This public symposium is the first major event in over fifteen years to center on the history of the Silk Road and the origins of the mysterious Tarim Basin mummies. Since the last milestone conference was held on the topic at the Penn Museum in 1996, new archeological discoveries and scholarly advances have been made, creating a need to critically reshape the very idea of the “Silk Road.” Major topics of discussion include ancient transportation and economies, the origins of early westerners in Central Asia, the excavations of textiles in Xinjiang, and a reinvestigation of the Tarim Basin mummies.
Distinguished speakers include:
Colin Renfrew J.P. Mallory Victor H. Mair David W. Anthony Michael D. Frachetti Elizabeth Wayland Barber Joseph G. Manning Peter Brown Philip L. Kohl
Before Silk: Unsolved Mysteries of the ‘Silk Road’
Indo-European Dispersals and the Eurasian Steppe: Research Agendas
The Northern Cemetery: Epigone or Progenitor of Small River Cemetery No. 5?
Horseback Riding and Bronze Age Pastoralism in the Eurasian Steppes
Seeds for the Soul: East/West Diffusion of Domesticated Grains along the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor
The Xinjiang Textiles: More Corridors in the Goldmine
At the Limits: Long Distance Trade in the Time of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Kings
The Silk Road in Late Antiquity: Politics, Trade, and Culture Contact between Rome and China, 300-700 CE
Concluding Q&A session and discussion