Turquoise Mining and Exchange in Ancient Central Asia: Preliminary Results from the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan

Title: Turquoise Mining and Exchange in Ancient Central Asia: Preliminary Results from the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan
From northern China and Mongolia to the Black Sea region, turquoise was the dominant gemstone in the ornamentation of communities occupying the central and northern regions of Eurasia in the first millennium BCE and the first centuries CE. In Central Asia, turquoise became the main blue-coloured gem used through the Achaemenid, Greco-Bactrian, and Kushan periods, particularly in the form of small beads or inlays (c.f. Tillya Tepe). Despite its clear importance in the imagination and ornamentation of Central Asian communities, focused archaeological research of turquoise stones is not numerous and has only rarely deviated from mineralogical and geochemical considerations. Countering this tendency, this poster outlines the goals and preliminary results of on-going doctoral dissertation that hopes to contribute to a better understanding of the socio-economic aspects of turquoise mining and exchange in ancient Central Asia.
The present study centers on the important yet under-studied turquoise mines of the Kyzylkum desert in modern Uzbekistan and explores two interrelated questions. The first focuses on the modus operandi of turquoise procurement in the Kyzylkum and its dissemination into surrounding regions. This includes the identity of actors involved in these various processes, as well as the role of turquoise and its companion industries in the context of larger desert economic systems (e.g., metal resource extraction). Secondly, this project highlights the leading role of turquoise among other gemstones in ancient Eurasian exchange networks, especially in relation to the formation of elite languages of prestige in the centuries around our common era. Fundamentally, these various queries hope to enrich our inadequate understanding about the economy of ancient Central Asia and the role of nomadic and semi-nomadic communities within it.

Poster Presentation

Hello everyone, I'm thrilled to be here in person and see so many familiar faces once again.
So, this poster outlines the main goals and preliminary results of my doctoral research project. This focuses on the extraction and exchange of turquoise stones in Ancient Central Asia.

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  Here, I employ the term "ancient" somewhat vaguely to refer to the first few centuries before and after our common era.
  
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  My focus on Central Asia is centered on the Kyzylkum desert in modern day Uzbekistan, particularly the inner parts of the desert. It is here that the largest turquoise mining complexes of Central Asia are located.
  

The poster is divided into four sections:
The first offers a brief introduction concerning the significance and main goals of the project. The significance, I believe, rests on the potential of a focused material-based approach to enquire about various social and economic issues that otherwise tend to studied from a regional or chronologically-bound perspective.
In the case of turquoise, in particular, it's impact on ancient communities can be studied on two main levels:

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  First, within a desert economic system focused on resource extraction (often complemented by other crafts / industries),
  
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  and at the symbolic and aesthetic level, as objects of exchange, gift giving, and prestige that contribute to the formation of various social networks.
  

More specifically, the main questions surrounding this research relate to the modus operandi, or functioning of these various processes. These include questions such as: what was the extent and intensity of mining activity, what were the companion industries of turquoise mining (copper, gold?), what was the identity and origin of miners? And expanding beyond the desert, how far do we find turquoise from the Kyzylkum, what was the directionally