"Summary: Artifacts from the Ancient Silk Road explores the interconnectivity of the Eurasian continent from 4000 BCE to 1000 CE and focuses on the role played by Central Asia through which passed the major trade routes, the Silk Roads"-- Provided by publisher.

Preface -- How to use this book -- Introduction: what was the world of the ancient Silk Road? -- Alphabetical entries -- Amazons -- Animal style -- Banqueting -- City planning -- Coinage -- Domestication of the horse -- Funerary practices -- Indus Valley civilization -- Linguistic and genetic studies -- Monasticism -- Nomad kingdoms and empires -- Persepolis' Apadana -- Persistence of Classicism -- Shamanism, ancient Central Asian -- Silk -- Texts and archaeology -- Texts and translations -- Travelers, Early -- Wool working and carpet making -- Zoroastrianism -- Artifacts.