Cultural Heritage

The Taksay-1 Kurgan Complex is located on the territory of the Terekty district of the West Kazakhstan Region and consists of six kurgans. In 2012, an archaeological team from the West Kazakhstan Local History Museum, led by Dr. Yana Lukpanova, discovered and excavated a unique elite burial of a woman from a privileged stratum of the early nomadic society, the Sarmatians, dating back to the 5th century BCE.

During the Saka/Scythian time, territories of the steppe region of Kazakhstan was occupied by the Tasmola culture (800-500 BCE), which was discovered and identified in 1966, by the Kazakh archaeologist Mir Kadyrbaev. Currently, our understanding of the Tasmola culture has been enriched with discoveries of new types of archaeological sites, i.e. "royal" mounds, settlements, stone statues. Their scientific analyses clarify cultural and chronological periodization of the Saka era in Central Kazakhstan.

The region of south Punjab, Pakistan own a rich Socio-cultural History. The Archaeological remains, Buddhist sites, Forts, Temples Sufi Shrines and Palaces situated in the regions are constant reminder of the glory of Region. Abbasid’s Dynasty of Princely State of Bahawalpur has its unique socio-cultural significance. It was the state that historically safeguarded its citizens from invaders, through successful strategy of military alliances, and pacts with powerful neighbouring state.

This presentation will use the concept of entanglement proposed by Ian Hodder to explore the processes of human-environment interactions and how that might eventually lead the Neolithic people to leave their homeland on the hill around 2,400 years ago. I analyze the archaeological material excavated from the Wansan site to demonstrate how the Neolithic Wansan people had been entangled with the Wansan hill by examining the environmental data, settlement layout, and material objects through time.

Dr. Rocco Rante is archaeologist at the Louvre Museum and has a Habilitation to direct PhD theses at the Sorbonne-Panthéon University. He heads the Franco-Uzbek Archaeological Mission in the Bukhara Oasis and the Franco-Iranian Archaeological Mission in Khorasan. He published several books, of which the most recent are the trilogy The Bukhara Oasis, vol. 1-3.

Hybrid event, in person at the Henry Welcome Building, Fitzwilliam St, Cambridge CB2 1QH and online via Zoom. 

13:00 - 14:00 GMT (London time)

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