Шкатулки бронзового века: экзотические импорты, подражания-скевоморфы и локальное производство от Центральной Азии до Шумера

Innermost Asia. Detailed Report of Explorations in Central Asia, Kan-su and Eastern Iran, carried out and described under the orders of H.M. Indian Government by SirAurel Stein, K.C.I.E., Indian Archaeological Survey. Vol. I, text, pp. xxxix, 1–547; Vol. II, text, pp. xii, 549–1159; Vol. Ill, plates and plans, pp. xi, plates cxxxvii, plans 59; Vol. IV, maps. Oxford, at the Clarendon Press, 1928. - Volume 61 Issue 4

Shahnama Studies III offers new insights into the reception of the Shahnama or Book of Kings, composed by the Persian poet Firdausi in the 10th-11th century in eastern Iran.

The article introduces an assemblage from a child burial discovered in the central Gydan Peninsula, Tazovsky District, YamalNenets Autonomous Okrug. Little is known about the archaeological past of Arctic Western Siberia, and these fi nds are relevant to the study of the medieval period of that area. Medieval burials were studied only in the adjacent peninsula of Yamal. The discovery of the burial is described in detail. It was exposed owing to soil eolation. Artifacts were redeposited, and virtually the entire skeleton was missing. In a lump of soil stuck to the metal bowl, a few bone fragments and hair was found. Their analysis suggests that the individual was an infant aged 1–3. The assemblage includes an imported bronze bowl, a bronze haft of a knife, a scabbard, and a silver earring. The bowl, made of tin bronze, was apparently manufactured in eastern Iran or Central Asia in the 10th or 11th century. The haft and the scabbard, judging by the type and technology, belonged to a category of artifacts that were common in the Lower Ob basin, the southern Yamal, and the Ural in the late fi rst and early second millennia. On the basis of the results of X-ray fl uorescence analysis, we assess the chemical composition of the metal of which all those artifacts are made. The decorated fragment of a clay vessel is attributed to the Tiutey-Sale variant (800–1300 AD) of the Lower Ob culture. The totality of indicators suggests a date between 900 and 1100 AD. We conclude that the tundra areas of the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas were colonized by migrants from the northern taiga zone of Western Siberia.

The spread of Islam in modern Kyrgyzstan and the neighboring regions of Semirechye is associated with the era of the Qarakhanid state, while a new ethnic community, a new socio-economic structure and a new type of spiritual culture were being formed there. Rather than the ineffective use of force applied by armies, missionaries played a greater role in converting the nomadic Turkic tribes to Islam. The article examines the process of Islamization in Eastern Kyrgyzstan of the Qarakhanid period on the basis of a comparative analysis of materials from epigraphic tombstones with data from written sources. A special attention is paid to the texts of newly discovered epitaphs in the Issyk-Kul Valley during archaeological and archaeographic expeditions. It has been verified that the tombstones are mainly devoted to Sufi sheikhs, who were devotees of Islam in Eastern Kyrgyzstan during the analyzed period. Some epitaphs were placed in honor of individual representatives of the local nobility, who patronized Sufi sheikhs from western Central Asia and eastern Iran. As the nisbas of the memoranda of individual epitaphs demonstrate, along with immigrants from Iran, members of Turkic tribes with a good education in religious centers of Central Asia and Iran made a certain contribution to the spread of Islam in Eastern Kyrgyzstan. A detailed analysis of the epitaph texts found in the Issyk-Kul Valley shows the rivalry of the Hanafi madhhab with the Shafi’i madhhab in the context of the militarypolitical battles that took place between the Qarakhanids and the Seljukids. A recently discovered Muslim epitaph from the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, among other things, contains cross-shaped clan tamgas, which shows that these epitaphs belong to those tribes which confessed the Christianity religion in the pre-Islamic period. A peculiarity of these epigraphic monuments is the excessive praise of the deceased who were not religious figures during their lifetime, but only held a high public post. These monuments do not contain Koranic texts, but praise their deeds in secular life, which is characteristic of the ancient Turkic monuments erected in honor of major statesmen with runic texts. It seems that in this case we are talking about representatives of the local political elite, who patronized Sufi sheikhs of the Shafi’i or Hanafi madhhab in their missionary activities among the Qarakhanid population during their lifetime. The nisbas of some Sufi sheikhs and ordinary Sunni Muslims mentioned in the epigraphic monuments of Semirechye indicate their descent. It should be noted that, although some monuments were written in Arabic script, the content of the texts traces the cultural continuity between the ancient Turkic traditions and Islam. This is manifested in the dating of some texts in accordance with the ancient Turkic calendar, in the use of the name of the ancient Turkic deity, Tengri, instead of Allah, and in the mention of Qut for God-given legitimacy.

The new materials and the new calibrated radiocarbon dates significantly amend the understanding of many processes that took place during the Bronze Age both in Central Asia and far outside of it. Materials of the Early Tulkhar Necropolis (South Tajikistan) are often used to prove active contacts between the steppe livestock-farming Andornovo people and the settled crop-farming Central Asia people. Andronovo influences in the first place are found in the cremated burials of this necropolis. E.E. Kuzmina considers these burials archaeological evidence of her hypothesis about the Andronovo people (Indo-Aryans) migrating across Central Asia (Bishkent culture) to the North-West Pakistan (Swat culture) and North India. The new materials and the new calibrated radiocarbon dates recently appeared. They prevent relating the Andronovo people and the cremated burials in the Early Tulkhar Necropolis. The South Urals Fedorovo culture stands out with cremated burials and dates back to 1742–1451 calBC according to the latest data. The Tulkhar cremated burials appeared a lot earlier, namely no later than in the early 3rd millennium BC. The new dates also throw a shadow of doubt over the Andronovo people participating in establishment of the Bishkent culture in Central Asia, in migration of the Bishkent culture southward and its contribution to Swat culture in the North-West Pakistan. Probably, the process went otherwise. The author believes that the cremated burials in the Early Tulkhar Necropolis can be associated with particular small groups of people moving from Balochistan (Kulli culture) or the North-West Pakistan (Swat culture). The new dates change the perspective of the process that used to be considered the result of the Andronovo culture influence of the Bronze Age livestock-farming and crop-farming cultures in Central Asia. Cremated burials in the Sapalli culture necropolises in Central Asia (Bustan VI, Djarkutan 4a) should not be directly associated with the impact or contribution of the Andronovo Fedorovo people. Furthermore, as a matter of a fact, particular groups of Andronovo people regularly entered Central Asia throughout the entire Andornovo culture period. This allows to assume that Central Asia is exactly the place to reveal the origin of the Andronovo cremation rite.

This article explores the evolution of Hanafi legal theory in Central Asia, with a comparative analysis of contemporary Uzbek Islamic legal thought and the classical Transoxanian Usul al-Fiqh tradition. The study investigates how historical developments and socio-political transformations have influenced the interpretation and application of Hanafi principles in modern Uzbekistan. Drawing from textual analysis of classical Usul al-Fiqh manuscripts, contemporary legal documents, and interviews with Islamic scholars in Uzbekistan, this research situates modern Uzbek Islamic jurisprudence within its historical and regional context. The findings highlight key continuities and divergences in the methodologies employed by contemporary Uzbek jurists compared to their classical Transoxanian predecessors. These include shifts in prioritizing textual over rationalist interpretations, the role of state authority in shaping legal discourse, and the increasing incorporation of public policy considerations within Islamic legal reasoning. The study also examines how these changes reflect broader trends in Islamic legal reform across post-Soviet Central Asia. This article concludes that while contemporary Uzbek Islamic legal thought retains a foundational connection to classical Hanafi principles, it represents a localized adaptation influenced by modern challenges, including legal pluralism and state interventions. The analysis underscores the importance of understanding historical and cultural contexts in shaping Islamic legal traditions. It contributes to broader discussions on the dynamic interplay between classical jurisprudence and modernity in Muslim societies.

The study of educational policy borrowing occupies a prominent place in comparative education research. From early comparative studies when ‘gentlemen traveled extensively and wrote about differences between nations’ (Kelly 1992: 14), to recent comparative research on globalisation, the fascination with reforms that have been transplanted from one cultural context to another has remained constant. To some extent, educational borrowing implies isolating education from its political, economic and cultural contexts. Therefore, numerous warnings have been articulated about policy borrowing, whether wholesale, selective or eclectic. This chapter deals with a policy that went global and with a considerable delay landed in Central Asia. The programme under scrutiny is neoliberalism, particularly the policy of outcomes-based education (OBE) and its emphasis on data-driven, evidence-based accountability in the education systems in the three countries under review – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.

The concept of national-oriented translation as a part of the cultural translation theory becomes most relevant during the translation of fiction books into languages where the native speakers’ cultural context is far from what is narrated in the text of the translated work. The problem may be even more complicated if the language of the translated work is not the language of the described culture. This problem is exemplified by the Chinese translation of V. G. Yan’s novel “Genghis Khan”, which was written in Russian and depicts the complexity of socio-cultural processes in Central Asia during the 13th century. The description of the most important elements of material culture presented in the novel reflects the diversity of the material culture of the peoples of Central Asia. The article analyzes typical errors and inaccuracies in the translation of concepts that denote objects of material culture of Central Asian peoples. The authors attempt to identify the causes of translation errors: translator errors that arose due to differences in the semantic systems of the Russian and Chinese languages, as well as errors related to cultural differences between the peoples of Central Asia and China. The methodological basis of the research is Yuri Naida’s concept of dynamic equivalence as well as the principles of functional equivalence of the original and translated texts proposed by L. K. Latyshev. The source of material for the comparative analysis is the translation of the novel “Genghis Khan” into Chinese by Chen Hongfa. As a result of the analysis of errors and generalization of theoretical provisions, the authors propose three translation principles in order to avoid errors in the translation of names for objects of material culture, namely: the principles of “Double definition”, “Semantic correspondence” and “Addition of translation by explaining the connotative meaning of the word”. Adherence to these principles will allow translators to bring the translated text closer to the original text in both functional and communicative as well as semantic and structural ways.

The article examines the principal instruments the European Union «soft power» in the Central Asian countries, also their role in advancing European values and in shaping and strengthening relations with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. The legal basis for the inception of cooperation between the European Union and the states of the region is the «Strategy for a New Partnership» adopted in 2007, which was lated updated in 2019. Partnership was further strengthened after the signing of a joint declaration following the «European Union-Central Asia» summit in 2025. In the current geopolitical environment, the EU’s interest in the region is driven by the growing strategic importance of the Central Asian states. The EU’s distinctive feature is its exclusive reliance on «soft power» to foster relationships. The principal instruments include humanitarian cooperation, cultural diplomacy, educational programs, support for civil society institutions, and the advancement of democratic values. The effectiveness of the tools has been assessed with results including students’ exchanges, the expansion of civil society and educational reform. This evaluation highlights the potential of «soft power» to develop long-term partnerships, support reforms in the region, and form a positive image of Europe. The research emphasizes the constraints faced by the European Union, including geopolitical rivalry from Russia, China and other actors, differences in cultural and political contexts, also limited resources for large-scale program implementation. Accordingly, the analysis has been carried out on the limitations to the EU’s «soft power» in Central Asia, which reduce the impact of European initiatives. The research stresses the necessity for a more flexible and adaptive approach that accounts for the specificities and priorities of the region’s countries. This approach would enable the EU to establish sustainable ties aligned with regional interests. In conclusion, it is emphasized that the effectiveness of soft power application depends on the EU’s strategically attitude in Central Asia. The article examines the most important instruments of European union soft power in Central Asian countries, such as humanitarian cooperation, cultural diplomacy, educational programs, support for civil society institutions and the promotion of democratic values. The European Union’s interest in this region is driven by the growing strategic importance of Central Asian countries in the current geopolitical environment. The effectiveness of these instruments in these countries has been assessed, resulting in student exchanges, the growth of civil society and education reforms. The analysis of the limitations of the EU’s soft power in Central Asian countries has been conducted.

Excavation of a late 2nd–1st millennium BC necropolis of semi-subterranean collective graves at Abraq 2 in Umm al-Quwain, U.A.E., unearthed a remarkable collection of artifacts, including a distinctive domed stamp seal. This discovery sheds light on cultural exchange and the adoption of artistic motifs in Southeast Arabia. The seal’s morphology and iconography display elements associated with the Dilmun culture, centered in Bahrain during the late 3rd and first half of the 2nd millennium BC. However, the date indicated by its archaeological context and certain deviations from established canons of Dilmun glyptic suggest a more nuanced interpretation, with the possibility of a local reinterpretation. This new finding contributes to our understanding of Dilmunite influences in the region and adds to a growing corpus of Dilmun-related seals.

“The Silk Road Economic Belt” and “the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road” initiative aims at promoting regulated flow of economic factors, allocating resources efficiently, integrating markets, and developing a broader, higher, and deeper level of regional interaction to create an open, inclusive, balanced, and widely beneficial regional economic cooperation framework. Comprehensive and objective assessment and research on investment-climate geopolitical strategy of the countries in the “Belt and Road” zone would help improve security and stability of China’s foreign economic and trade exchanges along with its political and economic influence. Based on Delphi technique, the investment environment evaluation system of the “Belt and Road” countries has been developed and used to comprehensively analyze social and economic development, traffic infrastructure, informatization, resources, and political and security environment, all of which are the important conditions for investment environment of the “Belt and Road” countries. The results show that Russia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Central Asia, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, and Hungary represent the attractive investment areas. Eastern Europe, India, and Iran represent the key investment areas. Based on the analysis, investment strategy steps for the “Belt and Road” countries have been formulated. We hope our research can provide the scientific foundation for decision-making in China in relation to the “Belt and Road” foreign investment strategy.

Limiting global warming to 1.5°C requires a large-scale removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The oceans have been proposed as one possible storage option, however, not without environmental consequences. Adverse impacts on ecosystems are expected to increase in the amount of carbon stored. The question arises whether the removed carbon should be stored in a small area, e.g. a bay, or spread out across the oceans. We study this question in an analytic model with two types of ocean boxes, characterised by their carbon content. Storing a lot of carbon in the small box (a bay) may cause the local ecosystem to cross a tipping point, whereas spreading out in the large box (the rest of the ocean) may avoid this, while still causing ecosystem damages. The model gives rise to two different steady state solutions. A “destroy” steady state, where the tipping point in the small ocean box has been crossed, and a “diffuse” steady state without destruction. We analytically and numerically study the optimal amount of carbon stored, and the optimal distribution of carbon sequestration across the two boxes.

The subject of the study is an archaeological discovery of the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC), a gold plaque-falar from the village of Shakhtakhty, Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The article provides a historical-typological and semantic-semiotic analysis of this piece of horse equipment made in a complex jewelry technique from thin gold foil with solar-zoomorphic symbols. The given structural-semantic analysis of its individual solar elements - circles, concentric circles, and a pictorial composition in the shape of four sheep's heads arranged swastically. In the celestial signs-codes of the golden falar, it seems possible to detect the worship of the sun, the cult of gold, nature, totems and ancestors, which is extremely closely associated with it. Celestial semantics is viewed through the paradigm of mythological and cosmogonic ideas of the population of a given cultural and historical area. The golden falar was found in a horse burial, which reflects the local traditions of their veneration. The sacralization of the horse occurred with the help of special ceremonies with its inherent symbols. The horse cult was widespread in the civilizations of many nations of the Caucasus, East and Central Asia, testifies to the emergence and consolidation of cultural innovations during the intensification of migration in this cultural and historical area. This historical resource – a jewelry item of the Bronze Age and rich funerary gifts combined with a ritual horse burial allows us to conclude about the appearance of early civilizations on the territory of Azerbaijan, as well as the emergence of a class of society, the development of jewelry craft and interaction and mutual enrichment of cultures during this period

Footnotes for this article begin on page 28. Introduction It is now more than ten years since Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of mainland China. Hong Kong was and is particular in its multiple identities as a British colony, a Chinese territory, and a global city; yet its heterogeneity is increasingly typical of the twenty-first-century urban experience. Consideration of design in the global context in relation to Hong Kong raises a number of issues. The most obvious and potentially the most interesting is the complexity of Hong Kong design's emerging and simultaneous relationship with at least two cultural contexts. One is the international culture of globalization and global products (which has underpinned Hong Kong's economy), and the other the local culture of Hong Kong itself and that of greater China and Asia which, given Hong Kong's colonial history, takes a distinct form. Yet to speak of a bifurcation of cultures (the old cliche of East meets West) is too simplistic and essentialist to address Hong Kong and its recent history. While internationally the dominant mode of universal global and design culture is still predominantly Western (and largely American), it has become more nuanced as Asia has become more influential as the world hub of manufacturing; and as locally and regionally inspired design from Asia penetrates international markets. Also, globally, new configurations are replacing the former dominance of the national. We can, for example, distinguish Catalan from Spanish design (see, for example, Viviana Narotzky's paper, page 62) and, of course, Scandinavian design successfully applies as a way of identifying a wide range of design qualities and values, where reference to the component nations would not. We also know that major global brands are highly complex by virtue of their production, consumption, and design. If, at this point in history, these brands still serve to represent the international dominance of Western culture and lifestyle, the design and conception of products themselves are beginning to shift closer to the manufacturing centers in Asia.

Suicide is considered to be a conscious and intentional act that is carried out within a social and cultural context. This study examines the unique phenomenon of a cluster of suicide attempts conducted without perceived intent, ideation, plan, volition, or agency in a remote province in Central Asia. This study investigated the lived experiences of individuals who made such unintended suicide attempts and examined the differences between these experiences and those of individuals who made their suicide attempt with intent and agency. The authors conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative data originally collected for a prior grounded theory study. The present study examined a specific and unique set of participant experiences related to suicide attempts made without agency. Results found that instances of suicide attempts made without perceived intent by participants included themes of impulsivity, not knowing what happened, feeling out of control, attributing these experiences to the supernatural, and being fearful of such events occurring again. Clinical practice may need to be adapted to address experiences of such unique suicide attempt experiences. In addition, further research is warranted to understand and examine the phenomenon of suicide attempts carried out without perceived intent, ideation, plan, volition, or agency.