A Stone that Linked Continents
Sat, 04/10/2010 - 11:25 — grace.norman@gm...description:
<p>King Tut's tomb contained a beautiful blue stone—from Afghanistan. How did it get there?</p>
Era:
Age of Settlement
Theme:
Traces & Narratives
Year:
1500
BCE/CE:
BCE
Date Period:
BCE
Asset Type:
Trend
Caption:
Lapis Lazuli--treasured the world over.
More Information:
<p><em>0046</em>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>R10-15</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>K-00304-33</em>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Levy, Michael. "Hymn to the Muse." In <em>An Ancient Lyre</em>. 2009, MP3. <br />
An ancient Greek musical fragment, circa 2nd century CE. <br />
© Michael Levy.</p>
<p>Lysippos. "Lapislazuli Afghanistan-b." Digital image. <em>Wikipedia Commons</em>. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lapislazuli_afghanistan-b.jpg. GNU Free Documentation License: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License</p>
<p>Palladian. "Natural Ultramarine Pigment." Digital image. <em>Wikipedia Commons.</em> Accessed August 11, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Natural_ultramarine_pigment.jpg. </p>
<p>Peterjr1961. "Cult Image of the God Ptah." Digital image. Peterjr1961's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterjr1961/2755873280/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>PHG. "Seated Buddha." Digital image. <em>Wikipedia Commons</em>. Accessed August 19, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SeatedBuddha.jpg. <br />
GNU free documentation license: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License</p>
<p>"Sample [lapis Lazuli Fragments]." Digital image. The British Museum. Accessed August 19, 2010. K-00304-33. <br />
© The Trustees of the British Museum</p>
<p>Sarahang. <em>Man Jane Kharabatam</em>. Lorraine Sakata, 1967. <br />
A ghazal. © Radio-Television Afghanistan Archives.</p>
<p>Veneziano, Caterino. "Madonna of Humility." Digital image. The Amica Library. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://tinyurl.com/25ckkyu.<br />
Cleveland Museum of Art.</p>
<hr />
<p>Producer: Alexis Menten</p>
Video Transcript:
<p>Afghanistan can appear to be a country without resources. But in fact, one of its natural resources was so valuable in ancient times that it was traded far and wide—as it still is today.</p>
<p>Afghanistan did have some resources that were highly sought after by others.</p>
<p>The most famous being lapis lazuli, the famous blue semi-precious stone which we find archeologically all the way over from Egypt over to China.</p>
<p>There was only one known source of lapis lazuli in ancient times – the highlands of the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan. There, people have been mining lapis for many thousands of years.</p>
<p>Lapis comes almost exclusively from Afghanistan. And so the presence of lapis means that you must have been having trade with Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Lapis turns up already in the Bronze Age, in tombs in Egypt and Mesopotamia, and that’s evidence that already by the Third Millennium, we were having trade from Afghanistan to the West.</p>
<p>The blue pigment ultramarine is made from ground lapis lazuli, and historically, ultramarine was the second most expensive pigment after gold.</p>
<p>As soon as you see a painting that’s full of lapis, your eyes should flash and you should see dollar signs. Why is the Virgin’s robe always blue in Italian painting? Because it was expensive.</p>
<p>During more modern times in the 1980s and 90s, the Northern Alliance took control of the lapis lazuli mines. They used the profit from export sales to purchase weapons to fight the Soviets, and later, the Taliban.</p>
<p>Indeed if we look at most of history we find that people that are engaged in the trade of goods often do better economically than the people who make the goods. And we can tell archeologically in Afghanistan that it was a center for this kind of transit trade which could be very, very profitable. And if it was profitable then you had the money to import what you wanted as well.</p>
<p>History has shown that sometimes trade itself is as profitable as the value of the objects that are traded.</p>
<p> </p>
The First Gated Communities
Sat, 04/10/2010 - 11:22 — grace.norman@gm...description:
<p>The <i>qalas</i> may hide a lot, but they have also invited us in to understand a way of living that has defined this region for many millennia.</p>
Era:
Age of Settlement
Theme:
Geography & Destiny
Tradition & Modernization
Year:
1600
BCE/CE:
BCE
Date Period:
BCE
Asset Type:
Trend
Caption:
Walls may seem simple, but they are a sign of a complex society.
More Information:
<p><em>Cutting Barley in Ghazni - 1920s</em>. Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>62-46</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>63-122</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>77-89</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>82-3120</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>88-38</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>A Type of House: A69-499</em>. 1969. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>A69-483</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>Qalah- a House Type: 50-28</em>. 1950. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>Q-00499-24</em>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Qeran, Baba, performer. <em>Naghne Danbora</em>. Lorraine Sakata, 1972. © Radio-Television Afghanistan Archives.</p>
<p><em>Typical Farmhouse 1920s, Afghanistan</em>. 1920s. Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA.</p>
<hr />
<p>Producer: Alexis Menten</p>
Video Transcript:
<p>Walls may seem simple, but actually they are an indication of a complex society. They demarcate not only space, property, and people, but also important concepts – like the difference between what is “inside” and what is “outside”; and who is one of “us” and who is one of “them.”</p>
<p>As social groups form and settle, they design new ways to live together.<br />
<br />
Human structures serve a variety of purposes. They are often built to keep things out – for example, as shelter from the elements or protection from attackers. The site on which they are built is also often chosen to be close to water or other valuable resources, and in a strategic setting that can be defended from others outside the community.</p>
<p>The qala was one of the earliest kinds of settlement patterns in what we now think of as Afghanistan. It was a series of attached houses with a wall surrounding these houses.</p>
<p>The qala settlement pattern developed uniquely in Afghanistan because of the tensions between nomadic cultures and the sedentary. The sedentary needed the protection of the walls around the qala. It looks like a fortress from the outside but when you look on the inside it may have a couple of dozen families living inside the qala. So effectively it’s a village but it’s in one large structure.</p>
<p>This is unique from other settlement patterns, in which farmhouses are built outside a village, and the villages are built outside a larger central town. In the qala, the structures of the house, village, and town would all exist inside one walled site. In this way, qala settlements can keep important things protected inside - like families and workshops.</p>
<p>This type of walled structure can still be seen today, although on a much smaller scale. Similarly, houses in Afghanistan often have walls surrounding a central courtyard.</p>
<p>Houses change. We know from archeology however, that the courtyard house was a very popular form throughout this entire region. It provided privacy; it provided shade; it was multi-functional. And we actually have evidence of houses going back quite far through excavations, certainly to many, many millennia B.C.</p>
<p>The courtyard house traditionally is centered around a courtyard in the middle with rooms often on two sides, sometimes on four sides, to take advantage of the position of the sun. So when the sun is strong, you can go into the shade. When the sun is weak, as in the winter, the sun will penetrate into the ends of the courtyard and warm the rooms. You have communal activities like cooking often in the courtyard, and you have individual rooms for sleeping and other activities.<br />
<br />
From the street you often don’t have any idea of what’s inside the house. The street is anonymous, the street is blockaded. You have usually a single entrance, often separating then into men’s and women’s quarters, or certainly public and private quarters.<br />
<br />
You would have had a public room for entertaining, and then smaller, more private rooms, often on the other side of the courtyard for personal and private life.</p>
<p>This style of architecture may seem to hide a lot, but it is actually an inviting portal into a way of living that has existed for millennia.</p>
Invaders on Horseback
Sat, 04/10/2010 - 11:16 — grace.norman@gm...description:
<p>The Indo-Iranians swept down from the North and sacked South Asia. This set the pattern for a cycle of invasions that will come to define Afghan history.</p>
Era:
Age of Settlement
Theme:
Identity & Perception
Traces & Narratives
Year:
1800
BCE/CE:
BCE
Date Period:
BCE
Asset Type:
Trend
Caption:
Scythians, Aryans, Indo-Iranians--who were they?
More Information:
<p>Belton. "Ze Ma Janana." Recorded 1967. Lorraine Sakata. <br />
Mahali style. © Radio-Television Afghanistan Archives.</p>
<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment-->
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>A Site between Bazarak and Rokha: A75-73</em>. 1975. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA. </p>
<p>Mottl, Dmitry A. "Уймонская степь (Uymon Steppe, Altay)." Digital image. Wikipedia Commons. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://tinyurl.com/3853zxl.<br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Rex. "Steppe of Western Kazakhstan in the Early Spring." Digital image. Wikipedia Commons. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Steppe_of_western_Kazakhstan_in_the_early_spring.jpg. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en</p>
<p>UNAMA/Taqi Mihran. "Peace Day Calligraphy: 16 September 2009." Digital image. United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/unama/3924593163/. <br />
Photo courtesy of UNAMA.</p>
<hr />
<p>Producer: Alexis Menten</p>
Video Transcript:
<p>History has brought many different cultures and peoples to the lands of today’s Afghanistan, many of which had a lasting impact. The first of these were the Indo-Iranians.<br />
<br />
Afghanistan has been invaded from the North for much of its history. Around 2000 BC was the first important such invasion from a group known as the Indo-Iranians.</p>
<p>These are people that seem to have come off the steppe and they’re moving into Afghanistan and through Afghanistan down into India and also moving down towards the Iranian plateau. </p>
<p>They’re cattle-keeping people. They have carts. They have chariots. They have horses. And you know culturally it marks the introduction of new sets of languages.</p>
<p>These people would have a dramatic effect on the religion of Afghanistan, and on the culture, on the language.</p>
<p>Afghanistan’s main language today, Dari, is part of the Indo-Iranian language group.</p>
<p>The local people very often retained their traditional culture, and it took centuries, really, for the Indo-Iranian influence to be felt: culturally, religiously, in terms of lifestyle. Sometimes, we think of history as happening almost immediately, but in fact, it’s a gradual development</p>
The Lost Civilization of the Oxus River
Sat, 04/10/2010 - 11:02 — grace.norman@gm...description:
<p>A great civilization connected Eurasia—until it vanished mysteriously.</p>
Era:
Age of Settlement
Theme:
Traces & Narratives
Year:
2000
BCE/CE:
BCE
Date Period:
BCE
Asset Type:
Trend
Caption:
Great riches abounded--so what happened?
More Information:
<p>"Amulet." Digital image. The British Museum. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectId=129587&partId=1. <br />
© The Trustees of the British Museum</p>
<p>"Amulet." Digital image. The British Museum. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=132311&partid=1&searchText=lapis+lazuli&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&numpages=10&orig=/research/search_the_collection_database.aspx&currentPage=6. © The Trustees of the British Museum.</p>
<p>AudreyH. "Amu Darya River (Oxus)." Digital image. AudreyH's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 10, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/25393766@N00/2006442924/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>"Bronze Ceremonial Axe Head Inlaid with Silver." Digital image. The British Museum. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/b/bronze_ceremonial_axe_head.aspx. <br />
© The Trustees of the British Museum</p>
<p>Dungodung. "The Great Giza Pyramids." Digital image. Dungodung's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 10, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dungodung/2714816217/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p><em>Fragment of a Bowl Depicting Bearded Bulls</em>. 2008. Kabul Museum, Kabul, Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Jmcgall. "Ziggurat at Ur." Digital image. Jmcfall's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 10, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmcfall/46769923/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Joepyrek. "Amudaryasunset." Digital image. Joepyrek's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 10, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/joepyrek/3879372758/in/set-72157622084600263/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Kogo. "Indus near Skardu." Digital image. Wikipedia Commons. Accessed August 10, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indus_near_Skardu.jpg.<br />
Creative Commons license: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU_Free_Documentation_License</p>
<p>"Lapis Lazuli Stamp Seal." Digital image. British Museum. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/l/lapis_lazuli_stamp_seal.aspx. <br />
© The Trustees of the British Museum</p>
<p>Levy, Michael, performer. "Echoes of Ancient Egypt." In <em>An Ancient Lyre</em>. 2009, MP3. <br />
Sample of an improvisation on an ancient Egyptian scale.<br />
© Michael Levy</p>
<p>Mahwash, performer. <em>Delem Aamada Ba Josh</em>. Radio-Television Afghanistan Archives.</p>
<p>Travelling Runes. "IMG_0790." Digital image. Travelling Runes' Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/travellingrunes/2962033038/in/set-72157608274749991/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Travelling Runes. "IMG_0791." Digital image. Travelling Runes' Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 10, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/travellingrunes/2961190775/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Travelling Runes. "IMG_0795." Digital image. Travelling Runes' Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/travellingrunes/2961196689/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Travelling Runes. "IMG_0803." Digital image. Travelling Runes' Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 10, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/travellingrunes/2962054070/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Travelling Runes. "IMG_0804." Digital image. Travelling Runes' Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 10, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/travellingrunes/2962055564/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Travelling Runes. "IMG_0807." Digital image. Travelling Runes' Flickr Photostream. http://www.flickr.com/photos/travellingrunes/2962060272/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<hr />
<p>Producer: Alexis Menten</p>
Video Transcript:
<p>Archeaologists have found evidence that East and West were already connected by trade thousands of years before the Silk Road.<br />
<br />
One of the clues appears during the Bronze Age, when a new civilization developed in Central Asia. Although little is known for certain about the origins of this civilization, one thing is sure: it ended mysteriously…</p>
<p>The first real culture that we’re aware of in Afghanistan, is a Bronze Age culture in which there were actually settlements and a division of labor. <br />
<br />
This Bronze Age culture is known to archaeologists as the Oxus Civilization, named after the Oxus River, which today is called the Amu Darya.</p>
<p>Other great Bronze Age civilizations–like Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and Nile civilizations–also developed along fertile river valleys. The mineral-rich lands produced enough food to support a large society.</p>
<p>There is archaeological evidence that these civilizations were connected through trade. One clue to the extent of this trade are these seals made in Mesopotamia out of lapis lazuli – a blue semi-precious stone that was only mined in Afghanistan in ancient times.</p>
<p>Well we know that there must be long distance trade.</p>
<p>In part one of the best evidences is to see where lapis is found in other parts of the world. And since it can only come from Afghanistan we know there must have been trade roots out there.</p>
<p>Evidence of this long-distance trade is found in Afghanistan as well. Artifacts from a grave site in Afghanistan called Tepe Fullol feature designs from Mesopotamia, such as the bearded bull shown on this bowl.</p>
<p>But sometimes beautiful but relatively rare artifacts can overshadow what is more typical during this time, and the impact of trade can be exaggerated.</p>
<p>Though trade in this early period is significant, the number of merchants were relatively small. Most of the people during the bronze age made their livelihood either through nomadic pastoral pursuits or through agriculture.</p>
<p>The farmers of the Oxus Civilization created cities that are known for their distinctive architecture… until they were abandoned after only a few centuries.</p>
<p>Archaeologists are unsure why. Some have proposed environmental reasons like draught or shifting river courses. Others point to the perennial struggle between settled and nomadic ways of life, which could foreshadow the frequent rise and fall of subsequent civilizations in this region.</p>
Qanat
Sat, 04/10/2010 - 10:57 — grace.norman@gm...description:
<p>An ingenious ancient technology that spread throughout the continents.</p>
Era:
Age of Settlement
Theme:
Geography & Destiny
Tradition & Modernization
Year:
1200
BCE/CE:
BCE
Date Period:
BCE
Asset Type:
Trend
More Information:
<p>Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East. "Khidad Udruh Qanat 1." Digital image. APAAME's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/apaame/4194201875/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Arbob. "Untitled Mouth Music." Lorraine Sakata, 1966.<br />
Paindagul mouth music recorded in Urozgan Province, Afghanistan. © Sakata Music Collection</p>
<p>Bailey, Samuel. "Qanat Diagram." Chart. December 2, 2009. Accessed March 23, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Qanat_cross_section.svg. <br />
Edited by Asia Society. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>49-58</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>50-60</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>60-R32-6</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>61-350</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>61-355</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>A69-483</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>A74-159</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>Andhar Pashtuns Repairing a Qanat (kharez) at Matakhan: 60-R35-4c</em>. 1960. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>Drawing Water from a Well: R15-4. 1959</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Emesik. "Qanat Technology Diffusion." Chart. March 2, 2009. Accessed March 23, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Qanat_technology_diffusion.svg.<br />
Edited by Asia Society.<br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Huffman, Todd. "Idyllic." Digital image. Todd Huffman's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddwick/3393017119/. Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>John, Burke. "Jumrood Fort and Camp from Right Bank of the Khyber Stream, Looking towards Mohmund Hills." Digital image. British Library. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://tinyurl.com/23pqrmh.</p>
<p><em>K-00313-01</em>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Morin, Monte. <em>Untitled Photograph</em>. July 15, 2007. Zabul Province, Afghanistan. Accessed March 23, 2010. http://www.stripes.com/news/afghan-tunnels-prove-tough-to-crack-1.66651.</p>
<p>Ninara. "IMG_2501." Digital image. Ninara's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninara/4356073176/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Ninara. "IMG_2507." Digital image. Ninara's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninara/4355331191/in/set-72157604577966229/.<br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p><em>Q2-01276-28</em>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Spier, Brian Harrington. "Oman 1973." Digital image. Brian Herrington Spier's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianharringtonspier/3088818689/. <br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Swamibu. "Karez Irrigation System." Digital image. Swamibu's Flickr Photostream. Accessed August 11, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/swamibu/2100657136/.<br />
Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en</p>
<p>UMCOR Afghanistan. <em>Man in Qanat</em>. UMCOR Afghanistan.</p>
<p><em>Untitled</em>. January 6, 2009. Near Musa Qala, Afghanistan. By Chris Hughes.</p>
<p>Xinjiang Autonomous Region Song and Dance Ensemble, performer. "A Good Harvest." In <em>Instrumental Music Of The Uighurs</em>. World Music Library, 1991, CD.</p>
<hr />
<p>Producer: Grace Norman</p>
Video Transcript:
<p>The natural environment has always shaped human lives and societies. So, too, did humans shape the natural environment.<br />
<br />
In the Hindu Kush, one ancient invention changed the landscape forever. It was so effective that the idea spread throughout the region, and perhaps as far as the Americas centuries later.</p>
<p>Most of the land in the Hindu Kush is not suitable for farming. Water is a constant and vigorous demand of a thirsty landscape trying to produce crops. Early settlers in the region figured out how to quench that thirst.</p>
<p>The qanat were irrigation canals that brought water down from the mountains to the agricultural settlements that were founded in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>We don’t know exactly when the idea of qanat developed, but it must have been very early because there is a need for irrigation in most regions of Afghanistan. And this is a style of irrigation, a type of irrigation, particularly characteristic of Central Asia and particularly in parts of Southern and Western Afghanistan. It’s very, very common.</p>
<p>The qanat system is a unique form of irrigation in which the irrigation channels, the main ones, are actually under ground. And what they do is they dig a tunnel from the area that you want to irrigate at a shallow angle all the way up to the water table at the foothills of the mountains.</p>
<p>In order to do this you need to sink shafts that look like wells, maybe every hundred meters, sometimes less so that you can pull the soil out and so you can get in and clean it.</p>
<p>But what it means is that when you’re finished you essentially have an irrigation channel that’s tapping underground water and bringing it underground to a valley. That’s a way to irrigate areas that have no surface water, the lack of rivers or streams.</p>
<p>They’re quite distinctive, particularly from the air. You just see these long lines of what look to be like well holes you know prairie dog holes you know crossing the landscape.</p>
<p>But the capital investment as you might imagine is quite large. Also technically this is not an easy thing to do. The angle has to be right. You have to have specialists that know how to do it and you also have to have usually someone who puts up the money to have it dug in the first place.</p>
<p>And then you have to have it pretty much constantly maintained over time.</p>
<p>But the investment has its pay-offs.</p>
<p>Afghanistan has a very demanding environment. Only about 12% of the land is cultivable. And so of that amount, even of that 12%, only 20% is dry farming; the other 80% requires water through the irrigated agriculture and qanat system.</p>
<p>Just as water has flowed through the qanats, the concept, too, flowed from one people to another. Throughout history other farmers of parched lands also adopted the method.</p>
<p>It appears likely that a similar development occurred in Northwest China, what is now Xinjiang, where you have the so-called kariz, which are similar to the qanat, and probably the qanat did influence the development of the kariz in Northwestern China. There is also some feeling that the qanat influenced irrigation patterns in Central Asia–that is still undetermined–but it’s certainly possible.</p>
<p>Others like it spread throughout the Hindu Kush region–and beyond to the East and West. Eventually, with Arab conquests and Spanish colonization, a descendant of the qanat found its way to the Americas.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But just as humans have created this life-nourishing invention, so too, have humans found a way to destroy it. There have been recent reports that combatants have used the qanat tunnels as passage ways and for storage. Other reports claim that several have been destroyed due to armed conflict. Newer technologies, such as the water pump and large-scale dams, have found their way to Afghanistan in the last century, but with mixed success.</p>
<p>It’s unclear whether the ancient ways or new technology will win out. But just as the agricultural lands are parched, so, too, are the people in those places thirsty for solutions.</p>
Nomadic and Sedentary
Sat, 04/10/2010 - 10:51 — grace.norman@gm...description:
<p>Western history teaches us that agrarian societies replaced herders and hunters. But is it really so? Some compelling evidence from Afghanistan.</p>
Era:
Age of Settlement
Theme:
Geography & Destiny
Identity & Perception
Year:
10000
BCE/CE:
BCE
Date Period:
BCE
Asset Type:
Trend
Caption:
Just as geography shapes human lifestyles, humans have learned to control the land.
More Information:
<p>האיל הניאוליתי. <em>Natufian-SupportingWall-Elwad</em>. Digital image. Wikipedia Commons. 16 Aug. 2005. Web. 10 Aug. 2010.</p>
<p>Al-Din, Rashid. <em>Mongol Soldiers by Rashid Al-Din 1305</em>. Digital image. Wikipedia Commons. Web. 10 Aug. 2010. <http jpg="">. </http></p>
<p>Allahdad, perf. Music: Field Recordings. Rec. 10 Nov. 1966. Hiromi Lorraine Sakata, 1966. Super 8.</p>
<p>Asia Society. <em>The Jami Al 'Tawarikh and the Shahnama</em>. Digital image. Asia Society. Web. 10 Aug. 2010. </p>
<p>Classical Numismatic Group. <em>Antimachusii</em>. Digital image. <em>Wikipedia Commons</em>. Web. <br />
<http jpg="">Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en </http></p>
<p><em>Cutting Barley in Ghazni - 1920s. 1920s</em>. Photograph. Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>60-R39-9c</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>61-148-C</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>62-108a.</em> Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>68-177</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>76-1430</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>82-3235</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>83-692</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>A Type of House: A69-499</em>. 1969. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>A69-264a</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>A69-49a</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>A70-12</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>A74-114</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>A75-150</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>Q2-01278-34</em>. Photograph. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>Genghis Khan</em>. Illuminated manuscript. Bibliothèque Nationale De France, Département Des Manuscrits, Division Orientale, Paris, France.</p>
<p><em>Goats Near Khyber Pass</em>. 1920s. Photograph. Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA.</p>
<p>Kanalstein, Eric. Photo of the Day: 6 January 2010. Digital image. UNAMA. Jan. 2010. Web. 10 Aug. 2010. </p>
<p><em>KES-1968-A-1337</em>. Photograph. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>Q2-01278-16a</em>. Photograph. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>Q2-01278-34.</em> Photograph. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>Q2-01279-03</em>. Photograph. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>Q2-01284-06</em>. Photograph. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Unknown. <em>Afghan Women</em>. Digital image. Courtesy of the British Library Board. Web. </p>
<p>U.S. Department of State. F<em>emale Students of Afghanistan in 2005</em>. Digital image. <em>Wikipedia Commons</em>. 10 June 2005. Web. 10 Aug. 2010. </p>
<p>Vyas, Raveesh. <em>Bhimbetka Cave Paintings.</em> Digital image. <em>Wikipedia Commons.</em> 24 Feb. 2009. Web. 10 Aug. 2010. </p>
<hr />
<p>Producer: Grace Norman</p>
Video Transcript:
<p>There’s a strong belief in the Westernized world that human development happened in stages. That is, first humans hunted and gathered. Then they arrived at a nomadic pastoral lifestyle. Soon wandering gave way to a settled life and people learned to control the land so it produced food and other resources. Finally, out of agrarian societies grew civilization. Civilization meant a diversified economy and the development of monetary, writing, and other systems that still connect people to this day. Circumstances in some places meant faster development than in others, but still this same theory of stages applied everywhere.</p>
<p>But is this vision of history correct?</p>
<p>Consider the view from another perspective. Ancient tools excavated from pre-history settlements reveal that nomads lived alongside farmers in some of the earliest settlements in human history.<br />
<br />
Throughout the course of history, the area that is today Afghanistan has seen many different lifestyles. And they haven’t always existed in the chronological order that we typically imagine. Throughout the region’s history, herders, farmers, nomads, and city-dwellers have existed side-by-side. With the advent of wealthy kingdoms, jazz, and even the Internet, the nomadic and farmer lifestyles have continued to persist.</p>
<p>There is a kind of interrelationship between the sedentary and the nomadic peoples.</p>
<p>Afghanistan is basically a country that has two lifestyles. One, a nomadic, pastoral lifestyle based upon animals and secondly a sedentary, agricultural lifestyle.</p>
<p>The nomadic pastoral lifestyle is based upon sheep and goats and continuous migrations to find grass and water in a very difficult environment in the northern part of Afghanistan. [pause] The settled regions are scattered throughout the country.</p>
<p>Afghanistan is probably one of the early areas of agriculture. It was always possible to combine pastoralism with Afghan and in pastoralism and agriculture in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>That is that Even the people that were full time pastoralists their diet was probably mostly grain, wheat, rice which they traded their animals for. So this is not like a place where you’ve got pastorals on one side and farmers on the other. Here they’re intermixed. And the thing that you can see about pastoral nomads in Afghanistan is that they often migrate out of agricultural areas when they’re doing crops and then after the crops are harvested they come back. So it’s a very closely linked system. And in some cases, in many parts of the country you’ll find people that are pastoralists, they raise animals, but they might have a winter village and use their tents during the spring and summer. Here they’ve always been very closely integrated and economically they’re very symbiotic.</p>
<p>But even with the porous distinction between sedentary and nomadic peoples, there are some big historical patterns that can’t be ignored. Because of the paucity of water in many locations, settlements were relatively small in Afghanistan. The result was there were considerable divisions among different groups in Afghanistan from very early on. There were a tribal linkage, a regional linkage, an occupational linkage, that has continued to the present time. Sometimes [it] created problems, sometimes it created rifts between these various groups.</p>
<p>Often times the sedentary population is dominant in periods when you have a great civilization, a great culture involved. The nomadic groups are pushed aside and their needs are not attended to, their economic needs in particular. Nomadic groups always require goods from the sedentary civilizations. When they don’t get them, they attack and so you have a constant cycle of sedentary, nomadic, nomadic, sedentary rule in Afghan history.</p>
<p>The invasions of the Turkic and Mongol peoples, starting with the Ghaznavids in the 10th century and stretching to the Mongols in the 13th century were based upon their cavalry. The horses gave the Turkic and Mongol peoples a tremendous advantage over the settled civilizations in Afghanistan and undoubtedly facilitated their success. Their ability particularly to shoot bows and arrowsaccurately from their horses gave them a tremendous advantage over the sedentary people and probably is one of the major reasons for the military successes of these Turkic and Mongol peoples in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>But the nomads also have their moments of ruling the region.</p>
<p>What happens is that formally nomadic groups, mostly beginning around 1000 CE but you can find it before, is because they raise horses, they have horse cavalry they become politically dominant. But when they found dynasties they’re no longer Nomads, they’re the descendants of Nomads.</p>
<p>And when nomads come into power, they maintain their nomadic lifestyle as part of their political strategy. So you’ve got to make a distinction between you governments that may have had a Nomadic origin. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re Nomads themselves. However because it’s possible to do pastoralism and agriculture It’s much easier for a group militarily if it does become dominant to maintain a Nomadic way of life at the same time as running an agricultural society as the same time it becomes major land owners. It doesn’t necessarily have to give up the other part of its economy. And in particular if you’re interested in raising horses it’s a good system to keep up because you can raise more animals that way.</p>
<p>Throughout Afghanistan’s history, farmers and nomads have depended on each other, challenged each other, and mutually benefited each other. It is a co-existence that continues to this day.</p>
Traces of Early Humans
Sat, 04/10/2010 - 10:44 — grace.norman@gm...description:
<p>One of the earliest human settlements was found in what is today Afghanistan. So begins a long lineage of great civilizations.</p>
Era:
Age of Settlement
Theme:
Traces & Narratives
Year:
100000
BCE/CE:
BCE
Date Period:
BCE
Asset Type:
Trend
Caption:
Earliest known human depiction.
More Information:
<p>Dupree, Nancy. P<em>hotograph: "Charlie Digging in Hearth": 65-185</em>. 1965. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>Photograph: "Mundigak": 60-R38-6c. 1960</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>Photograph: "Mundigak": 8692. 1960.</em> Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>Photograph: "Tools in Situ": A74-122. 1974</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Karaste, Janne. "Photograph: Large Fire." Digital image. Wikipedia. Accessed August 10, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Large_fire.jpg. Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Keynoyer, Mark. <em>Photograph: Priest, Mohenjo-daro</em>. Accessed March 22, 2010. http://www.harappa.com/har/indus-saraswati.html</p>
<p><em>Photograph: 50-62</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>Photograph: 51-69</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>Photograph: 62-171</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>Photograph: 65-M-LD-1</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>Photograph: A73-13</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p><em>Photograph: Afghanistan - The Pottery - 2</em>. 1920s. Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA.</p>
<p><em>Photograph: Afghanistan - The Pottery</em>. 1920s. Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA.</p>
<p><em>Photograph: "Mundigak": 8690. 1969</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Powell, Josephine. <em>Photograph: Great Mother Goddess</em>. Special Collections Library, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.</p>
<p>Rowland, Benjamin. <em>Ancient Art from Afghanistan: Treasures of the Kabul Museum</em>. New York: Asia House, 1966.</p>
<p>User:120. P<em>hotograph: Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis</em>. Accessed March 23, 2006. http://commons.wikimedia.org. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Homo_sapiens_neanderthalensis.jpg. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en</p>
<p>Ustad Mohammad Omar. Untitled Naghma. Sakata Music Collection, 1967.</p>
<hr />
<p>Producer: Grace Norman</p>
Video Transcript:
<p>What do you see?<br />
<br />
Do you see a face? An important work of art? A religious symbol? Or is it simply a pebble?<br />
<br />
Some say this is the earliest known depiction of a human, and it was found in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>In the 20th century, archaeologists found proto-human remains in Afghanistan. Some of these remains dated back 100,000 years.</p>
<p>The discoveries revealed Neanderthal skeletons as well as evidence of stone tools in the region. These are among the earliest traces of the human record.</p>
<p>But still, this was only scant evidence to answer fundamental questions about early human history. But another significant find that archaeologists unearthed in Afghanistan revealed evidence from 75,000 years later.</p>
<p>It may not seem like much, but to a trained eye, this is a historical goldmine.</p>
<p>Settlements in the foothills of the Hindu Kush* revealed very sophisticated tools–thousands of them. Spear heads, pottery shards, and other tool fragments were found together and gave clues that early humans used these tools to hunt and to farm.<br />
Another settlement, dating 20,000 years later, revealed unbelievable sophistication.</p>
<p>This is the site of Mundigak. Mundigak sits just outside Kandahar, pointing to the ancient origins of this modern city.</p>
<p>Remains of buildings were found, including a colonnaded terrace with red doorways. What remains of these structures, even after all these millenia, is impressive. Many people must have worked together to create a building foundation so solid that its footprint survived nearly five thousand years. Archaeologists speculate that the ruins were of great importance to the people, and were perhaps even religious in nature.</p>
<p>The site presented other historical clues, too. These ceramic cups from Mundigak defied the ravages of time to tell us a lost history. The animal and plant motifs show a connection to the natural world.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But the materials and labor involved in making these cups suggest something new : to excavate the clay, collect the plants and minerals to make dyes, create an oven, sculpt the vessel, gather fuel for fire–all of this hard work required great knowledge, sophistication, and time.</p>
<p>Logic argued that one person alone could not do all this. These vessels, among many others, suggest a division of labor–and one of the first clues of a complex human society.</p>
<p>But other objects were not as easy to read. This carved statuette shows a woman. Could she have been a “mother goddess” who represented fertility?<br />
<br />
And this sculpted head looked very similar to the style found in another early settlement called Mohenjo-daro. Experts wondered whether</p>
<p>Mundigak was the northern provincial capital of the great Indus civilization. Clues abounded to suggest early human connections among civilizations even then. But in the end, these details remain hazy.</p>
<p>So, again now, what do you see?</p>
Spread of Islam
Wed, 03/17/2010 - 17:52 — grace.norman@gm...description:
<p>One hundred years after the Prophet's death, Islam spread quickly—and it took hold permanently.</p>
Era:
Age of Empire
Theme:
Identity & Perception
Tradition & Modernization
Year:
800
BCE/CE:
CE
Date Period:
CE
Asset Type:
Trend
More Information:
<p>Ali. "Masjid Nabawi. Medina, Saudi Arabia." Digital image. Wikipedia Commons. Accessed August 21, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masjid_Nabawi._Medina,_Saudi_Arabia.jpg. Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en</p>
<p>"Babur and His Warriors Visiting the Hindu Temple Gurh Kattri (Kūr Katrī) in Bigram." Digital image. Walters Art Museum. January 11, 2010. Accessed August 21, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/medmss/4266569149/.</p>
<p>"Battle on Horseback between Rustam and His Son Sohrab, Not Recognizing Each Other." Digital image. The British Museum. Accessed August 21, 2010.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>61-157-C</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>66-N-72</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. <em>66-N-73</em>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Dupree, Nancy. Anahita. 1969. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<p>Mithras and the Bull. Mithraeum of Marino, Marino, Italy.</p>
<p>Rashid Al-Din. "Conversion of Ghazan to Islam." Digital image. Asia Society. August 19, 2008. Accessed August 21, 2010. http://asiasociety.org/countries-history/traditions/mongol-illustrated-manuscripts.</p>
<p>Rattray, Lieutenant James. <em>Mosque and Tomb of the Emperor Soolta Mahmood of Ghuznee</em>. 1848. British Library, London. http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/other/019xzz000000562u00010000.html Courtesy of the British Library Board</p>
<p>Schastok, Horst B. <em>No Gumbad Mosque</em>. Documentation Center, Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Fine Arts Library, Harvard College Library, Cambridge, MA.</p>
<p>"Seated Buddha." Digital image. Virtual Collection of Masterpieces. Accessed August 21, 2010. http://masterpieces.asemus.museum/masterpieces.aspx. <br />
Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/</p>
<p>Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (Mahmud Ghaznawi). Copied from Old School Textbook of Afghanistan, Unknown.</p>
<p>Ustad Mohammad Omar. <em>Untitled performance.</em> Radio-Television Afghanistan Archive.</p>
<hr />
<p>Producer: Alexis Menten</p>
Video Transcript:
<p>Many of the world’s great religions have a history in Afghanistan. The traders, travelers, and conquerors who came to the region brought not only new goods and new ideas, but also new beliefs and new faith. But history doesn’t change overnight.</p>
<p>When we’re looking at the Islamic conquest of Central Asia and Afghanistan there’s usually an assumption that if we say a battle was fought at this time and the Arabs won then everyone became Muslim. But if we actually look, and the records are quite clear about this, it was often many generations before they became Islamic.</p>
<p>When Iran was converted to Islam, that had an impact on Afghanistan. The people in Afghanistan did not at that point convert immediately to Islam. They retained their traditional language and did not necessarily adopt Arabic as their basic language.</p>
<p>In the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries, Afghanistan religiously was composed of a whole variety of different religious practices and religious beliefs. Zoroastrianism, Mythriism, to a limited extent Buddhism, and to a limited extent Islam.</p>
<p>This whole region became a place where people fled. So we had Nestorian Christians who had fled from Syria and were living in this part of the world. We certainly had various Indian sects that came up to this part of the world. Hindus lived here. And what makes Afghanistan such a melting pot – and why art is so interesting – is it shows us many of these different ideas coming together.</p>
<p>Muslims came to Afghanistan, individually or in small numbers, beginning in the eighth century. But only in the tenth century with Mahmud of Ghazna is the area really conquered in the name of Islam, and many people start to convert.</p>
<p>We’re often not clear about how long it takes a political change to turn itself into a cultural change or a religious change. These things are often describe retrospectively and may have been much less clear at the time they actually happened.</p>
<p>The turning points of history do not always have immediate and widespread repercussions. Although Islam would take root and become the primary religion of Afghanistan today, the diverse religious traditions of this crossroads region persisted alongside the new faith for many centuries.</p>
Rebel Royals
Wed, 03/17/2010 - 17:36 — grace.norman@gm...description:
<p>The Roaring '20s were known for edgy fashions, new technology—and a pair of rebel royals in Afghanistan.</p>
Era:
Afghanistan in the World
Theme:
Identity & Perception
Year:
1920
BCE/CE:
CE
Date Period:
CE
Asset Type:
Trend
Caption:
The King and Queen of Afghanistan in Paris
More Information:
<p>"1918 Toronto Bay and King Armistace Day." Digital image. Wikipedia Commons. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1918Toronto_BayandKing_Armistace_Day.jpg.</p>
<div id="export-html">
<div class="chicagob">
<div class="hang">"Atatürk in White Tie." Digital image. Wikipedia Commons. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atat%C3%BCrk_in_white_tie.jpg.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>Capture and Occupation of Palestine by British Artillery</i>. Library of Congress, Washington, DC. In <i>Library of Congress Prints & Photographs</i>. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/matpc.11524/.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>CARD MISSING</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1020-A-389</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1026-A-395B</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1032-A-402</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1211-A-580</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1225-A-594</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1227-A-596</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1227-A-596</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1235-A-604</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1239-A-608</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1242-A-611</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1246-A-615</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1256-A-625</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1268-A-637</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1659-A-1028</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1790-A-1159</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-1794-A-1163</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-203-114</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-2188-HG-11</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-632-A-1</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-639-A-8</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-651-A-20</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-662-A-31</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-668-A-37</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-669-A-38</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-675--44</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-675--44</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-678-A-47</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-684-A-53</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-685-A-54</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-686-A-55</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-691-A-60</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-704-A-73</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-772-A-141</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-905-A-274</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-907-A-276</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-934-A-303_1</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-938-A-307</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>KES-940-A-309_1</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang">Lyman, Abe. <i>A New Kind of Man</i>. California Ambassador Hotel Orchestra. 1920s. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://ia341011.us.archive.org/2/items/1920s-bigBand-abeLyman-01-10/AbeLymansCaliforniaAmbassadorHotelOrchestra-ANewKindOfMan1924brunswick78rpm_64kb.mp3.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>Mahmud Beg Tarzi with Daughter Khayriya and Grandson</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>Mahmud Beg Tarzi Working at His Desk</i>. Khalilullah Enayat Seraj Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang">"Mamoud Tarzi-203." Digital image. Wikipedia Commons. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mamoud_Tarzi-203.jpg.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang">"Meso Campaign." Digital image. Wikipedia. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Meso_Campaign.jpg.</div>
<hr />
<div class="hang">Produce: Kate Harding</div>
</div>
</div>
<p> </p>
Video Transcript:
<p>It was the roaring twenties. New technologies, new music, and new fashion were transforming the world. Radios and telephones made the world smaller, moving pictures and automobiles made the world faster. But the change wasn’t just about technology. It would also be about values. And nowhere were the values being challenged more than by the king and queen of Afghanistan.</p>
<p>The world had been ripped apart. By the end of World War I, 15 million lives were lost around the globe. But the fighting did finally end, and when it did, the world needed rebuilding. Across the globe, a new hope for the future was coming to life. That hope believed that a revolution in values and technologies would put to rest the madness of war.</p>
<p>Afghanistan remained neutral during WWI, but the impact of the war was anything but distant. Nations vied for the country’s support, and the king, Habibullah, played his suitors off of each other.</p>
<p>But only a few months after the Armistice, King Habibullah was assassinated. In February 1919, his third son, Amanullah, took the reins.</p>
<p>Amunallah understood that the world had been radically transformed. And he knew that Afghanistan could take a prominent place in the new order if the country underwent quick and serious changes.</p>
<p>He sought guidance from Mahmud Tarzi, an Afghan intellectual who had once been exiled and had lived abroad in Turkey and Syria.</p>
<p>And he had been, during his exile, had lived in the Middle East and had been very influenced by movements in the Middle East for modernization for trying to decolonize the Middle East, to bring Islam into a new renaissance, a new period of flowering intellectually and politically, that looked, it was a movement that looked to indigenous roots, to Islam itself, as an example for education, modernization and reform.</p>
<p>This new interpretation of Islam was being embraced by elites across the Muslim world. They believed that a modernized Islam could coexist with westernization, allowing Muslims to excel in the 21st century.</p>
<p>Tarzi provided Amanullah with intellectual inspiration for a new Afghanistan. He also provided the king with a wife. Amanullah fell in love with and married Tarzi’s daughter, Soraya.</p>
<p>And they had a marriage that, by all accounts and from all evidence that we have, was a real, romantic love affair….And you see in the archive, photographs of Amanullah and Soraya in very romantic poses, with Soraya’s hair down, dancing, very intimate photographs for the time.</p>
<p>Together the new king and queen set out to transform Afghanistan. Over the next decade, they built schools, started an air force [picture], established a national bank and a national currency. They supported education of all sectors of society including women and nomads.</p>
<p>Like Ataturk in Turkey, Amanullah was obsessed with the idea of using clothing to express a new world order.</p>
<p>And he was fascinated with playing with that clothing, and I have a feeling, playing with identity as well. One of the things that he did that also was very controversial, was he held a national loya jirga … in 1927. And he made all the delegates to the jirga where Western suits and hats…And all these proud Afghans look vaguely ridiculous wearing these baggy suits that were not tailored and not meant for them. And they look a little bit embarrassed to be made to wear this kind of clothing. But it makes you realize that Amanullah, one of the mistakes that he made is he sometimes modernization in a very superficial way. He viewed modernization, the accoutrements of modernization, more than the substance of it.…And he encouraged all the members of his court, the women in the court, to wear Western style clothing and to go with no veil or a minimal veil.</p>
<p>At a public function, Amanullah denounced the veil, saying that nowhere did Islam require women to cover themselves. Soraya responded by ripping her veil from her face, as the wives of other officials soon followed suit. Soraya knew that her clothing was being watched by her entire country, and she wanted to make a statement.</p>
<p>Soraya was the first or one of the first women to wear Western clothing outside the palace, in public places. And she would make concessions, certainly, to local norms and expectations, including she would wear a veil of a sort, but it was a very light veil that you could see through and attach to a flapper hat, a very 20’s style fashion. And so she would make certain concessions, and within the boundaries of Islam she was dressing appropriately. She was covering her hair, she was covering her arms up to her wrists. She was covered to her ankles, although she also sometimes wore stockings. But they were always pushing the boundaries of fashion.</p>
<p>But together, the king and queen appeared to some factions as focusing more on style than on substance. This would prove to be their Achilles heel, and the symbols of change would be more troubling than the change itself. The clothing of the royal couple became flashpoints for opposition to Amanullah.</p>
<p>And the more gradual, more incremental reforms that he also was backing, which could have resulted in positive change in Afghanistan, got bowled over by the opposition to these symbolic, relatively unimportant reforms. And so I think that that was one example of the kinds of mistakes – not only Amanullah, but that all reformers in Afghanistan have tended to make. They’ve mistaken the superficial symbolic aspects of reform, they’ve allowed those to interfere with the more substantive reforms of livelihoods, education, industry – that would incrementally have allowed Afghans to create a whole different way of life from the ground up, avoiding some of those hot-button issues that have been so disastrous in Afghan history.</p>
<p>In 1927, Amanullah and Soraya went on a tour to Europe where they were the darlings of the political and intellectual circles. They were the “It” couple of the 1920s, working to build a new post-war society where modern values could flourish.</p>
<p>But at home, they were not as popular. While they were away, opposition to their reforms mounted. By 1929, an uprising, led by Habibullah Kalakani, broke out in Jalalabad and the couple was forced to abdicate the throne. They lived the rest of their lives in Europe. The roaring twenties had come to an end.</p>
Visualizing War
Wed, 03/17/2010 - 17:29 — grace.norman@gm...description:
<p>Art and photography reflect reality—but they also have the power to affect reality. A critical look at war motifs.</p>
Era:
Afghanistan Today
Theme:
Traces & Narratives
Year:
1980
BCE/CE:
CE
Date Period:
CE
Asset Type:
Trend
Caption:
War carpets created in Afghanistan for tourists.
More Information:
<p><i>0096</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</p>
<div id="export-html">
<div class="chicagob">
<div class="hang"><i>0126</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>0181</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>288-29</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>290-5</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang">
<p>Barrett, Bruce. "Deb with Some Afghan Gentlemen." Digital image. Nordicshutter's Flickr Photostream. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/juiceybrucey/2190412453/. Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en</p>
</div>
<div class="hang">Barrett, Bruce. "Typical Craft Shop." Digital image. Nordicshutter's Flickr Photostream. Accessed September 4, 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/juiceybrucey/2190413125/.
<div>Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="hang">Boxer, Sarah. "When Afghanistan Collapsed." The New York Times. October 02, 2001. Accessed September 04, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/02/arts/arts-in-america-when-afghanistan-collapsed.html.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang">Dupree, Nancy. <i>66-N-67</i>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang">Dupree, Nancy. <i>88-14</i>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang">Dupree, Nancy. <i>88-35</i>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang">Dupree, Nancy. <i>A70-1</i>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang">Dupree, Nancy. <i>A70-2</i>. Dupree Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>G-00210-03</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>Q-00485-31</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>Q-00492-16</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang">Sakata Field Recordings Reel 2-4. <i>Untitled Recording</i>. Hiromi Lorraine Sakata, 1971.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>Sl-00404</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<div class="hang"> </div>
<div class="hang"><i>Sl-02846</i>. AMRC Collection, Williams Afghan Media Project, Williams College, Williamstown, MA.</div>
<hr />
<div class="hang">Producer: Alexis Menten</div>
</div>
</div>
<p> </p>
Video Transcript:
<p>After 40 years of peace in Afghanistan, in 1979 the Soviet Union sent troops across the border to provide support to the Marxist government.</p>
<p>At that point or shortly after that period, the Pakistan government, and with the assistance of the Americans, the Saudis and other foreign interests, began to funnel money, weapons and other kinds of support to mujahideen, to Resistance Fighters who were opposed to the Marxist government in Afghanistan and to their Soviet sponsors.</p>
<p>And from that period on, new forms of wealth and new forms of power began to pour into Afghanistan in the form, for example, of AK-47 machine guns and RPG shoulder-launched rockets that were used to take out armored personnel carriers and tanks and that sort of thing.</p>
<p>Particularly in Pashour in the ‘80s there was, if not a romanticism about the war, at least it was put in a positive light. And the Afghans at least for public consumption were not unhappy to be portrayed as you know a warrior culture so to speak.<br />
<br />
Traditional Afghan carpets showing images of war have been little studied, but they can provide insights into how Afghans portray themselves… and how outsiders often view the people of Afghanistan.</p>
<p>It’s sort of now been you know close to 25 or 30 years you know that various varieties of these carpets have been made. In 1988 when I wanted to pick up one of these carpets to bring home I went to a carpet dealer and he had quite a number of them. They all came directly essentially out of observations from the Soviet War. That is it’s not just helicopters, these are you know particular types of armored personnel carriers with the number of wheels, the type of guns, and particularly the Kolishnokoff which they were most familiar with having all of its little parts available.</p>
<p>You know that the person that did the design knows the weapons.</p>
<p>And it’s a tradition that still continues to some extent today and also for the tourist trade is that as soon as the Americans invaded there became World Trade Center war carpets with planes flying into the Twin Towers and what not.<br />
<br />
Historically, there was no relationship between the people who made carpets and the people who obtained them.</p>
<p>Afghanistan is a major exporter of carpets which even centuries ago tended to move very, very long distances. We’d see them in Dutch paintings and obviously the Dutch have no idea where these come from but we can look at the tribal patterns that are indicated by the carpets and know they pretty much came from this part of Central Asia. And the people who made them had no idea where they ended up either.</p>
<p>In more modern times, carpet weavers and sellers in Afghanistan have learned to produce the kind of carpets that foreign buyers want to buy.</p>
<p>But what are the dangers associated with Afghans portraying themselves as a warrior culture… and with others seeing them in this way?</p>
<p>In October of 2001, there was an article that appeared in <em>The New York Times </em>about the archive. And when that article appeared, that morning when I got to my office, I think I had close to 70 voicemails from different programs, from different media outlets and 60 Minutes and Good Morning America and every other program that you could imagine. Because at that point they knew, the producers of those shows, knew that within a week or so, probably in all likelihood, America was gonna be at war, and we were gonna be fighting in Afghanistan. So they wanted this material desperately.</p>
<p>I did not want, at that moment in history, for us to be contributing pictures of Afghans killing Afghans, anything that would dehumanize Afghans, [to] make it easier to imagine them as savage and barbaric and not to fully understand the nature of that society and the ways in which they themselves had been manipulated, the ways in which they themselves had been taken advantage of by Osama Bin Laden and other people. So we resisted efforts to use those pictures, and in fact did not allow people to use the pictures immediately because we were very worried about how they might be misused.</p>
