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LMH: Only an eighth of an inch [3.2 a mm] thick. Prof. Hiebert: Yes, this is a piece that is about 4,500 years old [2500 BC], about 4,000 years earlier than the blue and white ceramic. Incredibly well made. It was obviously done by a master craftsman pot- ter. This was made up in the desert oasis of Turkmenistan and it reflects a certain style that the people had. They didn't paint their pottery. You might think that had to do with the technology of the time, but in fact it was their style not to paint their pottery. It's quite nicely made. It's sort of buff on top, and on the bottom it's red. They dis- tinctly and purposefully did that. All of their ceramics from Central Asia are fine from this time period, and it reflects the high level of crafts they had in the area. of 2000 BC. And the ritual life is another area we as archaeolo- Then we move on to three artifacts; not pottery, but metal and gists can look at. We can look at the nature of their houses, the bone artifacts dated to about 2000 BC, so these are about 4,100 nature of their trade with these stamp seals we find, the nature of years old. We are moving back in large jumps of time. And here their production such as the pottery, and even the types of [reli- we see a bronze axe in the form of a bird's head with a feather gious objects] they had such as the bone tube. going back and a very clear eye. And what we call a "bone tube". I wish we had a better name LMH: What do you think the bone tube was used for? for it. They are always polished very finely, with eyes, headdress Prof. Hiebert: We're not exactly sure, but it was found in piles or hair and some form of necklace or sometimes perhaps a beard. _ of dirt we have analysed that had a tremendous amount of And these ancient tubes we think were part of the ancient rituals Ephedra. Ephedra is a type of plant that ancient Zoroastrians ee —-——-—--——-—- Avinl that oll Bronze axe in form of a bird's head with eye and feather, c.2000 BC. (Photograph by Linda Moulton Howe) read ta a. rad tham ta halle. ta and Bronze axe in form of a bird's head with eye and feather, c.2000 BC. (Photograph by Linda Moulton Howe) of 2000 BC. And the ritual life is another area we as archaeolo- gists can look at. We can look at the nature of their houses, the nature of their trade with these stamp seals we find, the nature of their production such as the pottery, and even the types of [reli- gious objects] they had such as the bone tube. LMH: What do you think the bone tube was used for? Prof. Hiebert: We're not exactly sure, but it was found in piles of dirt we have analysed that had a tremendous amount of Ephedra. Ephedra is a type of plant that ancient Zoroastrians used to create a ritual drink that allowed them to hallucinate and get closer to God. It may well be that the tube was used in some pre-Zoroastrian ritual involving ephedra. Ephedra has medicinal factors. The decongestant Sudafed is made from the same ephedra chemical. But if you take it in some quantity and mix it with a poppy or opium, it would have the effect of giving you visions or hallucinations. LMH: What about the beige pot? Prof. Hiebert: We have two pots, each a thousand years earli- er than each other. This one is a very beautiful vase made out of buff ceramics, only about an eighth of an inch thick, from 2500 BC. This would have been made at the same time that the great city-states of Sumer were in existence. This would pre-date some of the fine ceramics that were in China. So it is very significant that we had a civilisation in Central Asia at the time. So we can date this from the excavations to 2500 BC. This is at the time period of some of the earliest cities in Central Asia. The last pot here is perhaps the most ornate. It's painted with absolutely gorgeous tree designs surrounded by squares that have a step motif. It's very finely made, only about an eighth of an inch thick, a very fine ceramic, and it has this beautiful paint. This is the oldest pottery we have, from about 3500 BC, and represents the type of ceramics just before people in Central Asia began to build big cities. LMH: In the area you are working, if you were going to tie them into bloodlines of people alive today, which country would be closest to this group? Prof. Hiebert: That of course is one of the questions we would like to know, but don't have the means to answer right now. I think that if we used the old perspective in suggesting there were individual civilisations that developed by themselves without much interaction, we might say Turkish people in the area are the descendants. 58 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST —- SEPTEMBER 2001