International Conference
Archaeology of the Southern Taklamakan: Hedin and Stein’s Legacy and New Explorations
IDP, The British Library and SOAS
8th-10th November, 2012
Organised with the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology 新疆文物考古研究所
Supported by:
Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange
Sino-British Fellowship Trust
Arts & Humanities Research Council
This conference took place as part of Asian Art in London 2012.
The opening event, keynote lecture and reception were held at SOAS on the evening of November 8th.
About
Download conference information
Schedule of papers
Abstracts and Downloads (blog post)
About
Over the past three decades there have been systematic archaeological excavations of sites belonging to the ancient kingdoms of Khotan in the western Taklamakan and Kroraina in the eastern Taklamakan and Lop Desert, in modern-day western China. These have been carried out by Chinese archaeologists, some in conjunction with Japanese and French teams.
The exploration of these kingdoms, however, began much earlier. Early in the 20th century Sven Hedin and Aurel Stein uncovered significant archaeological remains and archives and brought the importance of these cultures to the attention of an international scholarly public. The materials they excavated are now in various collections in Europe and worldwide, and their influence on modern understanding of Central Asian history and society is without parallel.
The conference set the sites in context by looking at the historical geography and environment, the transmitted and excavated historical records, and archaeological archives in China and Europe. It brought together an interdisciplinary group of scholars, including field archaeologists from the Sino-Japanese and Sino-French excavations of recent decades, archivists, curators and historians working on the Hedin and Stein collections, and historical geographers, art historians, and historians from universities with a strong research record in this area. This was the first conference on this topic.
Conference information
Conference Report
Author: Daniel C. Waugh,
University of Washington (Seattle)
Schedule of Papers:
Session 1
The Tarim Basin: Geographical Context | 塔里木盆地：地理环境
Chair: Lukas Nickel (Dept. of History of Art and Archaeology, SOAS)
Tim Williams (Institute of Archaeology, University College, London)
Mapping the Southern Taklamakan
“南塔克拉玛干测绘”
Philippe Forêt (School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of St Gallen)
‘An Interesting Geographical Change’: Hedin, Stein and Huntington’s Surveys of Climate Change
“‘一个有趣的地理变化’：赫定、斯坦因和亨廷顿的气候变化调查”
Session 2
The Tarim Basin: Early Interactions | 塔里木盆地：相互作用
Chair: Mike Heffernan (University of Nottingham)
Michael Frachetti (Washington University in St. Louis)
Ancient Pastoralism High and Low: Mountain nomads and their link with desert economies of Inner Asia
“古代畜牧业的高地与低地：山地游牧民族和他们与亚洲内陆沙漠经济的联系”
Henri-Paul Francfort and Corinne Debaine Francfort (Le Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Paris)
Some aspects of early ornamental and figurative arts in Xinjiang: ancient discoveries and new researches
“关于新疆早期装饰和图形艺术的一些观点：古老的发现和新的研究”
Armin Selbitschka (Munich University)
From Western Asian Glass Beakers to Chinese Silk Robes: Telling evidence retrieved from burials along the Southern rim of the Taklamakan desert
“从西亚的玻璃杯到中国的丝袍：讲诉从沿塔克拉玛干南缘墓葬中检测到的证据”
Session 3
Xiaohe | 小河遗址
Chair: Julian Henderson (University of Nottingham)
Idris Abdurusul (Honorary Director, Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology)
Latest Developments in Multidisciplinary Research on Xiaohe Culture
“小河文化及其多学科研究的最新进展”
Håkan Wahlquist (Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm)
Folke Bergman and the Discovery of Xiaohe
“福尔克·贝格曼和小河遗址的发现”
Leo Aoi Hosoya (Department of Literature, Kyoto University)
Rise and Fall of Arid Area Life – A case study of Xiaohe Tomb site (1,600-1,000BC), Xinjiang
“干旱区生命的荣衰——以新疆小河墓地遗址(1600-1000BC)为例”
Session 4
Khotan and Kroraina I | 于阗和楼兰/鄯善 （一）
Chair: Professor Naomi Standen (University of Birmingham)
Arnaud Bertrand (École Pratique Des Hautes Études, Paris)
Water Management in Jingjue 精絕 Kingdom: The Transfer of a Water Tank System from Gandhara to southern Xinjiang in the Third and Fourth Centuries C.E.
“精绝王朝的水利管理：蓄水池系统从犍陀罗时期到公元三、四世纪南新疆时期的转变”
Stefan Baums (University of Munich)
The Kharoṣṭhī Documents from Niya and Their Contribution to Gāndhārī Studies
“从尼雅得到的佉卢文文献和它们对的犍陀罗语研究的贡献”
Session 5
Khotan and Kroraina II | 于阗和楼兰/鄯善 （二）
Chair: Imre Galambos (Cambridge University)
Valerie Hansen (Yale University)
Kroraina and Khotan in Historic Records and Excavated Documents
“历史记载和出土资料中的楼兰和于阗”
Puay-Peng Ho (Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Form and Meaning: Architecture of the Buddhist kingdoms around the Taklamakan desert between 4th-7th centuries
“形式和意义：4-7世纪间塔克拉玛干沙漠边缘佛教王国的建筑”
Kojima Yasutaka (Chair, Academic Research Organisation for Niya, Bukkyo University)
Sino-Japanese Research at Niya and Dandan-Oiliq: An Overview
“在尼雅和丹丹乌里克的中日研究: 概述”
Session 6
Khotan and Kroraina III | 于阗和楼兰/鄯善 （三）
Chair: Ursula Sims-Williams (The British Library)
Joe Cribb (British Museum)
Chinese and Indian influences on Khotanese money, 1st-2nd century AD
“中国和印度对公元1-2世纪于阗货币的影响”
Oktor Skjærvø and Wen Xin (Harvard University)
The 7th/8th-century Khotanese Legal Documents
“七至八世纪的于阗法律文件”
Helen Wang (British Museum)
Money in the Southern Taklamakan
“南塔克拉玛干的货币”
Session 7
Documentation | 记录工作
Helen Persson (Victoria & Albert Museum)
Digitising Stein Textiles
“数字斯坦因织物”
John Falconer (IDP, The British Library)
New Photography and Video Resources from Recent Field Trips
“最近实地考察的新影像资源”
Susan Whitfield and Vic Swift (IDP, The British Library)
IDP: Providing a Holistic Resource
“国际敦煌项目：提供全面的资源”