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Bactrian Camels and Bactrian-Dromedary —. “Xinjiang at the turn of the century: the causes of separatism.” Central Asian Survey, 20/3 (2001): Bactrian Camels and Bactrian- 289-303. Dromedary Hybrids McMillen, Donald H. Chinese policy and power in Xinjiang, 1949-1977. Daniel Potts1 Boulder: Westview Press, 1979. University of Sydney Millward, James A. Violent Separatism in Xinjiang: A Critical Assessment. Policy Studies, No. 6. Washington, DC: East-West Center If the Silk Road may be described mental adaptations of C. Washington, 2004. as “the bridge between Eastern bactrianus (see below). and Western culures,” then the Sautman, Barry. “Is Xinjiang an Bactrian camel should rightfully The survival of C. ferus in Inner internal colony?” Inner Asia, 2/2 be considered the principal Asia was long suspected but no (2000): 239-71. means of locomotion across that firm evidence was available until N.M. Przewalski killed and Seymour, James D. “Xinjiang’s bridge. Yet there is a great deal of misinformation concerning the described several specimens in production and construction corps, 1873 (Camelus ferus Przewalski and the sinification of Eastern Bactrian camel and its relatives, Turkestan.” Inner Asia, 2/2 (2000): particularly in the ancient Near 1878 [?]). C. ferus has been 171-193. Eastern literature. This paper described as “relatively small, explores some of the problems lithe, and slender-legged, with Toops, Stanley. “Recent Uygur surrounding Camelus bactrianus very narrow feet and a body that Leaders In Xinjiang.” Central Asian and the little-known hybrids of looks laterally compressed” Survey, 11/2 (1992): 77-99. 2 the Bactrian with the Arabian (Schaller 1998: 152). C. ferus dromedary (Camelus drome- has “low, pointed, cone-shaped White, Lynn T., III. “The Road to humps - usually about half the Urumchi: Approved Institutions in darius). Search of Attainable Goals during size of those of the domestic Zoologists nowadays tends to camel in fair condition” (Bannikov Pre-1968 Rustication from favor the idea that Camelus Shanghai.” China Quarterly, 79 1976: 398). Representations of bactrianus and dromedarius are (1979): 481-511. camels in the rock art of descendants of two different sub- Palaeolithic caves in eastern Zhao, Yueyao. “Pivot or Periphery? species of Camelus ferus (Peters Mongolia, such as Chojt-Zenker Xinjiang’s Regional Development.” and von den Driesch 1997: 652), Cave, show what are believed to Asian Ethnicity, 2/2 (2001): 197- and modern research suggests be C. ferus (Peters and von den 224. that the original habitat of the Driesch 1997: 653, 661).3 (Fig. 1) wild, two-humped camel ex- About the Author C. ferus were still hunted in the tended from the great bend of medieval era in the Khotan, From 2003-2005 Nathan Light the Yellow River in northwestern Turfan, Tarim, Lob and Katak was Visting Assistant Professor China through Mongolia to regions of Inner Asia, and in in the Department of Sociology central Kazakhstan (Schaller Mongolia (Roux 1959-60: 50-51), and Anthropology at the 1998: 154; Nowak 1999: 1078; while 18th-century Chinese University of Toledo (Ohio, USA). Bannikov 1976: 399) generally at His Indiana University Ph.D. elevations of 1500-2000 m. dissertation, “Slippery Paths: The above sea-level. Although some Performance and Canonization of scholars have suggested the Turkic Literature and Uyghur original habitat of C. ferus may Muqam Song in Islam and have extended as far west as the Modernity,” is available online at Caspian Sea, this is unlikely. If his extensive website focussing this were true, we should expect on Uyghurs and Kazakhs <http:/ to find C. ferus faunal remains at /www.utoledo. edu/homepages/ prehistoric and early historic sites nlight/mainpage.htm>. He is around the Caspian, but this is currently working on a book, not the case. Moreover, to tentatively titled From Stone suggest that the natural distribution areas of the wild Inscriptions to Sufi Classicism: An Copyright © Daniel C. Waugh 2004 Interpretive History of Eastern two-humped camel extended so Turkic Literature. He may be far to the west flies in the face of Fig. 1. Pre-historic cave image of contacted at nlight@UTNet. everything that is known about camel. Display in National Museum UToledo.Edu. the physiology and environ- of Mongolian History, Ulaan Baatar. 49 records attest to the presence of camel, but he seems to have we are dealing with a “sloping wild camels on the northern and been responsible for introducing chronology,” i.e. a progression western edges of the Chinese a term into the literature which from earlier finds in the east empire (Lehmann 1891: 99). should never have been applied towards later finds in the west. Small numbers are present in the to a mammal that was almost The principal difficulty that arises region to this day (Heptner, certainly domesticated outside of in verifying this hypothesis is the Nasimovic and Bannikov 1966: the region with which it is relative paucity of well-studied 85-94; Bannikov 1976; Schaller popularly associated. and dated faunal assemblages 1998: 151-162). from sites within the range of C. Pure-bred Bactrians stand ferus. Camelid faunal remains are The wild range of C. ferus, in 1.5-2.4 m high to the top of the said to have been found (Olsen all likelihood, extended only as humps and are normally 1.68- 1988: 21)5 at Neolithic sites near far west as central Kazakhstan. 1.63 m long, with a mean weight Baotou (Inner Mongolia) and This is significant for a number of of 460 kgs (Epstein 1969: 118). Lake Barkhol (northeast reasons but first and foremost They have been known to carry Xinjiang), and although it is not because this means that the loads of 220-270 kgs some 30- certain that these are C. natural distribution of the wild, 40 kms daily, or 80-100 kms if bactrianus as opposed to C. ferus, two-humped progenitor of what pulling a loaded cart (Walz 1954: they were certainly two-humped. we know as the domesticated 4 56). Bactrian camels, which can The likelihood that these were Bactrian camel would not have live to be 35-40 years old, are domestic Bactrians is considered included Bactria (northern generally put to work at the age strong given that the locales Afghanistan/southern of four and can expect to have would have been difficult to reach Uzbekistan) at all. How, then, to 20-25 years of productive work without the use of the camel explain the name “Bactrian” (Epstein 1969: 120). They are at (Peters and von den Driesch given to the domesticated two- their best in the dry cold of the 1997: 661). As Lehmann wrote humped camel? winter and spring months in in 1891 (p. 141; my translation): Inner Asia, when their thick coats The term “Bactrian” was first “Without the camel neither the provided them with ample applied to two-humped camels icy steppes of Western Siberia warmth. Able to withstand by Aristotle, who wrote of “the nor the inner Asian plains were extremes of heat and cold, two species of camel, Bactrian inhabitable; they would have Bactrians prefer temperatures and Arabian” (Historia Animalium remained until today an below 21° C but are capable of 2.1 [498b9]) and noted that “The insurmountable obstacle to tolerating a 70°-broad range Bactrian camel differs from the communication and would have between winter lows and Arabian in having two humps as made a nomadic existence summer highs (Manefield and against the latter’s one” (Historia impossible.” Tinson 2000: 38). Consistent Animalium 2.1 [499a15-17]). heat, however, is intolerable for By the middle of the fourth Some scholars have suggested Bactrians and the caravans which millennium BCE C. bactrianus was that the name “Bactrian” became once set out from China probably present in southern associated with the two-humped westwards across the Gobi Turkmenistan. This being the camel because camel-breeding desert always travelled in winter case, and assuming a more or developed in Bactria after initial (Walz 1954: 55-56). Bactrians less continuous distribution of C. domestication in eastern Iran have been known to function at bactrianus from central and/or southern Turkmenistan altitudes of up to 4000 m. above Kazakhstan to the west, the (Schuegraf and Terbuyken 2001: sea level, e.g. in the Pamirs animal was probably already 1225), but, as indicated above, (Gauthier-Pilters and Dagg 1981: present in Bactria by this time as this is not supported by the 6 6). After a long journey they were well. Other sites on the faunal evidence and it seems typically rested for 1-2 weeks and southern (Iranian) side of the more likely that the Bactrian were pastured for the summer Kopet Dagh, however, do not camel was introduced into Bactria months on the steppe, where show evidence of C. bactrianus at proper from further east, not the 7 they built up their fat reserves this early date. More Turkmenian south (eastern Iran/Seistan) or again in anticipation of further evidence of C. bactrianus dates to the west (Turkmenistan). Thus, caravan crossings the following the first half of the third like many commodities one can winter (Walz 1954: 56). millennium BCE. This includes think of — Brussels sprouts or terracotta models of wheeled India ink — C. bactrianus would The precise chronology of the carts drawn by Bactrian camels seem to be a misnomer. We have gradual westward spread of the found at Altyn-depe in contexts no idea where Aristotle got the Bactrian camel is difficult to dating to the Namazga IV period designation “Bactrian” for the determine, but the available (Kohl 1992: 186) as well as domesticated, two-humped evidence nonetheless suggests faunal remains from Shor-depe, 50 Chong-depe and Hapuz-depe bringing Bactrian camels to the bactrianus is attested archae- (Compagnoni and Tosi 1978: imperial capital, and a Bactrian ologically outside the presumed Table 3).
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