Kyrgyz archaeo blog

A brief history of Archaeology in Southern Kyrgyzstan
03 Jan
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A brief history of Archaeology in Southern Kyrgyzstan

Turkestan times Contrary to the prevailing opinion that archeology developed in Central Asia during the Soviet Empire, the first researchers (more ethnographic than archaeological) visited the eastern part of the Ferghana basin and southern Kyrgyzstan already at the end of the 19th century. At its end, the Ferghan basin became the subject of interest ofRead more about A brief history of Archaeology in Southern Kyrgyzstan[…]

Research Expedition in Southern Kyrgyzstan (Ak-Jar Site, 2021)
27 Oct
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Research Expedition in Southern Kyrgyzstan (Ak-Jar Site, 2021)

The Department of Archeology, Faculty of Arts, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen carries out research expedition in southern Kyrgyzstan (18th-28th October). In cooperation with natural scientists from the Czech Academy of Sciences, colleagues from the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, Osh State University and the National Historical and Archaeological Museum Complex Suleyman-TooRead more about Research Expedition in Southern Kyrgyzstan (Ak-Jar Site, 2021)[…]

Photos by Stephen Graham – Kyrgyzstan before the Great War
12 May
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Photos by Stephen Graham – Kyrgyzstan before the Great War

Stephen Graham was a British journalist and traveler writing for “The Times” and “Country life” spending his early adult years in Central Asia (“Turkestan”). From the bunch of works he published before and during the Great War three are most interesting from my point of view: A Vagabond in the Caucasus (1911), , Undiscovered RussiaRead more about Photos by Stephen Graham – Kyrgyzstan before the Great War[…]

Some reflections on colonialism – the case of Kyrgyzstan.
08 Mar
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Some reflections on colonialism – the case of Kyrgyzstan.

In his famous book “Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the 1980s“, Paul Johnson made some interesting reflections on colonialism and the “white man’s burden”. He argues that a simple and cheap interpretation of colonialism as a tool for vacuuming resources from underdeveloped landscapes does not reflect reality – in many cases colonies were more prestigious and some colonies were even the target of large-scale infrastructure investments – such as railways in India, Congo roads, ports in Malaysia etc… Read more about Some reflections on colonialism – the case of Kyrgyzstan. …

A Short History of Tractors in Kyrgyzstan
27 Dec
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A Short History of Tractors in Kyrgyzstan

There are only a few topics, which are historians of Eastern countries attracted, especially the history and deployment of tractors in agricultural practice. The electrification of the country and the industrialization of agriculture were tangible (and perhaps the only successful) projects of the monstrous socio-economic engineering of Soviet tsarism. Not surprisingly, in many post-Soviet museums,Read more about A Short History of Tractors in Kyrgyzstan[…]

Corners of local archeology 02. “Clearly Slavs…”
11 Dec
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Corners of local archeology 02. “Clearly Slavs…”

I studied archeology at three Central European universities, and although the curricula differ, some traditions of German empirical research are constant: the designation of Kosinna’s Siedlungsarchaeologie as the invention of the devil and the belief in the study of material shard culture as the bearer of civilization and ethnicity. Perhaps there is no more paradoxRead more about Corners of local archeology 02. “Clearly Slavs…”[…]