New research changes our understanding of who built ancient Silk Roads

March 13, 2017 9:34 AM

"Previous studies used the wrong algorithm and missed an obvious hypothesis. [A] new study in Nature suggests the trade routes may be 2,500 years older than previously believed and its origins much humbler than the rich cities it spawned.

"[...] Washington University in St. Louis anthropologist Michael Frachetti and his colleagues wondered how people traversed the many difficult stretches of the Silk Road that switchbacked through the mountains of Central Asia. Even though these routes weren't urban or under the protection of soldiers, people used them all the time to pass between Asia and the Middle East. We can see where these travelers camped at over 600 archaeological sites in the mountains. Writing in Nature, Frachetti and his colleagues describe how they had to devise a new approach to track the routes people took between these camps."

posted by Celsius1414 (11 comments total)

The Wash U PR outlet reported on the paper thus: "Nature: Silk Road evolved as ‘grass-routes’ movement"

I don't know whether to be proud or ashamed.
posted by jedicus at 9:38 AM on March 13, 2017 [24 favorites]

Also here's the paper itself: Frachetti et al., Nomadic ecology shaped the highland geography of Asia’s Silk Roads.
posted by jedicus at 9:39 AM on March 13, 2017 [8 favorites]

Grass-routes sounds like bar hopping for the dispensary crowd.
posted by cmfletcher at 10:10 AM on March 13, 2017 [6 favorites]

I don't know whether to be proud or ashamed.

Proud, definitely proud.

And a person might wonder how soon and how much the Silk Road was a "grass-route" in cmfletcher's sense, as well.
posted by jamjam at 11:28 AM on March 13, 2017

Nearly two pounds of still-green plant material found in a 2,700-year-old grave in the Gobi Desert has just been identified as the world's oldest marijuana stash, according to a paper in the latest issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany. (2008)
posted by My Dad at 12:51 PM on March 13, 2017 [4 favorites]

Related, in southern parts of Europe you will notice quite a few perched villages. I'm kind of surprised the article doesn't mention what researchers in those areas know: People took high roads because they offered excellent views while also being difficult for others to reach. Whereas, if you were a farmer in a valley, well, once you noticed attackers descending on you, it was too late. There are still Roman roads in Nice and other towns that wind along the hilltops.
posted by fraula at 12:53 PM on March 13, 2017 [2 favorites]

Very interesting news, thanks for posting it!
posted by languagehat at 12:53 PM on March 13, 2017

Early last summer I spent a day wandering around Asuka, in Nara Prefecture in Japan. Asuka was an early capital city in Japan, and was essentially the terminus of the Silk Road. The Kitora tumulus (burial mound) in Asuka dates from back then, and the artwork on the interior is said to be a replicate of artwork found on the Korean Peninsula (Continental culture was introduced to Japan from Korea) and points further west on the Silk Road. You can get to Asuka fairly easily from Osaka (takes about 45 minutes by train) and it's great for walking around or riding bikes. The museum in Asuka is really interesting.

It's breathtaking staring back so far in time to the age of the Silk Road.
posted by My Dad at 1:11 PM on March 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

If you are in Nara, you can also view the Shoso-in Treasure House within the Todai-ji temple complex. Among the items contained within are a large number of luxury goods from all along the Silk Road. Occasionally, selections from the Silk Road treasures are put on display in the Nara National Museum.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:36 PM on March 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

Apparently the Shoso-in Treasure House is based on a design from the Caspian Sea, fwiw (Jay and Sumi Gluck, who wrote a lot about art in Japan, and who also spent a long time in pre-Revolutionary Iran, mentioned that in their guidebook). For some reason whenever I free up time to go to Nara (the city proper is a good two-hour train ride from where I reside in Japan) the National Museum's hall for new/special exhibits is closed.
posted by My Dad at 1:41 PM on March 13, 2017

Nearly two pounds of still-green plant material found in a 2,700-year-old grave in the Gobi Desert has just been identified as the world's oldest marijuana stash, according to a paper in the latest issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany. (2008)

Thank you, My Dad; your link says the grave was found near Turpan, China, and indeed:

Turpan used to be an important strategic point on the Silk Road. As early as two thousand years ago, a town called Jiaohe was built forth [sic] kilometers from today's town of Turpan

posted by jamjam at 2:43 PM on March 13, 2017 [2 favorites]