Game Drives of the Aralo-Caspian Region

Description

Game drives of the Aralo-Caspian region is a translated and revised edition of Yagodin's Strelovidnye Planirovki Ustyurta, originally published in Tashkent in 1991. Based on extensive fieldwork, the volume investigates arrow-shaped structures used for hunting in remote areas of Central Asia between the seventh and 14th centuries AD. This classic study of game drives remains one of the most significant works in Ustyurt archaeology and one of the few that integrates geoarchaeological, ecological and ethnographic data. This first English edition of Game drives of the Aralo-Caspian region has been amended with new material, including the study of satellite imagery, and enriched with many new illustrations.

Vadim N. Yagodin was Professor of Archaeology in the Research Institute of the Humanities of Karakalpak branch of Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan. He conducted extensive field research on the Ustyurt plateau, investigating nomadic cemeteries, hunting traps and sanctuaries. W. Paul van Pelt is Research Fellow at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge. He studies the interplay between technology and culture. Alison Betts is Professor of Silk Road Studies at the University of Sydney. She specialises in the archaeology of the lands along the Silk Roads, and the nomadic peoples of Eurasia.

"Yagodin has succeeded in creating a holistic picture out of many fragments and gaps by counting on archaeological surveys as well as historical and ethnological records and has discussed ecological and economical aspects. Much more than a catalogue of the arrow-shaped structures, this is a book on the importance of hunting in the Medieval Ustyurt. The result is impressive and indeed, as the editors affirmed in their introduction, a classic and important study." -- Finn Schreiber * Ancient Civilisations from Scythia to Siberia *