Bukhara state university faculty of history

1.3 The emergence and development of archeological knowledge in our country during Russian Empire
The science of archeology in Uzbekistan is very young. A group of progressive Russian intellectuals, amateur archeologists, set up a museum of history and began to collect archeological monuments from all over the world. Among them were N.I. Veselovskiy, V.B. Grigorev, I. Kalaur, V.V Bartold, as well as Uzbek archaeologists Akram Polvon Askarov and others who initiated the study of monuments from a historical point of view. It has become customary to publish various legends and stories about some monuments in the deserts, mountains and villages of the country. V.L. Vyatkin found the wheel-shaped building of the ancient observatory, its broken bricks and patterns , as well as part of the observatory sextant. This was a great breakthrough for the science of history. In the foothills of Amu Darya in Central Asia , S.P. Tolstov discovered the ancient culture of Khorezm. This was also news to science. The scientist was able to determine the ancient Khorezm alphabet. Finds in cities and villages testify to the brilliant economic culture of this land. A. Yakubovskiy identified the social topography of the most important cities of Central Asia in the Middle Ages. The activities of Masson,Shishkin, Gulomov are of great impotance in the study of archeology of our country. Archeologists O’. Islamov found the Selungur cave near the village of Haydarkhan in the Fergana Valley. In connection with this discovery, the idea that our ancestors lived on our land since the Stone Age has been proved. The monuments give a good material about the life of our period. Upper Paleolithic stone tools were found around the villages of Uchtut in Navoi region , in Bozsuv 1 and Bozsuv 2 near Tashkent, in Kolbulak near Ahangaron and elsewhere.



Shishkin Vasiliy Afanasyevich—
Soviet orientalist and archeologist
(1894-1966)

During the Mesolithic, people invented the bow. Hunting becomes easier. Pictures was painted with the red paint on the stone were found in the place called “ Zarautsay arch” near the Zarautsay in Surkhandarya region. It depicts hunters with tents, tails tied and bows and arrows, along with wild animals. Monuments of the Mesolithic period have been found in the Machay Cave in Boysun , Obishir in the Fergana Valley ,and the confluence near Tashkent. One of great achievements of the people during this period was the production of pottery. Remains of Neolithic culture have been found in Uzbekistan around Boysun and Jonbaskala in Karakalpakstan. Khorezm archeological expedition led by professor S.P.Tolstov has been searching since 1937. He found and examined the ancient settlements in the red sands of southern Karakalpakstan. The oldest of these monuments is Kaltaminor , where the monuments of that period are well preserved. During the excavation of Janbaskala in Kyzilkum desert (1940), professor S.P. Tolstov estimated that about 100 to 120 people lived there as part of the maternal family. The tent had more than 20 sandpits. Fish bones, wild ducks, goose eggshells, various bones , pottery fragments were found around each hearth. As hunting and fishing flourished, people began to use copper first and later copper-bronze alloys.

The history and archelogy of our country have been studied in depth since the beginning of 20^th century. Undoubtedly, the first and foremost leader was the highly educated scientist and orientalist V.V Bartold (1869-1930). Because of his great knowledge of oriental langauges , he was able to study not only the history of the entire “ Muslim East”. His monography called “ Turkestan during the Mongol invasion” (1899-1900) plays an important role in the study of Central Asia. V.V . Bartold had great organization , scientific ability, and potential. Indeed, no major event in the field the study the history and archeology of Central Asia by V.V . Bartold. It was not without Barthold’s partipication. Barthold , in his book on archeological research in Turkestan , published in 1894, said that a serious study of the country was still ahead of us , and that local scientific forces should play a leading role in this work. At this suggestion, in October 1895, the amateur circle of Turkestan archeology and its charter were approved.