A glimpse from the ancient world
What a gold necklace from Tillya-tepe reveals about opium in Afghanistan
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6017785 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sara Peterson (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 135-173 |
| Publication date | 2020-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Afghanistan (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2399-357X • E-ISSN: 2399-3588 |
| Publisher | Edinburgh University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3366/afg.2020.0054 |
| OpenAlex | W3094266591 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 28 |
Among the six excavated burials at Tillya-tepe, in northern Afghanistan, was one occupied by an elite woman wearing a substantial necklace consisting of large gold beads shaped as seed-heads. The scale and fine workmanship of this necklace suggest that it was one of her most important possessions. It can be demonstrated that these large seed-heads are representations of poppy capsules, whose significance lies in the fact that they are the source of the potent drug opium. This necklace is the most outstanding object within a group of items decorated with poppy imagery, all of which were discovered in female burials. The opium poppy has long been a culturally important plant, and the implication of this identification is investigated in several contexts. Firstly, the proliferation of poppy imagery in the female burials at Tillya-tepe is examined, and then there is a discussion of material evidence for opium among relevant peoples along the Eurasian steppes. The particular cultural importance of opium is reviewed, leading finally to a proposal for the societal role of these women
Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Biology · Botany · Elite · Geography · Necklace · Opium · Opium Poppy · Papaver · Political science · Poppy · Visual arts · Workmanship · Berberine and alkaloids research · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East
Herophilus
Origins of the Bronze Age oasis civilization in Central Asia
Magic and Rationality in Ancient Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman Medicine
II. Opium Again in Antiquity
The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity
The Urals and Western Siberia in the Bronze and Iron Ages
The Pharmacology of Sacred Plants, Herbs, and Roots
Cover Article
Silver Phalerae with a Depiction of Bellerophon and the Chimaira from a Sarmatian Burial in Volodarka (Western Kazakhkstan). A Reappraisal of the Question of the So-Called Graeco-Bactrian Style in Hellenistic Toreutics
Kurgans, Ritual Sites, and Settlements
Eastern Jewellery in Sarmatian Burials and Eastern Elements in the Jewellery Production of the North Pontic Area in the 1st. Century AD
Sacred Plants and the Cultic Beverage Haoma
A Decorated Ivory Belt from Tilla Bulak, Southern Uzbekistan
The Ancient Art of Northern Asia
Der Granatapfel
The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture
A closer look at the Tillya-tepe folding crown and attached pendants
Les Sarmates entre Rome et la Chine. Nouvelles perspectives
Opium Trade in the Bronze Age Levant
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |