Tuesday 7 February 2012

Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan

Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan 
by Sören Stark, Zainolla Samashev, Karen S. Rubinson and Jennifer Y. Chi 
Hardcover: 240 pages 
Publisher: Princeton University Press (6 Mar 2012) 
Language English 
ISBN-10: 0691154805

 The catalog for the groundbreaking exhibition at New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, Nomads and Networks presents an unparalleled overview of the sophisticated ancient nomadic culture of Kazakhstan. Contrary to the perception that Central Asia's nomadic societies were less developed than sedentary ones and randomly roamed over the steppes, this catalog argues that the nomadic peoples of Kazakhstan followed a systematic cycle of movement based on established economic and societal needs, and that pastoralism, or herding of domesticated animals, played an integral role. Focusing on sixth to first century BC material from the Altai and Tianshan regions, Nomads and Networks explores how the reliance on animals is reflected in the material culture, which represented all types of creatures, from the domestic to the mythic. Materials featured for the first time include saddles and saddle covers, and grave goods from the burial mounds in the Berel valley. Other objects, such as gold mortuary ornaments from Shilikty and Kargali, attest to influences from foreign cultures--most notably China and Persia. Contributors include: Alisher Akishev, Nursan Alimbaev, Nikolai Bokovenko, Claudia Chang, Bryan Hanks, Sarynbai Murgabaev, and Abdesh Toleubaev.

About the Author Sren Stark is assistant professor of Central Asian Art and Archaeology at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. Zainolla Samashev is a senior researcher at the A. Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Kazakhstan. Karen S. Rubinson is a research associate at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. Jennifer Y. Chi is exhibitions director and chief curator at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World..

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