Turfan studies

In recent years, nearly 700 specimens (including fragments) of sealings have been unearthed from the citadel of Kafir-Kala which is located approximately 12 km south-east of Samarkand in Uzbekistan. They represent, thus far, the greatest number of sealing finds in Central Asia. Almost all of the sealings were found in the same fire layer. The Uzbek-Italian expedition have unearthed nearly 500 specimens from the south part of the courtyard in the citadel. The Uzbek-Japanese expedition have unearthed nearly 200 specimens in and around the kiln along the eastern inner wall of the citadel.
The sealings can be divided into three groups according to their impressions: 1. Sealings bearing divine or human figures; 2. Sealings bearing fantastic or naturalistic animal figures; 3. Sealings bearing some geometric shapes (fingerprints) or Sogdian and Bactrian inscriptions. Most of the figures depicted on the sealings bear Hellenistic and Iranian (Sasanian, Sasano-Kushan) features and a few of them bear Turkic features. This article chiefly focuses on several sealings bearing divine and human figures. (The article is in Japanese, but I have placed some English notes in figure captions)

The document A-1 is one of the least understood documents among the Sogdian
manuscripts from Mount Mugh. The authors of previous editions of this document have
reached the conclusion that the commodities referred to in this document are precious
stones. I propose that this interpretation is potentially mistaken. By comparing textile
terms, mainly in Central Asian languages, I conclude that the content of this document
relates to textile or leather products rather than precious stones.

Rice is one of the most culturally valued and widely grown crops in the world today, and extensive research over the past decade has clarified much of the narrative of its domestication and early spread across East and South Asia. However, the timing and routes of its dispersal into West Asia and Europe, through which rice eventually became an important ingredient in global cuisines, has remained less clear. In this article, we discuss the piecemeal, but growing, archaeobotanical data for rice in West Asia. We also integrate written sources, linguistic data, and ethnohistoric analogies, in order to better understand the adoption of rice outside its regions of origin. The human-mediated westward spread of rice proceeded gradually, while its social standing and culinary uses repeatedly changing over time and place. Rice was present in West Asia and Europe by the tail end of the first millennium BC, but did not become a significant crop in West Asia until the past few centuries. Comple...

The archaeological excavations at Kafir-kala, which may have been the residence of the Sogdian kings (Exšēδs), have brought to light some invaluable artefacts that not only exhibit complex Sogdian fine art resulting from intense cultural contacts, but also may allow us to elucidate some aspects of the obscure background and historical development of Central Asia during Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval eras.
These artefacts include pottery, metal and glass objects, coins, wooden carvings bearing the goddess Nana and her donors, and sealings. Sealing finds among these particularly demonstrate the versatility of pre-Islamic local art, which combines various art traditions including both geographically and historically distant cultures across Eurasia. This article focuses on a number of sealing specimens discovered at Kafir-kala. (Contact me for the complete version)