Ussr military Topographic map

“AGE OF 
TURQUOISE”?
Selected samples from Tazkaszgan (Tamdytau), Djaman Kaskyr 
(Bukantau), and some samples collected in Karamanzar (Ilak) were 
analyzed (n=32). The XRF analysis followed the same procedures 
outlined in a recent article published by 
Carò, Schorsch, Smieska, 
and Santarelli 
(Bruker Artax/unfiltered Rh radiation at 50 kV, 600 
μA, 1 mm collimator, 60 seconds live-time acquisition in a helium 
atmosphere). Iron, copper, and zinc were used to characterize the 
turquoise specimens and presented as ratios of the measured X-ray 
intensities of each characteristic element X-ray lines (CuKα/ZnKα 
and CuKα/FeKα).
Overall, Iranian reference specimens (
blue area
) are characterized 
by higher Cu/Zn ratios and lower Cu/Fe ratios than the Egyptian 
reference samples (
yellow area
). XRF analysis of the newly collected 
geological specimens from Kyzylkum suggests that these turquoise 
stones can be clearly distinguished from Iranian and Egyptian stones 
because of their low Cu/Zn and low Cu/Fe ratios (
pink area
). The 
newly calculated ratios overlap the compositional fields occupied by 
some objects of Central Asian provenance which do not match any 
of the Iranian or Egyptian artifacts included in the existing database, 
implying that these probably originated in the Kyzylkum.
Resulting from the rising development of a 
widespread academic interest in Central 
Asia, the study of the so-called “Silk 
Roads” has only recently become part of mainstream 
archaeological research. Even so, questions regarding 
the functioning and provisioning of these exchange 
networks require a multidisciplinary methodology that 
rarely focuses on a single topic. The vast distribution of 
turquoise objects speaks of intense contacts along these 
routes and illustrates larger patterns of socioeconomic 
behavior, thus presenting an exceptional opportunity 
to deepen our understanding of these processes in 
regions and periods where historical accounts are 
either inexistent or insufficient, such as Central Asia in 
the centuries around our common era.
FINAL
REMARKS 
Plaque |China
3rd-1st BCE
Belt Plaque | S. Siberia
4th-2nd BCE
Diadem | Kargali 
2nd BCE-1st CE 
Pendant | Tillya Tepe 
1st CE
Necklace | Taxila 
1st CE 
Dagger | Dachi 
1st CE 
 
KYZYLKUM
Belt adornment with an eagle 
and its prey | ca. 1st-2nd CE 
Iran (?) | Met (17.190.2055)