Abstract
The paper explores seasonal movements of Bronze Age mobile pastoralists in the western Tianshan mountainous region of Xinjiang, China. Fieldwork by a team from the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS) and the University of Sydney, Australia have identified cyclical land use practices associated with the Andronovo cultural complex. Their pattern of seasonal movements has been reconstructed through ethnographic studies and analysis of modern snow and grass cover. Using this detailed combination of data, the study defines requirements for seasonal pastures–winter, summer and spring/autumn–and shows a clear correlation between modern land use and seasonal patterns of movement in the Bronze Age.
Highlights
IntroductionThe main economic strategy has been transhumant pastoralism, taking advantage of the extreme ranges of altitude and the rich seasonal grassland pastures
Western Xinjiang is a land of mountains where the narrow ridge of the Tianshan is split in two by the Yili River
We argue that the choice of seasonal encampments is, and was in the Bronze Age, governed by very specific ecological and environmental constraints which limit the influence of cultural differences to a degree that modern ethnographic data may be used to construct hypotheses about Bronze Age seasonal patterns of movement
Summary
The main economic strategy has been transhumant pastoralism, taking advantage of the extreme ranges of altitude and the rich seasonal grassland pastures. This is still the case today where Kazakhs and Mongols, who have historically migrated into this region, herd sheep, goat, cattle and horses in a round of seasonal movement. This lifestyle can be traced back in various forms to the Bronze Age when the first herders moved into the western Tianshan from the Eurasian steppe
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