Bronze Age Hill Forts: New evidence for defensive sites in the western Tian Shan, China

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorJia, Peter Weiming
dc.contributor.authorBetts, Alison
dc.contributor.authorDoumani Dupuy, Paula N.
dc.contributor.authorCong, Dexin
dc.contributor.authorJia, Xiaobing
dc.creatorPeter Weiming, Jia
dc.date.accessioned2018-01-04T05:33:52Z
dc.date.available2018-01-04T05:33:52Z
dc.date.issued2017-11-08
dc.description.abstractAbstract This paper reports on the recent discovery in western Xinjiang of three Late Bronze Age walled sites located on high hilltops, with a fourth on a terrace above a river bed. The hilltop sites contain very small clusters of residential structures and overlook one of the richest areas of seasonal pasture in the upper Bortala Valley, in the western Tian Shan. The walls do not fully encircle the residential structures but protect the most vulnerable points of access to the hilltops, and in particular protect against direct access from the pastures. The discovery of these walled sites in the western Tian Shan is surprising and significant in terms of regional patterns of increased social complexity in the Eurasian Late Bronze Age. It is suggested that the walled hilltop sites were lookout posts, with a small garrison of herders prepared to defend the area in the event of attack by rival pastoralist groups, and that in the Late Bronze Age the Upper Bortala Valley was home to a number of pastoralist groups who contested access to the best pastures.en_US
dc.identifierDOI:10.1016/j.ara.2017.10.005
dc.identifier.citationPeter Weiming Jia, Alison Betts, Paula N. Doumani Dupuy, Dexin Cong, Xiaobing Jia, Bronze Age Hill Forts: New evidence for defensive sites in the western Tian Shan, China, In Archaeological Research in Asia, 2017en_US
dc.identifier.issn23522267
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352226717300417
dc.identifier.urihttp://nur.nu.edu.kz/handle/123456789/3080
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherArchaeological Research in Asiaen_US
dc.relation.ispartofArchaeological Research in Asia
dc.rights.license© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
dc.subjectBronze ageen_US
dc.subjectEurasiaen_US
dc.subjectXinjiangen_US
dc.subjectWalled sitesen_US
dc.subjectSocial complexityen_US
dc.titleBronze Age Hill Forts: New evidence for defensive sites in the western Tian Shan, Chinaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
elsevier.aggregationtypeJournal
elsevier.coverdate2017-11-08
elsevier.coverdisplaydateAvailable online 8 November 2017
elsevier.identifier.doi10.1016/j.ara.2017.10.005
elsevier.identifier.eid1-s2.0-S2352226717300417
elsevier.identifier.piiS2352-2267(17)30041-7
elsevier.identifier.scopusid85033386058
elsevier.openaccess0
elsevier.openaccessarticlefalse
elsevier.openarchivearticlefalse
elsevier.teaserThis paper reports on the recent discovery in western Xinjiang of three Late Bronze Age walled sites located on high hilltops, with a fourth on a terrace above a river bed. The hilltop sites contain...
workflow.import.sourcescience

Files

Collections

Articles