Aptechguwahatiaz at 05:37, 7 February 2026

2026-02-07T05:37:03Z

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{{short description|Ancient exchange route in Central Asia}}
The '''Inner Asian Mountain Corridor''' (IAMC) was an ancient exchange route in [[Inner Asia]], ranging from the [[Altai Mountains]] in [[Central Asia]] to the [[Hindu Kush]] in [[South Asia]] (present-day [[Afghanistan]] and northern [[Pakistan]]), which took shape in the 3rd millennium BCE.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Pastoralist landscapes and social interaction in bronze age Eurasia|last=Frachetti, Michael D.|date=2008|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-25689-7|location=Berkeley|oclc=752326743}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Frachetti|first=Michael D.|date=2012|title=Multiregional Emergence of Mobile Pastoralism and Nonuniform Institutional Complexity across Eurasia|journal=Current Anthropology|volume=53|issue=1|pages=2–38|doi=10.1086/663692|issn=0011-3204|jstor=10.1086/663692|hdl=1808/21123|s2cid=34267065|hdl-access=free}}</ref>{{sfn|Frachetti|Rouse|2012}}{{sfn|Spengler et al.|2014}}{{sfn|Frachetti|2016}} The expansion of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] [[Andronovo culture]] towards the [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex|Bactria-Margiana Culture]] in the second millennium BCE took place along the IAMC, giving way to the [[Indo-Aryan migration]] into the [[Indian subcontinent]].{{sfn|Narasimhan et al.|2018}}

==Mountain Corridor==
The IAMC contributed to the development of mobile pastoralism in the 4th millennium BCE.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />{{sfn|Frachetti|2016|p=281}} Bronze Age mobile pastoralists acted as agents between Central Asian cultures and South Asian cultures via the IAMC, spreading domesticated wheats from South and East Asia to Inner Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Frachetti|first1=Michael D.|last2=Spengler|first2=Robert N.|last3=Fritz|first3=Gayle J.|last4=Mar'yashev|first4=Alexei N.|date=2010-12-01|title=Earliest direct evidence for broomcorn millet and wheat in the central Eurasian steppe region|journal=Antiquity|language=en|volume=84|issue=326|pages=993–1010|doi=10.1017/S0003598X0006703X|s2cid=163132760|issn=0003-598X}}</ref>{{sfn|Spengler et al.|2014}} Bronze Age pastoralists also transmitted horse riding and bronze technology between Europe and China, but also into the Indian subcontinent.{{sfn|Frachetti|2016|p=281}}

==Indo-European migrations==
In the fourth millennium BCE a mobile pastoralist [[Eurasian nomads|culture]] emerged at the Eurasian steppes.{{sfn|Spengler et al.|2014}} From the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe]] (present-day Ukraine and Russia), the [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] [[Yamna culture]] spread westwards toward the [[Great Hungarian Plain]]; and north-west it developed into the [[Corded Ware culture]].{{sfn|Narasimhan et al.|2018}} Expanding eastward, Corded Ware eventually developed into the [[Sintashta culture]], which further developed into the Andronovo culture. According to Narasimhan et al. (2018), the Andronovo-culture extended southwards via the IAMC, reaching into the [[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex|Bactria-Margiana Culture]], from where Indo-European language and culture reached the Indian subcontinent.{{sfn|Narasimhan et al.|2018}}

==References==
{{reflist|35em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}

* {{Citation | last1 =Frachetti | first1 =Michael D. | last2 =Rouse | first2 =Lynne M. | year =2012 | chapter =Central Asia, the steppe, and the near east, 2500–1500 BC | editor-last =Potts | editor-first =D.T. | title =A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East | edition =first | publisher =Blackwell Publishing | chapter-url =https://www.academia.edu/download/25332725/Frachetti_and_Rouse_2012.pdf }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{Citation | last =Frachetti | first =Michael | year = 2016 | chapter =Bronze Age Pastoralism and Differentiated Landscapes along the Inner Asia Mountain Corridor | editor-last1 =Abraham | editor-first1 =Shinu Anna | editor-last2 =Gullapalli | editor-first2 =Praveena | editor-last3 =Raczek | editor-first3 =Teresa P. | editor-last4 =Rizvi | editor-first4 =Uzma Z. | title =Connections and Complexity: New Approaches to the Archaeology of South Asia | publisher =Routledge}}

* {{cite journal | last1 =Narasimhan | first1 =Vagheesh M. | last2 =Anthony | first2 =David | last3 =Mallory | first3 =James | last4 =Reich | first4 =David | title =The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia | journal =Science | date =2019 | volume =365 | issue =6457 | article-number =eaat7487 | doi =10.1126/science.aat7487 | pmid =31488661 | pmc =6822619 | bibcode =2019Sci...365t7487N |biorxiv=10.1101/292581 | ref ={{sfnref|Narasimhan et al.|2018}} |mode=cs2}}

* {{Citation | last1 =Spengler | first1 =Robert | last2 =Rouse | first2 =Lynne M. | last3 =Bullion | first3 =Elissa | last4 =Dupuy | first4 =Paula Doumani | last5 =Cerasetti | first5 =Barbara | last6 =Frachetti | first6 =Michael D. | year =2014 | title =Early agriculture and crop transmission among Bronze Age mobile pastoralists of Central Eurasia | journal =Proceedings of the Royal Society | volume =281 | issue =1783 | article-number =20133382 | ref ={{sfnref|Spengler et al.|2014}}| pmc =3996608 | doi =10.1098/rspb.2013.3382 | pmid =24695428 }}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Indo-European history]]
[[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]]

Inner Asian Mountain Corridor - Revision history

Aptechguwahatiaz at 05:37, 7 February 2026