stunning examples of prehistoric khyung rock art from Spiti in next month’s newsletter. Leaving aside the archaeology of Spiti until next month, I will now review several prominent cultural features…
corner of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. This newsletter and others to follow will explore the early culture and history of Spiti. Until now, very little has been written…
Welcome to Flight of the Khyung as we take in the most ancient bronzes of Tibet! This month’s newsletter presents the second part of an article on the art…
The state of archaeology in Spiti today can be compared to viewing the world through a keyhole. A little can be gleaned here, something made out over there, but these…
ago, the north shore of the lake supported a dense pattern of settlement. This same area today lies in desolation. Some of the ruins at Darok Tsho are mentioned in…
These petroglyphs are located at different sites in northwestern Tibet. As regular readers will know, that corner of Tibet (known as Ruthok) is extremely rich in rock art, probably harboring…
FOSSATI (eds.), Rock Art Studies: News of the World I. Recent Developments in Rock Art Research (Acts of Symposium 14D at the NEWS 95 World Rock Art Congress, Turin and…
By the end of the journey, I had collected some 6000 photographs of Spitian rock art, probably the largest collection of such images in the world. Upcoming newsletters will present…
world, looking for evidence of ancient human settlement. There is also a never before published Upper Tibetan megalithic site to discover in this issue. The third and longest feature reviews…
work is co-authored by Devkota and myself. Please continue reading for the latest strides in the study of early Mustang. Obscured for Centuries: The Lost Rock Art of Lo…
scientific study and conservation: The Museum on the Roof of the World: Art, Politics, and the Representation of Tibet, University of Chicago Press, 2012. Introduction to Stone Age artifacts in…
of the Khyung. It is the last article in the newsletter. I urge all those interested in Tibetan turquoise to read Samten G. Karmay’s contribution, for not only is it…
Also, with the adoption of the Cyrillic alphabet in 1944, the literacy rate reached 97% in the ensuing decades. Under Manchu rule less than 10% of Mongolians could read and…
Welcome to these pages! Flight of the Khyung takes in the ancient wonders of highest-most Tibet. Read on to learn about the secrets of one of Upper Tibet’s greatest island sanctuaries….
Hill Town As many know, Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh is a popular tourist destination. Someone planning a trip there might conclude that as it is on the world tourist map,…
recognition of environmental cues. In the day and in the night, I had talked with Chitralis about their views on national and world politics. In a word they feel betrayed….
Greetings and get ready for another Flight of the Khyung! This month’s newsletter has four features ranging from ancient glories to contemporary threats, taking you far and wide. The…
significance comparable to that in the wider Eurasian world. The swastika in Tibet appears on houses, rugs, tools, tattoos, sashes, boot ties, hats and other articles of clothing as a…
scholarly article that may not appeal to some readers. In that case, it is suggested that you jump down to the last section and enjoy the dramatic photographs. The writing…
pp. 52–54, 56. In an origins myth of the world found in an Old Tibetan funerary ritual text called Sha ru shul ston rabs (written ca. 850–1000 CE), reference is…
4100 m (see “Lost tiger population discovered in Bhutan mountains” in BBC Earth News, September 20, 2010: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8998000/8998042.stm). That the male was scent-marking is thought to indicate that he and…
Himalaya. I finally arrived in this region of the world at age twenty-five and commenced my research and explorations, to which I have now devoted more than two decades. In…
Plateau. The cultural world of antediluvian Upper Tibet is also readily distinguished from the civilizations that appeared in adjoining lands to the south, west and north. In the archaic cultural…
Not long ago, the BBC World Service aired a discussion about development in India and the prospect of achieving prosperity for all her citizenry. There was a vigorous debate about…
Welcome to another Flight of the Khyung! The horned eagle flies swift and high, making more progress in the timely delivery of these monthly newsletters. The last issue featured…
the importance of the subject matter under discussion rubbed shoulders. That this somewhat incongruous assembly could come together with a single focus is in itself encouraging. A common challenge requires…
in uppermost Tibet, the highest land in the world. The momentous rise of a new cultural and technological world at the end of the Bronze Age, nearly 3000 years ago,…
Welcome to the Flight of the Khyung marking nine years of this newsletter’s publication! This 109th issue is focused on cultural interconnections between Spiti and Upper Tibet and Ladakh…
stack of my photocopied journal one early morning, quickly settling on the account of my 1992 circumambulation of Mount Kailas for the main feature in this month’s newsletter. Perhaps next…
