum, for example, in East and Central Kazakhstan
(Cernikov 1960). The Soviet archaeologists have observed cultures of
superlocal importance that are arranged in two zones north and south
of the steppes belt, that is, in the *forest* zone and its marginal
areas, as well as in the oasis regions of the south and southeast
marginal of Middle Asia. THE SOUTHERN ZONE In northern Afghanistan and
the bordering parts of the Soviet Union, in the regions called
Margiana and Bactria in antiquity, burials and setlements, fortresses
and cult places have been excavated in recent years (Sarianidi 1973;
1974; 1976; 1977a; 1977b; Sarianidi, Terekhova, and Cernykh 1977;
Askarov 1977). Numberous cemeteries, alas, have been robbed in recent
times (cf. Amiet 1977; Ghirshman 1977; Tosi and Wardak 1972). The
excavations give evidence of a group of cultures apparently beginning
in the third millennium B.C. (earliest radiocarbon dates 2280 B.C).
They cannot have come into existence due to the expansion of tribes
from Turkmenia and Gorgan eastward only, as was at first believed, for
they contain elements betraying contact with civilizations in the
interior and on the northwest margin of the Iranian Plateau. Amiet
(1977) quite rightly lays stress on an Elamian component. On the other
hand, affinities to India, to Harappa, and to contemporary cultures as
well as later ones cannot be overlooked. The so-called
Margiano-Bactrian Archaeological Complex was surrounded by a similarly
dynamic periphery. This became evident in Bactria itself (P'jankova
1974; Mandel'stam 1968), in the Bukhara region (Kuz'mina 1958; Askarov
1963), and in Ferghana where a hoard was found as early as 1894
(Khak). This hoard contained a pin with a head representing a milking
scene (Zadneprovskij 1962:52-55). It is tempting to connect the
Margiano-Bactrian archaeologcial complex (and many bronzes which came
as stray finds from neighboring areas (Kuz'mina 1966) with East Asia:
Amiet even proposes to derive the so-called Nestorian seal-amulets
(Hambis 1954) from the stamp-seals of Bactria. In later research (and
not under the immediate impact of the rather revolutionary radiocarbon
dates of bronze finds in Southeast Asia), fresh attempts will
certainly be made to trace Western influences on the rising metallurgy
of China. It will then be necessary to analyze this complex. I will
not attempt it here, since the situation is not as yet clear. I will
confine myself to the remark that all earlier refutations of such
influences (which were based on an evaluation of the scanty Andronovo
material) are to be abandoned. Here in the south, types are
represented that might have been of importance to Archaic China, for
example, one-edged knives and knife-shaped picks to be inserted into a
wooden staff. If the Caucasian dagger published by Hajek really was
found in China, it certainly belongs in this context as does the
strange dagger from Rasit (Pogrebova and Clenova 1970). THE NORTHERN
ZONE IN the northern zone, the progressive cultures with incipient
metallurgy are Krotovo and Samus' (between the Rivers Ob and Irtys) as
well as Okunev in the Minusinsk Basin, an island of steppe on the
Upper Yenisei surrounded by forested mountains (Molodin 1977).
Examples of pottery with affinities to these cultures are said to have
been observed in Inner Mongolia on Chinese territory (Clenova 1977; KK
1964[1]: 2). Engravings where found on stone slabs which were used as
building- material in burials of the Okunev Culture. Two stylistic
groups can be discerned: a realistic one, representing bulls and men
with bird-masks, and a schematic one, the essential motifs of which
are a horned mask with three eyes and a symbol of the sun (a ring with
four tips). Neither of these two styles is known in other cultures of
the *forest* zone. The realistic style could possibly be derived from
the south of Central Asia (Matjuscenko 1977). The schematic one may
possibly have a relation to "cryptic magic," which was presumed to
have been the background of some painted designs of the Yangshao
Culture in Kansu (Chang 19777:110-132; cf. Formozov 1969: 109, 194).
The affinities are significant, since there is a Mongolid component of
Central Asian origin in the Okunev population (brachycephalic skulls)
(Ivanova 1966). Within the framework of this northern complex, a
center of bronze casting and metal trade arose that later influenced
Eastern Europe. Large ceremonial knives with ends decorated by
elaborate figures, and sometimes even with a whole scene, come from
important sites (Seima, Turbino) west of the Urals. (Clenova 1972, pl.
69). Such designs may ultimately depend on the Margiano-Bactrian
archaeological complex (Khak!) for their origins. On the other hand,
an affinity of these knives to the long ceremonial knives of the Shang
dynasty (cf. Karlgren 1945) has been maintained again and again
(clenova 1972:135-138), and for good reason. Socketed spearheads with
two loops (non-existent in the south) and socketed celts belong to the
same complex. The existence of a trade and imgration zone along the
southern margin of the Taiga could have been the basis of parallel
developments and borrowings that allowed scholars to suppose the
existence of a Ural- Altaic linguistic family. In the beginning of the
second millennium B.C. or perhaps even before this, Europids as well
as the Okunev people lived in the Altai (Alekseev 1961). The
Afanasievo Culture must be attributed to this strain of people, since
it was (long ago) suggested to have Western affinities. As far as we
know, peoples of Western appearance could also have come from the
south, from the active periphery of the Margiano-Bactrian
archaeological complex. THE LATE SECOND MILLENNIUM B.C. In the second
half of the second millennium B.C. the Margiano-Bactrian
archaeological complex went through further development. Perhaps the
ceremonial axes and elegant socketed celts, which Sarianidi (1977b)
illustrated, belong to a relatively late phase, that is, the end of
the second millennium B.C. Horses and Chariots Astonishingly, there
are no hints of intense horse-breeding activity in Bactria. This makes
even more important the fact that in vast parts of the steppes and the
adjacent mountain ranges (in the foreland of the Karatau, in the
Pamirs, in the Mongolian Altai) rock carvings of chariots have been
discovered during the last few years (Lattauer 1977). There is a
tendency to connect them with the eastward expansion of at least one
of the cultures summed up under the name Andronovo. In ornamentation
as well as in the form of the chkeekpieces there is a clear affinity
with the Mycenaean Shaft-Graves (smirnov and Kuz'mina 1977).
Considering the destruction of most cemeteries in Afghanistan (where
only ceramics and metal objects were spared), the apparent absence of
horse bones, horse gear (with bone cheekpieces), and carts is not
decisive. Soviet scholars are convinced that the custom of depositing
chariots in the graves of the Shang rulers came from the West, as well
as the ceremonial significance of the chariot itself. The finds of
Sintasta, where the wheels are standing in furrows carefully dug into
the soil of the grave-chamber (exactly as in China), as well as the
conventionalized rock carving, confirm this thesis, which was also
accepted by von Dewall (1964). The Karasuk Culture After the long
phase of "Andronovo Type" cultures, the Karasuk Culture was formed in
southern Siberia. The pottery shows affinities to several groups in
Middle Asia and Kazakhstan (Grjaznov 1966; 1970). Metal implements and
weapons depend on models developed in the Sandai neighborhood,
represented by the oldest stratum of the so-called Ordos bronzes. In
one of my first articles (1950), I tried to bring evidence to defend
Kiselev, who upheld this thesis after being a scientific adviser in
China (Kiselev 1949; 1960). At that time, I believed that the
expanding civilization of China had led to a displacement of barbarian
neighbors. Today, we must consider something that puzzled the late
Soviet physical anthropologist G.F. Debec, according to one of his
last letters. The skulls of the Karasuk necropoles are very similar to
those of the much earlier Okunev burials (Clenova 1977). This fact
perhaps solves the riddle of the "flight" into the Minusinsk Basin so
far away: There were traditional connections with this area, which was
surrounded by mining districts. Therefore, we find a certain
continuity between Okunev-Samus' metallurgy (reflected in
Seima-Turbino) and that of Karasuk. The exact date of the displacement
cannot be fixed. Meanwhileit has become fashionable to state that the
"Central Asian," that is, Ordos-Karasuk metallurgy (cernykh 1976) had
largely influenced the armament system of East European tribes of the
tenth and ninth centuries B.C. (Terenozkin 1975). THE FIRST MILLENNIUM
B.C. Tribes participating in the battles that led to the shift of
power from Shang to Chou certainly reveal cultural traits of East
European origin, either because they were immigrants themselves or
because they had accepted innovations of immigrants. As I have shown
several times (Jettmar 1966b; 1970), this becomes perfectly clear from
the material expanded on by von Dewall (1966). She did not acknowledge
it herself before the finds of Pai-fu, Ch'ang-p'ing, a northern suburb
of Peking (LL 1976 [4]), where made. Three burials in wooden chambers
belong to the transition period from Shang to Chou, according to the
radiocarbon date (1120 B.C.) At that time the region belonged to the
state of Yen. The victorious Chou installed a new dynasty there, whose
symbol could be a prototype of the "tamgas" used during later periods
by the peoples of the steppes (Vajnberg and Novogorodova 1976). The
daggers are of a form known from the Ordos region, and may have
belonged to the guards accompanying the new rulers. Of decisive,
importance are four horn psalia or cheekpieces (KK 1976: fig.18, 4)
with three perforations, the middle one perpendicular to the others,
which were found together with horse bits made of bronze in grave M2.
They correspond to a type known in the Early Iron Age (Belogrudovsk
and the Early Cernolessk cultures) of the *forest* steppes in the
Dnieper regions (Terenozkin 1958; 1965; Grakov 1977). The date is
twelfth to ninth centuries B.C. A similar cheekpiece was found in a
slab-grave in Transbaikalia; among the so called Ordos bronzes there
is a replica in metal (Jettmar 1970). The process can be seen as
follows: In the generation of the Chou conquerors some troops of the
army used metal snaffles (which continue) and horn prongs or bone as
crossbars instead of the Shang-time bridle (cheek-plate and plaited
leather forming the bit). The latter innovation was abandoned for a
while and replaced once more by cheek-plates. Remembrances are
preserved in the decorations. Only after several intermediary forms
(von Dewall 1966) did the technically superior combination of metal
toggles with only tow openings and metal snaffle appear. Warrior
Attacks and Royal Burials Toward the end of the ninth century B.C. the
Chou dynasty had to cope with the attacking Hsien-yun. Prusek (1971)
tried to show that this attack aimed at the heart of the kingdom and
was executed by mounted warriors. These events should be compared with
the almost contemporary invasions of the Cimmerians and the Scythians
in the Near East, with which Prusek suggested some kind of connection
With the excavation of the Arzan *kurgan* in Tuva this suggestion
becomes substantial. The *kurgan* is not only the greatest but also
the very oldest princely burial of the Asian steppes (except perhaps
for the totally deprived mausolea of Tagisken). The federation that
buried their king together with about 160 horses in the middle of his
attendance of high-ranking and richly ornamented persons much have had
their pasturelands in western Mongolia. The king had tribes under his
rule whose ethnic differentiation is reflected by varying systems of
horse gear (Grjaznov and Mannaj-ool 1972; 1973a; 1973b; 1974; 1975).
Forms not as yet known have been found there. In the plan of the
burial, rituals of manifold origin were combined. Among them was the
exposure of the dead above ground in wooden troughts or chests (as was
done until only recently by the Kafirs of the Hindukush, and also in
the Tarim Basin until the Han period). The soil under the structure
was left intact. The central chamber was surrounded by a model
palace-town. The tradition of such palace-towns, with rings of
surrounding habitations (3 zones, partite in 9 sections), is
documented at its earliest in the Margiano-Bactrian archaeological
complex (Sarianidi 1977a). A much later monument of this kind of is
Koj-Krylgan-kala in Choresmia (Tolstov and Vajnberg 1967). The model
of the palace-town (diameter 80m, height up to 3m) was made of wooden
beams and was included in a round platform of stone. One of the
boulders was recognized as a fragment of a "stag-stele." The *kurgan*
itself can be dated in the seventh century B.C. at the latest (on
account of the weapons and ornaments showing archaic animal style);
the stag-stele had already been broken and was treated carelessly, so
it must be considerably older, and the style of decoration as well.
Moreover, the tribes united here into a confederation certainly had an
independent "prehistory" allowing the formation of separate systems of
horse gear, meaning that mounted warriors already existed in Mongolia
before, say, the tenth or ninth centuries B.C. Terenozkin (1976) has
collected plausible arguments of an immigration of the Pontic
Scythians coming from the East. Kyzlasov (1977) thinks that their
ancestors were a Saka tribe living in east Kazakhstan. In any case we
now know that the mobilization of the population of the eastern
steppes and their transition to a life as mounted warriors began
earlier than was thought before. It is convincing that the impact of
the Hsien-yun was a consequence of this mobilization. On the other
hand, if the contact took place very early, then we can explain how
some stylistic patterns rooted in certain regions of China were
incorporated in the archaic Animal Style. Surely the curled animal
belongs to this East Asian heritage. Continuing East-West Interaction
The contacts between East and West which began here did not break off.
In this way Animal Style motifs of Near Eastern origin were mediated
to the Far East (Artamonov 1971a). In such as interply, tribes with
Europid features and Mongolids form a zone of manifold and competing
cultures belonging together in essential characteristic aspects. Such
cultures side by side are clearly to be seen in Tuva (Grac 1967;
1975). Western Mongolia was in the hands of Europid groups as far as
we know (Volkov 1974). Evidently the famous kurgans of the High Altai
(Rudenko 1953; 1970) were created by tribes who had their winter
grazing-grounds farther south on what is today Chinese territory. It
is not possible to demonstrate relations in great deal in this paper,
but two examples may be mentioned. First, in the Pazyryk *kurgan* no.
2, one of the horses had a kind of frontlet carved in horn andn
painted red and yellow (Jettmar 1964: pl. p. 91). It is clearly
derived from a metal prototype already attested during the Shang
Period. Second, perhaps due to Chinese influence, objects made of cast
iron were used in various areas of the steppes during a short period
during the fifth century B.C. (Jettmar 1970) Yueh-chih -- The Far
Eastern Heritage Perhaps many of the existing affinities are difficult
to understand, since sites of the Yueh-chih (for a while the most
important and most troublesome neighbors of the Chinese) have not as
yet been identified in their old eastern homelands (Maenchen-Helfen
1945; 1957). Soviet archaeology may be of some help to us here. In
Khalcajan, a dynastic sanctuary of the Kushans, a relief of high
artistic value displays a solemn act of alliance. The men of one of
the participating groups were characterized by Pugacenkova (1971) as
follows: /There is a marked, artificially inflicted deformation of the
skull, particularly noticeable in side-view: the occiput is flat, the
receding forehead bulges in a triangle over the bridge of the nose,
lending a rather stern look to the faces of the men, young and aged
alike. The faces are thin, the straight nose is not large. The dark
eyes of average size have no trace of epicanthus, but their corners
are outlined in black towards the temples; this, coupled with the high
cheek-bones, lends the faces a certain "Tartar" look. The specific
trimming of the black hair does not occur among other ancient peoples:
the hair, bound by a strap, rises over the forehead, is combed away
from the ears and clipped below them: the small arrow-shaped moustache
frames the upper lip: there are side-whiskers./ This group apparently
formed the light cavalry, without any armor, as seen on another
relief. The men of the second group have none of this "Tartar" look:
long mustaches fall over clipped pointed beards. When one of them is
depicted among the riders, he as well as his horse wears heavy armor.
A lance ias seen in the horseman's hand. Pugacenkova compared the
sculptured heads of the first group (evidently those who were in a
somewhat superior social position) with the face on the coins of
Heraos, who was of Yueh-chih origin and who is considered to be the
ancestor of the early Kushan kings. She thinks that fraternization
between the nomad invaders and the Bactrian nobility of Iranian origin
belonged to the political aims of Heraos, and that his success in this
respect is depicted here. In my opinion, the main scene could even
portray a double marriage which united a local dynasty with that of
Heraos. This would explain how the Bactrian language prevailed over
the idiom of the immigrants. In any case, it seems certain that the
traditional appearance of the Kushan nobility is splendidly presented
here. The representations of horsemen that can be seen in applique on
felt-canvas found in the Pazyryk *kurgan* no. 5 bear certain
similarities. The scene, may times repeated, shows a rder before a
goddess on a throne--a motif well known in Scythian contexts. The
fifth *kurgan* is of course much earlier than Khalcajan (fourth
century B.C.?), and the differences are considerable, but one sees the
black hair (without cap), the mustache (here twirled upward) and the
flying mantilla. The rider sits on a horse with crenelated mane
(Maenchen-Helfen 1957). A second motif decorating these canvases is
even more informative, as it shows the fight of a sphinx (with
antlers) against a fantastic bird. The outlines of the bodies are
traansformed into curvlinear designs with scrolls, which are very well
known from Chinese textiles of the Han period (cf. Lubo-Lesnicenko
1961). In spite of this, the decor was certainly not made by Chinese,
as the choice of material (felt) shows. Up above, the sphinx wears his
mustache in the same "national" fashion as the horseman before the
goddess. (Pugacenkova could not explain the fact that among the
noblemen of Heraos a sphinx was to be seen on the reliefs of
Khalcajan.) In her dissertation, Pause recognized that the allegedly
Chinese embroidery found in this *kurgan* (which formed a design of
double tendrils with twigs of flower-buds and birds) does not
correspond to Chinese prototypes of this period (see Lubo-Lesnicenko
1961, pl. XLIX). Similar observations could be made about the pictures
of swans (executed in felt) that decorated the canopy of the funeral
chariot, which had four wheels and was, according to Littauer (1977),
a variation on the Chinese model. All these elements, non-Chinese but
Chinese in appearance to one familiar with Animal Style, had been
known for quite some time. It is also remarkable that on a saddlecloth
in the same *kurgan* (and in the fighting scene between the sphinx and
the fantastic bird) the medallions with "Greek crosses," one of the
main simbols of the Cimmerians appear (Jettmar 1964: 112; Terenozkin
1976). But the consequence was not seen: The "local culture in the
Chinese periphery" (where the style originated) was that of the
Yueh-chih. Perhaps one of the pair buried in *kurgan* no. 5 belonged
to this people. I do not think them to be remnants of the legendary
proto-Indo-Europeans of Central Asia, but they may have been
relatively late immigrants, that is, the very element among the
Western barbarians who had wondered the farthest. Their flight to
Middle Asia after the victory of the Hsiung-nu was a sort of return.
Perhaps belt-plaques showing landscapes originated in the same milieu.
This would explain a Western element of the costume, the fez-like
wooden helmet with staff in order to bind up the pigtail of the woman,
which is also know from Pazyryk *kurgan* no. 5 (Artanomov 1971b;
Grjaznov 1961). But as plaques of this kind were found over a vast
area, such a thesis is difficult to prove. Many of these things found
over a vast area, such a thesis is difficult to prove. Many of these
things found from Shensi to as far as Liaoning in the East may have
been exports or booty (Cheng-Te-k'un 1963). Few objects decorated in
the Animal Style occur in assemblages found in northern Bactria. They
belong to the time when nomadic tribes settled there after the
conquest and combined local ceramics with weapons and implements they
had brought with them (Mandel'stam 1966; 1975a). The small ornaments
show intensive affinities to finds from Ch'en-pa-erh-hu-Ch'i, in the
region of Hailar near the border of Transbaikalia (KK 1965 [6]).
Perhaps one tribe of the Yueh-chih was displaced to the borders of
Transbaikalia during the great exodus of their Hsiung-nu overlords to
the north. THE HSIUNG-NU The Burials of T'ao-hung-pa-la T'ien
Kuang-chin (Kaogu Xuebao 1976 [1]) has assigned the burials of
T'ao-hung-pa-la (south of the region) where the dead lie with their
heads to the north and similar finds in the same region (e.g.,
Fan-chia-yao-Tzu, Holingol; WW 1959 [6]) to the Hsiung-nu. At the same
time he protested strongly against the tendency not to differentiate
the cultural groups in Manchuria, and against the merging of all
complexes of this kind into a universal "Scythian Culture," being
merely an unscientific device, useful only for the imperialistic
theories of aggressors. My impression is that T'ao-hung-pa-la may
really represent an early stage of Hsiung-nu-Culture. The predominance
of Western (from Altai and Tuva) and northern elements (from the Slab
Grave culture mentioned earlier) is striking, and may have produced
conditions where the Hsiung-nu were able to make the transition from
the tribe to state earlier than their neighbors in regions farther to
the east, such as the Hsien-pi. In addition, as is known from the
historical sources, the Hsiung-nu were strongly influenced by the
Yueh-chih, who lived at their southwestern borders. Embroideries on a
tapestry found in Noin-Ula but only preserved in fragments (Rudenko
1962/1969, pl LX-LXIX) show male heads similar to those of the Heraos
family. One recognizes horse gear, clothing, part of a weapon, all of
which belong to the same complex. Such embroideries were considered to
be imports from Bactria. On the other hand, the immense cemetery of
Hsi-ch'a-kou (comprising 500 burials, but only partly excavated) was
assigned to the Hsiung-nu (WW 1957 [I] and WW 1960 [8-9]). On the
basis of Chinese coins found there, the graves can be dated to a
rather short span during the first half of the first century B.C.
According to the prevailing opinion among Soviet scholars, the
Hsiung-nu had by then already transferred their main camps to the
lands north of the Gobi (Minjaev 1975). The question is whether the
ethnic identification is correct or not. The differences are indeed
essential, not only with regard to older Hsiung-nu monuments of the
region, but also in relation to finds belonging to relatively
well-known settlers in Transbaikalia (Konovalov 1975; 1976). Many of
the warriors from Hsi-ch'a-kou were buried with sword-blades of
Chinese manufacture, but some of them had hilts made according to
their own taste, perhaps strictly following the model of the previous
period. There are also affinities (cheekpieces with a knob at the end)
leading to toe complex whcih we assign to the Yueh-chih. But in any
case, neither weapons nor ornaments are identical to those found in
Transbaikalia. Alternatively, were the people of this burial site
barbarian allies of the Chinese, at whose disposal they placed
superior weapons? How can one explain this difference? Were the
warriors of Hsi-ch'a-kou members of a sort of task force much better
equipped than the steelers in Transbaikalia--and perhaps recruited
from various tribes? A comparison with the results of the export of
arms (as practiced by the modern superpowers) comes readily to mind.
In any case, the one-edged sword brought by the Huns to Europe may be
derived from Chinese blades, such as those found here (Werner 1956).
On Soviet territory west of China, finds were made that may have
belonged to garrisons of the Hsiung-nu. To these may be assigned
graves near Mount Bajdag in Tuva (Mandel'stam 1975b) and others in
Mongolia (Ulangom; see my German translation of Novgorodova et al.
1982). The Tastyk Culture As yet unvolved remains the puzzle of the
Tastyk Culture in the Minusinsk Basin. Kyzlasov (1960) explained the
apparent differences between Tastyk and the preceding Tagar Culture as
pertaining to the heritage of immigrants from northwesetern Mongolia
expelled by the Hsiung-nu at the beginning of the second century B.C.
But at least some of the newcomers much have previously settled in the
immediate borderlands of Han China. In the graves were found wooden
animal figures, imitating the well-known grave figures and ceremonial
umbrellas. The graphic art of the Tastyk people was perhaps imitating
the "narrative" Han reliefs (Grjaznov 1971). Summary Enormous
discoveries have been made in the field of East Asian archaeology in
recent years. It has been confirmed that a major group of hightly
active cultures existed there for a very long time, and that their
interaction gave rise to the Chinese civilization. Concertration on
these problems has meant that in the new edition of Kwang-chih Chang's
book the paragraphs dealing with the steppe peoples now seem very
conservative. But in fact there are too many new materials and
perceptions in this field. My bibligraphy of 1964, reprinted in 1967
(cf. Kwang-chih Chang 1977: 396) is out of date and does not deserve
further consideration. The rapidly expanding and ever-growing China
had not only to deal with its periphery as before (e.g. the Ti, cf.
Prusek 1971: 209-228), but also to interact with immigrants from the
"Far West". New syntheses cannot overlook this fact, which is
intimately connected with the question: Which waves of influence
brought Western culrual goods such as wheat and barley to East Asia?
The unexpected finds made in the soil of northern Afghanistan reveal
the lack of information on many parts of Inner Asia and the continuing
instability of our present state of knowledge. POSTSCRIPT When intense
studies backed by fresh radiocarbon and thermoluminescent dates
(Barnard 1975) indicated that the ancient civilizations of China--
growing up in different ecogeographical zones but united by frequent
interactions--had deep and strong roots in the local earth, many
competent scholars shared the tendency to consider China an almost
independent theater of culture. Communications with rival theaters
were not ruled out but were estimated to be rather unimportant during
crucial periods. This attitude became obvious at the most interesting
Conference on the Origins of Chinese Civilization, held at Berkeley,
26-30 June 1978, and in the resulting volume edited by Keightley
(1983). Due to the normal mode of scientific progress, after such a
peak of general agreement a backlash will sooner or later follow. The
tide must change, for only then shall we get a well-balanced result.
In fact the backlash, or let us say the necessary complement, came
almost immediately. This article was one of the conference papers not
included in Keightley's volume. (I myself propsed that Keightley
publish instead my review of a work by Krjukov, Sofronov, and
Ceboksarov [1978], which presents the Soviet approach to a closely
related problem--the origin of the Chinese people. In the meantime,
two more volumes of this kind have appeared [Krjukov, Majavin, and
Sofronov 1979 ; Krjukov, Perelomov, Sofronov, and Ceboksarov 1983].)
Today this paper seems almost prophetic, However, it remains for me to
point out certain aspects that are corroborated by new findings.
Evidence of Early Diffusion One of the essential ideas of my article
is that not the steppe belt itself but the areas such of it--northern
Afghanistan and parts of Soviet and Chinese Central Asia--have to be
studied to find evidence for migrations and early diffusion. This is
substantiated now by a considerable number of observations. The
Western scholar will find a most useful synopsis in the volume The
Bronze Age Civilization of Central Asia edited by Philip L. Kohl
(1981). Only one sentence from the introduction may be quoted (Kohl
1981: xxiii): / "Present evidence is far from conclusive but suggests
that food-producing cultures of the 'Middle Eastern type' may have
spread from southern Turkmenia to the borders of Xinjiang, China, as
early as the third millennium B.C. and may have provided the backdrop
for the exchange of materials, such as silk and metals, between two
major culture areas."/ (In fact, silk was found near Sapallitepa,
north of the river Oxus, in graves belonging to the second millennium
B.C.--Askarov 1977:726.). I am convined that it is only due to the
political situation that evidence is still "far from conclusive." 1.
Regular digging in northern Afghanistan came to an end, and many
promising sites and graveyards have since been plundered. (Jettmar
1981). 2. The site of Sarazm, situated on a flood terrace of the
Zeravshan River and evidently revealing something like a Bronze Age
metropolis, ought to be studied by means of large-scale excavations,
with specialists for related complexses joinging the team.
international coolaboration had been planned, but there is no hope
that is can be implemented in the near future. 3. Excavation of
prehistoric sites in the Tarim Basin would be most promising. The
material should be studied by specialists in Bronze Age civilizations
in order parts of Central Asia. Routes to the Far East must have
crossed this region. 4. Observations indicating metallurgical centers
of Western type in Gansu fit this picture, according to a short but
highly interesting article by S. Kuczera. He stated in his concolusion
that "some of those cultures are so close, chronologically and
geographically, to the early Chinese dynasties that it is necessary to
raise (and eventually resolve) the question of their mutual contacts
and the possible influence of the Gansu centre of metal-making on the
Shang-Yin civilisation. The most general conclusion that can be drawn
from everything discussed above is that the correct understanding of
the early periods of human history in the middle reaches of the Huanhe
River, on the one hand, and Central Asia (outside China), on the
other, is hadly possible without the knowledge and study of Gansu
material" (Kuczera 1982:66) W.T. Chase (1983:106) mentioned that some
of the "contenders for the earliest Chinese metal objects" were
produced not only by casting but also by additional
hammering-definitely a Western trait. Moreover we are told: "There is
something about all of these finds, and especially those from Gansu,
that reminds us of the hoards and grave goods found on the steppes of
central Asia. In fact, some of the later Gansu material has a definite
stylistic affinity to central Asian decorative bosses and belt
plaques. The shapes of the early knives, especially that from the
Majiayao Culture (3000 B.C.), are very close to the Shang knives found
at Anyang which show Siberian influence, and the Gansu macehead is
closely paralleled by stone maceheads from South Russian and the
Caucasus, suggesting a central Asian affinity." (cf. Jettmar 1980.)
The Importance of the Okunev Culture In the northern fringes of the
steppe belt, I stressed the extreme importance of the Okunev Culture
which had on the one hand connections with the Far East and, on the
other, definite links with the south of Central Asia. Meanwhile I
discovered a group of petroglyphs in the Indus Valley, near Chilas,
that is connected with the engravings of the Okunev Culture by the
main motifs and stylistic peculiarities. In addition to one report on
my findings (Jettmar 1982: 298-302), others are forthcoming. It is not
improbable that during the third and early second millemmia B.C. there
were relations over thousands of kilometers, perhaps due to migrations
of cattle-keeping Early Nomads. Other connections leading in the same
direction were observed by Stacul (1977:251-252) and the Allchins
(1982:111-116). The Karasuk Culture For the time that saw the
emergence of the warlike Northern Nomads, the Karasuk period, Huttel
took up my hint that a restudy of the development of the bridling
system in China from Shang to Chou would be most rewarding. His paper
(1979) comes to exactly the same conclusions as I expressed at the
Berkeley conference. No comments are needed on the later parts of my
study. The discovery of a royal necropolis in northern Afghanistan
(Sarianidi 1983) representing a dynasty rivaling the preimperial
Kushans is of extreme importance. But these rulers were perhaps Saka,
not Yueh-chih. Other Soviet studies are more pertinent to the problem
I dealt with, but their discussion would need a separate article.
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