Chapter 4. How the most ancient people were discovered The eternal tragedy of science: ugly facts kill beautiful hypotheses. T. Huxley The most important thing is that paleoanthropology has been developing throughout the first half of the 20th century. All over the globe, literally a few dozen people were doing it - but

Chapter 4 TRAVELING TO ASIA The mystery of the poem Seven years ago, in June 1534, Suleiman was not yet bitter against the Europeans. His goals for Europe remained the same. But something drew him to Asia and made him essentially Asian. After a fourteen-year war in Europe, Suleiman

Geographical discoveries and explorations of Eurasia. The territory of Eurasia has been inhabited since ancient times. different nations. Each of them conducted the development and study of the continent, guided by their goals and needs, gradually expanding the circle of territories known to him.

And you know that...
The ancient Chinese (2nd millennium BC) knew the adjacent lands of East, Central and Southeast Asia. The ancient Indians reached the Himalayas, traded with the countries of Mesopotamia and Indochina. The inhabitants of Mesopotamia (the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates) - the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians - explored and mastered Mesopotamia, the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. Thanks to the Phoenician sailors who inhabited the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, Western civilizations got an idea of ​​the existence of parts of the world - Asia and Europe. The history of the development of the seas is reflected in myths Ancient Greece. The ancient Greek scientist and traveler Herodotus (5th century BC) visited Western Asia, the Caucasus, the Balkan Peninsula, and the Northern Black Sea region. Thanks to the military campaigns of Alexander the Great (4th century BC), Europeans penetrated into Central Asia and the Middle East. Arab scientists left information that told the Europeans about the interior of Arabia, about Iran, Central Asia, India, Indochina and the Malay Archipelago.

At the end of the II century. BC e. formed the Great Silk Road- through intracontinental trade route connecting China, India, the Middle East and Europe. This branched system of caravan routes existed for more than 1.5 thousand years (see Fig.).

The main goods on the Great Silk Road were raw silk and silk fabrics. China exported porcelain and tea. From the Middle East and Central Asia came caravans with woolen and cotton fabrics. From South and Southeast Asia - with spices for preserving food and making medicines. Europeans paid for Eastern goods in gold, and the Great Silk Road acted as a channel for "pumping" precious metals from Europe to the East.

In the 8th century active penetration into the north and west of Europe began
Norman Vikings. The path "from the Varangians to the Greeks", passing along the rivers,
connected the Baltic and Black Sea and was essential for the development
trade relations between the countries of the mainland (see the figure on the right).

Initially, the paths were used by the Normans for predatory raids, then they became important trade routes between Northern Europe and rich Byzantium. As they developed the routes, the Varangians colonized the lands adjacent to them, inhabited by Slavic tribes.

Geographical knowledge expanded through the travels of diplomats and merchants. One of them was the Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin (XV century), who made a long trading trip to Persia and India.

In the diary "Journey Beyond Three Seas", Nikitin talks about the customs of the Indians, notes where "silk is born", where "diamonds are born", describes the state of the army, the method of warfare. Nikitin wonders: "... there are seventy-four faiths in India, and people of different faiths do not drink, do not eat, do not marry with each other."

The most important stage in the development of the continent was era of the Great geographical discoveries . At this time, the Europeans opened the way to Asia through the Pacific Ocean, the "drawings" of the East European Plain were created, the study of Central and Eastern Siberia, the northwestern coast of the Pacific Ocean began, and the strait separating Eurasia and North America was discovered.
Russian Geographical Society for a long time headed Petr Petrovich Semenov-Tyan-Shansky- the first explorer of the Tien Shan mountain system. Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky the ranges and lakes of Central Asia were mapped. Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev was also involved in the study of this region. The contribution of the natives of Belarus to the study of the mainland is great. The founder of the scientific study of Lake Baikal was Benedikt Ivanovich Dybovsky. Andrei Ippolitovich Vilkitsky explored northern coast of Eurasia. He studied Lake Baikal and the mountains of the Baikal region Ivan Dementievich Chersky. Belarusian native Otto Yulievich Schmidt explored the Pamir glaciers, made several expeditions to Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya. In 1937, he organized an expedition to the North Pole to create the first drifting station there.

In 1933. to test the possibility of navigation in the Arctic Ocean, transport ships were equipped steamer "Chelyuskin" headed by O. Yu. Schmidt and V. I. Voronin. In conditions of unusually heavy ice conditions, the ice tore the side, and the Chelyuskin sank. There were 104 people on the ice, including 10 women and 2 children. The epic of the life of the Chelyuskinites in the ice "Schmidt Camp" and their rescue by pilots shocked the whole world. Abroad wrote that the name of O. Yu. Schmidt "is inscribed in the golden book of science."

Modern geographical study of Eurasia focused on learning natural resources. Observation, assessment and forecast of the state of the natural environment in connection with human economic activity are carried out.

The territory of Central Asia was discovered for science by researchers of the 18th century. Step by step, information about oases, deserts and foothills became the property of the scientific world. The path to the mountainous regions was paved by P.P. Semenov. He was followed by a large group of travelers.

An outstanding explorer of Central Asia was Nikolai Alekseevich Severtsov(1 827 - 1 885). AT 1 857-1 858 he studied the regions of the Aral Sea, the lower reaches of the Syr Darya, the northern part of the Kyzyl Kum. He was attracted by the prospect of penetrating the mysterious Tien Shan. But on this path, Severtsov had to overcome serious trials. Once, in the valley of the Syr Darya, Severtsov became the object of an attack by a robber detachment of Kokand, with a blow to the chest with a spear, he was knocked down from his horse and almost hacked to death. Later he recalled: “The Kokandian hit me on the nose with a saber and cut only the skin, the second blow to the temple, splitting the cheek bone, knocked me down, and he began to cut off my head, struck a few more blows, deeply cut my neck, split the skull .. ... I felt every blow, but strangely, without much pain. Severtsov spent a month in captivity, being threatened with impalement if he did not convert to Islam... He was released as a result of an ultimatum from the Russian military authorities.

Despite this incident, which almost cost Severtsov his life, his interest in the study of the Central Asian region did not fade. In 1964, he made a trip from the fortification of Verny (the future city of Alma-Ata) to Tashkent with sorties into the mountains of the Trans-Ili Alatau, Karatau, Talas Range. The following year, the Turkestan scientific expedition began its work, represented by two detachments: the mathematical (topographic) expedition was led by K.V. Struve, and the natural history expedition was led by Severtsov. In 1866, reconnaissance was carried out in the Karatau ridge, interesting materials of a botanical and zoological nature were collected, and a number of manifestations of non-ferrous metal ores were discovered. In 1867, Severtsov made the first circular route in history through the interior regions of the Tien Shan. Leaving Verny, Severtsov crossed the Zailiysky Alatau, went to the eastern shores of Issyk-Kul, crossed the Terskey-Alatau, penetrated the surface of the Syrts, which made a strong impression. The alpine hilly plain is occupied by steppe and even desert vegetation. Meadows stand out only in the most humid areas. “As anyone,” recalled Severtsov, “but I had a bewitching charm in these autumn views of the Tien Shan, without forest and without greenery, but with the strict majestic beauty of the bold outlines of the mountains and the hot sunny color in the frosty, marvelously transparent autumn air ; the charm is partly in the very contrast of these colors of the sultry, sun-scorched steppe with the mountainous lines of the landscape and with ice on the stream ... ”(Quoted from: Andreev, Matveev, 1946. P. 45). In 1873, Severtsov's book "The Vertical and Horizontal Distribution of Turkestan Animals" was published, in which six vertical natural belts were identified: solonetzes (up to 500 m); cultural (600-1000 m) with a predominance of undulating steppe with oases; deciduous forest with an upper limit of 2600 m and below; coniferous, spruce and juniper forests, their upper limit is 3000 m; alpine herbs; eternal snow.

Since 1869, research in Central Asia began Alexei Pavlovich Fedchenko(1844-1873), botanist, entomologist with a very great natural-geographical erudition. In the first two years, field work was carried out in the Zeravshan basin and in the Kyzylkum desert. In 1871, a trip was made to the high-mountain zone, the first visit to the Zeravshan glacier took place. Then the Alaysky ridge was crossed, and the panorama of the grandiose ridge, called by Fedchenko Zaalaisky, opened before the traveler. Fedchenko named the prominent peak of this ridge after the Governor-General of Turkestan K.P. Kaufman, who greatly contributed to the development of research in the newly annexed region to Russia. In Soviet times, this peak was renamed Lenin Peak. Fedchenko failed to penetrate the "roof of the world", as the Pamirs are called; followed by a strict ban by the governor of the Kokand Khan.

In 1873 Fedchenko died in the Alps on the slope of Mont Blanc. Assessing the scientific contribution of Fedchenko, the outstanding scientist and traveler I.V. Mushketov emphasized that his research “is distinguished not by the vastness of the routes, but by the extraordinary thoroughness and amazing variety of observations; the spaces traversed by him are small, but the results obtained are so significant and important that they would do honor to a long-term and numerous expedition.

Ivan Vasilievich Mushketov(1850-1902), the first professional geologist in these parts, who brought invaluable services to the study of the geography of Turkestan, began a multifaceted study of the nature of Central Asia in 1874. Having received an invitation to take the position of an official for special assignments under the governor general, the first task for Mushketov began the search for combustible minerals. Mushketov conducted exploration of a number of coal manifestations in the Karatau ridge, revealed deposits of polymetal ores and salts, but realized that the success of the case was impossible without extensive geological mapping of the territory. Planned studies of the Ili river basin, the ridges of the Northern Tien Shan - Zailiysky, Kungei-Alatau and Terskey-Alatau began, a route to the Dzungarian Alatau was completed. In the report of 1875, he gave a general orographic and geological outline of the Tien Shan, compiled a map of the distribution of mineral deposits in the vicinity of the city of Gulja.

In 1877, Mushketov climbed the Alai Range through the Ferghana Valley and descended into the Alai Valley. Compared to the wooded ranges of the Northern Tien Shan, the area was striking in its desert. “All these mountain valleys,” Mushketov wrote, “are literally devoid of any kind of vegetation, not to mention the forest ... Stones, stones and snow ... There was something oppressive, bleak in this terrible desert ... » The return was no less difficult than the ascent to the mountains. Who knows what ovrings are, he will understand that people and animals felt during their passage.

In 1878, Mushketov took part in the Pamir expedition of Severtsov, although their parties worked independently of each other. Severtsov made his first attempt to penetrate the Pamirs in 1877, but it was unsuccessful. In 1878 Severtsov crossed the Zaalai Range and penetrated to Lake Karakul on the East Pamir Plateau, then went to Lake Rangkul and Lake Yashilkul. A number of other lakes have been discovered. Severtsov was the first who singled out the Pamirs as a special mountain system "the orographic center of the entire Asian continent" - a combination of syrts and mountain ranges. At the same time, Mushketov was conducting research in another region of the Pamirs, went to the Kashgar Kyzylsu valley and discovered Lake Chatyrkul, about the vicinity of which Mushketov stated that "I have never seen a place more lifeless ...". There weren't even fish in the lake. In the mountains of Turkestan, Mushketov became interested in studying glaciers. And soon became one of the greatest connoisseurs of this natural phenomenon. Descending from the Gissar Range along the gorge of the Surkhandarya River, Mushketov made a boat rafting down the Amu Darya to Turtkul, from where he crossed the Kyzylkum desert to Karalinsk (Kzyl-Orda). From the abode of snow storms, the expedition members fell into the hot embrace of a sand blizzard. The result of Mushketov's research in Central Asia was the first geological map of the entire territory of Russian Turkestan, compiled jointly with Professor G.D. Romanovsky, and the first volume of the essay “Turkestan. Geological and orographic description according to data collected during travels from 1874 to 1880. Mushketov visited Central Asia more than once. The cycle of Mushketov's Central Asian studies was awarded a prize by the Academy of Sciences, and the highest award by the Geographical Society: the Konstantinov medal.

In 1877 - 1878. in the Ferghana Valley conducted research by A.F. Midden-dorf. He studied loess deposits and sand massif in the central part of the valley, changes in nature that occurred over the historical period under the influence of long-term economic activity, and gave advice on the further development of irrigated agriculture. Middendorf's observations and scientific conclusions are set forth in his book Essays on the Ferghana Valley (1882).

In 1878, an expedition headed to the upper reaches of the Amu Darya Vasily Fedorovich Oshanin(1844-1917). They discovered the ridges of Peter I, Darvazsky, Karateginsky and the language of a grandiose glacier, named by him in memory of an untimely deceased friend by the name of Fedchenko.

In 1884-1887. In the Tien Shan, Alai, and especially in the Pamirs, interesting research was carried out Grigory Efimovich Grumm-Grzhimailo(1860-1936). “In the Pamirs, including Alai here (only the valley is meant), - the traveler noted, - there is no woody vegetation. If it is, then as an exception, and then it is tal and tamarisk" (Grumm-Grzhimailo, 1896). Only on the northern slopes of the Alai Range are juniper, poplar, rarely birch, mountain ash, rhododendron. In the valleys there are huge thickets of hawthorn, sea buckthorn, apricots, wild almonds, and wild roses. Grumm-Grzhimailo described animals - the inhabitants of the Pamir-Alay mountains, among which he mentioned tigers. But they kept in tugai near the banks of the Amu Darya. Scientists were given accurate characteristics of local residents - Kara-Kyrgyz and Tajiks.

In 1886 on the initiative of P.P. Semenov, an expedition was carried out to the central regions of the Tien Shan under the leadership of I.V. Ignatiev. Members of the expedition from the shores of Issyk-Kul went to the valley of the Sary-Dzhaza river. In its upper reaches, the Semenov and Mushketov glaciers were discovered. In the upper reaches of the Inylchek River, we visited the largest glaciers of the Khantengri massif. From under the water of Issyk-Kul, Ignatov extracted a number of objects, evidence of the inhabitants of the region at a time when the lake level was much lower.

The independent route in this expedition was completed by Andrey Nikolaevich Krasnov(1862-1914). Research was carried out along the southern coast of Lakes Balkhash and Alakol, along the valley of the Ili River. Krasnov climbed the slopes of the Trans-Ili Alatau, visited the Sary-Dzhaz gorge, examined part of the Tien Shan on Chinese territory. On the basis of the collections and observations made, Krasnov prepared the fundamental work "Experience in the history of the development of the flora of the southern part of the Eastern Tien Shan" on 413 pages of text (1888), defended as a master's thesis in botany in 1889. Krasnov's scientific method clearly manifested the ability to highlight typical features. He singled out high-altitude plant belts, touched upon the problems of speciation with the leading role of the influence of living conditions. The process of evolution of vegetation in the course of mountain building from a desert primary foundation is shown (Aleksandrovskaya, 1996). Krasnov's return to St. Petersburg took place through the deserts of Central Asia, and their types were distinguished: sandy, clayey, stony and saline.

V.A. Obruchev and K.I. Bogdanovich, pupils of I.V. Mushketov. Obruchev established the genesis of sands associated with river accumulation and eolian processing, identified three types of sandy relief: hilly, ridge and sandy steppe. On the maps of the Transcaspian lowland, part of the territory was called the Obruchevskaya steppe for many decades. Recommendations on measures to combat blown sands have been prepared. Obruchev's scientific results were published in 1890 in the book "The Trans-Caspian Lowland". Bogdanovich established that the Turkmen-Khorasan mountains, of which the Kopetdag ridge is a part, strongly drop to the east, abruptly breaking off to the valley of the Tejen River, and also drop to the northwest, where their connection with the Elburz ridge is formed. Bogdanovich gave the first description of the orography of these mountains.

It must be said that Bogdanovich was not the first Russian traveler in these parts. In 1837-1839. Ivan Viktorovich Vitkevich passed through the north of the Iranian Highlands up to Kabul on a diplomatic mission. He visited the deserts of Deshte-Lut and Deshte-Kevir, discovered the system of the East Iranian mountains. In 1843-1844. On behalf of the Shah's government, geologist Nikolai Ivanovich Voskoboinikov conducted surveys in northern Iran. He gave a description of the Elburz ridge, drew up an orographic scheme of Northern Iran and topographic maps a number of places explored. In 1858-1860. the expedition of Nikolai Vladimirovich Khanykov worked fruitfully on the Iranian Highlands. From the Caspian, the expedition members went to Mashhad, explored the southern slopes of the Turkmen-Khorasan mountains, and reached Herat. Botanik A.A. Bunge made an excursion to Tebes and put the northern end of the East Iranian mountains on the map. Later, Khanykov also visited the East Iranian mountains. The expedition crossed the Deshte-Lut desert, went to Kerman, mapped the Kuhrud ridge, passed through Isfahan to Tehran and completed the research. In 1861, Khanykov published on French book "Expedition to Khorasan".

Since 1901, the life and work of an outstanding traveler has been connected with Central Asia Nikolai Leopoldovich Korzhenevsky(1879-1958). First, he made sorties to the Tien Shan, then to the limits of Gissar-Alay, in 1904. traveled to the Pamirs. Along the valley of the Muksu River, Korzhenevsky climbed the slopes of the ridge of Peter I. Korzhenevsky named the first of the open glaciers after Mushketov. Six years later, Korzhenevsky again visited the area. From the Mushketov glacier, a view of the slender peak opened up, and Nikolai Leopoldovich named it after his wife Evgenia. This is one of the three 7-thousanders located in the Pamirs. The name of the peak survived all periods of renaming and has survived to this day. Korzhenevsky discovered an unknown ridge and gave it the name of the Academy of Sciences. Korzhenevsky named one of its main peaks in honor of Academician Karpinsky. On the account of Korzhenevsky there are 70 discovered and studied glaciers of the Pamir-Alay. He compiled the first catalog of glaciers in Central Asia.

A significant part of the expeditionary research in Central Asia was carried out at a young age by L.S. Berg.

When studying the question of who discovered Eurasia, it is impossible to name one person. This continent is so large that in different periods of history in different places it was explored by different people. We will find out who took part in the most important expeditions, thanks to which humanity has a complete picture of the world around us.

History of Eurasia exploration

Eurasia is the largest continent on the globe, which is characterized by a wide variety of relief and climatic conditions. It consists of two parts of the world, which were historically divided - Asia and Europe.

Eurasia is the cradle of many ancient civilizations that have developed on the continent for many millennia. The scientific and cultural heritage of Ancient China, India, Babylon, Assyria laid the foundation for the scientific potential of our time.

Rice. 1. Ancient civilizations of Eurasia.

The following factors served as the impetus for the development of the mainland:

• The need to develop trade relations. So at the end of the III century. BC e. The first trade route connecting China, Europe, India and the Middle East was formed.
• Military raids, seizure of territories and strengthening the power of militant tribes.

Eurasia was gradually discovered by its inhabitants, who did not even guess about the size of the mainland. For example, the Phoenicians were the first to discover the Mediterranean coast. The ancient Greeks continued to explore new territories. They sailed in many seas of Europe, discovered the Apennine and Balkan Peninsulas, reached the lands of modern Spain and France.

Period of great geographical discoveries

However, the greatest surge of discoveries occurred in the period from the Middle Ages until the twentieth century, when, thanks to brave travelers, humanity was able to get a complete picture of the largest continent on the planet.

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Eurasian explorers lived at different times in different countries. They opened one part of the mainland, then another. A truly great discovery was the fact that all these parts belong to one continent, which later became known as Eurasia.

It rises sooner or later before every lover of history and geography. After all, everyone has heard wonderful stories about Columbus, Vasco da Gama and numerous conquistadors who conquered the expanses of North and South America. However, everything is not so simple with Eurasia, because there was no one traveler who would own the laurels of the discoverer of the largest continent on the planet. Therefore, it will be problematic to name the one who discovered Eurasia. The name of this person is unknown.

It would be more correct to focus on the main stages of research and description of the features of the geographical position of the mainland and the people who took part in numerous expeditions, the purpose of which was to study the surrounding world.

Who was the first to discover Eurasia. The first people on the continent

All the main stages of evolution of the human species passed in Africa and, only fully formed, began to expand to the neighboring continent. Until recently, Africa and Eurasia were connected by the relatively wide Isthmus of Suez, and only in the XlX century. it was torn apart by an artificially created shipping channel.

It was along this isthmus and the Red Sea, which was very shallow at that time, that the first Homo sapiens crossed to the Middle East, settling on the Arabian Peninsula. Such a significant event happened, according to some estimates, about 70,000 years ago.

According to the common among modern theory scientists, people, leaving Africa, slowly moved east along the coasts in search of new sources of food, which they were served by shellfish that lived in shallow water. This path was long and difficult and took about 25,000 years, and of course, the route was not so direct - numerous groups fought back and went deep into the continent. Thus, those who discovered the continent of Eurasia were the first people who came out with African continent However, it will take many more millennia for mankind to comprehend its place in the world.

Who discovered Eurasia and in what year. The emergence of the term

Europeans are used to believing that the primacy in geographical discoveries unconditionally belongs to them. And although the contribution of European navigators, traders and travelers is really great, one should not discount the Asian explorers, who also contributed to the study of the geography of the continent.

However, the Europeans still gave the name to the mainland. For a long time, after the outlines of the continent were more defined, a variety of terms were used in the scientific literature to name the largest continent of the Earth.

For example, Alexander Humboldt, the great German scientist, one of whose specializations was geography, used the name Asia for the entire continent, without dividing it into parts of the world. But his Austrian colleague Eduard Suess in the 1880s had already added the prefix "euro" and thus formed the name Eurasia, which quickly entered into scientific use.

Great northern expeditions

If the southern shores of Eurasia were mastered by mankind for many tens of thousands of years, then the northern outskirts of the continent remained unexplored for a long time, as severe climatic conditions prevented this.

First of all, the powers that had access to the North Atlantic were interested in the study of the northern regions, and especially Russian empire, whose borders passed through unexplored and undescribed lands. The Russians began to move north in the 15th century, but they reached Kamchatka only in the 15th century.

The first Russian citizens who came to the Kamchatka Peninsula, from the detachment of the great and discoverer of the north-east of Siberia. This, however, was a land expedition.

Bering Strait

For a long time, researchers were occupied with the question of the existence of a bridge between Eurasia and North America, but it was not so easy to answer it. Answering the question of who discovered Eurasia, one cannot avoid mentioning the name of the famous Danish navigator and Russian citizen Vitus Bering, who made a huge contribution to the exploration of the coasts of the northeastern part of the Eurasian continent.

The first sea expedition, the purpose of which was to discover the strait or prove its absence, took place in 1724, when, on the personal order of Peter I, Bering set sail, as a result of which he entered the Chukchi Sea without encountering obstacles and not seeing the American coast. Thus, it was proved that the two continents were separated by a strait, which was named after its discoverer.

The success of the first Kamchatka expedition inspired researchers to organize a whole series of campaigns that went down in history under the name of the Great Northern Expedition. Each of these campaigns brought more and more information about the coast of the Arctic Ocean, and the outlines of the mainland became more and more clear, as if emerging from the sea haze.

Colonization and international cooperation

Arguing about who was the first to discover and explore Eurasia, one cannot name one name, but one can recall the numerous travelers who contributed to the exploration of unknown lands and cartography.

At the turn of the XV-XVl centuries, the leaders in the exploration of overseas lands were the Portuguese, but they were in no hurry to share their knowledge, rightly fearing competition. However, the competitors' curiosity was so great that no obstacles could stop the spies of neighboring states from penetrating the holy of holies of Portuguese cartography - the Indian House, the place where information about the newly discovered lands was stored.

It was as a result of a special spy operation planned by order of Duke Ercole l d "Este that the famous map was stolen from this vault, which went down in history under the name Cantino Planisphere. On this map you can see the world as it seemed to the Portuguese in the 15th century. On this map the coast of Brazil and a narrow strip of the southern and southeastern coasts of Eurasia are visible.

Great Explorers

Today we can confidently say that a special contribution to the study of Eurasia was made by such researchers as Vasco da Gama, who reached the shores of India, and Willem Barents, who stubbornly sought the northern route to the East Indies, but discovered and explored the Arctic.

The era of the Great Geographical Discoveries lasted for more than two centuries and included the exploration of Spanish and Portuguese navigators who were looking for new ways to India, as well as the campaigns of Russian Cossacks to Siberia and to the Pacific coast. Therefore, answering the question of who discovered and explored Eurasia, one can name such names: Bering, Vasco da Gama, Timofey Yermak, as well as the names of many other remarkable people.