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Long ignored as a cradle of civilization, Central Asia has become an exciting frontier of archaeological research. For centuries Western scholars dismissed nomadic steppe societies as barbarians--thorns in the side of Western Civilization. Today that Eurocentric view has been replaced by a cascade of archaeological evidence documenting the rise of nomadic societies, states, and empires that connected China to Europe and forever changed the world. Central to these developments are the lands surrounding the Altai Mountains, a frontier and crossroads whose remoteness and rugged terrain restricted archaeological inquiry. Birthplace of languages and human cultural and genetic diversity, Altaian lands and glacially scoured hillslopes sustained hunting and herding societies since the Ice Age. Its polished rocks carry 20,000 years of illustrated history that, when combined with the evidence of archaeology, present a fuller picture than can be told by each discipline separately. Together, these disciplines reveal thousands of years of tradition periodically interrupted by external intrusion.
Ritual Landscape presents a pioneering synthesis of the archaeology, rock art, and enduring traditions that sustained cultures on the Altaian frontier for thousands of years.
About the author
William W. Fitzhugh is Curator of Archaeology and Director of the Arctic Studies Center at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. His research centers on circumpolar archaeology, studies of northern culture history and art, culture contacts, and environmental change. Fieldwork has taken him to Scandinavia, Russia, Mongolia, Alaska, Labrador, and Greenland. At the Smithsonian, he produced exhibitions including Crossroads of Continents, Vikings, Ainu, and Narwhal. His Mongolian research began in 2001 seeking connections with ancient Eskimo culture through the study of Deer Stone art. His Altai work, presented here, explores links between rock art and archaeology among nomadic peoples.
