Chapter 16 Section 3

Chapter 16
Section 3
pg.375

I)A Historical Crossroads
-Central Asia consists of 5 independant republics
1-Kazakhstan
2-Kyrgyzstan
3-Tajikistan
4-Turkmenistan
5-Uzbekistan

A) The Silk Road
-very popular trading route
goods include,
      a)gold, silver, ivory, jade, wine, spices, amber, linen, porcelain, grapes, perfumes ostriches, and acrobats
-cities built to take advantage of trade,
       a)Samarqand and Bukhoro

B)The Great Game
-great britain and russia struggled for control in the 19th century
-britain wanted to stop the russian advance before they could take over india
-officers in disguise went on journeys to win local leaders
      a) a british officer, Arthur Conolly who was exicuted in Bukhoro called the struggle the "Great Game
-Russian empire won control at the end of the 19th century
-SU took control in 1920's and kept it until 1991
-central asia republics have been independant since

II)An Uncertain Economic Future pg.377
-Soviet Union caused lots of problems

A)Nuclear Testing
-between 1949 and 1989, scientists exploded 470 nuclear devices in the polygon
     a) the polygon is a vast nuclear test site southwest of semey
-citizens could see mushrooms clouds from above-ground explosives, while underground explosives caused walls 50 miles away to crack
-testing caused wide-spread health problems
-winds spread nuclear fallout over a 180,000-square-mile are
-millions of people were exposed to dangerous amounts of radiation
-though testing ended 1989, harmful effects will continue for years to come

B) pertoleum and Prosperity
-hopeful potential for oil to bring wealth to central asia
-oil reserves in the caspian sea are promising
-oil fields recently discovered in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan
-oil fields belive to be the "new great game"
-in order for resources to benefit the people, there needs to be stable political and legal institution
-central Asias geography will make tha difficult

III)Cultures Divided and Conquered
-asia has a large variety of ethnic groups
-largest ethnic group is Uzbek at 41%

B)Language and Religion
-Muslim is one of the strongest religions
-most central asians speak lamguages related to Turkish
-many people speak russian, which was once the regions official language

IV) The Survival Of Tradition pg.378
-many of the regions traditions have survived through SU upheaval

A)Nomadic Heritage
-expansive grasslands of central Asia are ideal for Nomads
-nomads decreased drastically under Soviet Rule due to collective farms

B)Yurts
-tents of the nomads, they are deemed their most valuable possessions
-they are light and portable
-usually consist of several layers felt stretched around a wooden frame often made of willow
-outermost layer is felt coated with waterproof sheep fat
-insides of Yurts can be quite beautiful
-Yurts conatin hand-woven carpets

C)Preserving Traditions
-Nomadic lifestyle is not as widespread as it once was
-an imaginative and productive use of tradition would be how the Nomadic people allow tourists to experice the way they live, which grants them money.





Summery
the Silkroad in Central Asia allowed for lots of trade and ethnic mixing.
Central Asia is made p of 5 independent republics, which are trying to figure out how the plentiful oil resources of the Caspian sea are going to be shared. Nuclear Testing messed a bunch of stuff up and now there are lots of diseases and mutations.
though the Soviet Rule tried to strip the people of their heritage, nomads are still out there doin' their nomad stuff and have found ways to benefit from their culture.