Word: mongolia
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They were mean and bloodthirsty, sure, but such dinosaurs as Tyrannosaurus rex may well have had a more caring side. The clue is the discovery of a fossilized embryo from a carnivorous dinosaur: an oviraptor found in Mongolia. The embryo was lodged in a nest, which also contained bones from other tiny dinos that mother oviraptor might have eaten while watching over her sharp- toothed darlings. Apparently even prehistoric monsters knew how to parent...
...than 200 artifacts dating from roughly 2000 B.C. through the dynasty founded by Genghis Khan's grandson, Kubilai Khan, in the 13th century A.D. Most of the objectshave never before been permitted to leave China. Says the show's curator, archaeologist Adam Kessler of the Los Angeles museum: "Inner Mongolia is one of the great frontiers of archaeology left in the world today...
...place those manuscripts in context as well as providing valuable clues to the cultural development of Eurasia. Everyday items such as bronze vessels, weapons, clothing and funerary offerings provide a picture of daily life. And the discovery of both Chinese- and Indian-inspired imagery on porcelain and sculpture confirm Mongolia's role in the cultural exchange between China and Eurasia...
Around 1500 B.C, Mongolia's climate became colder and drier, prompting a shift from a crop-based to a livestock-centered society. And by about 200 B.C., a warlike people called the Xiongnu had overrun a large part of the region. As part of a peace agreement with China's Han dynasty, the Xiongnu demanded annual tributes of silk, wine, rice, concubines and other luxuries. According to Kessler, the transport of these goods to central Asia marked the earliest full-scale use of the Silk Road, the fabled network of trade routes that ultimately stretched to the Mediterranean...
Many archaeological sites, especially in Inner Mongolia, have hardly been excavated because of limited local resources and decades of Chinese xenophobia. This has started to change, however, as China has taken part in cooperative digs with several European countries. Kessler, who has already made six surveying trips to the area, hopes Americans will get their chance to dig as well. "There is a fantastic potential there for finding well-preserved artifacts," he says. Considering what scientists have learned from the pieces they have found so far, the broadening of our understanding of Genghis Khan and the Mongols has barely begun...