Domesticated: How Cultivated Species Impacted Ancient Silk Road Societies

Domesticated: How Cultivated Species Impacted Ancient Silk Road Societies

Harvard Inner Asian and Altaic Studies Lecture Series

by Alicia Ventresca-Miller 

(Professor, University of Michigan)

This lecture focuses on a central question – how did domesticates alter societies? Responding to this query depends on tracking cultivated species, understanding human-animal-plant partnerships, and clarifying the process by which species were integrated into societies. Here I examine the trajectories of human societies in north-central Asia long after initial domestication to demonstrate the lasting impacts of domestic species. Over time economies shifted from foraging and fishing to the adoption of ruminant livestock and dairying, from horse as food to traction and then riding. As domesticates and new technologies were adopted there were fundamental changes to landscapes, mobilities, and the organization of societies. Through the management of domesticated species, communities built complex societies and expanded long-distance networks, which linked cities and supported Empires.