28.09.2023Language and culture in the Tarim Basin of the first millennium

Lecturer

Prof. Dr. Hannes Fellner

Date and Time

September 28, 2023, 16:00–18:00

Venue

Universität Zürich, Asien-Orient-Institut, Raum RAA E 29, Rämistrasse 59, 8001 Zürich

Organization

Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies  - Chinese Studies

Abstract

From the 2nd century CE on, the communities along the trade routes of the ancient Silk Road in the Tarim Basin were centers of writing, copying, translating, and transmitting texts. The old Indo-European languages Sanskrit, Tocharian, and Saka were the major players in these eastern parts of the Silk Road during the first millennium CE. The texts of these languages are an important record of life on the eastern Silk Road, but are usually treated only in the context of linguistics and Buddhist studies. In this talk, I will discuss the material culture of the Tarim Basin as it emerges from the textual material in combination with archaeological and other secondary evidence. This will shed light on the history of the Tarim Basin as Central Asian borderland.