Prehistoric, Byzantine, and Islamic archaeologyBeyond the archaeology of the proto-historic nomad peoples, the territories
colonized by Russia had other types of archaeology—mainly those of the
prehistoric, 6 Byzantine and Islamic periods. Although they received some
attention, the interest in them never reached the level attained by the
archaeology of the Scythians and cognate groups. Regarding prehistoric
archaeology, 7 there is some evidence of Russian geologists mapping Central
Asia becoming interested in archaeology. This was the case of the governor-
general, A. V. Komarov, who excavated two mounds near the village of Anau,
near Ashkhabad, today’s capital of Turkmenistan (Masson & Sarianidi 1972:
11). The description of the type of site, however, sounds remarkably similar
to the most characteristic type of monument among the Scythians, and it is
possible that Komarov was expecting a diVerent result from his work. The
Wrst to have undertaken what would today be called proper archaeological
investigation into prehistoric sites in the area was, in fact, an American
geologist, Raphael Pumpelly (1837–1923), in theWrst years of the twentieth
century. Pumpelly, who much later in his life would become the president of
the Geological Society of America from 1905, hadWrst worked in Japan and
China, 8 later returning to the US. He advised entrepreneurs to invest in steel
and those who followed his advice amassed fortunes. This may explain the
funding received from the Carnegie Institution—created by the steel busi-
nessman Andrew Carnegie in 1902. The institution sponsored him to con-
duct explorations in the area in 1903–4, seeking traces of past civilizations.
He employed the German protohistorian, Hubert Schmidt (1864–1933), then
working in the Museum fu ̈rVo ̈lkerkunde at Berlin. Pumpelly’s goal was to
map the desiccation of the area on the basis of the chronology of sites located
in a detailed archaeological survey. This very modern objective was, however,
still understood within the framework of the Aryan question. Pumpelly
explained that:
6 The archaeology found in regions newly colonized by Russia and still inhabited by non-
state societies like the Amur region will be explored in Chapter 10.
7 Some of the geologists working in the area mentioned by Pumpelly were Tschernyschev—
the Director of the Russian Geological Survey—, Karpinsky, Muchketov, Bogdanovitch, Andru-
sov and Nikitin (Pumpelly 1908: xxvi).
8 Rafael Pumpelly had been contracted by the imperial Japanese government to make oYcial
surveys in Japan (1861–3) of Yezo (later Hokkaido), exploring for minerals. He was also
commissioned to survey the coalWelds west of Beijing in China (1864) and made theWrst
extensive survey (1865) of the Gobi. He later journeyed across Siberia by sleigh. He related these
adventures in his bookAcross America and Asia.
Russian Empire and French North Africa 259