Origin of the Alans

[Alanus]

Michael,

Yes, I agree. The Shiji and Hanshu record the Yuezhi in the Gansu, and this is evidently what Dr. Benjamin used as his sources. Both texts define the area within current (contemporaneous) Chinese geography, not defined back to the period when the Yuezhi were actually present. That's where Prof. Yu becomes important, and he redefines the geography to an earlier time. Yu's paper, A Study of Saka History (Sino-Platonic Papers, No. 80, July 1998), was written prior to Benjamin's thesis (presented in 2003, published 2007). It's the most valuable document we currently have, since Taishan Yu knows ancient Chinese characters used in old manuscripts. The language changes, as does the geographical point of reference, particularly considering a number of Chinese states had yet to be formed during the Yuezhi period.

I might add that Chinese archaeologists have not studied, plotted, or excavated anything in the Altay Prefecture, principally the thousands of graves in Habahe, Fuyan, and Qinghe, the most northern counties. They have done some work in the Tarim, probably due to the "high recognition factor" presented by documentaries on Nova, etc. One kurgan in Huahaizi, Qinghe, is 73 meters wide, encircled by a ring of stones, with a square polished granite stela 300 meters to the north. It's carved with running deer on both sides. A second stela, 10 meters to the east, has a carved lamb and akinakes. More deer stones are located at Lake Huahaizi, also in Qinghe County. Another deer stone, originally in Fuyan County, has been moved to a museum to keep it from being vandalized.

   
Here is the deer stone as it originally stood. I believe it's probably Bronze Age, as is the large kurgan described above. These structures place a pre-Scythian/Saka presence in northern China at a very early date.

Adding info on the original Yuezhi territory, we should note the major Wusun burial sites are located around Lake Zaysan, along the westward course of the Irtysh river. The largest necropolis is in Shilikty/Chiliktin Valley. All Wusun graves are in Kazkhstan, not China. We know the Wusun were immediate western neighbors of the Yuezhi, no tribes between them. Therefore, logic tells us the Yuezhi lived across the entire expanse of western China, from the Gansu to the very northwestern point of Xinjiang Province, including the foothills of Altay Prefecture. Here's a map of Wusun country:

   
Lake Zaysan in an enlargement of the Irtysh River. All of this country is within Kazak borders.

   
The Irtysh River flows from China, actually near Mongolia, then turns west into Kazakhstan. Eventually, the Irtysh meets the River Ob, which flows northward as one of the ten largest rivers in the world. Both the Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters in the Altai, where we find "Pazyryk culture" monuments nearby. Again, we have a direct geographical link to the Yuezhi by defining their western border and placing them in Pazyryk territory.