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Geographical range | Ordos Plateau |
---|---|
Period | lateNeolithic to earlyBronze Age |
Dates | c. 800–150 BCE[1] |
Preceded by | Zhukaigou culture Shimao culture Siwa culture Xicha culture |
Followed by | Han dynasty |
TheOrdos culture (simplified Chinese:鄂尔多斯文化;traditional Chinese:鄂爾多斯文化;pinyin:È'ěrduōsī Wénhuà) was a material culture occupying a region centered on theOrdos Loop (corresponding to the region ofSuiyuan, includingBaotou to the north, all located in modernInner Mongolia,China)[3] during theBronze and earlyIron Age from c. 800 BCE to 150 BCE.[4] The Ordos culture is known for significant finds ofScythian art and may represent the easternmost extension ofIndo-EuropeanEurasian nomads, such as theSaka,[5][6][7] or may be linkable toPalaeo-Siberians orYeniseians.[8] Under theQin andHan dynasties, the area came under the control of contemporaneous Chinese states.
The Ordos Plateau was covered by grass, bushes, and trees and was sufficiently watered by numerous rivers and streams to produce rich grazing lands.[9] At the time, it contained the best pasture lands on theAsian Steppe.[10]
Equestrian nomads from the north-west occupied the area previously settled by theZhukaigou culture and theShimao culture from the 6th to the 2nd century BCE before being driven away by theXiongnu.[11] Some authors date the arrival from the north and west of these nomads practicing mounted warfare to the 4th century BC, corresponding roughly to the period of the conquests ofAlexander the Great inCentral Asia.[12] They came in several waves from Central Asia and Southern Siberia through theGansu corridor before settling in the Ordos region.[13] They may have interacted with theYuezhi[14] in the process.[13]
This also roughly corresponds to the period when mounted warfare was introduced in the Chinese state ofZhao, during theWarring States period, by groups called by the ChineseHu (胡, "Nomads") orDonghu (東胡 "Eastern Nomads") and theLinhu (林胡 "Forest Nomads"),[15][16][17] who stimulated the interest of the Zhao king with their "archery from horseback" (騎射qíshé).[13] Sometimes, Chinese sources clearly differentiated theHu and theXiongnu, who consolidated their eastern empire by the end of the 3rd century BC.[13] yet on other occasions Chinese sources often just classified the Xiongnu as aHu people, which was a blanket term fornomadic people.[18][19]
The Ordos are mainly known from their skeletal remains and artifacts. The Ordos culture of about 500 BCE to 100 CE is known for its "Ordos bronzes", blade weapons,finials for tent-poles, horse gear, and small plaques and fittings for clothes and horse harness, usinganimal style decoration with relationships both with theScythian art of regions much further west, and alsoChinese art. Its relationship with the Xiongnu is controversial; for some scholars they are the same and for others different.[20] Many buried metal artefacts have emerged on the surface of the land as a result of the progressivedesertification of the region.[21]
The Ordos are thought to be the easternmost of theIranian peoples of theEurasian Steppe, just to the east of the better-knownYuezhi, also anIndo-European-speaking people.[6][7] Because the people represented in archaeological finds tend to displayEuropoid features, also earlier noted byOtto J. Maenchen-Helfen,[22]Iaroslav Lebedynsky suggests the Ordos culture had "a Scythian affinity".[23][24] Other scholars have associated it with the Yuezhi[9] or thePalaeo-Siberians (specifically,Yeniseians).[8] The weapons found in tombs throughout the steppes of the Ordos are very close to those of theScythians andSaka.[9][25] The Ordos culture has strong similarities with theShajing culture inGansu to the west, theSaka culture of theXinjiang, and theUpper Xiajiadian culture ofLiaoning to the northeast.[26]
Recent archeological and genetic data suggests that the Western and Eastern Scythians of the 1st millennium BC originated independently, but both combineYamnaya-related ancestry, which spread eastwards from the area of the European steppes, with anEast Asian-related component, which most closely corresponds to the modern NorthSiberianNganasan people of the lowerYenisey River, to varying degrees, but generally higher among Eastern Scythians.[27]
On the other hand, archaeological evidence now tends to suggest that the origins ofScythian culture, characterized by itskurgans burial mounds and itsAnimal style of the 1st millennium BC, are to be found among Eastern Scythians rather than their Western counterparts: eastern Scythiankurgans (such as the Altaic kurganArzhan 1 inTuva) are older than western Scythian kurgans, and elements of theAnimal style are first attested in areas of theYenisei river and modern-day China in the 10th century BC.[28] The rapid spread of Scythian culture, from the Eastern Scythians to the Western Scythians, is also confirmed by significant east-to-west gene flow across the steppes during the 1st millennium BC.[27][28]
TheMaoqinggou culture at the eastern edge of the Ordos area is also considered as a "Scythian culture", which ultimately disappeared in the 3rd-2nd centuries BCE with the onset of theXiongnu.[29] Their culture expanded tremendously, and in the northeast of China replaced earlier cultures such as theUpper Xiajiadian.[30]
Several Ordos artifacts from the 6-5th century BC reflect a nomadic culture based on the chariot rather than the mounted horse. These include chariot ornaments for chariot yokes, which have been excavated in nomadic tombs.[38]
The material used was bronze, in contrast to the silver and gold which appeared from the 4th century BC, together with the mounted-horse culture.[38] Chariot ornaments disappeared from graves around that time.[38] The artifacts were probably created in the foundries of the pre-DynasticState of Qin for the nomadic herders of the Ordos.[38]
In Northeast Asia, adjacent to the Ordos-style bronze dagger culture are the Liaoning-style bronze dagger and the Slender bronze dagger, which influence each other.[36] Influenced by the Ordos-style bronze dagger, the Antenna-style bronze dagger was established in South Manchuria, Korea, and Northern Kyushu.[36]
Around the 4th century BC, grave goods starting to change markedly.[12] The chariot, which had been a central funerary artifact among nomadic people, was replaced by the horse. The iconography of grave artifacts became clearly derived fromAltaic or Northern Asian motifs.[12] The new iconography of this period, combined with the fact that it first appears in southernNingxia and southeasternGansu to the west of the Ordos, suggests that these horse-mounted nomads came from Northern Asia and southernSiberia through Gansu, probably in several waves.[38]
Gold and silver replaced tinned bronze.[12] AGold stag with eagle's head found at the southern edge of the Ordos desert exemplifies the new "intrusive style" introduced by the Ordos nomads.[12] The motif of the "raptor-headed creature" is earlier documented from thePazyryk culture, and is part of a Eurasian symbolic system known from around the 7th century BC and identified inSaka burial sites.[13] Anomadic gold crown was also excavated in the Ordos, and dated to the 3rd century BC.[13] New techniques such asgranulation were also introduced from the west across Eurasia and would then be adopted by China.[13]
These artifacts, such as those depicting raptor-headed mythological creatures, are often attributed to theXiongnu, but this is an impossibility since the Xiongnu were not yet in the region in the 4th century BCE and could not have imported these designs to northwestern China, and furthermore these styles actually disappeared soon after the arrival of the Xiongnu.[39] They should instead be attributed to the pre-Xiongnu nomads would occupied the Ordos at that time, including possibly theYuezhi.[39]
While theethnolinguistic origins and character of the Ordos culture are unknown, the population appears to have been significantly influenced byIndo-European cultures.[6] However, the art of the Ordos culture appears to have similarities to that of theDonghu people (Chinese:東胡), aMongolic-speaking nomadic tribe located to the east, suggesting that the two had close ties.[40]
The Ordos population was also in contact – and reportedly often at war – with thepre-Han and Han peoples. The Ordos culture covered, geographically, regions later occupied by the Han, including areas just north of the laterGreat Wall of China and straddling the northernmost hook of theYellow River.
To the west of the Ordos culture was another Indo-European people, theYuezhi, although nothing is known of relations between the two. (The Yuezhi were later vanquished by the Xiongnu andWusun, who reportedly drove them westward, out of China; a subgroup of the Yuezhi is widely believed to have migrated toSouth Central Asia, where it constituted the ruling elite of theKushan Empire.)
TheXiongnu's early appearance was recorded north ofWild Goose Gate andDai commanderies before 265 BCE, just before theZhao-Xiongnu War;[44][45] however,sinologistEdwin Pulleyblank (1994) contends that pre-241-BCE references to the Xiongnu are anachronistic substitutions for theHu people instead.[46][47] They are also mentioned in Chinese sources, official ones likeRecords of the Grand Historian,[48] and unofficial ones likeYi Zhou Shu[49] andClassic of Mountains and Seas[50] as having occupied theOrdos plateau during theWarring States period before it was occupied by the states ofQin andZhao.[51] It is generally thought to be their homeland; however, when exactly they came to occupy the region is unclear and archaeological finds suggest it might have been much earlier than traditionally thought.[52] The Xiongnu regained their homeland up to China's borders, more than ten years after their expulsion, during the post-Qin chaos when Meng Tian had died and convicts stationed to guard the borders returned home.[53]
As the Xiongnu expanded southward into Yuezhi territory around 160 BCE under Modun, the Yuezhi in turn defeated the Sakas and pushed them away atIssyk Kul. It is thought the Xiongnu also occupied the Ordos area during the same period, when they came in direct contact with the Chinese. From there, the Xiongnu conducted numerous devastating raids into Chinese territory (167, 158, 142, 129 BCE).[54]
TheHan–Xiongnu War began withEmperor Gaozu of Han, and the Han colonized the area of the Ordos as the commandery ofShuofang in 127 BCE. Prior to this campaign, there were already earlier commanderies established by Qin and Zhao before they were overrun by the Xiongnu in 209 BCE.[55]
Belt plaques in the shape of a kneeling horse in gilded silver, were made in North China for Xiongnu patrons in 3rd-1st century BCE.[56][57] Belt buckles with animal combat scenes were made in the 2nd-1st century BCE, mainly by North China workshops for the Xiongnu. These plates were inspired by the art of the steppes, but the design was flattened and compressed within the frame.[58][57]
The Saka culture in Xinjiang, the Shajing culture in Gansu, the Ordos complex in Inner Mongolia, and the Upper Xiajiadian culture of Liaoning, all point to a transition from mixed agropastoral to predominantly or exclusively pastoral nomadic cultures. From the seventh century onwards, objects related to improved horse management and horse riding, such as the bit, cheekpieces, horse masks, and bell ornaments, became ever more widespread and sophisticated.
"Genomic inference reveals that Scythians in the east and the west of the steppe zone can best be described as a mixture of Yamnaya-related ancestry and an East Asian component. Demographic modelling suggests independent origins for eastern and western groups with ongoing gene-flow between them, plausibly explaining the striking uniformity of their material culture. We also find evidence that significant gene-flow from east to west Eurasia must have occurred early during the Iron Age." and "The blend of EHG [European hunter-gatherer] and Caucasian elements in carriers of the Yamnaya culture was formed on the European steppe and exported into Central Asia and Siberia". We therefore considered an alternative model in which we treat them as a mix of Yamnaya and the Han (Supplementary Table 25). This model fits all of the Iron Age Scythian groups, consistent with these groups having ancestry related to East Asians not found in the other populations. Alternatively, the Iron Age Scythian groups can also be modelled as a mix of Yamnaya and the north Siberian Nganasan (Supplementary Note 2, Supplementary Table 26).
The origin of the widespread Scythian culture has long been debated in Eurasian archaeology. The northern Black Sea steppe was originally considered the homeland and centre of the Scythians until Terenozhkin formulated the hypothesis of a Central Asian origin. On the other hand, evidence supporting an east Eurasian origin includes the kurgan Arzhan 1 in Tuva, which is considered the earliest Scythian kurgan. Dating of additional burial sites situated in east and west Eurasia confirmed eastern kurgans as older than their western counterparts. Additionally, elements of the characteristic 'Animal Style' dated to the tenth century BCE were found in the region of the Yenisei river and modern-day China, supporting the early presence of Scythian culture in the East.
In the eastern end of the Scythian world in northern China, in the area ofLake Daihai to the northwest of Ordos,there is a Scythian culture known as Maoqinggou.
BRONZE PRODUCTION. Bronze objects from Scythian sites in northern China comprise fairly typical nomadic objects, which have a wide distribution throughout the Eurasian steppe belt. Among these the most characteristic are the straight blade double-edged dagger, horse gear, large ritual cauldrons, ornamental plaques, and belt buckles. The daggers from Ordos sites such as Taohongbala and Maoqinggou are different from those of the Shang and early Zhou periods. A new and rapidly spread ornamental feature is the dagger pommel with facing bird heads, or Antennae Style. This motif is very common to the north and west, and is found widely in South Siberia. (...) The consensus today is that the nomadic cultures of the Northern Zone in the late Warring States were directly linked to earlier inhabitants such as those of the lower strata of Taohongbala and Maoqinggou. There is no doubt, however, that the culture represented by these earlier sites expanded tremendously and, in certain areas such as the northeast, replaced earlier cultures such as Upper Xiajiadian.
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