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    <title>Pinboard (cshalizi)</title>
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    <description>recent bookmarks from cshalizi</description>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982222007321"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00267-7"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/history-of-central-asia-the-4volume-set-9781788313513/"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-6836-8"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-34586135/how-soviet-pollution-destroyed-the-aral-sea"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/travel/silk-road-uzbekistan-tajikistan-kyrgyzstan.html"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-0878-2"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10064.html"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/business/global/hauling-new-treasure-along-the-silk-road.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9781610911726"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9672.html"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9871.html"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2012/08/dead-media-beat-maintaining-the-gandhari-database/"/>
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  </channel><item rdf:about="https://sogdians.si.edu/the-sogdians-at-home/">
    <title>The Sogdians at Home | The Sogdians</title>
    <dc:date>2026-03-22T03:59:28+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://sogdians.si.edu/the-sogdians-at-home/</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[--- Fig. 43 looks startlingly like LZS in his favorite red cap.]]></description>
<dc:subject>central_asia ancient_history art_history</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:077acba9477d/</dc:identifier>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982222007321">
    <title>The genetic origin of Huns, Avars, and conquering Hungarians - ScienceDirect</title>
    <dc:date>2024-12-11T16:12:08+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982222007321</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Huns, Avars, and conquering Hungarians were migration-period nomadic tribal confederations that arrived in three successive waves in the Carpathian Basin between the 5th and 9th centuries. Based on the historical data, each of these groups are thought to have arrived from Asia, although their exact origin and relation to other ancient and modern populations have been debated. Recently, hundreds of ancient genomes were analyzed from Central Asia, Mongolia, and China, from which we aimed to identify putative source populations for the above-mentioned groups. In this study, we have sequenced 9 Hun, 143 Avar, and 113 Hungarian conquest period samples and identified three core populations, representing immigrants from each period with no recent European ancestry. Our results reveal that this “immigrant core” of both Huns and Avars likely originated in present day Mongolia, and their origin can be traced back to Xiongnus (Asian Huns), as suggested by several historians. On the other hand, the “immigrant core” of the conquering Hungarians derived from an earlier admixture of Mansis, early Sarmatians, and descendants of late Xiongnus. We have also shown that a common “proto-Ugric” gene pool appeared in the Bronze Age from the admixture of Mezhovskaya and Nganasan people, supporting genetic and linguistic data. In addition, we detected shared Hun-related ancestry in numerous Avar and Hungarian conquest period genetic outliers, indicating a genetic link between these successive nomadic groups. Aside from the immigrant core groups, we identified that the majority of the individuals from each period were local residents harboring “native European” ancestry."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB central_asia historical_genetics</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="http://e-theses.imtlucca.it/213/">
    <title>The Crisis of Soviet Power in Central Asia: The 'Uzbek cotton affair' (1975-1991) - E-Theses</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-18T14:27:29+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://e-theses.imtlucca.it/213/</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The crisis of Soviet power in Central Asia: The 'Uzbek cotton affair', 1975-1991 aims at reconstructing and interpreting the final phases of Soviet political history and its effects in Uzbekistan. To this end, the reconstruction of the ‘Uzbek cotton affair’ – a judicial and political case linking the falsification of cotton production data and corruption that involved thousands of party and state officials in the republic – is something of a case study in evaluating Moscow’s grip on the ‘periphery’ of its empire. This case tracks the life story of Uzbekistan from its consolidation as a Soviet republic, through crisis and ultimately its transition into an independent state. Thus, we can identify ‘the Uzbek cotton affair’ as a critical reason for the transformations within republican political society. At the same time, it can be read as a symptom of a greater incurable disease within the whole Soviet Union itself, a system that collapsed when this kind of top-down hierarchical order – led by ideology, elite politics, social forces and interest groups and even administrators and bureaucrats – cracked down. This dissertation is divided in three parts with a total of seven chapters. The first part is introductory and aims to contextualize the Uzbek ‘periphery’ within the Soviet state, at both the political and at socio-economic level. In the first chapter, I introduce the political features that determined the consolidation of Soviet power in the UzSSR. After the formation of Uzbekistan, the Stalinist terror and the destalinization transition, the Soviet leadership transitioned to a peaceful, decentralized and tolerant pattern of control over the farthest regions of the USSR. During the 70s, the Moscow leadership and the republican party cadres built a patrimonial system that relied on local figures who could ensure loyalty to the central state. This led to the creation of autonomous client networks inside the republic and the mediation of the FS CPUz between Moscow and the national elites. This approach was particularly evident during the long ‘reign’ of the FS CPUz Sharaf Rashidov (1959-1983), a controversial figure at the center of the Cold War who – as we will see in the second chapter – turned Uzbekistan into a ‘cotton republic.’ In fact, the UzSSR became the main supplier of ‘white gold’ and from the ‘60s it essentially doubled down on cotton monoculture as a strategic task for ‘building communism’: for the tenth FYP (1976-1981), Soviet planners demanded an annual production of six million tons of raw cotton from Tashkent and reaching this target at any cost became a matter of political stability and legitimacy for the Uzbek ruling elite. The second part is argumentative and focuses on the three phases of the ‘Uzbek cotton affair.’ Hence, the third chapter analyzes the context of the second economy in the USSR and the features related to corruption and falsification of cotton production data in Uzbekistan. The rise of Andropov and his ‘moralization campaign’ would see an attempt to legalize, cleanse and – ultimately – revitalize a system in which stagnation and fraud had reached unprecedented levels. In 1983, the so called ‘Bukhara affair’ exposed the level of ‘official corruption’ and overwhelmed the higher echelons of the party and state of the UzSSR. Nevertheless, this ‘silent phase’ – characterized by preliminary inquiries, the preservation of power structures in Uzbekistan and general institutional silence – culminated in the death of Rashidov, the subsequent struggle among local elites and a nominal transformation of the patrimonial system. Thus, in the fourth chapter we analyze the ‘systemic phase’ of the Uzbek affair (1984-1985), when Moscow’s moralizing campaign was extended during the XVI plenum CPUz (1984) to map on to discord within the national party elites, the donos (complaints) wars and the internal struggles within the bureaucracy in post-Rashidovian Uzbekistan. The fifth chapter analyzes Moscow’s subsequent ‘trusteeship’ over the republic, reflected in the ‘krasnyi desant’ campaign endorsed by the CC CPSU, the derashidovization crusade, and the zenith of internal struggles in the wake of the ouster of the FS CPUz Usmankhodzhaev and his replacement with the Moscow loyalist Nishanov who attempted and failed to destroy local patrimonial networks. Third and final part is aimed at evaluating the results of the Uzbek cotton affair in the center and in the periphery, and see if this story became a factor determining the collapse of the Soviet system as in Moscow as in Tashkent. The sixth chapter focuses on the investigators Gdlyan and Ivanov who became a symbol of the prosecution of the ‘big fish’ and alleged prominent members of the CC CPSU – and even Gorbachev – of being in collusion with the ‘Uzbek mafiya.’ The case, the related media circus and the political campaign of the two radical mavericks threatened the credibility of Gorbachev and the legitimacy of the CPSU, the state and its survival in a time of serious changes and great internal challenges. Democrats and the inner opposition to the Gensek in the CPSU exploited the ‘Gdlyan-Ivanov affair’, and the whole case became a symptom of the collapsing system. The seventh chapter deals with the myth-building of the ‘Uzbek cotton affair’ in early Karimov’s Uzbekistan, where the story was narrated using critical discourse – such as ‘colonial,’ ‘purge,’ ‘terror,’ ‘new 1937,’ and even ‘genocide’ – in a Republic that had once been considered one of the most loyal within the Soviet system. Thus, the ‘Uzbek affair’ became a crucial event of Karimov’s ‘ideological shift’ from communism to Mustaqillik – the ideology based on the values of the Uzbek independence – and a sensitive identity issue of revenge/resistance against the former rulers, investing in a post-colonial trauma that contributed to legitimize the president’s regime and his relations with local power networks. Thus, dealing with recent Soviet times still represents a great challenge for contemporary historiography. The last decades of USSR history are still debated, defining a period that needs more work still to understand the characteristics, the limits and the contradictions that led to the end of the Soviet system. In that sense my primary goal in reconstructing these crucial and still obscure events here has been historiographical and it is intended at using primary unpublished sources, literature and oral history to uncover opaque aspects of the past. Relatedly, this research aims at offering a non-centrally oriented historiographical reconstruction of the final decades of the Soviet system, analyzing the evolutions of patrimonialism in USSR and the impact of perestroika, the dynamics of the purges and the symptoms of the collapse in the periphery of the empire in order to fill a historiographical gap of research on perestroika in Central Asia that is practically nonexistent. Furthermore, this research aims to recompose the framework of the ‘Uzbek cotton affair’ beyond its existence as a ‘simplistic label’ created by the media and too often related to the ‘Gdlyan-Ivanov affair’ only. Nevertheless, the case proceeded at different levels involving the party, prokuratura, MVD, KGB and soviets at the local and even at the central level, while only a part of the corruption and the other ‘negative phenomena’ revealed in the republic were related to cotton and a great part of the involved officials were not Uzbeks. Finally, this research aims at interpreting the last decades of Soviet history through a new interpretative key to understand how collapse-symptoms that had been exploited in Moscow and in Tashkent in order to avow the split from the USSR. The research is based on extensive unpublished archival material, literature and interviews and is aimed at expanding the horizon of current historiography."]]></description>
<dc:subject>20th_century_history ussr central_asia cotton imperialism in_NB</dc:subject>
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<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:d89c561489fe/</dc:identifier>
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<item rdf:about="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691237831/the-kings-road">
    <title>The King’s Road | Princeton University Press</title>
    <dc:date>2023-03-07T15:36:38+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691237831/the-kings-road</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The King’s Road offers a new interpretation of the history of the Silk Road, emphasizing its importance as a diplomatic route, rather than a commercial one. Tracing the arduous journeys of diplomatic envoys, Xin Wen presents a rich social history of long-distance travel that played out in deserts, post stations, palaces, and polo fields. The book tells the story of the everyday lives of diplomatic travelers on the Silk Road—what they ate and drank, the gifts they carried, and the animals that accompanied them—and how they navigated a complex web of geographic, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. It also describes the risks and dangers envoys faced along the way—from financial catastrophe to robbery and murder.
"Using documents unearthed from the famous Dunhuang “library cave” in Western China, The King’s Road paints a detailed picture of the intricate network of trans-Eurasian transportation and communication routes that was established between 850 and 1000 CE. By exploring the motivations of the kings who dispatched envoys along the Silk Road and describing the transformative social and economic effects of their journeys, the book reveals the inner workings of an interstate network distinct from the Sino-centric “tributary” system.
"In shifting the narrative of the Silk Road from the transport of commodities to the exchange of diplomatic gifts and personnel, The King’s Road puts the history of Eastern Eurasia in a new light."]]></description>
<dc:subject>in_NB books:noted central_asia silk_road medieval_eurasian_history downloaded</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:7ffa2affad89/</dc:identifier>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/evolutionary-human-sciences/article/indoeuropean-loanwords-and-exchange-in-bronze-age-central-and-east-asia/91132871EAF737CD98BDFC43C16C761A">
    <title>Indo-European loanwords and exchange in Bronze Age Central and East Asia | Evolutionary Human Sciences | Cambridge Core</title>
    <dc:date>2022-06-13T17:37:57+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/evolutionary-human-sciences/article/indoeuropean-loanwords-and-exchange-in-bronze-age-central-and-east-asia/91132871EAF737CD98BDFC43C16C761A</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Loanword analysis is a unique contribution of historical linguistics to our understanding of prehistoric cultural interfaces. As language reflects the lives of its speakers, the substantiation of loanwords draws on the composite evidence from linguistic as well as auxiliary data from archaeology and genetics through triangulation. The Bronze Age of Central Asia is in principle linguistically mute, but a host of recent independent observations that tie languages, cultures and genetics together in various ways invites a comprehensive reassessment of six highly diagnostic loanwords (‘seven’, ‘name/fame’, ‘sister-in-law’, ‘honey’, ‘metal’ and ‘horse’) that are associated with the Bronze Age. Moreover, they are shared between Indo-European, Uralic, Turkic and sometimes Old Chinese. The successful identification of the interfaces for these loanwords can help settle longstanding debates on languages, migrations and the items themselves. Each item is analysed using the comparative method with reference to the archaeological record to assess the plausibility of a transfer. I argue that the six items can be dated to have entered Central and East Asian languages from immigrant Indo-European languages spoken in the Afanasievo and Andronovo cultures, including a novel source for the ‘horse’ in Old Chinese."

--- Utterly un-qualified opining on my part: I could see "metal", "horse", "fame" forming a complex (cue generic Indo-European poetics), but including "honey", "seven" and "sister-in-law" (!) makes the whole thing less credible.]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB central_asia linguistics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00267-7">
    <title>Ancient genomes reveal origin and rapid trans-Eurasian migration of 7th century Avar elites: Cell</title>
    <dc:date>2022-04-13T02:42:38+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00267-7</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The Avars settled the Carpathian Basin in 567/68 CE, establishing an empire lasting over 200 years. Who they were and where they came from is highly debated. Contemporaries have disagreed about whether they were, as they claimed, the direct successors of the Mongolian Steppe Rouran empire that was destroyed by the Turks in ∼550 CE. Here, we analyze new genome-wide data from 66 pre-Avar and Avar-period Carpathian Basin individuals, including the 8 richest Avar-period burials and further elite sites from Avar’s empire core region. Our results provide support for a rapid long-distance trans-Eurasian migration of Avar-period elites. These individuals carried Northeast Asian ancestry matching the profile of preceding Mongolian Steppe populations, particularly a genome available from the Rouran period. Some of the later elite individuals carried an additional non-local ancestry component broadly matching the steppe, which could point to a later migration or reflect greater genetic diversity within the initial migrant population."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB historical_genetics central_asia</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:fae772373248/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:historical_genetics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk1534">
    <title>Bronze and Iron Age population movements underlie Xinjiang population history</title>
    <dc:date>2022-04-13T02:40:41+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk1534</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The Xinjiang region in northwest China is a historically important geographical passage between East and West Eurasia. By sequencing 201 ancient genomes from 39 archaeological sites, we clarify the complex demographic history of this region. Bronze Age Xinjiang populations are characterized by four major ancestries related to Early Bronze Age cultures from the central and eastern Steppe, Central Asian, and Tarim Basin regions. Admixtures between Middle and Late Bronze Age Steppe cultures continued during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages, along with an inflow of East and Central Asian ancestry. Historical era populations show similar admixed and diverse ancestries as those of present-day Xinjiang populations. These results document the influence that East and West Eurasian populations have had over time in the different regions of Xinjiang."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB historical_genetics xinjiang central_asia</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:b18366f8ce94/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:historical_genetics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:xinjiang"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/G/bo81416486">
    <title>Gold of the Great Steppe, Roberts</title>
    <dc:date>2022-04-03T15:46:08+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/G/bo81416486</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Gold of the Great Steppe details the results of recent excavations and new archaeological research from East Kazakhstan, complemented by contributions from a team of international scholars and experts. Rich accompanying images include photographs of intricate gold artifacts in the Saka-Scythian animal style and landscape and aerial photography of Saka burial mounds. Grounded in decades of careful study—including papers by professors Zainolla Samashev and Abdesh Toleubayev, the two leading Kazakhstani archaeologists of the East Kazakhstan region—this volume demonstrates current archaeological thinking in Kazakhstan today."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted pretty_pictures archaeology central_asia</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:30ebc21094a4/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:pretty_pictures"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:archaeology"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.uclpress.co.uk/collections/open-access/products/177350">
    <title>Environment and Post Soviet Transformation in Kazakhstan’s Aral Sea Re – UCL Press</title>
    <dc:date>2022-02-27T04:15:02+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.uclpress.co.uk/collections/open-access/products/177350</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The Aral Sea is well known for its devastating regression over the second half of the twentieth century, and for its recent partial restoration. Environment and Post-Soviet Transformation in Kazakhstan’s Aral Sea Region is the first book to explore what these monumental changes have meant to those living on the sea’s shores.
"Following the fluctuating fortunes of the pre-Soviet, Soviet and post-Soviet fisheries, the book shows how the vast environmental changes the region has undergone cannot be disentangled from the transformations of Soviet socialism and postsocialism. This ethnographic perspective prompts a critical rethinking of the category of environmental disaster through which the region is predominantly known. Tracing how the sea’s retreat and partial return have been apprehended by diverse local actors in the former port of Aral’sk and surrounding fishing villages, as well as by scientists, bureaucrats and international development workers, William Wheeler draws out the multiple meanings environmental change acquires within different contexts. This study of how people make their lives amidst overlapping ecological and political-economic upheavals is rich in ethnographic detail that is both rooted in Soviet legacies and alive to the new transnational connections that are reshaping the region.
"Offering a rigorous political ecology of Soviet socialism and after, the book is a major contribution to the nascent environmental anthropology of Central Asia. It will be of interest to environmental anthropologists, environmental historians, and scholars of all disciplines working on Central Asia and the former USSR."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted central_asia environmental_management ethnography downloaded</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:fb47eaa96687/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:environmental_management"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ethnography"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:downloaded"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/ecawpaper/2013_2f312572.htm">
    <title>EconPapers: Economic Persistence despite Adverse Policies: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan</title>
    <dc:date>2021-12-13T07:08:50+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/ecawpaper/2013_2f312572.htm</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["We study the long-run persistence of relative economic well-being in the face of highly adverse government policies using a combination of rich historical and contemporaneous data sources from Kyrgyzstan. Even after controlling for unobservable local effects, the economic well-being (measured by income, expenditures, or assets) of Kyrgyz households in the 2010s strongly correlates with the early 20th-century average wealth of the tribes from which these households descend. The degree of economic inequality at the tribe level in the 2010s correlates with the within-tribe wealth inequality in the early 20th century. In terms of channels of persistence, we find support for the inter-generational transmission of human capital, relative status, political power, and cultural traits. Transmission of material wealth, differences in natural endowments, or geographic sorting cannot explain the observed long-run persistence."

--- Unfortunately, for the last tag, I'd probably have to explain the USSR and once-actually-existing socialism to The Kids.

--- ETA after reading: comments at [http://bactra.org/notebooks/transmission-of-inequality.html#guirkinger].  Shorter version: applied econ. paper has the usual methodological flaws of applied econ. papers; convincing at that level.]]></description>
<dc:subject>transmission_of_inequality inequality central_asia ussr to_teach:statistics_of_inequality_and_discrimination in_NB have_read to:blog</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:d7295f0e2b4c/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:transmission_of_inequality"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:inequality"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ussr"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to_teach:statistics_of_inequality_and_discrimination"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:have_read"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:blog"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/history-of-central-asia-the-4volume-set-9781788313513/">
    <title>History of Central Asia, The: 4-volume set: : Christoph Baumer: I.B. Tauris</title>
    <dc:date>2021-09-19T04:21:43+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/history-of-central-asia-the-4volume-set-9781788313513/</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>books:noted coveted central_asia</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:d74e1778861c/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:coveted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22624-5">
    <title>Central Asia in World History | SpringerLink</title>
    <dc:date>2021-07-31T17:39:14+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22624-5</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[This is a brilliant if very eccentric book; I have been searching for my own physical copy since reading it in 2003.]]></description>
<dc:subject>in_NB books:recommended central_asia world_history downloaded</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:ec0040ecb084/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:recommended"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:world_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:downloaded"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-6836-8">
    <title>Early Jesuit Travellers in Central Asia, 1603–1721 | SpringerLink</title>
    <dc:date>2021-07-31T17:38:12+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-6836-8</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>to:NB central_asia downloaded books:noted</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:32ff27a02233/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:downloaded"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/beyond-the-silk-roads/B60A986B656E8C0A6A45A97CBCD3FD30">
    <title>Beyond the Silk Roads</title>
    <dc:date>2021-05-03T12:43:24+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/beyond-the-silk-roads/B60A986B656E8C0A6A45A97CBCD3FD30</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Small-scale traders play a crucial role in forging Asian connectivity, forming networks and informal institutions separate from those driven by nation-states, such as China's Belt and Road Initiative. This ambitious study provides a unique insight into the lives of the mobile traders from Afghanistan who traverse Eurasia. Reflecting on over a decade of intensive ethnographic fieldwork, Magnus Marsden introduces readers to a dynamic yet historically durable universe of commercial and cultural connections. Through an exploration of the traders' networks, cultural and religious identities, as well as the nodes in which they operate, Marsden emphasises their ability to navigate Eurasia's geopolitical tensions and to forge transregional routes that channel significant flows of people, resources, and ideas. Beyond the Silk Roads will interest those seeking to understand contemporary iterations of the Silk Road within the context of geopolitics in the region. This title is also available as Open Access."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted central_asia afghanistan</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:73aeb9411c2a/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:afghanistan"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-04-27/inside-architecture-s-wildest-conspiracy-theory">
    <title>Inside Architecture's Wildest Conspiracy Theory - Bloomberg</title>
    <dc:date>2021-05-02T16:32:16+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-04-27/inside-architecture-s-wildest-conspiracy-theory</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Someday, I need to write that essay arguing that the two key texts for grasping the contemporary world are "The Tyranny of Structurelessness" and "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius".  (I do not actually believe that any two texts are the keys to the contemporary world, or to any other.)]]></description>
<dc:subject>conspiracy_theories central_asia architecture via:henry_farrell re:actually-dr-internet-is-the-name-of-the-monsters-creator the_tlon_we_deserve psychoceramica</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:abe6d0e19965/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:conspiracy_theories"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:architecture"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:via:henry_farrell"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:re:actually-dr-internet-is-the-name-of-the-monsters-creator"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:the_tlon_we_deserve"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:psychoceramica"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674244214">
    <title>The Horde — Marie Favereau | Harvard University Press</title>
    <dc:date>2021-03-24T22:06:56+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674244214</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["An epic history of the Mongols as we have never seen them—not just conquerors but also city builders, diplomats, and supple economic thinkers who constructed one of the most influential empires in history.
"The Mongols are widely known for one thing: conquest. In the first comprehensive history of the Horde, the western portion of the Mongol empire that arose after the death of Chinggis Khan, Marie Favereau shows that the accomplishments of the Mongols extended far beyond war. For three hundred years, the Horde was no less a force in global development than Rome had been. It left behind a profound legacy in Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, palpable to this day.
"Favereau takes us inside one of the most powerful sources of cross-border integration in world history. The Horde was the central node in the Eurasian commercial boom of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and was a conduit for exchanges across thousands of miles. Its unique political regime—a complex power-sharing arrangement among the khan and the nobility—rewarded skillful administrators and diplomats and fostered an economic order that was mobile, organized, and innovative. From its capital at Sarai on the lower Volga River, the Horde provided a governance model for Russia, influenced social practice and state structure across Islamic cultures, disseminated sophisticated theories about the natural world, and introduced novel ideas of religious tolerance.
"The Horde is the eloquent, ambitious, and definitive portrait of an empire little understood and too readily dismissed. Challenging conceptions of nomads as peripheral to history, Favereau makes clear that we live in a world inherited from the Mongol moment."

--- This is of course a theme many scholars of Eurasia have been pushing for a generation or more, rather than a radical novely, but this looks like a well-played variation on the theme.]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted mongol_empire central_asia medieval_eurasian_history world_history the_present_before_it_was_widely_distributed books:suggest_to_library</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:a734975f4ca2/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:mongol_empire"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:medieval_eurasian_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:world_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:the_present_before_it_was_widely_distributed"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:suggest_to_library"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=32282">
    <title>Slow Anti-Americanism: Social Movements and Symbolic Politics in Central Asia | Edward Schatz</title>
    <dc:date>2021-01-26T15:04:17+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=32282</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Negative views of the United States abound, but we know too little about how such views affect politics. Drawing on careful research on post-Soviet Central Asia, Edward Schatz argues that anti-Americanism is best seen not as a rising tide that swamps or as a conflagration that overwhelms. Rather, "America" is a symbolic resource that resides quietly in the mundane but always has potential value for social and political mobilizers. Using a wide range of evidence and a novel analytic framework, Schatz considers how Islamist movements, human rights activists, and labor mobilizers across Central Asia avail themselves of this fact, thus changing their ability to pursue their respective agendas. By refocusing our analytic gaze away from high politics, he affords us a clearer view of the slower-moving, partially occluded, and socially embedded processes that ground how "America" becomes political. In turn, we gain a nuanced appreciation of the downstream effects of US foreign policy choices and a sober sense of the challenges posed by the politics of traveling images.
"Most treatments of anti-Americanism focus on politics in the realm of presidential elections and foreign policies. By focusing instead on symbols, Schatz lays bare how changing public attitudes shift social relations in politically significant ways, and considers how changing symbolic depictions of the United States recombine the raw material available for social mobilizers. Just like sediment traveling along waterways before reaching its final destination, the raw material that constitutes symbolic America can travel among various social groups, and can settle into place to form the basis of new social meanings. Symbolic America, Schatz shows us, matters for politics in Central Asia and beyond."
]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted central_asia post-soviet_politics american_hegemony anthropology political_science</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:e90488423ae3/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_politics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:american_hegemony"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:anthropology"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:political_science"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190693565.001.0001">
    <title>Turkestan and the Rise of Eurasian Empires: A Study of Politics and Invented Traditions - Oxford Scholarship</title>
    <dc:date>2021-01-16T08:08:19+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190693565.001.0001</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["It has long been known that the origins of the early modern dynasties of the Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals, Mongols, and Shibanids in the sixteenth century go back to “Turco-Mongol” or “Turcophone” war bands. However, too often has this connection been taken at face value, usually along the lines of ethnolinguistic continuity. The connection between a mythologized “Turkestani” or “Turco-Mongol” origin and these dynasties was not simply and objectively present as fact. Rather, much creative energy was unleashed by courtiers and leaders from Bosnia to Bihar (with Bukhara and Badakhshan along the way) in order to manipulate, invent, and in some cases disavow the ancestry of the founders of these dynasties. Essentially, one can even say that Turco-Mongol progenitors did not beget the Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Mongol, and Shibanid states. Quite the contrary, one can say that historians writing in these empires were the ancestors of the “Turco-Mongol” lineage of their founders. Using one or more specimens of Persian historiography, in a series of five case studies, each focusing on one of these nascent polities, the book intends to show how “Turkestan,” “Central Asia,” and “Turco-Mongol” functioned as literary tropes in the political discourse of the time."

--- I suspect, from this description alone, that I will find the _style_ very irritating, but the matter is of great interest.]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted to_read to_download persianate_culture central_asia early_modern_world_history uses_of_the_past</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:40224a69ea24/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to_read"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to_download"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:persianate_culture"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:early_modern_world_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:uses_of_the_past"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190917272.001.0001">
    <title>Islam in Central Asia and the Caucasus Since the Fall of the Soviet Union - Oxford Scholarship</title>
    <dc:date>2021-01-16T07:41:50+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190917272.001.0001</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["With the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, a major turning point in all former Soviet Republics, Central Asian and Caucasian countries began to reflect on their history and identities. As a consequence of their opening up to the global exchange of ideas, various strains of Islam and trends in Islamic thought have nourished the Islamic revival that had already started in the context of glasnost and perestroika—from Turkey, Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, and from the Indian subcontinent, the four regions with strong ties to Central Asian and Caucasian Islam before Soviet occupation. Bayram Balci seeks to analyze how these new Islamic influences have reached local societies and how they have interacted with pre-existing religious belief and practices. Combining exceptional erudition with rare first-hand research, Balci's book provides a sophisticated account of both the internal dynamics and external influences in the evolution of Islam in the region."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted islam central_asia post-soviet_life to_download</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:75dc9082a53e/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:islam"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_life"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to_download"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190888329.001.0001">
    <title>Reign of Arrows: The Rise of the Parthian Empire in the Hellenistic Middle East - Oxford Scholarship</title>
    <dc:date>2021-01-16T05:33:44+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190888329.001.0001</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["From minor nomadic tribe to major world empire, the story of the Parthians’ success in the ancient world is nothing short of remarkable. In their early history, the Parthians benefited from strong leadership, a flexible and accommodating cultural identity, and innovative military characteristics that allowed them to compete against and indeed eventually overcome Greek, Persian, Central Asian, and eventually Roman rivals who were often more powerful. Reign of Arrows provides the first comprehensive study dedicated entirely to early Parthian history within the Hellenistic world prior to contact with Rome and the first comprehensive effort since 1938 to evaluate early Parthian political history. It is a major effort to synthesize a wide array of especially recent scholarship across numerous fields of study in order to present the reader with the most cogent, well-rounded, and up-to-date account of the intersections of Hellenistic and Parthian history possible. It draws on a wide variety of sources to explain the political and military encounters that shaped the international environment of the Hellenistic Middle East from the middle third to the early first centuries BCE. This study treats broader issues of international relations in the ancient world, state decision-making, royal identity and ideology, evolving spatial perspectives and power relations, and state security concerns. It combines traditional historical approaches, such as source criticism and the integration of material evidence, with the incorporation of modern international relations theory to better examine the rise of the Parthians to dominance over the ancient Middle East."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted central_asia ancient_history downloaded</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:fdb070fa87fb/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ancient_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:downloaded"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691161396/central-asia">
    <title>Central Asia: A New History from the Imperial Conquests to the Present | Princeton University Press</title>
    <dc:date>2020-12-22T19:44:32+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691161396/central-asia</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Central Asia is often seen as a remote and inaccessible land on the peripheries of modern history. Encompassing Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and the Xinjiang province of China, it in fact stands at the crossroads of world events. Adeeb Khalid provides the first comprehensive history of Central Asia from the mid-eighteenth century to today, shedding light on the historical forces that have shaped the region under imperial and Communist rule.
"Predominantly Muslim with both nomadic and settled populations, the peoples of Central Asia came under Russian and Chinese rule after the 1700s. Khalid shows how foreign conquest knit Central Asians into global exchanges of goods and ideas and forged greater connections to the wider world. He explores how the Qing and Tsarist empires dealt with ethnic heterogeneity, and compares Soviet and Chinese Communist attempts at managing national and cultural difference. He highlights the deep interconnections between the “Russian” and “Chinese” parts of Central Asia that endure to this day, and demonstrates how Xinjiang remains an integral part of Central Asia despite its fraught and traumatic relationship with contemporary China.
"The essential history of one of the most diverse and culturally vibrant regions on the planet, this panoramic book reveals how Central Asia has been profoundly shaped by the forces of modernity, from colonialism and social revolution to nationalism, state-led modernization, and social engineering."]]></description>
<dc:subject>central_asia xinjiang china:prc ussr imperialism post-soviet_life post-soviet_politics state-building eurasian_history in_NB books:recommended have_read reviewed</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:c735b9172f7e/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:xinjiang"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:china:prc"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ussr"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:imperialism"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_life"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_politics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:state-building"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:eurasian_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:recommended"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:have_read"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:reviewed"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/12250/silk-road-by-foot-central-asia-caucasus-adventure">
    <title>I spent 600 days walking the Silk Road, seeing the Caucasus and Central Asia by foot — The Calvert Journal</title>
    <dc:date>2020-11-29T18:47:04+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/12250/silk-road-by-foot-central-asia-caucasus-adventure</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>travelers'_tales central_asia pretty_pictures post-soviet_life</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:93142d85bcff/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:travelers'_tales"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:pretty_pictures"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_life"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/endgame-9781350179981/">
    <title>Endgame: Britain, Russia and the Final Struggle for Central Asia: Jennifer Siegel: Bloomsbury Academic</title>
    <dc:date>2020-10-01T03:27:17+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/endgame-9781350179981/</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["By the early 1900s both Britain and Russia, suspicious of Imperial Germany, decided to stabilize their relations and replace their rivalry in Central Asia - the 'Great Game' - with rapprochement. But as Jennifer Siegel here demonstrates, reality in the field told a different story. The momentum of imperial rivalry, spiced by oil and railway development, could not be arrested and various interests on both sides continued to stoke the fire with increasing aggressiveness. By 1914 Britain and Russia were on the brink of war with each other to be saved only by the outbreak of World War I. This book is a groundbreaking and original study based on hitherto unseen archives in Moscow and St Petersburg, as well as original research in London."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted history imperialism central_asia</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:e128b10dba3d/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:imperialism"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520298750/along-the-silk-roads-in-mongol-eurasia">
    <title>Along the Silk Roads in Mongol Eurasia by Michal Biran, Jonathan Brack, Francesca Fiaschetti - Paperback - University of California Press</title>
    <dc:date>2020-08-03T19:45:32+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520298750/along-the-silk-roads-in-mongol-eurasia</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Chinggis Khan and his heirs established the largest contiguous empire in the history of the world, extending from Korea to Hungary and from Iraq, Tibet, and Burma to Siberia. Ruling over roughly two thirds of the Old World, the Mongol Empire enabled people, ideas, and objects to traverse immense geographical and cultural boundaries. Along the Silk Roads in Mongol Eurasia reveals the individual stories of three key groups of people—military commanders, merchants, and intellectuals—from across Eurasia. These annotated biographies bring to the fore a compelling picture of the Mongol Empire from a wide range of historical sources in multiple languages, providing important insights into a period unique for its rapid and far-reaching transformations.
"Read together or separately, they offer the perfect starting point for any discussion of the Mongol Empire’s impact on China, the Muslim world, and the West and illustrate the scale, diversity, and creativity of the cross-cultural exchange along the continental and maritime Silk Roads."]]></description>
<dc:subject>books:noted history medieval_eurasian_history mongol_empire the_present_before_it_was_widely_distributed central_asia in_NB</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:ad8c6498982f/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:medieval_eurasian_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:mongol_empire"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:the_present_before_it_was_widely_distributed"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-34586135/how-soviet-pollution-destroyed-the-aral-sea">
    <title>How Soviet pollution destroyed the Aral Sea - BBC News</title>
    <dc:date>2020-05-15T20:48:45+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-34586135/how-soviet-pollution-destroyed-the-aral-sea</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["In October 1990 Western scientists confirmed the virtual disappearance of the Aral Sea in Soviet Central Asia, formerly the fourth largest inland sea in the world.
"The loss of sea water was the result of 60 years of intensive agriculture and pollution by the Soviet authorities. It is considered the biggest manmade loss of water in recorded history.
"The surrounding areas were devastated. Local fisherman watched as the shore gradually receded and fish stocks ran out. Local children fell victim to respiratory illnesses.
"Professor Denys Brunsden, of London's King's College, was one of the first Western scientists to visit the Aral Sea in 1990.
"He spoke to Witness about the environmental devastation that he saw."

--- But by all means, continue to go on about how _capitalism_ is to blame for our environmental problems.
(There are sensible things to be said in favor of "eco-socialism", and I am not without sympathy for it, but...)]]></description>
<dc:subject>central_asia ussr environmental_management disasters</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:1ae54e4dda78/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ussr"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:environmental_management"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:disasters"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/travel/silk-road-uzbekistan-tajikistan-kyrgyzstan.html">
    <title>12 Days on the Most Storied Highway of Them All: The Silk Road - The New York Times</title>
    <dc:date>2020-03-31T01:26:31+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/travel/silk-road-uzbekistan-tajikistan-kyrgyzstan.html</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>have_read central_asia armchair_travel pretty_pictures</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:bb08b63dac14/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:have_read"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:armchair_travel"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:pretty_pictures"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/42601">
    <title>Project MUSE - Corruption as a Last Resort</title>
    <dc:date>2019-10-29T15:27:50+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://muse.jhu.edu/book/42601</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>in_NB books:noted central_asia post-soviet_life downloaded</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:c69e9a03ee0b/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_life"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:downloaded"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-0878-2">
    <title>The genetic history of admixture across inner Eurasia | Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</title>
    <dc:date>2019-09-04T00:38:14+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-0878-2</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The indigenous populations of inner Eurasia—a huge geographic region covering the central Eurasian steppe and the northern Eurasian taiga and tundra—harbour tremendous diversity in their genes, cultures and languages. In this study, we report novel genome-wide data for 763 individuals from Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. We furthermore report additional damage-reduced genome-wide data of two previously published individuals from the Eneolithic Botai culture in Kazakhstan (~5,400 BP). We find that present-day inner Eurasian populations are structured into three distinct admixture clines stretching between various western and eastern Eurasian ancestries, mirroring geography. The Botai and more recent ancient genomes from Siberia show a decrease in contributions from so-called ‘ancient North Eurasian’ ancestry over time, which is detectable only in the northern-most ‘forest-tundra’ cline. The intermediate ‘steppe-forest’ cline descends from the Late Bronze Age steppe ancestries, while the ‘southern steppe’ cline further to the south shows a strong West/South Asian influence. Ancient genomes suggest a northward spread of the southern steppe cline in Central Asia during the first millennium BC. Finally, the genetic structure of Caucasus populations highlights a role of the Caucasus Mountains as a barrier to gene flow and suggests a post-Neolithic gene flow into North Caucasus populations from the steppe."]]></description>
<dc:subject>central_asia historical_genetics in_NB</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:87d6d821e49e/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:historical_genetics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt16gznnw">
    <title>Everyday Life in Central Asia: Past and Present on JSTOR</title>
    <dc:date>2019-08-26T13:20:15+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt16gznnw</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>in_NB downloaded books:noted central_asia history anthropology post-soviet_life ussr persianate_culture</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:4da507cc21ab/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:downloaded"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:anthropology"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_life"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ussr"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:persianate_culture"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt130jtzn">
    <title>The Prehistory of the Silk Road on JSTOR</title>
    <dc:date>2019-08-25T18:08:24+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt130jtzn</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>in_NB downloaded archaeology central_asia ancient_history the_silk_roads history</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:82a61912c264/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:downloaded"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:archaeology"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ancient_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:the_silk_roads"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:history"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fhkkx">
    <title>Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road on JSTOR</title>
    <dc:date>2019-08-25T16:40:46+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fhkkx</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>in_NB books:noted downloaded central_asia islam buddhism cultural_exchange</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:a701d99e4a17/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:downloaded"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:islam"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:buddhism"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:cultural_exchange"/>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fhvng">
    <title>A Central Asian Village at the Dawn of Civilization: Excavations at Anau, Turkmenistan on JSTOR</title>
    <dc:date>2019-08-25T16:40:22+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fhvng</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>in_NB books:noted downloaded central_asia archaeology</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:7c07c1b6afde/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:downloaded"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:archaeology"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7zvwv1">
    <title>Waqf in Central Asia: Four Hundred Years in the History of a Muslim Shrine, 1480-1889 on JSTOR</title>
    <dc:date>2019-08-23T16:47:51+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7zvwv1</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>to:NB to_read downloaded afghanistan central_asia islam islamic_civilization history</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:caf1886e14e9/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to_read"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:downloaded"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:afghanistan"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:islam"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:islamic_civilization"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:history"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fgz07">
    <title>Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane on JSTOR</title>
    <dc:date>2019-08-22T15:09:56+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fgz07</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Review: http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2014-04.html#starr]]></description>
<dc:subject>in_NB books:recommended central_asia history_of_ideas medieval_eurasian_history islamic_civilization</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:0ec17b3eb5d9/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:recommended"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:history_of_ideas"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:medieval_eurasian_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:islamic_civilization"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-kingdom-of-women-9781784537241/">
    <title>The Kingdom of Women: Life, Love and Death in China's Hidden Mountains: Choo WaiHong: I.B. Tauris</title>
    <dc:date>2019-08-20T00:56:13+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-kingdom-of-women-9781784537241/</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["In a mist-shrouded valley on China's invisible border with Tibet is a place known as the 'Kingdom of Women', where a small tribe called the Mosuo lives in a cluster of villages that have changed little in centuries. This is one of the last matrilineal societies on earth, where power lies in the hands of women. All decisions and rights related to money, property, land and the children born to them rest with the Mosuo women, who live completely independently of husbands, fathers and brothers, with the grandmother as the head of each family. A unique practice is also enshrined in Mosuo tradition - that of 'walking marriage', where women choose their own lovers from men within the tribe but are beholden to none.   Choo Waihong, a corporate lawyer who yearned for escape, ended up living with the Mosuo for seven years - the only non-Mosuo to have ever done so. She tells the remarkable story of her time in the remote mountains of China and gives a vibrant, compelling glimpse into a way of life that teeters on the knife-edge of extinction"]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted anthropology tibet central_asia extraordinary_if_true travelers'_tales</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:e292c0f5bb43/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:anthropology"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:tibet"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:extraordinary_if_true"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:travelers'_tales"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520303638/fruit-from-the-sands">
    <title>Fruit from the Sands by Robert N. Spengler III - Hardcover - University of California Press</title>
    <dc:date>2019-07-24T14:41:24+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520303638/fruit-from-the-sands</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The foods we eat have a deep and often surprising past. From almonds and apples to tea and rice, many foods that we consume today have histories that can be traced out of prehistoric Central Asia along the tracks of the Silk Road to kitchens in Europe, America, China, and elsewhere in East Asia. The exchange of goods, ideas, cultural practices, and genes along these ancient routes extends back five thousand years, and organized trade along the Silk Road dates to at least Han Dynasty China in the second century BC. Balancing a broad array of archaeological, botanical, and historical evidence, Fruit from the Sands presents the fascinating story of the origins and spread of agriculture across Inner Asia and into Europe and East Asia. Through the preserved remains of plants found in archaeological sites, Robert N. Spengler III identifies the regions where our most familiar crops were domesticated and follows their routes as people carried them around the world. With vivid examples, Fruit from the Sands explores how the foods we eat have shaped the course of human history and transformed cuisines all over the globe."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted cultural_exchange agriculture food central_asia</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:0cbfa1234e72/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:cultural_exchange"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:agriculture"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:food"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/chinese-central-asia-9781784538101/">
    <title>Chinese Central Asia: Henry Lansdell: Bloomsbury Academic</title>
    <dc:date>2019-05-24T21:29:35+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/chinese-central-asia-9781784538101/</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Henry Lansdell was one of the great travellers of the Victorian age. Unlike many explorers of the time, Lansdell was open to different cultures and his travels yielded detailed accounts that were free from the racial and religious prejudices typical of the period. Chinese Central Asia recounts Lansdell's 9,000-mile journey across the Tian Shan Mountains and into Western China, and describes the peoples he encountered, their history and religion, crafts and customs, modes of dress, natural history, trade and medicine. 
"The two-volume set provides the first account in the English language of Chinese Turkestan, contains an extensive bibliography of more than 750 books and includes a new introduction by Irina Kantarbaeva-Bill."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted central_asia travelers'_tales</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:07d3a48b6b7a/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:travelers'_tales"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/pipe-dreams/EDBEF6C32CA25A6076C00FE9ECC112BB">
    <title>Pipe Dreams by Maya K. Peterson</title>
    <dc:date>2019-01-06T03:07:02+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/pipe-dreams/EDBEF6C32CA25A6076C00FE9ECC112BB</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The drying up of the Aral Sea - a major environmental catastrophe of the late twentieth century - is deeply rooted in the dreams of the irrigation age of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a time when engineers, scientists, politicians, and entrepreneurs around the world united in the belief that universal scientific knowledge, together with modern technologies, could be used to transform large areas of the planet from 'wasteland' into productive agricultural land. Though ostensibly about bringing modernity, progress, and prosperity to the deserts, the transformation of Central Asia's landscapes through tsarist- and Soviet-era hydraulic projects bore the hallmarks of a colonial experiment. Examining how both regimes used irrigation-age fantasies of bringing the deserts to life as a means of claiming legitimacy in Central Asia, Maya K. Peterson brings a fresh perspective to the history of Russia's conquest and rule of Central Asia."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted central_asia ussr imperialism environmental_management aral_sea</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:81a727fdd247/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ussr"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:imperialism"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:environmental_management"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:aral_sea"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/13310.html">
    <title>Pomfret, R.: The Central Asian Economies in the Twenty-First Century: Paving a New Silk Road (Hardcover and eBook) | Princeton University Press</title>
    <dc:date>2019-01-05T04:19:03+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://press.princeton.edu/titles/13310.html</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["This book analyzes the Central Asian economies of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, from their buffeting by the commodity boom of the early 2000s to its collapse in 2014. Richard Pomfret examines the countries’ relations with external powers and the possibilities for development offered by infrastructure projects as well as rail links between China and Europe.
"The transition of these nations from centrally planned to market-based economic systems was essentially complete by the early 2000s, when the region experienced a massive increase in world prices for energy and mineral exports. This raised incomes in the main oil and gas exporters, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan; brought more benefits to the most populous country, Uzbekistan; and left the poorest countries, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, dependent on remittances from migrant workers in oil-rich Russia and Kazakhstan. Pomfret considers the enhanced role of the Central Asian nations in the global economy and their varied ties to China, the European Union, Russia, and the United States. With improved infrastructure and connectivity between China and Europe (reflected in regular rail freight services since 2011 and China’s announcement of its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013), relaxation of United Nations sanctions against Iran in 2016, and the change in Uzbekistan’s presidency in late 2016, a window of opportunity appears to have opened for Central Asian countries to achieve more sustainable economic futures."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted central_asia economics political_economy post-soviet_politics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:856646459516/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:economics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:political_economy"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_politics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.ibtauris.com/Books/The-arts/History-of-art--art--design-styles/History-of-art-ancient--classical-artBCE-to-c-500-CE/The-Silk-Road-Art-and-History?menuitem={DFF51E2F-C0BA-4928-ACC4-415188DCDEE8}">
    <title>The Silk Road: Art and History</title>
    <dc:date>2018-11-07T14:18:48+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.ibtauris.com/Books/The-arts/History-of-art--art--design-styles/History-of-art-ancient--classical-artBCE-to-c-500-CE/The-Silk-Road-Art-and-History?menuitem={DFF51E2F-C0BA-4928-ACC4-415188DCDEE8}</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Celebrating the cultural heritage of the countries along the Silk Route, this text explores the ancient trade route between Europe and the Far East, more specifically between Rome and the old Chinese capital of Xian. It examines the beautiful works of art discovered in each country, and sets them in their historical and geographical context. The author provides a comprehensive history of the Silk Road, drawing freely on anecdotes and literary and historical sources he examines the lives of the merchants and other travellers who used this route. Vignettes and poems from the heydey of the great trading route punctuate a lively and colourful text, which also features Antonia Tozer's evocative photographs."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted silk_road central_asia pretty_pictures</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:a2624321d766/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:silk_road"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:pretty_pictures"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520299733/islamic-shangri-la?mc_cid=d39b6fa4f5&amp;mc_eid=3d88be13af">
    <title>Islamic Shangri-La by David G. Atwill - Paperback - University of California Press</title>
    <dc:date>2018-10-10T19:55:46+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520299733/islamic-shangri-la?mc_cid=d39b6fa4f5&amp;mc_eid=3d88be13af</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Islamic Shangri-La transports readers to the heart of the Himalayas as it traces the rise of the Tibetan Muslim community from the 17th century to the present. Radically altering popular interpretations that have portrayed Tibet as isolated and monolithically Buddhist, David Atwill's vibrant account demonstrates how truly cosmopolitan Tibetan society was by highlighting the hybrid influences and internal diversity of Tibet. In its exploration of the Tibetan Muslim experience, this book presents an unparalleled perspective of Tibet's standing during the rise of post–World War II Asia."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted history central_asia tibet islamic_civilization cultural_exchange</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:8ac4d515c6d0/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:tibet"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:islamic_civilization"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:cultural_exchange"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/N/bo28055950">
    <title>Natural Resources and the New Frontier: Constructing Modern China’s Borderlands, Kinzley</title>
    <dc:date>2018-07-23T19:24:42+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/N/bo28055950</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["China’s westernmost province of Xinjiang has experienced escalating cycles of violence, interethnic strife, and state repression since the 1990s. In their search for the roots of these growing tensions, scholars have tended to focus on ethnic clashes and political disputes. In Natural Resources and the New Frontier, historian Judd C. Kinzley takes a different approach—one that works from the ground up to explore the infrastructural and material foundation of state power in the region.
"As Kinzley argues, Xinjiang’s role in producing various natural resources for regional powers has been an important but largely overlooked factor in fueling unrest. He carefully traces the buildup to this unstable situation over the course of the twentieth century by focusing on the shifting priorities of Chinese, Soviet, and provincial officials regarding the production of various resources, including gold, furs, and oil among others. Through his archival work, Kinzley offers a new way of viewing Xinjiang that will shape the conversation about this important region and offer a model for understanding the development of other frontier zones in China as well as across the global south."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted imperialism china:prc xinjiang central_asia</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:bd30161370b4/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:imperialism"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:china:prc"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:xinjiang"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0094-2">
    <title>137 ancient human genomes from across the Eurasian steppes | Nature</title>
    <dc:date>2018-05-17T13:49:13+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0094-2</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["For thousands of years the Eurasian steppes have been a centre of human migrations and cultural change. Here we sequence the genomes of 137 ancient humans (about 1× average coverage), covering a period of 4,000 years, to understand the population history of the Eurasian steppes after the Bronze Age migrations. We find that the genetics of the Scythian groups that dominated the Eurasian steppes throughout the Iron Age were highly structured, with diverse origins comprising Late Bronze Age herders, European farmers and southern Siberian hunter-gatherers. Later, Scythians admixed with the eastern steppe nomads who formed the Xiongnu confederations, and moved westward in about the second or third century BC, forming the Hun traditions in the fourth–fifth century AD, and carrying with them plague that was basal to the Justinian plague. These nomads were further admixed with East Asian groups during several short-term khanates in the Medieval period. These historical events transformed the Eurasian steppes from being inhabited by Indo-European speakers of largely West Eurasian ancestry to the mostly Turkic-speaking groups of the present day, who are primarily of East Asian ancestry."

--- Slightly trollish summary: Genetics proves that Aryans are losers.]]></description>
<dc:subject>central_asia historical_genetics in_NB</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:d9caf692103d/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:historical_genetics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.nyrb.com/products/the-resurgence-of-central-asia?variant=40849409415">
    <title>The Resurgence of Central Asia – New York Review Books</title>
    <dc:date>2017-08-22T23:34:32+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nyrb.com/products/the-resurgence-of-central-asia?variant=40849409415</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The Resurgence of Central Asia is Ahmed Rashid’s seminal study of the states that emerged in the aftermath of the breakup of the Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. All have Muslim majorities and ancient histories but are otherwise very different. Rashid’s book, now with a new introduction by the author examining some of the crucial political developments since its first publication in 1994, provides entrée to this little-known but geopolitically important region. Rashid gives a history of each country, including its incorporation into Tsarist Russia, to the present day, provides basic socioeconomic information, and explains the diverse political situations. He focuses primarily on the underlying issues confronting these societies: the legacy of Soviet rule, ethnic tensions, the position of women, the future of Islam, the question of nuclear proliferation, and the fundamental choices over economic strategy, political system, and external orientation that lie ahead."

--- Not sure why a 20-year-old current affairs book would be re-issued...]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted central_asia post-soviet_politics rashid.ahmed</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:bc6a494bffa3/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_politics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:rashid.ahmed"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://sup.org/books/title/?id=27275">
    <title>Borderland Capitalism: Turkestan Produce, Qing Silver, and the Birth of an Eastern Market | Kwangmin Kim</title>
    <dc:date>2016-08-15T20:36:54+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://sup.org/books/title/?id=27275</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Scholars have long been puzzled by why Muslim landowners in Central Asia, called begs, stayed loyal to the Qing empire when its political legitimacy and military power were routinely challenged. Borderland Capitalism argues that converging interests held them together: the local Qing administration needed the Turkic begs to develop resources and raise military revenue while the begs needed access to the Chinese market.
"Drawing upon multilingual sources and archival material, Kwangmin Kim shows how the begs aligned themselves with the Qing to strengthen their own plantation-like economic system. As controllers of food supplies, commercial goods, and human resources, the begs had the political power to dictate the fortunes of governments in the region. Their political choice to cooperate with the Qing promoted an expansion of the Qing's emerging international trade at the same time that Europe was developing global capitalism and imperialism. Borderland Capitalism shows the Qing empire as a quintessentially early modern empire and points the way toward a new understanding of the rise of a global economy."]]></description>
<dc:subject>books:noted china central_asia imperialism economic_history in_NB xinjiang</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:7940661317d3/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:china"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:imperialism"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:economic_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:xinjiang"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.snowleopard.org/amazing-wild-snow-leopard-photos?goal=0_cc286e56f5-d9d7c86445-92763277&amp;mc_cid=d9d7c86445&amp;mc_eid=b7456d29b4">
    <title>Amazing Wild Snow Leopard Photos</title>
    <dc:date>2016-07-07T19:02:43+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.snowleopard.org/amazing-wild-snow-leopard-photos?goal=0_cc286e56f5-d9d7c86445-92763277&amp;mc_cid=d9d7c86445&amp;mc_eid=b7456d29b4</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>pretty_pictures to:tumblr central_asia snow_leopards cats</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:214132f83a6f/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:pretty_pictures"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:tumblr"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:snow_leopards"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:cats"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/O/bo23151172">
    <title>Oil and Water: Being Han in Xinjiang, Cliff</title>
    <dc:date>2016-07-02T00:04:18+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/O/bo23151172</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["For decades, China’s Xinjiang region has been the site of clashes between long-residing Uyghur and Han settlers. Up until now, much scholarly attention has been paid to state actions and the Uyghur’s efforts to resist cultural and economic repression. This has left the other half of the puzzle—the motivations and ambitions of Han settlers themselves—sorely understudied.
"With Oil and Water, anthropologist Tom Cliff offers the first ethnographic study of Han in Xinjiang, using in-depth vignettes, oral histories, and more than fifty original photographs to explore how and why they became the people they are now. By shifting focus to the lived experience of ordinary Han settlers, Oil and Water provides an entirely new perspective on Chinese nation building in the twenty-first century and demonstrates the vital role that Xinjiang Han play in national politics—not simply as Beijing’s pawns, but as individuals pursuing their own survival and dreams on the frontier."]]></description>
<dc:subject>books:noted central_asia ethnography in_NB china:prc xinjiang</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:4c5eade5d15c/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ethnography"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:china:prc"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:xinjiang"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/87.html">
    <title>Barthold, V.V.; Soucek, S.,: An Historical Geography of Iran (eBook, Paperback and Hardcover).</title>
    <dc:date>2016-06-22T18:32:51+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://press.princeton.edu/titles/87.html</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["This volume is a compendium of the rich archeological and literary evidence on the Iranian world in its larger sense, comprising part of what is now Soviet Central Asia and Afghanistan as well as Iran proper."]]></description>
<dc:subject>in_NB books:noted iran afghanistan central_asia archaeology geography ancient_history</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:78f083a09a44/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:iran"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:afghanistan"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:archaeology"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:geography"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ancient_history"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.motherjones.com/media/2015/12/hunting-with-eagles-golden-palani-mohan-mongolia">
    <title>You Have to See These Photos of Mongolian Men Hunting With Eagles | Mother Jones</title>
    <dc:date>2015-12-21T01:34:02+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.motherjones.com/media/2015/12/hunting-with-eagles-golden-palani-mohan-mongolia</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Hunting with Eagles: In the Realm of the Mongolian Kazakhs]]></description>
<dc:subject>photos beautiful central_asia eagles birds</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:d792f5437add/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:photos"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:beautiful"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:eagles"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:birds"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo19782704">
    <title>Dispatches from Dystopia: Histories of Places Not Yet Forgotten, Brown</title>
    <dc:date>2015-06-24T02:14:43+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo19782704</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>to:NB books:noted modern_ruins travelers'_tales central_asia nukes post-soviet_life cold_war_legacies</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:41d1df15d175/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:modern_ruins"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:travelers'_tales"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:nukes"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_life"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:cold_war_legacies"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo5763940">
    <title>A Historical Atlas of Tibet, Ryavec</title>
    <dc:date>2015-06-08T02:45:43+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo5763940</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Possible gift for L.K.?]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted coveted geography central_asia tibet in_wishlist</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:9534960ae71b/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:coveted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:geography"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:tibet"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_wishlist"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-hunter-the-stag-and-the-mother-of-animals-9780190202361?cc=us&amp;lang=en#">
    <title>The Hunter, the Stag, and the Mother of Animals - Esther Jacobson-Tepfer - Oxford University Press</title>
    <dc:date>2015-05-20T15:00:38+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-hunter-the-stag-and-the-mother-of-animals-9780190202361?cc=us&amp;lang=en#</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The ancient landscape of North Asia gave rise to a mythic narrative of birth, death, and transformation that reflected the hardship of life for ancient nomadic hunters and herders. Of the central protagonists, we tend to privilege the hero hunter of the Bronze Age and his re-incarnation as a warrior in the Iron Age. But before him and, in a sense, behind him was a female power, half animal, half human. From her came permission to hunt the animals of the taiga, and by her they were replenished. She was, in other words, the source of the hunter's success. The stag was a latecomer to this tale, a complex symbol of death and transformation embedded in what ultimately became a struggle for priority between animal mother and hero hunter. 
"From this region there are no written texts to illuminate prehistory, and the hundreds of burials across the steppe reveal little relating to myth and belief before the late Bronze Age. What they do tell us is that peoples and cultures came and went, leaving behind huge stone mounds, altars, and standing stones as well as thousands of petroglyphic images. With The Hunter, the Stag, and the Mother of Animals, Esther Jacobson-Tepfer uses that material to reconstruct the prehistory of myth and belief in ancient North Asia. Her narrative places monuments and imagery within the context of the physical landscape and by considering all three elements as reflections of the archaeology of belief. Within that process, paleoenvironmental forces, economic innovations, and changing social order served as pivots of mythic transformation. With this vividly illustrated study, Jacobson-Tepfer brings together for this first time in any language Russian and Mongolian archaeology with prehistoric representational traditions of South Siberia and Mongolia in order to explore the non-material aspects of these fascinating prehistoric cultures."

--- This looks (how to put it delicately?) like an intriguing fusion of scholarship with  mythopoesis.]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted archaeology history_of_religion central_asia shamanism color_me_skeptical</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:460737c35359/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:archaeology"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:history_of_religion"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:shamanism"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:color_me_skeptical"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://sarahkendzior.com/2015/03/08/the-future-of-central-asian-studies-a-eulogy/">
    <title>The Future of Central Asian Studies: A Eulogy | Sarah Kendzior</title>
    <dc:date>2015-03-09T01:15:08+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://sarahkendzior.com/2015/03/08/the-future-of-central-asian-studies-a-eulogy/</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>central_asia academia have_read via:absfac</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:136f3e3c7d0c/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:academia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:have_read"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:via:absfac"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520281271">
    <title>The Hellenistic Far East - Rachel Mairs - Hardcover - University of California Press</title>
    <dc:date>2014-12-05T18:44:49+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520281271</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["In the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s conquests in the late fourth century B.C., Greek garrisons and settlements were established across Central Asia, through Bactria (modern-day Afghanistan) and into India. Over the next three hundred years, these settlements evolved into multiethnic, multilingual communities as much Greek as they were indigenous. To explore the lives and identities of the inhabitants of the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms, Rachel Mairs marshals a variety of evidence, from archaeology, to coins, to documentary and historical texts. Looking particularly at the great city of Ai Khanoum, the only extensively excavated Hellenistic period urban site in Central Asia, Mairs explores how these ancient people lived, communicated, and understood themselves. Significant and original, The Hellenistic Far East will highlight Bactrian studies as an important part of our understanding of the ancient world."]]></description>
<dc:subject>in_NB books:noted ancient_history afghanistan hellenstic_era imperialism central_asia cultural_exchange</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:46ba6a795d25/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ancient_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:afghanistan"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:hellenstic_era"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:imperialism"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:cultural_exchange"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/11/adrienne-mayor-the-amazons-lives-a-legends-of-warrior-women-across-the-ancient-world">
    <title>Hash-smoking, Tattoos, Sexual Freedom, and Horses. Adrienne Mayor’s The Amazons | Tor.com</title>
    <dc:date>2014-11-06T19:29:51+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/11/adrienne-mayor-the-amazons-lives-a-legends-of-warrior-women-across-the-ancient-world</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>book_reviews books:noted ancient_history ancient_greece mythology central_asia archaeology</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:935c61cdfc23/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:book_reviews"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ancient_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ancient_greece"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:mythology"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:archaeology"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/great-game-1856%E2%80%931907">
    <title>The Great Game, 1856–1907</title>
    <dc:date>2014-06-17T19:27:21+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/great-game-1856%E2%80%931907</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The Great Game, 1856–1907 presents a new view of the British-Russian competition for dominance in Central Asia in the second half of the nineteenth century. Evgeny Sergeev offers a complex and novel point of view by synthesizing official collections of documents, parliamentary papers, political pamphlets, memoirs, contemporary journalism, and guidebooks from unpublished and less studied primary sources in Russian, British, Indian, Georgian, Uzbek, and Turkmen archives. His efforts amplify our knowledge of Russia by considering the important influences of local Asian powers.
"Ultimately, this book disputes the characterization of the Great Game as a proto–Cold War between East and West. By relating it to other regional actors, Sergeev creates a more accurate view of the game’s impact on later wars and on the shape of post–World War I Asia."]]></description>
<dc:subject>books:noted central_asia imperialism 19th_century_history in_NB</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:dcd93122e996/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:imperialism"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:19th_century_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/12/4375.abstract">
    <title>Pluvials, droughts, the Mongol Empire, and modern Mongolia</title>
    <dc:date>2014-04-24T01:01:29+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.pnas.org/content/111/12/4375.abstract</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Although many studies have associated the demise of complex societies with deteriorating climate, few have investigated the connection between an ameliorating environment, surplus resources, energy, and the rise of empires. The 13th-century Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous land empire in world history. Although drought has been proposed as one factor that spurred these conquests, no high-resolution moisture data are available during the rapid development of the Mongol Empire. Here we present a 1,112-y tree-ring reconstruction of warm-season water balance derived from Siberian pine (Pinus sibirica) trees in central Mongolia. Our reconstruction accounts for 56% of the variability in the regional water balance and is significantly correlated with steppe productivity across central Mongolia. In combination with a gridded temperature reconstruction, our results indicate that the regional climate during the conquests of Chinggis Khan’s (Genghis Khan’s) 13th-century Mongol Empire was warm and persistently wet. This period, characterized by 15 consecutive years of above-average moisture in central Mongolia and coinciding with the rise of Chinggis Khan, is unprecedented over the last 1,112 y. We propose that these climate conditions promoted high grassland productivity and favored the formation of Mongol political and military power. Tree-ring and meteorological data also suggest that the early 21st-century drought in central Mongolia was the hottest drought in the last 1,112 y, consistent with projections of warming over Inner Asia. Future warming may overwhelm increases in precipitation leading to similar heat droughts, with potentially severe consequences for modern Mongolia."

--- Paging John Emerson, http://haquelebac.wordpress.com/2014/02/16/5321/]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB central_asia mongol_empire climate_change medieval_eurasian_history</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:7f209d9b00d6/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:mongol_empire"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:climate_change"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:medieval_eurasian_history"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/85686">
    <title>Kyrgyzstan and the Uzbeks |</title>
    <dc:date>2014-04-04T18:10:13+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/85686</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>kyrgyzstan central_asia post-soviet_life post-soviet_politics travelers'_tales</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:6e0030d65c34/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:kyrgyzstan"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_life"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_politics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:travelers'_tales"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://global.oup.com/academic/product/greco-scythian-art-and-the-birth-of-eurasia-9780199682331?cc=us&amp;lang=en#">
    <title>Greco-Scythian Art and the Birth of Eurasia - Caspar Meyer - Oxford University Press</title>
    <dc:date>2014-03-21T18:08:18+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://global.oup.com/academic/product/greco-scythian-art-and-the-birth-of-eurasia-9780199682331?cc=us&amp;lang=en#</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Since their discovery in nineteenth-century Russia, Greco-Scythian artefacts have been interpreted as masterpieces by Greek craftsmen working according to the tastes of the Scythian nomads and creating realistic depictions of their barbarian patrons. Drawing on a broad array of evidence from archaeology, art history and epigraphy to contextualize Greco-Scythian metalwork in ancient society, this volume confronts the deep confusion between ancient representation and historical reality in contemporary engagements with classical culture. It argues that the strikingly life-like figure scenes of Greco-Scythian art were integral to the strategies of a cosmopolitan elite who legitimated its economic dominance by asserting an intermediary cultural position between the steppe inland and the urban centres on the shores of the Black Sea. Investigating the reception of this 'Eurasian' self-image in tsarist Russia, Meyer unravels the complex relationship between ancient ideology and modern imperial visions, and its legacy in current conceptions of cultural interaction and identity.
"With a synthesis of material evidence never yet attempted, this volume breaks significant new ground in explaining the archaeology of Scythia and its ties to inner Asia and classical Greece, the intersection between modern museum display and visual knowledge, and the intellectual history of classics in Russia and the West."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted ancient_history cultural_exchange historical_myths history_of_ideas art_history reception_history archaeology scythia russia central_asia</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:93f7fb3cf49b/</dc:identifier>
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	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ancient_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:cultural_exchange"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:historical_myths"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:history_of_ideas"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:art_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:reception_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:archaeology"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:scythia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:russia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://haquelebac.wordpress.com/2014/02/16/5321/">
    <title>Climate and the Mongol Invasions | Haquelebac</title>
    <dc:date>2014-02-24T19:05:12+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://haquelebac.wordpress.com/2014/02/16/5321/</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>climate_change central_asia medieval_eurasian_history emerson.john have_read to:blog</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:01b957babd07/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:climate_change"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:medieval_eurasian_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:emerson.john"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:have_read"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:blog"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://global.oup.com/academic/product/sacred-landscape-in-medieval-afghanistan-9780199687053">
    <title>Sacred Landscape in Medieval Afghanistan - Arezou Azad - Oxford University Press</title>
    <dc:date>2014-02-14T03:49:38+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://global.oup.com/academic/product/sacred-landscape-in-medieval-afghanistan-9780199687053</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["This book is about a sacred place called Balkh, known to the ancient Greeks as Bactra. Located in the north of today's Afghanistan, along the silk road, Balkh was holy to many. The Prophet Zoroaster is rumored to have died here, and during late antiquity, Balkh was the home of the Naw Bahar, a famed Buddhist temple and monastery. By the tenth century, Balkh had become a critical center of Islamic learning and early poetry in the New Persian language that grew after the Islamic conquests and continues to be spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia today.
"In this book, Arezou Azad provides the first in-depth study of the sacred sites and landscape of medieval Balkh, which continues to exemplify age-old sanctity in the Persian-speaking world and the eastern lands of Islam generally. Azad focuses on the five centuries from the Islamic conquests in the eighth century to just before the arrival of the Mongols in the thirteenth century, the crucial period in the emergence of Perso-Islamic historiography and Islamic legal thought. The book traces the development of 'sacred landscape', the notion that a place has a sensory meaning, as distinct from a purely topographical space. This opens up new possibilities for our understanding of Islamisation in the eastern Islamic lands, and specifically the transition from Buddhism to Islam. Azad offers a new look at the medieval local history of Balkh, the Fada'il-i Balkh, and analyzes its creation of a sacred landscape for Balkh. In doing so, she provides a compelling example of how the sacredness of a place is perpetuated through narratives, irrespective of the dominant religion or religious strand of the time."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted afghanistan central_asia medieval_eurasian_history islamic_civilization</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:4e0c0d79caac/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:afghanistan"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:medieval_eurasian_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:islamic_civilization"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/K/bo4343014">
    <title>Kazakhstan's New Economy: Post-Soviet, Central Asian Industries in a Global Era, Nathan</title>
    <dc:date>2014-02-07T20:59:01+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/K/bo4343014</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Kazakhstan has faced severe economic challenges since it gained independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. Kazakhstan’s New Economy explores how the country might shed the outdated business practices that continue to hamper its growth. Jay Nathan first provides a historical overview of the economy and then delves deeper into the strengths and weaknesses of nine major industries, including oil and gas, banking, telecommunications, and transportation. Nathan’s careful analysis and recommendations will provide valuable insight for anyone interested in Central Asia’s economic growth. "]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted post-soviet_life post-soviet_politics economics central_asia</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:9fe9b3a99d4d/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_life"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_politics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:economics"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10064.html">
    <title>Starr, S.,: Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane.</title>
    <dc:date>2013-10-25T16:29:13+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10064.html</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["In this sweeping and richly illustrated history, S. Frederick Starr tells the fascinating but largely unknown story of Central Asia's medieval enlightenment through the eventful lives and astonishing accomplishments of its greatest minds--remarkable figures who built a bridge to the modern world. Because nearly all of these figures wrote in Arabic, they were long assumed to have been Arabs. In fact, they were from Central Asia--drawn from the Persianate and Turkic peoples of a region that today extends from Kazakhstan southward through Afghanistan, and from the easternmost province of Iran through Xinjiang, China.
"Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects. They gave algebra its name, calculated the earth's diameter with unprecedented precision, wrote the books that later defined European medicine, and penned some of the world's greatest poetry. One scholar, working in Afghanistan, even predicted the existence of North and South America--five centuries before Columbus. Rarely in history has a more impressive group of polymaths appeared at one place and time. No wonder that their writings influenced European culture from the time of St. Thomas Aquinas down to the scientific revolution, and had a similarly deep impact in India and much of Asia.
"Lost Enlightenment chronicles this forgotten age of achievement, seeks to explain its rise, and explores the competing theories about the cause of its eventual demise. Informed by the latest scholarship yet written in a lively and accessible style, this is a book that will surprise general readers and specialists alike."

(The endorsement by Kissinger is however a bit of WTF.)]]></description>
<dc:subject>central_asia medieval_eurasian_history islamic_civilization books:owned books:recommended in_NB have_read</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:f76c456e0f44/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:medieval_eurasian_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:islamic_civilization"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:owned"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:recommended"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:have_read"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://epress.anu.edu.au/titles/asian-studies-series/tajikistan">
    <title>Tajikistan - ANU E Press - ANU</title>
    <dc:date>2013-10-12T00:07:09+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://epress.anu.edu.au/titles/asian-studies-series/tajikistan</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["This book is a historical study of the Tajiks in Central Asia from the ancient times to the post-Soviet period. For millennia, these descendants of the original Aryan settlers were part of many different empires set up by Greek, Arab, Turkic and Russian invaders, as well as their own, most notably during the Middle Ages. The emergence of the modern state of Tajikistan began after 1917 under Soviet rule, and culminated in the promulgation of independence from the moribund USSR in 1991. In the subsequent civil war that raged between 1992 and 1997, Tajikistan came close to becoming a failed state. The legacy of that internal conflict remains critical to understanding politics in Tajikistan a generation later.
"Exploring the patterns of ethnic identity and the exigencies of state formation, the book argues that despite a strong sense of belonging underpinned by shared history, mythology and cultural traits, the Tajiks have not succeeded in forming a consolidated nation. The politics of the Russian colonial administration, the national-territorial delimitation under Stalin, and the Soviet strategy of socio-economic modernisation contributed to the preservation and reification of sub-ethnic cleavages and regional identities. The book demonstrates the impact of region-based elite clans on Tajikistan’s political trajectory in the twilight years of the Soviet era, and identifies objective and subjective factors that led to the civil war. It concludes with a survey of the process of national reconciliation after 1997, and the formal and informal political actors, including Islamist groups, who compete for influence in Tajik society."]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted central_asia post-soviet_politics</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:db27ec306c8d/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:post-soviet_politics"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/Y/bo16899365">
    <title>Youth and Globalization in Central Asia: Everyday Life between Religion, Media, and International Donors, Kirmse</title>
    <dc:date>2013-09-03T12:20:53+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/Y/bo16899365</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["The former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan in the heart of Central Asia is home to the city of Osh, which is commonly discussed as an epicenter of radical Islamism and political instability, yet also fully globalized. Stefan Kirmse explores what this means for the everyday lives of the city’s young people. By focusing on the myriad ways in which young Muslims experience globalization, this book offers an alternative to the standard sensationalist accounts of post-Soviet Central Asia that discuss the region in terms of an “Islamic threat,” political instability, and inter-ethnic strife. "]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted central_asia globalization ethnography</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:831e9dd42450/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:globalization"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:ethnography"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/business/global/hauling-new-treasure-along-the-silk-road.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">
    <title>Hauling New Treasure Along the Silk Road - NYTimes.com</title>
    <dc:date>2013-07-23T16:50:56+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/business/global/hauling-new-treasure-along-the-silk-road.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><dc:subject>have_read central_asia globalization via:krugman pretty_pictures armchair_travel</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:27168b68eab1/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:have_read"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:globalization"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:via:krugman"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:pretty_pictures"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:armchair_travel"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9781610911726">
    <title>Tibet Wild: A Naturalist's Journeys on the Roof of the World by George B Schaller - Powell's Books</title>
    <dc:date>2013-03-28T21:31:14+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9781610911726</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["As one of the worlds leading field biologists, George Schaller has spent much of his life traversing wild and isolated places in his quest to understand and conserve threatened species&#8212;from mountain gorillas in the Virunga to pandas in the Wolong and snow leopards in the Himalaya. Throughout his celebrated career, Schaller has spent more time in Tibet than in any other part of the world, devoting more than thirty years to the wildlife, culture, and landscapes that captured his heart and continue to compel him to protect them.
 "Tibet Wild is Schallers account of three decades of exploration in the most remote stretches of Tibet: the wide, sweeping rangelands of the Chang Tang and the hidden canyons and plunging ravines of the southeastern forests. As engaging as he is enlightening, Schaller illustrates the daily struggles of a field biologist trying to traverse the impenetrable Chang Tang, discover the calving grounds of the chiru or Tibetan antelope, and understand the movements of the enigmatic snow leopard. 
 "As changes in the region accelerated over the years, with more roads, homes, and grazing livestock, Schaller watched the clash between wildlife and people become more common&#8212;and more destructive. Thus what began as a purely scientific endeavor became a mission: to work with local communities, regional leaders, and national governments to protect the unique ecological richness and culture of the Tibetan Plateau. 
"Whether tracking brown bears, penning fables about the tiny pika, or promoting a conservation preserve that spans the borders of four nations, Schaller has pursued his goal with a persistence and good humor that will inform and charm readers.  Tibet Wild is an intimate journey through the changing wilderness of Tibet, guided by the careful gaze and unwavering passion of a life-long naturalist."

- Favorable review in _Science_]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted memoir biology natural_history central_asia tibet</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:6ce208a04d7f/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:to:NB"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:memoir"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:biology"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:natural_history"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:tibet"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9672.html">
    <title>Ayé, R. and Schweizer, M., Roth, T.: Birds of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan.</title>
    <dc:date>2012-11-22T04:19:13+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9672.html</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Central Asia--a vast and remote area of steppe, semi-desert, and mountains separating Europe from eastern Asia--is home to a diversity of birds. Birds of Central Asia is the first-ever field guide to the avian population of this fascinating part of the world. From ground jays, larks, and raptors to warblers, nuthatches, and snowfinches, this comprehensive guide covers 618 species--including all residents, migrants, and vagrants--and 143 superb plates depict every species and many distinct plumages and races. This portable book contains important introductory sections on the land and its birds, and up-to-date color maps. The concise, authoritative text on facing pages highlights key identification features, such as status, voice, and habitat. Birds of Central Asia is indispensable for anyone interested in the birds of this remarkable and little-known region."]]></description>
<dc:subject>books:noted central_asia afghanistan birds in_NB</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:e8c1da2b0443/</dc:identifier>
<taxo:topics><rdf:Bag>	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:books:noted"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:central_asia"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:afghanistan"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:birds"/>
	<rdf:li rdf:resource="https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/t:in_NB"/>
</rdf:Bag></taxo:topics>
</item>
<item rdf:about="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9871.html">
    <title>Beckwith, C.I.: Warriors of the Cloisters: The Central Asian Origins of Science in the Medieval World.</title>
    <dc:date>2012-09-27T13:07:26+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9871.html</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["Warriors of the Cloisters tells how key cultural innovations from Central Asia revolutionized medieval Europe and gave rise to the culture of science in the West. Medieval scholars rarely performed scientific experiments, but instead contested issues in natural science, philosophy, and theology using the recursive argument method. This highly distinctive and unusual method of disputation was a core feature of medieval science, the predecessor of modern science. We know that the foundations of science were imported to Western Europe from the Islamic world, but until now the origins of such key elements of Islamic culture have been a mystery.
"In this provocative book, Christopher I. Beckwith traces how the recursive argument method was first developed by Buddhist scholars and was spread by them throughout ancient Central Asia. He shows how the method was adopted by Islamic Central Asian natural philosophers--most importantly by Avicenna, one of the most brilliant of all medieval thinkers--and transmitted to the West when Avicenna's works were translated into Latin in Spain in the twelfth century by the Jewish philosopher Ibn Da'ud and others. During the same period the institution of the college was also borrowed from the Islamic world. The college was where most of the disputations were held, and became the most important component of medieval Europe's newly formed universities. As Beckwith demonstrates, the Islamic college also originated in Buddhist Central Asia.
"Using in-depth analysis of ancient Buddhist, Classical Arabic, and Medieval Latin writings, Warriors of the Cloisters transforms our understanding of the origins of medieval scientific culture."

- My strong suspicion is that this is going to be making mountains of conjectures out of molehills of evidence, but how can I resist?  (And what was Danny Yee's line, about wondering whether Beckwith's graduate students were expected to follow him into the kurgan?)]]></description>
<dc:subject>to:NB books:noted history_of_ideas medieval_eurasian_history central_asia rhetoric buddhism islamic_civilization scholasticism beckwith.christopher books:owned</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:55a5d6384a03/</dc:identifier>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2012/08/dead-media-beat-maintaining-the-gandhari-database/">
    <title>Dead Media Beat: Maintaining the Gandhari Database | Beyond The Beyond | Wired.com</title>
    <dc:date>2012-08-24T11:18:26+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2012/08/dead-media-beat-maintaining-the-gandhari-database/</link>
    <dc:creator>cshalizi</dc:creator><description><![CDATA["You will be responsible for the technical maintenance and development of the Dictionary of Gāndhārī database. Gāndhārī is a Middle Indo‐Aryan language used in ancient Gandhāra (northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan) and in Central Asia (Xinjiang, China) from ca. the fourth century BCE until the fourth century CE. As an important literary and administrative language of this region, (((until it died, that is))) Gāndhārī played a central role in the spread of Buddhist literature from India to Central Asia and China.
"The Dictionary database, established in 2002 at the University of Washington, currently contains transliterations and images of 2,635 Gāndhārī documents (manuscripts, inscriptions and coin legends) – the large majority of known sources for this language. (((So, well, that’s pretty much all there is.)))
"At the same time, archeological discoveries continue to enlarge the Gāndhārī textual corpus, and only a small part of the currently known texts is available in scholarly editions. The Dictionary of Gāndhārī is thus being compiled on the basis of a growing body of sources, and the Dictionary database in turn supports ongoing editorial activities. Further information on the Dictionary of Gāndhārī is available at http://gandhari.org/dictionary/.
"We are looking for an experienced programmer and digital humanist who will convert the content of the Dictionary database from its current custom PostgreSQL schema into a TEI‐conformant XML schema following specifications provided by the editors, and who will develop a hosting solution and web applications for this content on the basis of either a relational database or an eXist native XML database. After this fundamental format conversion, the programmer / digital humanist will continue to broaden and improve the presentational and analytical capabilities of the database system in accordance with the needs of its editors and users (including mechanisms for linking transcriptions and images of source texts, advanced search procedures taking into account lexical and grammatical metadata, and methods for integrating information from the database with editorial actions into full‐fledged dictionary articles and grammatical descriptions). The programmer / digital humanist will further assist with the typesetting of web and print publications of the project “Buddhist Manuscripts from Gandhāra,” with special attention to the automation of editorial tasks on the basis of the Dictionary database."]]></description>
<dc:subject>buddhism afghanistan central_asia archaeology</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
<dc:identifier>https://pinboard.in/u:cshalizi/b:7cc9d63de9f7/</dc:identifier>
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