Pages: 53-67

The author analyzes materials of Jurchen forts in the mountains of Eastern Xia (1215—1234), and settlements and industrial complexes of Jin Empire (1115—1234). The study aims to discover whether they could function during the Mongol time, i.e. after the official defeat of these states by the Mongols. The Mongol time is defined by such archaeological indicators as innovative artisan artefacts and technologies, which appear on archaeological sites in Primorye after the fall of Jurchen states, but are typical for the Karakorum craft centers. One of such indicators is a glass-blowing production of the Eastern Xia state. Works were conducted on imported raw materials, whose chemical composition fully coincides with the raw materials from Karakorum. Due to the difficulties in Jurchen-Mongol relations, trade and economic contacts between them practically did not exist. Therefore, the emergence of traditional Karakoram artisan materials could arise only after the defeat of Jurchen Jin Empire in 1234 by the Mongols. At the same time, as the research showed, the craft centers of mountain forts in Eastern Xia continued to function also during the Mongol time, which is also confirmed by radiocarbon data. These facts made serious corrections to the military, political and economic history of the Far Eastern region during the Mongol time.

Keywords: Russian Far East, Primorye, Jurchen, Eastern Xia, Mongol, Yuan, sites, fortified settlements, dating, glass

Information about author:

Olga Dyakova. Doctor of Historical Sciences. Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of Peoples of the Far East, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Pushkinskaya St., 89, Vladivostok, 690001, Russian Federation.
E-mail: [email protected]