Sogdiana's Hellenistic Borderlands
From The Observatory
Date
October 15, 2025
Location
Archaeology Center, Stanford, CA
Area
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This talk presents preliminary results of ongoing archaeological research in the Kyzylkum Desert outside of the Bukhara Oasis in western Uzbekistan.
From the mid-1st millennium BCE through 1st c. CE parts of the Kyzylkum desert were a vast agricultural oasis sustained by rivers and substantive canal networks, constituting the westernmost extent of ancient Sogdiana. After the arrival of Greco-Macedonians with Alexander of Macedon western Sogdiana experienced substantial intensification that reached its crux under the archaeologically elusive Kangju empire at the turn of the 1st millennium CE. Then substantial rural areas were rapidly abandoned. Through an ongoing, broad remote sensing survey parts of this vast, now arid agricultural oasis is beginning to emerge. These new data allow us to assess for the first time the broader ecological effects of decision-making in Central Asia’s rural frontiers during the Hellenistic and Post-Hellenistic Periods, and the role these ancient anthropogenic processes played in the formation of the modern Kyzylkum.Key Speaker: Zachary William Silvia
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Stanford Archaeology Center
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The Stanford Archaeology Center is an interdisciplinary hub focused on innovative research and education in archaeology and heritage. We seek to understand the past and also the complex ways in which the archaeological past contributes to contemporary and future worlds. We work to redress the colonial foundations of archaeology through an enduring commitment to ethics and to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through dedicated lab facilities, workshops and lectures with distinguished scholars, opportunities for hands-on fieldwork and access to the Stanford University Archaeology Collection, the Center supports excellence in archaeological research and fosters dynamic links between scholars in disparate fields.
