The Early Medieval Necropolis at Pap in the Ferghana Valley: Republic of Uzbekistan

Abstract

This paper has provided a preliminary survey of some of the affiliations of the Ferghana Valley during the early medieval period on the basis of various aspects of material culture found at Pap. Three levels of contact have been defined. Local level contacts are understood on the basis of unique and rare aspects of the material culture. Funerary vaults, reed coffins, fish vertebrae necklaces and the use of iron for mirrors and bracelets are otherwise unknown in the early medieval Ferghana Valley. Furthermore, the reed coffins and fish vertebrae necklaces are to date unique to Central Asia and provide a valuable window on the life and death of the inhabitants of early medieval Ferghana. This is critical to understanding the development of local traits of a culture. On a regional level, the use of pit and podboi graves, reed matting and a sand support underneath individual burials, wicker baskets and wooden vessels are all indicative of other regions in the Ferghana Valley. This perspective facilitates understanding of nomad-sedentary interactions in the immediate vicinity of the Valley itself and the surrounding regions, in particular to the north and north west - with the Djetti-assur and Chach. Finally, it is possible to explore the trans-regional relations of the site on the basis of the presence of foreign goods. Some of the beads and the cowrie shells attest to the influence of broad scale exchange. Important questions remain regarding the acquisition of such goods. Did these goods follow the path of the main trade routes and from these find their way to Pap? Or were they bought into the region by means of nomadic intermediaries, following their own migration paths? How did towns such as Pap fit into the broader Eurasian exchange system? The role of the Syr Darya in trade and transportation must also be taken into account, as should that of the more localised migration routes in the region. The main links associated with the material culture of Pap appear to be the Djettiassur culture of the eastern Aral Sea and Chach. While grave goods from Pap indicate a wide circle of contact, the overriding area of contact appears to be regional, with strong localising tendencies.