Ceramic Artifacts of Kyrgyzstan: Integrative Investigation

Abstract

The application of an integrated research approach to the reconstruction of ceramic production technology on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic is considered based on the results obtained by modern methods. For the first time, the results of studying physicomechanical and physicochemical properties are summarized and an attempt is made to open up methods of technical analysis of ceramic artifacts. A unified scientific approach has been developed to the ceramics of various periods ranging from the 2nd millennium BC to our era up to the 10th – 12th centuries, and excavated in Kyrgyzstan, so as to determine the relationship between their microstructure and physical and mechanical properties. Ceramic technology, like no other industry, requires this kind of research because of the specificity of technical information associated with both natural and social factors. The lack of solid knowledge in the field of ceramics technology prevents the acquisition of important information about the history, culture, and economy of Kyrgyzstan as a nation-building entity. However, a comprehensive study of production techniques, types, compositions, and quality of ceramics would open up completely new prospects for confirming the antiquity of Kyrgyzstan.