Resources - Glossary
animal husbandry
the agricultural practice of breeding and raising domestic livestock (i.e. sheep, camels and horses)
aramaic
Aramaic is one of the Semitic languages, an important group of languages known almost from the beginning of human history and including also Arabic, Hebrew, Ethiopic, and Akkadian (ancient Babylonian and Assyrian). It is particularly closely related to Hebrew, and was written in a variety of alphabetic scripts.
BCE
Before the Common Era’ the notation for the period before the year 0
caravan
a company of travelers journeying together, often across a dessert or hostile territory, sometimes accompanied by camels or horses (plural: caravanserai)
CE
'Common Era', the notation for the period after the year 0
desiccation
the state of extreme dryness, or the process of losing moisture
Indo-European
a group of several hundred languages from Europe to Central Asia, which linguists have determined are related to one another
nomadic pastoralism
form of agriculture in which livestock are herded either seasonally or continuously in order to find fresh pastures
oasis - a fertile spot in the desert, created by the presence of water
manicheism
Manicheism is a religion founded by the Parthian (Persian) Mani in the 3rd century CE.
Qin
(chin) an ancient Chinese instrument, originally with five strings, which is plucked to produce sounds
rain shadow
a dry area on the backside of a mountain, produced when a mountain or mountain rang blocks the path of a weather system which produces rain
Sanskrit
an ancient Indo-European language still used in Indian literature, philosophy and scripture
sericulture
the rearing and farming of silk worms for the production of silk
Sogdian
the ancient Indo-European language of the Sogdians, an ethnic group in the Tarim Basin famous for navigating caravans of goods along the Silk Road
Taklamakan desert
a large desert, comprising the majority of the Tarim Basin (tak-la-ma-KHAN)
Tarim Basin
an area situated within Xinjiang, located between the Tian Shan mountains to the north, and the Kunlun mountains to the south
Tocharian
language spoken by early inhabitants of the Tarim Basin, thought to be native to the area, (tock-AIR-ee-an) and not known to be spoken elsewhere
Ürümqi
the modern capital of Xinjiang (oo-ROOM-chee)
Xinjiang
the westernmost region of China Uyghur (WEE-gur) Autonomous Region (a.k.a. Xinjiang)
Xiaohe
Xiaohe, also called Small River Cemetery Number 5, was active from
2000–1450 BCE. Excavations at the site yielded more than 1,000 artifacts from 167 graves, including more than 30 well-preserved mummies. There is no evidence of any settlements within several kilometers of the cemetery, raising questions about the identities and lives of the people buried there.
Xiongnu
the Chinese name for the nomadic horsemen who lived in the Tarim Basin (shung-noo)
yurt
a portable, circular skin- or felt-covered dwelling with a collapsible wooden frame