african |
also more or less the way of life of the san living off a fauna that has not. Changed in the area since the middle of the late pleistocene epoch many, of the paintings depict, a peaceful existence others perhaps from the th. Century onward reveal the pressures created by incoming bantu and europeans with scenes of cattle raiding. And subsequent fighting between groups which are recognizable by, their stature dress and weapons the paintings are, in three main styles monochrome bichrome and polychrome the last, style has a restricted distribution in the southeast of southern africa an area to which, the eastern san were confined by incoming. Bantu in the early th century yet works in this style are the finest achievements of the art showing foreshortening and, carefully composed groups, ostrich eggshells engraved with linear patterns. Are the only recent graphic art form produced by the san who discontinued rock painting and rock engraving during the th century prehistoric auction cultures paleolithic cultures the earliest artifacts discovered in central asia were found in siberia and western turkistan and are from about the th millennium bc during the millennia that followed migrants, entered the region from various directions regardless of the. Geographic obstacles, they encountered as a result some of their artifacts correspond with those produced at a similar stage of development in more western areas some finds from the northeastern part of what was formerly soviet turkistan for example are related to certain objects made in, and mesopotamia and those from northwestern central asia are linked to eastern and central europe by means of the volga river and of kazakstan the paleolithic old stone age sites. Of western turkistan are mainly concentrated in the lake baikal area a cave in the baysuntau range. Containing, the body of a neanderthal boy aged about nine had been so carefully prepared that it is evident that the people who, made his grave believed in an afterlife. The site of malta miles, kilometres to the southeast of irkutsk and that of buret miles kilometres to the north. Are noted for their. Mammoth tusk figurines of nude women they resemble paleolithic statuettes from europe and the middle east and probably served as fertility symbols or as representations of the great goddess whose cult was widespread some of these figurines, depict elegant slender women others heavy corpulent ones of five found at buret one is unusual in that it is of a clothed woman wearing a one piece trouser suit with a hood attached to it comp le to those still worn by present day eskimos in recent, years paleolithic sites have. Been discovered south of samarkand and rock paintings have been found at zaraut say zaraut stream in the babatag range. Miles east of termiz and in the shakty caves in the pamirs executed in red ochre they depict hunting scenes those in the shakty cave are, the older and. Include a man disguised as a bird and other men wearing skins and shooting at wild oxen with bows and arrows the invention, of the bow is ascribed to the th millennium bc the mesolithic period, middle stone age artistic development during, this period is attested by a pottery fragment of a most expressive woman's face dating from the. Rd millennium bc and recovered from the site of vosnessenovka in western siberia neolithic and metal age cultures. Many neolithic new stone age sites were, discovered in what was formerly soviet, central asia and the number of bronze age sites is even, higher. The majority were found on the middle reaches of the yenisey river. Especially, in the minusinsk basin where metallurgy developed early they testify to the existence of. Three main basically successive yet often overlapping cultures the afanasyevskaya andronovo and karasuk so called after the villages near which. Each culture was identified a. Cemetery to the southwest of krasnoyarsk on the slopes of the afanasyevskaya mountains contained burials dating from the nd millennium bc the earlier ones were flat and marked by stone circles symbolizing the sun god the later ones took the form of barrows or large mounds, of earth but were also encircled by similar stone slabs the earlier graves contained elongated spherical pottery vessels with pointed bases decorated, with herringbone patterns in the later graves this type of ware was superseded, by flat bottomed pots usually associated with sedentary pastoralist cultures the graves also contained numerous stone and. Bone objects although copper objects were rare they heralded the, dawn of a new cultural period the metal age the andronovo culture succeeded the afanasyevskaya in the nd and st millennia bc although found to the southwest of krasnoyarsk it is more frequently encountered in western siberia and kazakstan the settlement and, cemetery of alekseevskoe present tenlyk some miles kilometres south of yekaterinburg, formerly sverdlovsk is especially important because its earth houses were designed for permanent habitation their roofs rested on logs and each dwelling had a central hearth used for heating purposes with side. Hearths intended for cooking bronze objects were numerous and workshops existed for working copper the metal probably came from mines in the, minusinsk! Basin kazakstan and the western altai mountains the latter having been worked as early as the th century bc dating from about to about bc—the dawn. Of the iron and historical age—the karasuk culture was located in the minusinsk basin on the yenisey river and on the upper reaches of the ob river its creators must have been in touch with east asia for certain bronze objects notably elbow shaped knives are related to those used between the, th and th centuries bc in china during the shang period stone pillars topped either with ram's heads stylized animal forms or, human figures have also been discovered dzheytun northwest of ashgabat ashkhabad in the kyzylkum desert is the oldest known, agricultural settlement in central asia it possessed a thriving neolithic flint industry annau six miles kilometres southeast of ashgabat and namazga tepe situated in the same, region and occupying an area of some, acres hectares are important bronze age sites the pottery vessels recovered from namazga tepe are decorated with painted plant and animal motifs showing affinities with contemporary pottery wares from the middle east figurines of dogs and. Sheep were numerous and a model of a house has also been found at karatepe also near ashgabat an agricultural society produced fine pottery from the rd millennium bc but it reached its fullest development in the nd millennium bc in a series of, vessels decorated with particularly spirited animal designs the main neolithic and bronze age cultures produced several distinctive offshoots which began to emerge by the early iron age in chorasmia the neolithic culture discovered at dzhan, bas kala is known as the kelteminar and that of the bronze age as represented by the chorasmian level of kokcha iii as the tazabagyab the neolithic hissar culture of southern tajikistan spread across northeastern central asia into the semirechiye or. Foothills of the tien shan while in siberia the bronze age karasuk culture was replaced in the th century bc by the tagar culture the latter endured until the nd century. Bc producing an art of animal motifs related to that of the scythians of southern european. Russia, the bronze age culture on fergana's western border is associated with settlers living in large. Houses grouped to form settlements of considerable size some of the? Inhabitants, worked in copper mines at the time when potters of the chust bronze age culture of, the fergana valley. Were producing fine quality tableware as well as cruder pottery articles the best chust pottery was very thin covered with a, red slip liquid clay and decorated after glazing with black triangular and scroll designs nomadic cultures during the st millennium bc and the st centuries of the christian era certain nomadic tribes affected the course of central asia's artistic history cyrus ii. The great the ancient persian king who founded the achaemenian empire was killed by! The nomadic massagetai. When campaigning in eastern in bc at the time the śaka tribe was pasturing its herds in the pamirs central tien shan. And. In the. Amu darya delta, their gold belt buckles jewelry and harness decorations display sheep griffins and other animal designs that are? Similar in style to those used by the scythians a nomadic people living in the kuban basin of the caucasus region and the western section of the eurasian plain during the greater part of the st millennium bc when considered together with objects of a like nature recovered from the frozen burial. Sites of the western altai, mountains it becomes evident that. Many of the central asian tribesmen commonly shared the traditions and culture that were once associated only with the scythians altaic tribes because of a freak climatic freeze some. Of the altaic burials notably those of the th century bc at pazyryk and neighbouring sites such as katanda shibe and tuekt were isolated from external climatic variations, by a protective layer of ice that conserved the organic substances buried in them at pazyryk these included the. Bodies of horses and an embalmed man whose body was covered with tattoos of scythian animal motifs the remarkable textiles recovered from the pazyryk burials include the, oldest woollen knotted pile carpet known the oldest embroidered chinese silk and two pieces of woven persian fabric. State hermitage museum st petersburg red and ochre predominate in the carpet the main design of which is of riders stags and griffins many of the pazyryk felt hangings saddlecloths and cushions were covered with elaborate designs executed in appliqué. Feltwork dyed furs and embroidery of exceptional interest are those with animal and human figural compositions the most notable of which are the repeat design of an investiture scene on a felt hanging and that of a semihuman semibird creature. On another both in the state hermitage museum st, petersburg clothing whether of felt leather or fur was also lavishly ornamented horse reins either had animal designs cut out on them or were studded with wooden ones covered in gold foil their tail sheaths were ornamented as were their headpieces and breastpieces some horses. Were provided with leather or. Felt. Masks made to resemble, animals with stag antlers or rams' horns often incorporated in them many of the trappings took the form of iron bronze and gilt wood animal motifs either. Applied or suspended from them and bits had animal shaped terminal ornaments altaic animals frequently display muscles delineated with dot and comma markings a formal convention that may have derived from appliqué needlework although such markings are sometimes included, in assyrian achaemenian and even urartian animal painters visualrepresentations of the ancient middle east they seldom appear on those of purely scythian origin roundels containing a dot serve the same purpose on the stag and other animal renderings executed by contemporary śaka metalworkers animal processions of the assyro achaemenian type also appealed to many, central asian tribesmen and are featured in their arts, certain geometric designs and sun symbols such as the circle and rosette. Recur at pazyryk but are completely outnumbered by animal motifs such specifically scythian features as zoomorphic junctures—i, e the addition of a part of one animal to the body of another—are rarer in the altaic region than in southern russia the stag and its relatives however figure as prominently in. Altaic, as in scythian art, combat scenes between carnivores and herbivores that occur quite often in scythian art are exceedingly numerous in pazyryk work but whereas the scythians show the victim passively accepting its fate as on th century bc gold triangular plaques from the so called seven brothers burial, in the kuban the pazyryk beasts are locked in such bitter fights that the victim's hindquarters, become inverted siberian tribes in the virtually, contemporary metalwork of siberian nomads single animals of, the cat family such as panthers carry the altaic tendency of exaggeration further by twisting their bodies into a. Circle. In slightly later siberian plaques subtle openwork is used a feature rarely present in altaic or scythian objects but frequently encountered in the landscapes more rounded versions of the animal style, produced in the ordos region of china perhaps by hunnish craftsmen between the th century bc and the nd century ad in the latter part of the st millennium bc siberian metalworkers adorned many of, their gold and bronze plaques with artificial gems made of glass as well as with jewelled inlays they. Produced belt buckles shaped like the letter b two such, gold pieces state hermitage museum are of particular interest because of their figural. Content it has been suggested that they illustrate some ancient central asian epics for one depicts a hunting scene and the other a warrior lying under a tree, with his head resting on a woman's lap while a servant holds their two horses these subjects possible forerunners of certain episodes in the shāh, nāmeh book of kings a work by the th century persian poet ferdowsī, giving an account of ancient. Ian history are thought to complement those on a series of openwork plaques some of, them of ordos origin on which either two dismounted riders are shown fighting while their horses stand passively on either side or two horses are seen locked in battle pursuing their masters' quarrel state hermitage museum mongolian huns in the th century bc the huns started to migrate westward from the ordos region by the rd century bc they had reached the transbaikalia and had begun to enter mongolia which soon became the centre of their empire many, mounds mark their progress, those in the zidzha valley lie at the same latitude as the pazyryk mounds and were subjected to similar conditions of freezing, which helped preserve their contents the richest of, the, excavated burial sites however are those. Of noin ula to the north of ulaanbaatar on the. Selenge river like those at pazyryk they included horse burials the furnishings of one tomb were especially lavish, the prince, for whom it was made must have been in contact with china for his coffin was apparently made for him there as were some of his possessions buried with him e g. A lacquer cup inscribed with the name of its chinese maker, and dated september ad now in the state hermitage museum his horse trappings state hermitage museum are. As elaborately decorated as many of those found at pazyryk his saddle was covered with. Leather threaded with black and red wool clipped to resemble velvet the magnificent textiles in his tomb included a woven wool rug lined with thin leather state hermitage museum the centre of the rug depicts combat of scytho altaic character between a griffin and an elk executed in purple. Brown and white felt appliqué work the animals' bodies are outlined in cord and embroidered the design on another textile is embroidered in the form of. A tiger skin with a head at each end the animal's splayed out body is formed of black and white embroidered stripes other textiles are of greco bactrian and parthian origin in some of the parthian fragments central asian and sāsānian persian influences prevail over hellenistic ones tashtyk tribe on the yenisey river the bronze. Age tagar culture was replaced by the tashtyk culture dating from the st to the th century ad the, physical appearance of the tashtyk people has been preserved by a seriesof masks some of them modelled others cast from the dead they were painted with the, features rendered in blue red and green against a yellow ground spirals disposed on the foreheads temples and cheeks of many of these masks probably represent tattoos in many cases pearl necklaces worn by, the women are also included although the animal motifs of the tashtyks remained strongly scytho altaic in style. University of the the community was so much influenced by china that even its architecture was affected just south of abakan a large house. Made. Of beaten clay in the chinese style has been discovered its roof had been covered with chinese tiles some of which, carry inscriptions of the han. Dynasty, parthia the parthian empire came, into being in khorāsān during the reign of seleucus i – bc following the absorption by the parthians of parni dahae, tribesmen the caravans traversing. Their territory brought them wealth and ideas from abroad the figural art of the hellenistic world made. An especially strong impression on them, the finest parthian, objects come from old nisa a town situated on the edge of the karakoram range some miles kilometres south of ashkhabad in tajikistan close to the later town of new. Nisa old nisa was founded around bc by mithradates i to serve as a royal parthian, residence and necropolis as well as the kingdom's capital it contained, several fine temples and an impressive palace built around a vast central hall the roof of which was upheld by, wooden supports set in stone bases—a practice followed in the town's larger houses life size clay statues of men and women stood between these supports the royal treasuries contained many valuables including silver and silver gilt, statuettes of local parthian deities and of greek gods bronze and iron weapons burnished and painted. Pottery glass and cast bronze. Animals such as griffins the, most significant of these treasures however is a. Series of ivory horn, shaped drinking vessels or rhytons some are embellished with paste inlays and precious stones others. Have a carved, frieze or band encircling their open ends one rhyton state hermitage museum has a frieze of a procession that includes a greek god conceived. In the purest hellenistic style the frieze contrasts sharply with the rhyton's horned lion griffin shaped terminal ornamentation which is admirably modelled in the round in accordance with the scytho altaic tradition the kingdoms. Of western turkistan and afghanistan skill in irrigation with the resulting expansion in agriculture, encouraged urbanism and the growth of states changes that coincided with the rise of nomadism while the nomadic cattle and horse breeders took over the steppelands the culturally distinct states. Of sogdiana part of uzbekistan and much, of tajikistan fergana the greater part of uzbekistan chorasmia the tashkent region and bactria mainly afghanistan were established at times independent at other, times reduced to vassaldom the first three states were centred on rivers—sogdiana around the zeravshan and kashkadarya fergana on, the lower syr darya and chorasmia on the amu darya's basin the earliest references to, these states are to be found in the avesta the principal scriptural work of the zoroastrian religion and in the inscription cut by order of the persian king darius i reigned – bc on the face of the rock of bīsitūn in the kermanshah province of bactria extended from the syr darya to the hindu kush southern tajikistan and afghanistan and is rich in unexplored mounds excavations at balkh show that its first inhabitants settled there when others were doing so at afrasiab samarkand and merv the political and economic changes that developed in the th century bc following the macedonian, greek king alexander iii the great's conquest of these states and their, incorporation in the seleucid empire and the conquests made in turn by the parthians s turks and mongols are reflected, in the regions' arts the city of. Alexandria kapisu bagrām founded by alexander the great became the clearinghouse for india's western trade india's religious beliefs especially buddhism and the scriptural style that. Evolved in, gandhāra an area situated between the qondūz and indus rivers. In the lower kābul valley of northwestern pakistan and mathurā in the punjab region of northwestern india followed along the trade routes and reached not only bactria but also at, times kashmir tibet china and even the remote oasis towns of the tarim basin, in. Sinkiang at the same time seleucid support resulted in the introduction of greco roman art forms in bactria. Kapisu taxila rāwalpindi gandhāra mathurā and after years even into seistan sogdiana sogdiana with its capital, of afrasiab was already noted for the sophistication and number of its towns when alexander the great conquered it in bc and opened it up to greek soldiers and administrators and eventually to roman. Traders the sogdians resented being governed by alexander's successors the greek, kings of the seleucid dynasty it is difficult to establish their relationship with their seleucid suzerains and still more? So with the later kushans but there is ample. Evidence to show that neither group of conquerors hindered the rise in both sogdiana and chorasmia of a local feudal nobility and class of rich farmers a considerable amount of secular and religious pottery sculpture dating from the early christian era to the invasion of the th century has been found at afrasiab. The more interesting examples consist of statuettes of clothed women some of them representing zoroastrian deities such as anahita they have foreshortened. Bodies and large heads with a withdrawn expression on their faces and wear tiaras. Hats or hoods sewn to their cloaks when the cloaks are sleeveless they are worn over straight long sleeved robes! Instead of draped garments all the figures hold a piece of, fruit a symbol of fertility statuettes of the rd– th, centuries from the fortified town. Of tali barsu to the south of samarkand depict syavush the god of, annual death and spring rebirth as a musician statuettes of women flutists riders animals and the ian semihuman. Semianimal demigod shah gopat have. Also, been discovered there in the th and th centuries sculpture whether in clay or alabaster was highly developed at pendzhikent a site some miles kilometres east of samarkand where indian influence was often felt the earliest of turkistan's. Mural paintings have been found in its eastern section those at niy date from the nd century, ad those at m from the rd the inspiration for both. Stemmed from rome whereas buddhism provided the impulses for the? Slightly later murals at bāmiān and kizil in the eastern zone the paintings were, designed as backgrounds for sculpture and as in western turkistan they, were executed, in tempera some very high quality murals recently discovered in western turkistan are dated slightly later the oldest ones which are extremely fragmentary are from the varakhsha a princely residence to the northeast of bukhara now lying in the desert they date from the rd to the th century ad murals discovered at the beginning of the th century at samarkand which are almost contemporary with those at varakhsha! Have been lost the importance of these murals is wholly eclipsed by the slightly later works discovered recently in sogdiana such as the th century works |