新疆出土史前海贝来源和传播路径再认识

The re-interpretation of the origins and the routes of transmission of prehistoric seashells unearthed in Xinjiang

根据分布特征、年代以及发展趋势,新疆史前海贝是甘青地区东部人群和文化扩散的结果。甘青地区经由“草原丝绸之路”获取海贝的路径,也被新疆东部人群继承了下来,并由此进一步向新疆西部传播。新疆以西的地中海、红海乃至西印度洋沿岸考古材料显示,其不仅有着深厚的海贝文化传统,也有不断向西亚、中亚内陆等欧亚草原地带扩散的趋势,并与甘青地区东部出土海贝年代基本前后相接。这不仅进一步证实新疆史前海贝经由“草原丝绸之路”自西而来,也表明包括新疆在内的西北地区在史前便与地中海、红海和西印度洋沿岸产生了持续且稳定的交流互动,而“草原丝绸之路”则是汉代“绿洲丝绸之路”开通之前沟通东西和连接海陆的主要通道之一。

Based on evidence such as the date,developmental trends,and characteristics of distribution,the prehistoric seashells in Xinjiang were considered as the result of the expansion of the population and cultures from the eastern Ganqing region.The routes of seashell acquisition through the"Steppe Silk Road"were also inherited by the people of eastern Xinjiang,and further spread into the west of the region.Archaeological materials from the areas to the west of Xinjiang,namely the Mediterranean,the Red Sea and the western coast of the Indian Ocean demonstrates a deep tradition of seashell usage,as well as the trend of gradual spreading of such tradition into the steppe regions of the Eurasia,such as the Western Asia and Central Asia.Moreover,it was chronologically linked with seashell remains uncovered from the eastern Ganqing region.This discovery not only attests to the proposition that seashell came from the west through the"Steppe Silk Road",but also demonstrates that the North-western region of China,which includes Xinjiang,was already having onging and stable interactions with the Mediterranean,the Red Sea and the western coast of the Indian Ocean.The Steppe Silk Road,on the other hand,was one of the major channels that connect the West and the East,as well as the sea and the continents before the opening of the"Oasis Silk Road"in the Han Dynasty.