Aketala

The Aketala sites (39°20′50.55″N, 75°21′20.20″E) lie in the eastern foothills of the Pamir Mountains (Figure 1b). The region is characterised by yardang landforms (wind-eroded ridges) and semi-desert vegetation (Figure 2a & b), today primarily comprising semi-desert shrubs, including Anabasis aphylla, Iljinia regelii, Ephedra sinica and Kalidium schrenkianum, with Populus przewalskii occurring in more humid zones and village peripheries (Figure 2c–g). The sites are surrounded by dried river channels, which likely served as water sources during the Bronze Age for both domestic use and irrigation. Artefact concentrations in yardang corridors indicate environmentally induced abandonment, with cultural materials now exposed on deflated surfaces by the same aeolian processes (erosion and aridification) that presumably caused site desiccation.

Figure 2. The geomorphological context around the Aketala sites: a) Yardang landform; b) desert areas; c) oasis settlement; d–g) surface vegetation (figure by authors).

An initial investigation in 1972 identified Aketala as a Late Neolithic (3000–2000 BC) site (Archaeological Team of the Xinjiang Museum 1977), but excavations and surveys conducted between 2021 and 2024 determined that there are actually 51 discrete sites, with a chronological range from 2200–500 BC (including absolute dating data obtained through survey sampling). The site complex can be divided into two areas: north-western and south-eastern. The north-western area contains more sites and has a higher elevation (1512m above sea level (masl)), while the south-eastern area is closer to an oasis and has a lower elevation (1410masl) (Figure 1). Currently, 10 sites have been excavated (Figure 3). Among them, sites 1, 5, 6, 9 and 10 (1800–1400 BC) yielded numerous flat-bottomed jars of a form typically associated with the Late Bronze Age Andronovo cultural community of Central Asia (narrowed neck, flared mouth, drum belly; Figure 4a). Similar artefacts were also found at the Xiabandi cemetery in the Pamir region near Aketala (Wu Reference Wu2012).

Figure 3. Excavations at the Aketala sites: a) site 5 stratigraphy; b) site 4 stratigraphy; c) dwelling site (Site 9-F1); d) ash pits (Site 6-H9 & H10); e) ash heap (Site 4-HD3) (figure by authors).

Figure 4. Artefacts unearthed from the Aketala sites: a & b) pottery jars; c) grinding stone; d) stone sickle; e) stone knife; f) stone pestle; g) bronze arrowheads; h) bone arrowhead (figure by authors).

The distribution of the Aketala cultural layers is generally limited in scale, with most sites covering less than 300m². The largest site (Kangxuan-S) measures under 1000m². These findings suggest that the number of inhabitants at each site was relatively limited. Furthermore, the cultural deposits exhibit relatively thin stratigraphy with limited feature diversity, primarily comprising ash pits and hearth features; only site 9 revealed structural remains (a dwelling foundation). Collectively, the excavated evidence indicates that the Aketala site cluster likely functioned as a seasonal (probably summer) settlement that was organised along familial lines engaged in agricultural production and metallurgical activities. Bronze Age tombs in the Pamir Valley, approximately 30km west, may indicate localities associated with winter settlements of the Aketala population, and the next phase of investigation will involve excavating these tombs to establish their chronology and cultural characteristics.

Radiocarbon dating of the Aketala artefacts indicates a chronological span from 2200–500 BC, which can be divided into three phases (Figure 5). The earliest occupation phase (2200–1800 BC) has thus far yielded only one hearth and fired clay, providing insufficient evidence for cultural attribution. The second phase (1800–1400 BC) shows a strong connection with the Andronovo culture (Figure 4a), while a noticeable change in pottery decoration occurred in the third phase (1400–500 BC), with ‘pearl patterns’ becoming particularly prevalent (Figure 4b). At site 14, the distribution of pottery fragments associated with this latter phase covered more than 10 000m², potentially indicating population expansion. Further investigation is needed to determine whether the area of highest artefact density functioned as a central settlement node or a specialised activity zone.

Figure 5. Calibrated radiocarbon-dating results for the Aketala sites. Conventional radiocarbon ages were generated by Beta Analytic and calibrated using OxCal v.4.4.4 (Bronk Ramsey Reference Bronk Ramsey2021) and the IntCal20 calibration curve (Reimer et al. Reference Reimer2020) (figure by authors).

Many artefacts associated with bronze-smelting activities have also been uncovered, including ceramic tuyères, slag, copper ore nodules, copper briquettes, small copper objects and stone hammers that may have been used in mining activities (Figure 6b–e), and the remains of smelting furnaces and furnace linings were discovered in an earlier stratum at site 7 (Figure 6a & f).

Figure 6. Remains of bronze metallurgy from the Aketala sites: a) smelting furnace; b) stone hammer; c) pottery tuyère; d) copper ores; e) furnace slag; f) furnace lining (figure by authors).

In currently excavated sites, large ground stone tools, such as grinding discs, sickles, knives and pestles (Figure 4a & d), suggests a well-developed agricultural economy. Preliminary analyses of plant microfossils have identified cultivated crops, including wheat, barley and millet (Yang et al. Reference Yang2020), and recent excavations also confirm the presence of these domesticated species. Zooarchaeological research has further identified a substantial number of remains from sheep/goats and cattle, with a few from horses (sites 1, 5, 6 & 9), indicating that the Aketala people likely practised a mixed economy, combining agriculture and pastoralism.