Overview

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 Today that Eurocentric view has been replaced by a cascade of archaeological evidence documenting the rise of nomadic societies, states, and empires that connected China to Europe and forever changed the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.

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William Fitzhugh and Richard Kortum (and team) are to be congratulated on producing a comprehensive study on the archaeology and rock art of the Mongolian Altai - a forgotten and foreboding landscape. Their tenacity and endeavor are witnessed throughout this handsome volume and are a testimony of their fieldwork and research. It is a must-have research companion for anyone researching this hidden corner of the globe.--George Nash, Honorary Research Fellow within the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool

Author Information

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. Richard D. Kortum is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Humanities at East Tennessee State University. The former Fulbright Scholar obtained his doctorate and taught at Oxford University. Soon after coming to Mongolia in 2001, his interest in prehistoric artforms led to discovery and documentation of previously unknown rock art sites; in 2008 he accomplished the sole survey of southern Bayan Ulgii aimag. His many publications include Ceremony in Stone (Nepko 2018). Kortum has introduced systematic and analytic procedures for recording rock art and is currently working on a novel means of scientifically dating Altai petroglyphs that shows great promise. Kortum, with Fitzhugh, was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Three-Year Collaborative Research Grant to conduct the research described in this book.

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