Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 39 (4) 2011

Annotation:  The Upper Paleolithic Site of Dodekatym-2 in Uzbekistan Daggers from the Fofonovo Burial Ground in the Collection of the Museum of the Buryat Scientifi c C Hundidero: MIS 4 Open Air Neanderthal Occupations in Sierra de Atapuerca Absolute and Relative Chronology and Cultural Attribution of Neolithic Sites in the Kulunda Steppe Technological Analysis of Ceramics from Early Sarmatian Burials in the Southwestern Urals Archaeological Studies of the Kamenny Ambar (Olgino) Fortifi ed Settlement Silver Dish with Fighting Scenes from the Lower Ob Region Lacquer Cups of the Western Han Dynasty (Noin Ula, Mongolia): An Analysis of Inscriptions Tinder Bag with a Chinese Inscription Ancient Agriculture in Western Siberia: Problems of Argumentation, Paleoethnobotanic Methods, and A Red Marals at Satakular in the Alai The “Kirghiz Frontier” and the Frontier Volosts of the Tomsk Uyezd in the 17th Century: Formulation Sacred Space and the Art of its Representation in the Ethnic Culture of Northern Asia: Artifacts of Pottery Making in the Village of Balkhar, Dagestan The Diet of Siberian Peasants on Lenten Days (the 19th Century) Craniometric Characteristics of the Ust-Ishim People (the Southern Taiga Part of the Irtysh Basin,   

Lacquer Cups of the Western Han Dynasty (Noin Ula, Mongolia): An Analysis of Inscriptions

A.N. Chistyakova.

The expedition headed by P.K. Kozlov in 1924–1927 and the Russian-Mongolian expedition in 2006 and 2009 lead to the discovery in the Noin Ula Mountains of fi ve lacquer cups of Western Han Dynasty with handles (er bei) and inscriptions. The article compares established versions of translations of inscriptions and offers a reading, translation and analysis of the inscriptions found on the newly discovered lacquer cups. Using the method of comparative analysis, it has been established that the inscriptions found on the cups from Noin Ula are standard (except for the cup from burial mound 6). As a rule, the inscriptions include the name of the workshop where the cup was made, date of manufacture, and the title and surname of the offi cials who managed and controlled the production process. The article also considers the cups ornamentation by means of which the objects produced in a particular workshop may be identifi ed.

Keywords: Western Han Dynasty, Noin Ula, lacquer ware, Kaogong workshop, Chang’an, Xigong workshop, Shu County, Gongguan workshop, Guanghan County.