Volume 3 Number 2 December 2005 “The Bridge between Eastern and Western Cultures” In This Issue From the Editor • The International Dunhuang Project As my e-mail inbox keeps excavation co-sponsored by the • Economic and Social Roots reminding me, technology has Silkroad Foundation and the of Buddhism dramatically altered the pos- Mongolian National University and • Byzantine Solidi in China sibilities for meaningful interaction in independent study of petroglyph with those who share an interest sites in the Mongolian Altai, the • Silk Road or Paper Road? in the Silk Road. My cor- application of advanced tech- • East Meets West under the respondents range from middle nologies is uneven. Even where Mongols school students doing History Day they are available, the techniques projects and filmmakers and many not be able to answer some • Two Travelers in Yazd editors needing information for of the basic questions we pose • Kyrgyz Healing Practices documentaries or articles to about such key issues as scholars whose expertise on the chronology. And in too many cases Next Issue languages and history of the Silk still, the lack of access to advanced A special focus on Mongolia, Road far exceeds anything I would techniques for analysis or pre- including: dare to claim for myself. The mere servation of material may be a real • Nicola di Cosmo on early fact that their inquiries come my constraint on the amount of nomads way and from all over the world is information which can be learned • Esther Jacobson on a tribute to the Internet, which has from an excavation. petroglyphs become for many the first choice for information. Is there anyone In any event, the promise of • Guolong Lai on Han mirrors in today with a computer and technology is great, although I Xiongnu graves Internet connection who does not hesitate to say unlimited, since I • articles on the summer 2005 use Google as a reference tool? A am somewhat pessimistic about Arkhangai excavation name on a web page may identify humans being able to devise plus an “authority” whose brain can be technological solutions to all the Ulf Jaeger on the Francke-Körber problems they create. It is also Collection of Khotan antiquities in picked with a few keystrokes. Of course as a teacher, I have to keep undoubtedly the case that for Munich, many aspects of the historical and more…. reminding my students to be critical in their assessment of record, we will never figure out how to fill the gaps, however much About online sources and about the fact information produced with old- the application of new technology The Silk Road is a semi-annual fashioned technology (e.g., ink on may provide us with information publication of the Silkroad Founda- paper) is far from obsolete. and understanding we previously tion. The Silk Road can also be lacked. viewed online at <http://www. In previous issues of The Silk silkroadfoundation.org>. Road, articles have on occasion Certainly one of the most highlighted how technology is promising benefits of the Please feel free to contact us with transforming the study of evidence techological revolution is that any questions or contributions. regarding the early history of described in our lead article by Guidelines for contributors may be interactions across Eurasia. In Susan Whitfield, the Director of the found in Vol. 2, No. 1 (June 2004) on the website. particular we have seen how new International Dunhuang Project techniques of analyzing archae- (IDP) at the British Library. Most The Silkroad Foundation ological material have advanced of our readers are undoubtedly P.O. Box 2275 our understanding of material aware of the project and may have Saratoga, CA. 95070 evidence and how innovative visited its web site. Her article mapping of sites can help us to highlights the huge accom- Editor: Daniel C. Waugh understand their context and plishments to date as well as the [email protected] relationship to sites in other ambitious plans for its future. Here © 2005 Silkroad Foundation regions. That said, as I learned already is a superb research tool © 2005 by authors of individual from my experience in Mongolia for serious scholars around the articles and holders of copyright, as this summer both on the Xiongnu world as well as a source of specified, to individual images. information for the generally through the centuries. Prof. practices offers new evidence curious. An example of the use of Bloom’s article and the comple- about the intersection between the material may be found in this mentary one by Prof. Sheila Blair traditional practices and Islam. And issue in Connie Chin’s article on on cultural exchange under the Frank Harold’s article on Yazd patronage of Buddhism along the Mongols were originally delivered evokes the culture of one of the Silk Road: the IDP website as lectures in the lecture series co- important cities on the historic Silk provided the images of the sponsored by the Center for East Roads in Western Asia. Readers documents from which she did Asian Studies at Stanford and the will recall Frank and Ruth Harold’s some of her translations. Silkroad Foundation. Professors photographs from Palmyra, which The fact that the IDP is making Bloom and Blair are distinguished illustrated our article on that available resources scattered in the experts on Islamic art whose books famous caravan city. The Harolds museums and libraries of several I highly recommend. The Foun- have also contributed generously countries and doing so in a number dation has broadened its from their photo archive to Silk of languages is extremely im- sponsorship of public lectures by Road Seattle. portant. To develop the basis for such distinguished scholars to Looking ahead, we anticipate such cooperation and find the include several universities; we that the June 2006 issue will be funding is in itself little short of plan to publish many of the devoted primarily to the miraculous. Those of us who are lectures in future issues of our archaeology and culture of early engaged in more modest Internet journal. eurasian nomads, especially in projects generally do not have the The other contributions to this Mongolia. Included will be resources to provide such access issue are quite varied. Professor Lin information on the excavations at to audiences whose languages are Ying summarizes her earlier the Tamir River site last summer. different from our own; what we published work on the very In anticipation of our spring issue, can accomplish is generally interesting phenomenon of readers may wish to visit the constricted by our individual Byzantine coins and their excavation website. schedules and knowledge. The IDP imitations in China and suggests is an undertaking which also is new ideas as to how the coins may Daniel Waugh beginning to contribute in a major have been understood there. Jipar Department of History way to the ability of educators to Duyshembiyeva’s account of some University of Washington (Seattle) transform their curricula by of her field work on Kyrgyz healing [email protected] incorporating meaningful material on the history and culture of Eurasia. I am particularly struck by its undertaking to provide curriculum materials for Chinese schools in Gansu. If the historic Silk Road is all about cultural sharing Arkhangai Excavations across human and geographic http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/excavation/arkhangai/index.htm boundaries, then the IDP is in itself a kind of modern Silk Road which A four-week excavation and study program near the Tamir River in transcends boundaries and in fact Arkhangai Province, Mongolia, was co-sponsored by the Silkroad reaches much farther than the Foundation and the Mongolian National University in July and August historic Silk Road ever did. As Dr. 2005. The large team included professional archaeologists from Whitfield’s article reminds readers, Mongolia, China and the United States, Mongolian graduate students the continuing success of IDP is and undergraduates specializing in archaeology, and volunteers primarily contingent on its funding. I would from the U.S., some of whom were acquiring their first experience in recommend to all our readers that archaeology. The institute was highly successful as a learning experience they consider “sponsoring a sutra” for all involved and for its concrete accomplishments in archaeological to help support the processing of survey and the excavation of a Xiongnu settlement site and graveyard. the material. A web site, elegantly designed by Fredrich Kahrl and Wendy Tao, Among the other contributions participants in the excavation, introduces the results of the Arkhangai to this issue, Jonathan Bloom’s Province excavation The web site includes descriptive essays, maps, reminds us of the importance of photographs, annotated bibliography and much more. Material will be the early technology transfer along added to the web site over the coming months as analysis of the results what, as he argues, might better of the excavation become available. be called the “Paper Road,” given the significance of the use of paper for human communication down 2 The International Dunhuang Background As Buddhism spread along the Silk Project: Chinese Central Asia Road from India into China at the beginning of the first millennium, Online monks and merchants adopted the Indian practice of paying for cave Susan Whitfield temples to be dug out from cliffs British Library, as an act of merit. These caves London were then painted from floor to ceiling with scenes from Buddha’s life and depictions from the sutras, Despite the excellent work of 80% of the material from and further adorned with statue scholars over the past century, the Dunhuang and a large part of the groupings showing Buddha with his archaeological legacy of the material from other archaeological disciples and guardians kings.