NYS Archaeological Association Presentation

Four Millennia of History in Two Central Asian Valleys: Archaeological Surveys on the South Side of Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

Presented by Claudia Chang & Perry A. Tourtellotte

"Our recent discoveries from field surveys on the south side of Lake Issyk-Kul, the second highest salt lake in the world, include Bronze Age settlements and graves, Iron Age settlements and burial mounds (kurgans), and Medieval Settlements. Our study area from 5000 to 7000 ft in elevation is along an Inner Asian Mountain Corridor, the proto- and actual Silk Routes between Central Asia and China. We have found earthen and stone burial mounds from the Iron Age and upland sites dating to the 1st millenium BCE, and Medieval Forts, caravanserais, and towns dating to 700 to 1300 CE. Perry Tourtellotte’s photographs illustrate the ancient and contemporary patterns of land use along the proto-Silk routes of the Inner Tian Shan Mountains."

This is a non-library sponsored event.