The Steppes of Central Asia in the Bronze Age: Interview with Professor Michael Frachetti

Tides of History

Wondery / Patrick Wyman

Documentary, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2022

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Eurasian steppe is central to grasping the past 5,000 years of human history, and in the past couple of decades, new tools of analysis have transformed our understanding of the place and its importance. Professor Michael Frachetti has developed and applied a whole series of innovative approaches to understanding the people of the Bronze Age steppe and much more, ranging from ancient DNA to isotope analysis to more traditional archaeology.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi everybody, from Wondery, welcome to another episode of Ties of History.
0:13.9	I'm Patrick Weimann, thanks for joining me.
0:16.1	So at this point in the prehistory season of Ties of History, it should be clear that
0:20.3	the Eurasian step is central to understanding how and why the world has taken on its present
0:25.1	shape over the past 5,000 years.
0:28.3	The grasslands at the core of Eurasia have served as a highway for people, languages,
0:32.5	ideas, and technologies, facilitating their spread everywhere from the Atlantic to the
0:36.6	sea of Japan.
0:38.3	To help us better understand the steps placed in history, especially the Bronze Age, we've
0:42.1	got a fantastic guest with us here today.
0:45.0	His work focuses on the pastoral nomads of central and eastern Eurasia during that period
0:49.6	and uses a whole bunch of innovative cutting-edge approaches to the topic.
0:53.7	He's a professor of archaeology in the Department of Anthropology at Washington University in
0:57.7	St. Louis, National Visiting Professor at Northwest University, Gion, China, and a National Geographic
1:03.6	Explorer.
1:05.0	Along with Nicole Boivin, he edited the recent book Globalization in Prehistory, prior
1:09.1	to that with Robert Spengler, he edited Mobility and Ancient Society in Asia and the Americas.
1:14.2	He's currently writing a book on ancient inter-Asia and has also co-authored and authored
1:19.2	a truly intimidating number of articles.
1:22.0	Professor Michael Fritchetti, thank you so much for joining me today.
1:24.4	Thanks, I'm happy to be here.
1:26.8	So what initially drew your interest to Central Asia, to pastoralism, and to the Bronze Age?
	...

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