Ancient China and its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History . By Nicola Di Cosmo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ix, 369 pp. $70.00 (cloth).
TL;DR: In this paper, the Steppe Highway and the rise of pastoral nomadism as a Eurasian phenomenon are discussed. But the authors focus on the early Chinese perceptions of northern peoples.
Abstract: Introduction Part I: 1. The Steppe Highway: the rise of pastoral nomadism as a Eurasian phenomenon 2. Bronze, iron and gold: the evolution of nomadic cultures on the northern frontier of China Part II: 3. Beasts and birds: the historical context of early Chinese perceptions of northern peoples 4. Walls and horses: the beginning of historical contacts between horse-riding Nomads and Chinese states Part III: 5. Those who draw the bow: the rise of the Hsiung-nu Nomadic Empire and the political unification of the Nomads 6. From peace to war: China's shift from appeasement to military engagement Part IV: 7. In search of grass and water: ethnography and history of the North in the Historian's Records 8. Taming the North: the rationalization of the nomads in Ssu-ma Ch'ien's historical thought Conclusion.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: Estimated changes in cultural traits associated to the traditional knowledge of wild plant uses among an Amazonian indigenous society show that between 2000 and 2009, Tsimane' adults experienced a net decrease in the report of plant uses, equivalent to a 1 to 3 % per year.
Abstract: article i nfo As biological and linguistic diversity, the world's cultural diversity is on decline. However, to date there are no estimates of the rate at which the specific cultural traits of a group disappear, mainly because we lack empirical data to assess how the cultural traits of a given population change over time. Here we estimate changes in cultural traits associated to the traditional knowledge of wild plant uses among an Amazonian indigenous society. We collected data among 1151 Tsimane' Amerindians at two periods of time. Results show that between 2000 and 2009, Tsimane' adults experienced a net decrease in the report of plant uses ranging from 9% (for the female subsample) to 26% (for the subsample of people living close to towns), equivalent to 1% to 3% per year. Results from a Monte Carlo simulation show that the observed changes were not the result of randomness. Changes were more acute for men than for women and for informants living in villages close to market towns than for informants settled in remote villages. The Tsimane' could be abandoning their traditional knowledge as they perceive that this form of knowledge does not equip them well to deal with the new socio-economic and cultural conditions they face nowadays.
163 citations
Cites background from "Ancient China and its Enemies: The ..."
...…technology manufacturing costs (Martin, 2000), fit between new and previous knowledge (Rogers, 1995), external representation of knowledge (Leonti, 2011), social network structure and social institutions (Tehrani & Collard, 2009, Henrich & Henrich, 2010), or inter-group conflict (Di Cosmo, 2002)....
[...]
24 Oct 2019
TL;DR: Beaujard as mentioned in this paper presents an ambitious and comprehensive global history of the Indian Ocean world, from the earliest state formations to 1500 CE, and shows how Asia and Africa dominated the economic and cultural landscape and the flow of ideas in the pre-modern world, leading to a trans-regional division of labor and an Afro-Eurasian world economy.
Abstract: Europe's place in history is re-assessed in this first comprehensive history of the ancient world, centering on the Indian Ocean and its role in pre-modern globalization. Philippe Beaujard presents an ambitious and comprehensive global history of the Indian Ocean world, from the earliest state formations to 1500 CE. Supported by a wealth of empirical data, full color maps, plates, and figures, he shows how Asia and Africa dominated the economic and cultural landscape and the flow of ideas in the pre-modern world. This led to a trans-regional division of labor and an Afro-Eurasian world economy. Beaujard questions the origins of capitalism and hints at how this world-system may evolve in the future. The result is a reorienting of world history, taking the Indian Ocean, rather than Europe, as the point of departure. Volume II provides in-depth coverage of the period from the seventh century CE to the fifteenth century CE.
130 citations
Max Planck Society1, Seoul National University2, University of Colorado Boulder3, University of Michigan4, University of Bonn5, Mongolian Academy of Sciences6, Mongolian University of Science and Technology7, National University of Mongolia8, International Institute of Minnesota9, Russian Academy of Sciences10, University of Jena11, University of York12, Harvard University13
TL;DR: A pastoralist expansion into Mongolia ca.
Abstract: Summary The Eastern Eurasian Steppe was home to historic empires of nomadic pastoralists, including the Xiongnu and the Mongols. However, little is known about the region's population history. Here, we reveal its dynamic genetic history by analyzing new genome-wide data for 214 ancient individuals spanning 6,000 years. We identify a pastoralist expansion into Mongolia ca. 3000 BCE, and by the Late Bronze Age, Mongolian populations were biogeographically structured into three distinct groups, all practicing dairy pastoralism regardless of ancestry. The Xiongnu emerged from the mixing of these populations and those from surrounding regions. By comparison, the Mongols exhibit much higher eastern Eurasian ancestry, resembling present-day Mongolic-speaking populations. Our results illuminate the complex interplay between genetic, sociopolitical, and cultural changes on the Eastern Steppe.
108 citations
Cites background from "Ancient China and its Enemies: The ..."
...As the Xiongnu expanded their empire, they conquered numerous neighboring groups to their east and west as well as subduing their Han Dynasty neighbors to the south (Di Cosmo, 2002)....
[...]
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors apply multilevel selection to a major transition in human social evolution, from small-scale egalitarian groups to large-scale hierarchical societies such as states and empires.
Abstract: Multilevel selection is a powerful theoretical framework for understanding how complex hierarchical systems evolve by iteratively adding control levels. Here I apply this framework to a major transition in human social evolution, from small-scale egalitarian groups to large-scale hierarchical societies such as states and empires. A major mathematical result in multilevel selection, the Price equation, specifies the conditions concerning the structure of cultural variation and selective pressures that promote evolution of larger-scale societies. Specifically, large states should arise in regions where culturally very different people are in contact, and where interpolity competition – warfare – is particularly intense. For the period of human history from the Axial Age to the Age of Discovery (c.500 BCE–1500 CE), conditions particularly favorable for the rise of large empires obtained on steppe frontiers, contact regions between nomadic pastoralists and settled agriculturalists. An empirical investigation of warfare lethality, focusing on the fates of populations of conquered cities, indicates that genocide was an order of magnitude more frequent in steppe-frontier wars than in wars between culturally similar groups. An overall empirical test of the theory’s predictions shows that over ninety percent of largest historical empires arose in world regions classified as steppe frontiers.
102 citations
Cites background from "Ancient China and its Enemies: The ..."
...Similarly, the appearance of the Hunnu (Xiong-nu) on the Chinese steppe frontier in the mid-fourth century BCE (Di Cosmo 2002) was followed by the Qin (221 BCE) and the more lasting Han (202 BCE) unifications....
[...]
TL;DR: The authors reviewed established ideas for how and why complex organization emerged among nomadic groups and then considered these ideas in the context of recent archaeological theory on statehood and new material evidence for pastoral nomadic prehistory.
Abstract: Almost a century of systematic anthropological research on pastoral nomads has produced significant data and theory for understanding these mobile societies. Substantially less attention has been devoted to complex sociopolitical organization among pastoral nomadic groups and, in particular, to the large-scale polities referred to as nomadic confederations, states, or sometimes empires. This article reviews established ideas for how and why complex organization emerged among nomadic groups and then considers these ideas in the context of recent archaeological theory on statehood and new material evidence for pastoral nomadic prehistory. Revised conceptions of both the state and the nomad suggest that pastoral nomadic polities represent alternative forms of complex organization that were different from classic Old World states but still quite complex in unexpected ways. These organizational differences resulted from the mobile and flexible politics practiced among herding peoples and gave rise to regional polities based on spatial networking, distributed authority, and innovations in transport and exchange.
99 citations
References
More filters
577 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1985
TL;DR: Early Cultural Orientations: Issues and Speculations 2. Early Chou Thought: Continuity and Breakthrough 3. Confucius: The Vision of the Analects 4. Mo-tzu's Challenge 5. The Emergence of a Common Discourse: Some Key Terms 6. The Ways of Taoism 7. The Defense of the Confucian Faith: Mencius and Hsun-zu 8. Legalism: The Behavioral Science 9. Correlative Cosmology: The "School of Yin and Yang" 10. The Five Classics as mentioned in this paper
Abstract: Introduction 1. Early Cultural Orientations: Issues and Speculations 2. Early Chou Thought: Continuity and Breakthrough 3. Confucius: The Vision of the Analects 4. Mo-tzu's Challenge 5. The Emergence of a Common Discourse: Some Key Terms 6. The Ways of Taoism 7. The Defense of the Confucian Faith: Mencius and Hsun-tzu 8. Legalism: The Behavioral Science 9. Correlative Cosmology: The "School of Yin and Yang" 10. The Five Classics Postscript Notes Selected Bibliography Glossary Index
576 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1984
TL;DR: The first paperback edition of "Nomads and the Outside World" was published in 1984 as mentioned in this paper, with the author's new introduction and updated bibliography available in an edition accessible to students.
Abstract: This is the first paperback edition of Anatoly M. Khazanov's famous comparative study of pastoral nomadism. Hailed by reviewers as "majestic and magisterial, " Nomads and the Outside World was first published in English in 1984. With the author's new introduction and updated bibliography, this classic is now available in an edition accessible to students.
510 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1963
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present loads of the the archaeology of ancient china book catalogues in this site as the choice of you visiting this page and also join to the website book library that will show you numerous books from any types.
Abstract: Find loads of the the archaeology of ancient china book catalogues in this site as the choice of you visiting this page. You can also join to the website book library that will show you numerous books from any types. Literature, science, politics, and many more catalogues are presented to offer you the best book to find. The book that really makes you feels satisfied. Or that's the book that will save you from your job deadline.
490 citations