Kainar: A Late 18th to Early 20th Century Ritual and Housing Complex in the Northern Ustyurt

This is the fi rst description of a key Kazakh recent permanent settlement at Donyztau, in the northern Ustyurt. Such sites, evidencing major historical processes during the transition of nomadic pastoralists to a semi-sedentary lifestyle (mid-19th to early 20th century), are known as “ritual and housing complexes” (RHC). Kainar, a highly representative site, is viewed as a socio-cultural phenomenon and an integral architectural and landscape ensemble. The excavation history of RHCs in the Donyztau area and their evolution are discussed, and the role of ascetics such as Doszhan-Ishan Kashakuly is described. We highlight separate parts of the complex (the settlement and cemetery) and their elements. The architecture of the RHC is reconstructed with regard to structure, function, and continuity with the landscape. The layout of the site as a whole and of the madrasah with its typical elements are compared with those of similar sites in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. A reconstruction of the complex is proposed and the function of public halls is interpreted. The role of the cemetery and of its parts in the structure of the RHC is evaluated; the evolution of its spatial organization is traced. Types of memorial complexes are listed in terms of harmony with the landscape, archaic beliefs, architecture, and style, specifi cally stone carving. The historical and cultural signifi cance of Kainar as a source of knowledge about the transition to a semi-sedentary way of life and the Islamization of the steppe is discussed.

Investigation and Analysis of the Current Situation of Olive-Stone Carving Inheritance in Guangzhou

The issue of inheriting and developing traditional handicrafts in this contemporary society is being explored by all walks of life in China. Taking the olive-stone carving in Guangzhou as a case, field investigations and analyses of its current situation of inheritance have been conducted. It has been found that although the government in Guangzhou has been paying more attention to olive-stone carving, there are still many problems, including the shortage of raw materials, no inheritors, low market recognition, and inadequate promotion. Therefore, the local government has cooperated with schools and craftsmen to search for key solutions in regard to raw material protection, training of inheritors, product development, and product promotion.

Gordinsky Stone of 1323: New Details

The study of the Gordinsky stone (grave slab) discovered by A. P. Smirnov in 1930 in Gordino village of Balezinsky District in Votyak Autonomous Oblast (presently the Udmurt Republic) is represented in the paper. The stone was regarded by scientists as the most northeastern Bolgar epigraphic monument (Ali Rahim, G. V. Yusupov, D. G. Mukhametshin, D. S. Khakimzyanov) and dated by researchers back to 1323. As a monument of archaeology, the stone was studied by local historians and archaeologists (N. G. Pervukhin, P. M. Sorokin, V. F. Gening, A. G. Ivanov, and others), and as a sacral monument of the population of Gordino village and the Tatars of the Cheptsa river basin, it was studied by ethnographers (E. V. Popova). The paper features the history of the slab’s appearance in the archaeological fund of the National Museum of the Udmurt Republic named after Kuzebay Gerd. In recent years, new material has appeared (Gordinsky II burial ground was discovered, and another fragment of the slab was found). The grave slab of the early 14th century was located on a mountain near the Gordinsky I (Guryakar) hillfort (9th – 13th centuries) where a cemetery was arranged by the first Besermyan settlers (17th – 18th centuries). The Tatars who arrived in the Besermyan village in the second half of the 19th century (possibly the Besermyans who adopted Islam) according to the Muslim tradition, proclaimed the location of the grave slab as the grave of a “saint”. The discovered fragment made it possible to clarify the text of the epitaph (add the “testimony of faith” text). A tamga mark of the slab’s manufacturer was found on the back of the fragment. The grave slab from Gordino village belongs to the Bolgar school of stone carving which has its territorial originality (the northeastern version of the gravestone steles). The paper features an attempt of its reconstruction.

Structural design for a hybrid stone carving manipulator

With people’s higher and higher requirements for environmental art, a large number of stone carving products are needed in the current urban construction. However, the traditional carving technology and equipment can not meet this demand. The development of robots to complete the processing of stone products, especially for the processing of special-shaped stones with complex shapes such as three-dimensional, multi-faceted and curved surfaces, has great social and economic benefits. In this paper, a stone carving manipulator is designed. In the processing of special-shaped curved stone, the structure of 3-TPS/TP hybrid manipulator is adopted, and its kinematic model and Jacobian matrix are established to realize the efficient automatic processing of special-shaped stone.

DISEASE INVESTIGATION OF STONE CARVING BY SPATIAL ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY ON THE STONE CARVING OF DAZU THOUSAND-HAND BODHISATTVA

Cultural relics are often threatened by nature and human, especially stone carving relics which have immovable characteristics. Compared with other cultural relics, the diseases of stone carving relics are more complex, and they can affect carvings’ cultural and artistic value to a great extent. This article selects Dazu thousand-hand bodhisattva as a case, not only because it has a strong representation in Chinese stone carving art, but also considering that there are many complex diseases in the whole range after a long history, therefore the Dazu thousand-hand bodhisattva has high research value, and scientific investigation methods are essential for the protection and research of cultural relics. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the arm diseases of Dazu thousand-hand bodhisattva by using the two methods of GIS spatial analysis: kernel density analysis and trend analysis. The past investigation methods are difficult to achieve the expected results because of their strong subjectivity and narrow range, and the use of spatial analysis to investigate the diseases of stone carvings can study the spatial characteristics and coupling relationship of stone carvings from the macro level.

Archaeological monuments of Zangazur (Lachin district)

The settlement of people in Lachin district that located in the foothills of the Lesser Caucasus dates back to ancient times. The settlements of the district were built mainly in accordance with tribal relations. The construction of villages in the area was mainly divided into mountainous, foothill, hill-side and plain types according to the relief of the region. On the whole, since Lachin district is located in a mountainous area, the construction of villages here was also different: mainly, the houses in the district were built far apart, mostly scattered; villages with hut dwellings and those with dwellings built compact, closer to each other.The newly built bines (nomad camps or isolated farmsteads) were named after those who built them first. Although the main occupation of the district population was animal husbandry, they were also engaged in gardening, forestry and beekeeping. Archaeological and ethnographic investigations conducted in the district, clarified that the population were engaged in many handicraft areas (pottery, stone carving, metal working, etc.). At the same time, the settlements, grave monuments, churches and tombs and bridges of the district were comprehensively studied. The district located in a mountainous area, covers one town, one settlement and 125 villages.