English for history students. Karlygash Aisultanova

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СКАЧАТЬ of weapons, tools, bronze ornaments were found. Blacksmiths and steel-makers had privilege in the society as did military men. Rich buries were found in the necropolis near the Prototowns. Temple complexes were also found along with small stone in the shape of men. The pictures of deities found in the Protowns resembled those to whom the inhabitants of the ancient Mesopotamia prayed during annual festivities. Clay «tablets» with the different signs were found that probably indicate the development of a written sign system. This factor is of great importance for the understanding of the level of culture in the society. The appearance of written language was connected with the emerging of State organization.

      The inhabitants in Prototown were farmers and cattle-breeders who had developed technology for simple irrigation and cattle-breeding. The production, melting and metal processing of copper and bronze had reached a high level. The metallurgy of bronze was the economical basis of this civilization.

      It is important to note that during this period the basis of the future Silk Road connecting West and East had begun.

      Recently, other «Prototown» younger than Arkaim was discovered in Mangistau at the location of Toksanbay. The memorials of the Late Bronze Age are also known which can be related to «Prototowns». This is Kent in Central Kazakhstan.

      An important culture of the Bronze Age was also found in the Begazy-Dandibai culture of Central Kazakhstan. It was discovered by the archaeologists with its monumental architecture and many settlements devoted to copper melting. Central Kazakhstan became one of the largest centres of copper and bronze production and consequently weapons production. Therefore, the further researches in the archaeology of Bronze Age went forward to the global level of cultural and social matters.

      In Kazakhstan the culture of the ancient nomads was formed during the Bronze Age. The Kazakh archaeologists give priority to the study of this culture. Civilization came to the steppe with some distinctive features such as the creation of state organizations, constant trade, cultural and political relations between the steppe and mountain zone and cultural world conception (proved by the funeral sanctuary architecture reflecting the ideology and social stratification of the society).

      Discovery of famous monuments of the Saka culture like the kurgan (barrow) of Issik, Chilik, the mausoleum of Tegisken and Yagaraka, the Saka cities of Chirik-Rabat and Balandy make it possible to gain more historical data. Based on findings of written language and famous cultural art works it has been determined that the ancient Sakae emerged in the territory of Kazakhstan in the middle of the last millenary B. C.

      Therefore, the beginning of the state formation in the territory of Kazakhstan goes nearly one thousand years back. It may have been contemporary with the ancient states of the Achaemenids in Iran and the ancient Greece, Chinese Han dynasty, Bactria, Chorezmia.

      From the III century B. C. onward, the territory of Kazakhstan were inhabited by communities of state formations such as the Usun in Semirechye and the Kangiu in the South of Kazakhstan. The population of these states were busy with cattle breeding and farming. In the territory of Kangiu fortified settlements with stationary dwellings of green bricks appeared and urban construction was developed. Highly developed settled and urban culture were formed in the Aral sea area, around the Djety-Asar hills. A number of major settlements were surrounded by necropolis; however they were connected with the dissemination of the Sogdian population along the international trade roads.

      Turk cultures settled in the oases and cities of Central Asia (Chash, Usrushana, Ferghana, Tokharistan), greatly influenced by the development of cultural life in the towns of Central Asia.

      During the late medieval centuries, the cattle breeders, settled populations and dwellers were interacting in the same natural ways as in the earlier periods of history: through economic and cultural relations within the framework political unity such as the Karakhanid State. The town and steppe were not two opposed world; they had mutual economic foundations. The growth of towns in Central Asia from IX century to XIII century in most cases was connected with the process of the nomads settling. The settled nomads brought much steppe folklore into urban life and in this way the urban culture was formed. The culture was distributed not only in the South but in Central, West and East Kazakhstan.

      The cultural and economic relations of nomads and town dwellers were revealed later by the study of the history of the development of Ak-Orda, Mogulistan and the Kazakh Khanate.

      The latest towns of the Middle Ages Sairam, Sauran, Signak and Suzak were centres for the establishment of the economic connections between nomads and farmers. Here the cultural and trade exchanges took place not only between the town dwellers of Southern Kazakhstan and nomads of Sari-Arka but also with the people of Central Asia, the Volga region and East Turkestan. These exchanges were of great importance for the political, economic and cultural life of the Kazakh Khanate.

      The study of archaeological monuments in Kazakhstan enabled the scientists to reconstruct the mechanism of interrelation between these different cultures. This work provided evidence that the territory of Kazakhstan was one of the historical-cultural centres and that interactions of nomads and settled populations led to a mutual enrichment of both cultures. Many achievements of Kazakh culture lie in the heart of such synthesis.

      The achievements of the Kazakh archaeological science have been acknowledged at a number of general meetings and international conferences. In addition Kazakhstan archaeologists have participated in the development international projects, including UNESCO «Great Silk Road: roads of dialogue» and joint scientific researches with the archaeologists of Russia, France, Belgium, the USA and Poland.

      The communication centre of the Institute archaeological achievements is the Museum of Archaeology depending on the Academy of Sciences and directed by R.A. Bektureeva. Materials from this museum were successfully displayed at exhibitions in the USA, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Egypt and Italy.

      Specific projects have focused on the protection of archaeological monuments and the history of culture. There has also been a complete and partial rating of the monuments discovered in all the regions of Kazakhstan. This includes the first volume of the «Code for Monuments of History and Culture of Kazakhtan, South-Kazakhstan region», issued in 1994.

      Essential Vocabulary

      Tasks:

      1. Read the text «Scientific Achievements of Kazakhstan Archaeology». Write and memorize unknown words and word combinations.

      2. Translate the text into Russian.

      Answer the following questions:

      1. What did a well-known cultural worker V. V. Stasov write in his works?

      2. When was the department of archaeology established?

      3. What kind of places were discovered in 52 years of Kazakh archaeology existence?

      4. What can you say about essential developments of Kazakhstani archaeology?

      5. What culture was an important in Bronze Age?

      6. What kind of international projects have Kazakhstani archaeologists participated in?

      HISTORY OF PRE-ROMAN AND ROMAN BRITAIN

      The long and complex history of the British Isles reflects the interaction of man and a very varied natural environment. The British Isles are both part of Europe and yet separated from it by the sea. They have a very varied topography, climate and natural vegetation. We should be careful about projecting the modern environment on to the past: climate and economic factors, even the coastline and water levels, were different. Yet in simple СКАЧАТЬ