Paul Wordsworth: Pathways, Pastoralism, and Power

Описание: The publication of Moving in the Margins: Desert Travel and Power in Medieval Central Asia was intended as a case study to demonstrate some of the complexity inherent in the ways people navigated Central Asian landscapes in the past. Summarised simply, such a detailed view of travel and movement highlights how erroneous a model of timeless trans-continental Silk Road trade really is, and the degree to which historical Eurasian connections relied on highly dynamic and volatile small-scale networks. Critiques of Silk Roads/Routes are by now very common, and recent efforts to communicate Central Asian history and archaeology across the long first millennium CE have taken a more nuanced and enlightened view, the recent British Museum exhibition being an excellent case in point. The question remains, however, in terms of research, how do we reconcile the popular (and lucrative) Silk Road narrative and the need to better understand real connections of past peoples in the region? Beyond individual case study regions and periods, how can we move towards a more comprehensive appreciation of the link between economic, political, and cultural impact of trade at multiple scales?

This brief talk presents some of the issues which arose through the study of the archaeology of the Karakum Desert, Turkmenistan, in the preparation of Moving in the Margins. Reviewing the multiple strands of evidence covered in the volume: architecture, material culture, and landscapes, it is possible to scope out alternative views of pathways and routes to those canonised through texts and tradition. In doing so I hope to set an agenda for future research into historical connectivity, arguing for the importance of investigating the changing roles of connected communities through time.