This groundbreaking book reveals the existence of an advanced civilization where none was known before, presenting an entirely new perspective on the culture and history of Tibet. Following clues in ancient texts most considered myth, John Vincent Bellezza treks to the highest reaches of the Tibetan plateau in search of an enigmatic ancient people known as Zhang Zhung. Tracing his epic journeys across lands few Westerners have seen, this book is a compelling window into the most inaccessible reaches of Tibet and a civilization that flourished long before Buddhism took root.

The Dawn of Tibet: The Ancient Civilization on the Roof of the World

History

Bellezza, John Vincent

Asia

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

This archaeological and art-historicalstudy is woven around rock art and ancient metallic articles attributed toTibet. The silver bowls, gold finial, and copper alloy spouted jars andtrapezoidal plaques featured are assigned to the Iron Age and Protohistoricperiod. These rare objects are adorned with zoomorphic subjects mimicking thosefound in rock art and embody an artistic zeitgeist widely diffused in CentralEurasia in Late Prehistory. Diverse sources of inspiration and technologicalcapability are revealed in these objects and rock art, shedding light on theirtranscultural dimension. The archaeological and aesthetic materials in thiswork prefigure the Tibetan cosmopolitanism of early historic times promotedthrough the spread of Buddhist ideas, art and craft from abroad. The metallicarticles and petroglyphs of this study are markers of relationships betweenTibet and her neighbours. These transactions enabled a fusion of Tibetaninnovation and foreign inventiveness, a synthesis of disparate ideas,aesthetics and technologies in the objects and rock art presented. &nbsp;

Tibetan Silver, Gold and Bronze Objects and the Aesthetics of Animals in the Era before Empire: Cross-cultural reverberations on the Tibetan Plateau ... other parts of Eurasia (BAR International)

Politics & Social Sciences

Archaeology

British Archaeological Reports Oxford Ltd

Drawn and Written in Stone explores the religious history of the highest part of the TibetanPlateau through its rock art and inscriptions. It is focused on facsimiles ofritual and ceremonial monuments carved and painted on stone surfaces and rockinscriptions in the Tibetan language, vital archaeological and historicalmaterials for appraising the development of religion in Tibet, ca. 100 BCE to1400 CE. By probing the complexion of figures and letters in stone, this workconsiders how early cult traditions contributed to the establishment of TibetanBuddhism and a rival faith known as Yungdrung Bon. Outside of the Indiancultural context, relatively little has been written about the historicalantecedents of these popular Tibetan religions for a want of sources. Thismonograph helps remedy this large gap in Tibetan studies by drawing upon theauthor's surveys of rock art and rock inscriptions conducted in upmost Tibetbetween 1995 and 2013. &nbsp;

Drawn and Written in Stone: An inventory of stepped structures and inscriptions on rock surfaces in Upper Tibet (ca. 100 BCE to 1400 CE) (BAR International)

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

This unique book reveals the existence of an advanced civilization where none was known before, presenting an entirely new perspective on the culture and history of Tibet. In his groundbreaking study of an epic period in Tibet few people even knew existed, John Vincent Bellezza details the discovery of an ancient people on the most desolate reaches of the Tibetan plateau, revolutionizing our ideas about who Tibetans really are. While many associate Tibet with Buddhism, it was also once a land of warriors and chariots, whose burials included megalithic arrays and golden masks. This first Tibetan civilization, known as Zhang Zhung, was a cosmopolitan one with links extending across Eurasia, bringing it in line with many of the major cultural innovations of the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Based on decades of research, The Dawn of Tibet draws on a rich trove of archaeological, textual, and ethnographic materials collected and analyzed by the author. Bellezza describes the vast network of castles, temples, megaliths, necropolises, and rock art established on the highest and now depopulated part of the Tibetan plateau. He relates literary tales of priests and priestesses, horned deities, and the celestial afterlife to the actual archaeological evidence, providing a fascinating perspective on the origins and development of civilization. The story builds to the present by following the colorful culture of the herders of Upper Tibet, an ancient people whose way of life is endangered by modern development. Tracing Bellezza’s epic journeys across lands where few Westerners have ventured, this book provides a compelling window into the most inaccessible reaches of Tibet and a civilization that flourished long before Buddhism took root.

Reference

Focusing on the eastern part of the region, this is the first in a series of five volumes that comprehensively document rock art in Upper Tibet. It examines a panoply of graphic evidence found on stone surfaces, supplying an unprecedented view of the long-term development of culture and religion on a large swathe of the Tibetan Plateau. The pictographs (rock paintings) and petroglyphs (rock carvings), host sites, and descriptions and analyses presented are the direct result of intensive fieldwork conducted by the author in Upper Tibet between 1995 and 2016. Information on rock art production techniques, subject identification, thematic class, mode of presentation, physical condition, estimated age, and relative location are supplied for each piece of rock art. In addition to the datasets, the book offers rock art site descriptions and assesses the cultural, religious and artistic development of these locations.

A Comprehensive Survey of Rock Art in Upper Tibet: Volume I: Eastern Byang Thang

Archaeopress

Focusing on the central and western parts of the region, this is the second in a series of five volumes that comprehensively document rock art in Upper Tibet. It examines a panoply of graphic evidence found on stone surfaces, supplying an unprecedented view of the long-term development of culture and religion on a large swathe of the Tibetan Plateau. The pictographs (rock paintings) and petroglyphs (rock carvings), host sites, and descriptions and analyses presented are the direct result of intensive fieldwork conducted by the author in Upper Tibet between 1995 and 2016. Information on rock art production techniques, subject identification, thematic class, mode of presentation, physical condition, estimated age, and relative location are supplied for each piece of rock art. In addition to the datasets, the book offers rock art site descriptions and assesses the cultural, religious and artistic development of these locations.

A Comprehensive Survey of Rock Art in Upper Tibet: Volume II: Central and Western Byang Thang

A Comprehensive Survey Of Rock Art In Upper Tibet: Central And Western Byang Thang

Archaeopress Publishing Ltd

A Comprehensive Survey of Rock Art in Upper Tibet: Volume III: Stod (Eastern Half)

Archaeopress Publishing

A Comprehensive Survey of Rock Art in Upper Tibet: Volume IV: Stod (Western Half)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bellezza, John Vincent. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Bellezza, John Vincent

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bellezza, John Vincent. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Dawn of Tibet: The Ancient Civilization on the Roof of the World

Tibetan Silver, Gold and Bronze Objects and the Aesthetics of Animals in the Era before Empire: Cross-cultural reverberations on the Tibetan Plateau ... other parts of Eurasia (BAR International)

Drawn and Written in Stone: An inventory of stepped structures and inscriptions on rock surfaces in Upper Tibet (ca. 100 BCE to 1400 CE) (BAR International)

The Dawn of Tibet: The Ancient Civilization on the Roof of the World

A Comprehensive Survey of Rock Art in Upper Tibet: Volume I: Eastern Byang Thang

A Comprehensive Survey of Rock Art in Upper Tibet: Volume II: Central and Western Byang Thang

A Comprehensive Survey Of Rock Art In Upper Tibet: Central And Western Byang Thang

A Comprehensive Survey of Rock Art in Upper Tibet: Volume III: Stod (Eastern Half)

A Comprehensive Survey of Rock Art in Upper Tibet: Volume IV: Stod (Western Half)