NO. 13 SOVIET ANTHROPOLOGY — FIELD IO5 



Ferghana Expedition. — Tliis expedition was undertaken in 1939 

 and had as its objective archeological supervision of tlie construction 

 site of the Stalin Great Fergliana Canal. Ferghana, the wealth of 

 which was well known to ancient Chinese writers who knew it under 

 the name of Davin, had never been investigated. In view of the ex- 

 tremely sparse archeological data on the Ferghana region, the organi- 

 zation of work on a large scale promised to be of great interest. 

 .Archeological supervision was established over the entire 270-kilo- 

 nieter course of the canal, which intersects the Ferghana region from 

 end to end, from Uch-Kurgan to Kani-badam. Numerous trips were 

 made through the territory lying off the main course of the canal, and 

 in this way a large part of the region was covered by a compact net- 

 work of scouting parties. Excavation work during the building of the 

 canal unearthed several ancient settlements and tribal sites, burials, 

 and artifacts. 



Much material was gathered by the reconnaissance parties. These 

 finds for the most part precede the .Arab conquest. Among the coins, 

 some hitherto unknown, was a copper coin of the Greek-Bactrian 

 ruler Heliocles dating to the middle of the second century before our 

 era. The scientific purport of these coins is especially great in that 

 they directly coincide with archeological complexes and with definite 

 geographical points. Among the mass of artifacts of various strata, 

 the ancient complex is especially striking since it is found on the 

 entire territory investigated and shouUl be referred to the second half 

 of the first millennium before our era. 



Grain grinders were found in this complex, crude hand-fashioned 

 pottery, pitcherlike vessels, flat dishes, jugs with handles in the form 

 of cowslips coated in red engobe, burnished pottery with incised 

 ornament, stone pestles and mortars. The dense distribution of 

 archeological remains throughout the investigated territory' and the 

 great extent of the cultural strata of the ancient settlements make 

 them worthy of particular study. In addition to the sites found directly 

 on the course of the canal, 92 adjacent sites were registered. An 

 unbroken cultural stratum stretches for a distance of 8 kilometers from 

 Lugumbck to the settlement of Tiuiachi. 



These facts confirm the evidence of ancient Oiinese sources con- 

 cerning the wealth and highly developed agriculture of Davin, which 

 characterize it as a region with a large agricultural population, famous 

 for its splendid horses, wine distilleries, rice and wheat crops, and 

 numerous cities. 



Parties following special routes to the north of the canal into the 

 sands of Kuduk-Kum, lying in the center of the Ferghana region, 



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