Papers by Katheryn Linduff
Early societies that began to use metals, and especially alloyed metals, have been assumed to exh... more Early societies that began to use metals, and especially alloyed metals, have been assumed to exhibit societal complexity. They are thought to appear in places where we can see increased social stratification accompanied by a coalescence of geographically extensive shared artifact inventories including ones of metal. In the case of the beginnings of metallurgy in China, for instance, its study has been particularistic and evolutionary, tied to traditional Chinese historiography and modern Marxist model of social development. This reasoning has lead to, not unsurprisingly, a contest over primacy of one 'culture' over another. Was it an indigenous affair, or was the technology introduced from outside of the Chinese sphere? Below, I argue that it is time to reconsider both the interconnectivity of groups and the transmission of metallurgical knowledge in order to shift emphasis away from ' cultural' interaction to sharing regionally within 'social fields'.
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Pastoralists today and in antiquity, such as those represented in this exhibit, visualized identi... more Pastoralists today and in antiquity, such as those represented in this exhibit, visualized identity through performance and behavior—through what they wore, carried and displayed on their bodies. The known remnants of these peoples’ lives from the Bronze and Iron Ages (second through the first millennia BCE) have been preserved primarily in burials, that is, within the solemn context of rituals commemorating life and death. Since the pastoralists did not record their thoughts in writing in this period, study of such materials gives us a rare opportunity to try to reconstruct some of their most highly valued attitudes or worldviews. In this essay, we will look at two times and places within the vast parameters of the exhibition “Nomad: Memory of the Future”: the northern borderlands of what is today China in the 12-10th centuries BCE, and the western and central steppe in the period of the middle of the first millennium BCE. Reasoning about the ritual function of these ancient artifacts has led us to suppositions about parallel belief systems and how these artifacts were used to memorialize lifestyle and societal organization.
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Sometime between six and four thousand years ago, human beings discovered that by riding on horse... more Sometime between six and four thousand years ago, human beings discovered that by riding on horseback they could travel at greater speeds and for longer distances than they could on foot. This discovery transformed the course of human history, enabling more efficient exploration and incursions into remote lands. Without such transport, and the ability to move goods, weapons and food, conquerors such as Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE) could never have made their conquests of Asia nor could the Xiongnu have successfully developed and held their empires together. It is assumed by many that the saddle was developed when chariot warfare was replaced by cavalry to conquer new territories, and probably first by the nomadic peoples of Eurasia. However, material evidence suggests that there was a delay of several centuries before the saddle had widespread usage in cavalry warfare and many armies, including the Assyrians, Persians, and Greeks, were highly successful without it. When and where the saddle was first devised has been debated for a long time, but recent information from excavations in western China may offer new insight into the issue.
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The excavation of three tombs (M 1 ~ 3) in the Majiayuan Cemetery in Zhangjiachuan County, Gansu ... more The excavation of three tombs (M 1 ~ 3) in the Majiayuan Cemetery in Zhangjiachuan County, Gansu Province dating from the Warring States Period (c. 3rd c. BCE) has attracted the attention of researchers because the tombs include many artifacts, such as luxuriously decorated chariots, that bear close resemblance in date, type, style and technology to materials recovered in eastern Eurasia, and more specifically those from sites such as at Issyk-Kul in southeastern Kazakhstan near the Tianshan mountains and at Berel in the Semirechiye region of northeastern Kazakhstan. In this paper the those models for the contents and disposition of the tombs in Gansu will be sorted out first and then the implications of the appearance of such materials will be explored in relation to their discovery in the borderlands of Zhou dynastic territory. That this communication during the pre-dynastic Qin period continued previously established exchange networks and eventually nourished the formation of the subsequent Han period Silk Road will be conjectured.
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Northern Frontier often include considerable numbers of weapons that are Eurasian in type and sty... more Northern Frontier often include considerable numbers of weapons that are Eurasian in type and style, or that combine Chinese and Eurasian features. Such artifacts: socketed battle-axes, arrowheads, and helmets are exotic to Chinese manufacture, whereas the socket yue (axe) and ge (dagger) combine elements from different prototypes. Some items were direct borrowings from Eurasian prototypes (socketed implements); others were probably invented in the Northern Zone of China at the borders between the steppe and the sown (mirrors, helmets); and yet others were typical of the Central Plain where the dynastic centers were located. The question to be asked about this material is why such exotic combat items were so important to the early Chinese dynastic leaders and their affiliates, including women, at burial and what they suggested about the maintenance of power both in this life as well as that after death.
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Antiquity, Vol 88, issue 339, Mar 2014
Spectacular objects may carry powerful messages about cultural affinities and legitimation. Such ... more Spectacular objects may carry powerful messages about cultural affinities and legitimation. Such is the case set out here for the Kargaly diadem, supposedly a headpiece, of gold and semi-precious stones buried in a pit on the southern edge of the steppe in the northern foothills of the Tianshan mountains some 2000 years ago. This was a period when the Han Empire of China was seeking to increase its hold over the western borderlands and it is in that context, and the fluctuating rivalries of local polities, that the Kargaly diadem is to be understood. Chinese iconography figures prominently on the diadem which may have been a diplomatic gift from the Han imperial court, but technological details suggest that it was produced within the western borderlands beyond China itself. The combination of Chinese and other elements testify to the fluidity of cultural interaction around the borders of the expanding Han Empire and the imitation and incorporation of symbols of power by contending local elites.
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SAA Archaeological Record, Volume 9, No. 3, , May 2009
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Empires and Diversity: On the Crossroads of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History, Gregory G. Indrisano (ed.), Jun 2013
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The renowned Russian archeologist and cultural researcher Elena Efimovna Kuz’mina (Kuzmina), died... more The renowned Russian archeologist and cultural researcher Elena Efimovna Kuz’mina (Kuzmina), died on October 17, 2013 at home in Moscow. Prof. Kuz’mina graduated from the History Faculty of the Moscow State University and continued in postgraduate studies directed by the prominent Indo-Iranian culture historian Mikhail M. Diakonoff, and the eminent archaeologist Mikhail P. Gryaznov. She conducted fieldwork in the Eurasian Steppe and directed site excavations in Southern Urals, Kazakhstan and elsewhere. She is credited with the discovery of approximately 100 sites and the excavation of more than 40 settlements and burial grounds of the Bronze Age of the Eurasian Steppe.
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Journal of East Asian Archaeology, Changchun, Jilin University, 2013
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Art, Ritual Ceremony, Religion: Material Culture and Spiritual Beliefs (藝術‧禮儀‧宗教:物質文化與精神信仰)(Chinese) Ancient Art and Primitive Worship, Artistica: Research Journal of Arts and Humanities, Inaugural Issue, 2010
Whether religious or secular, ritual is intrinsically fascinating. Ritual is an activity which wh... more Whether religious or secular, ritual is intrinsically fascinating. Ritual is an activity which when isolated from its context cannot be studied fully. It is defined by the society that practices it, and as such, needs to be studied in its proper social and material contexts.' But how does one do so when the rituals being studied are known primarily in burial remains of ancient societies? In China, for example, mortuary settings are the primary locus of findings for remains from the late prehistoric and early dynastic periods.
The ritualized context of burial can and has been seen as a mechanism for the shaping of beliefs, ideologies, and identities; or as a source of social power for those who participate in, control, or create them, thus revealing of a great deal about the given society and its dynamics. They can also be seen as a focal node of social networks, or as a means of illuminating the hopes and desires of a given society. Ritual and the materialization of belief has more recently been seen as an important and informative class of social action, or even as a social construction of the sacred.'
This paper will consider the material contents of tombs, especially in China, and propose ways to understand and explain them within this sort of ritualized context. Others have studied their placement and distribution in tombs as well as their visual countenance, and also have brought to bear non-archaeological evidence such as ethno-historical accounts and historical texts, although they are not straightforward accounts of historical events or beliefs. Moreover, the notion of continuity (of a motif, for instance) which has often been used to such an exaggerated extent that any pattern observed in the Neolithic layers that has even the slightest similarity to a motif from the dynastic periods will be questioned as insufficient to argue for the existence of a certain ritual or meaning in a later period.' With this appeal for the assessment of how we have dealt with the remains of ancient societies, I hope to recognize and propose ways to understand more fully the complexity of the treatment of the dead.
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in Jianjun Mei and Thilo Rerhen, Metallurgy and Civilisation: Eurasia and Beyond, 2009
In 1991 in the northern suburbs of Xi'an in the territory of the ancient state of Qin, objects of... more In 1991 in the northern suburbs of Xi'an in the territory of the ancient state of Qin, objects of high historical value, including ceramic models for making bronze-casting moulds, pottery, bronze objects, iron artifacts, lacquer ware, stone objects, and other items, were unearthed. Among these finds were 25 ceramic models for casting 'steppe-style' bronze plaques of the type and iconography typical of the Ordos region located under the Great Bend of the Yellow River, as well as other categories of bronze object parts. Not only do the contents of this single tomb
confirm what several scholars have previously proposed - namely that the Chinese were producing objects for their pastoral neighbors - it also suggests that the metal industry formed a significant piece of the Qin state-level as well as the local economy and its 'foreign' policy. The socio-economic and political implications of the industry and its significance to the Qin state are explored below.
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Social Complexity in Prehistoric Eurasia: Monuments, Metals, and Mobility, 2009
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Social Complexity in Prehistoric Eurasia: Monuments, Metals, and Mobility, Bryan Hanks and Katheryn M. Linduff (eds.), , 2009
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Archaeometallurgy in Global Perspective: Methods and Syntheses, 2009
Metallurgy has been taken as essential to the development of Chinese civilization. Archaeological... more Metallurgy has been taken as essential to the development of Chinese civilization. Archaeological study has been particularistic and evolutionary, tied to traditional Chinese historiography, and modern Marxist models of social development. Modern studies suggest that metallurgy emerged independently in a 'core' area and then spread to 'peripheral' areas by way of political expansion and cultural diffusion over many millennia, and that metallurgy was also homegrown. New excavations suggest: multiple early centers of production; that the Chinese case belongs to a regional context; that native sources of ores were significant; that metals were used in several pre-state level societies.
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Are All Warriors Male? Gender Roles on the Ancient Eurasian Steppe, Katheryn M. Linduff and Karen S. Rubinson (eds.), 2008
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Are All Warriors Male? Gender Roles on the Ancient Eurasian Steppe, Katheryn M. Linduff and Karen S. Rubinson (eds.), 2008
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北京大学震旦古代文明研究中心, 2007
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性别研究与中国考古学 Linduff and Sun, 2006
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Papers by Katheryn Linduff
The ritualized context of burial can and has been seen as a mechanism for the shaping of beliefs, ideologies, and identities; or as a source of social power for those who participate in, control, or create them, thus revealing of a great deal about the given society and its dynamics. They can also be seen as a focal node of social networks, or as a means of illuminating the hopes and desires of a given society. Ritual and the materialization of belief has more recently been seen as an important and informative class of social action, or even as a social construction of the sacred.'
This paper will consider the material contents of tombs, especially in China, and propose ways to understand and explain them within this sort of ritualized context. Others have studied their placement and distribution in tombs as well as their visual countenance, and also have brought to bear non-archaeological evidence such as ethno-historical accounts and historical texts, although they are not straightforward accounts of historical events or beliefs. Moreover, the notion of continuity (of a motif, for instance) which has often been used to such an exaggerated extent that any pattern observed in the Neolithic layers that has even the slightest similarity to a motif from the dynastic periods will be questioned as insufficient to argue for the existence of a certain ritual or meaning in a later period.' With this appeal for the assessment of how we have dealt with the remains of ancient societies, I hope to recognize and propose ways to understand more fully the complexity of the treatment of the dead.
confirm what several scholars have previously proposed - namely that the Chinese were producing objects for their pastoral neighbors - it also suggests that the metal industry formed a significant piece of the Qin state-level as well as the local economy and its 'foreign' policy. The socio-economic and political implications of the industry and its significance to the Qin state are explored below.
The ritualized context of burial can and has been seen as a mechanism for the shaping of beliefs, ideologies, and identities; or as a source of social power for those who participate in, control, or create them, thus revealing of a great deal about the given society and its dynamics. They can also be seen as a focal node of social networks, or as a means of illuminating the hopes and desires of a given society. Ritual and the materialization of belief has more recently been seen as an important and informative class of social action, or even as a social construction of the sacred.'
This paper will consider the material contents of tombs, especially in China, and propose ways to understand and explain them within this sort of ritualized context. Others have studied their placement and distribution in tombs as well as their visual countenance, and also have brought to bear non-archaeological evidence such as ethno-historical accounts and historical texts, although they are not straightforward accounts of historical events or beliefs. Moreover, the notion of continuity (of a motif, for instance) which has often been used to such an exaggerated extent that any pattern observed in the Neolithic layers that has even the slightest similarity to a motif from the dynastic periods will be questioned as insufficient to argue for the existence of a certain ritual or meaning in a later period.' With this appeal for the assessment of how we have dealt with the remains of ancient societies, I hope to recognize and propose ways to understand more fully the complexity of the treatment of the dead.
confirm what several scholars have previously proposed - namely that the Chinese were producing objects for their pastoral neighbors - it also suggests that the metal industry formed a significant piece of the Qin state-level as well as the local economy and its 'foreign' policy. The socio-economic and political implications of the industry and its significance to the Qin state are explored below.
Distributed by Columbia University Press, 2000; 2nd edition 2006.
Buchanan Award from the Association for Asian Studies, 2002