National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

sheep-breeding was of importance along the lower Tarim side by side with fishing
and agriculture.

Turning to the south we passed the southern end of Yaqinliq-köl and entered an
area of small dunes, 2—4 m. high, and created by NE winds. Single dead tama-
risk cones, and a very few dead poplars broke the monotony of the flat desert.

3 km. S of the southernmost part of the lake I found a small bronze knife (Pl.
30: 11), a couple of potsherds, and an iron fragment on a clay surface that was
free of sand.

After proceeding 6 km. we touched the eastern border of a reedy marsh, 2—3 km.
wide, and with an extension in NNW—SSE. It was called Qum-köl. At high water
the pools and lakelets were said to form a river course of some size. This was our
first encounter with what I call "The Small River".

Later on in the summer of 1934 Mr. Parker C. Chen mapped the southern
shore of Qum-darya, and he then discovered how The Small River branched
off from Qum-darya about 12 km. above Yaqinliq-köl, forming an intricate system
of lakes and marshes, one of its branches being in direct communication with
Yaqinliq-köl. (Cf. the map Fig. 36.)

Our route continued through the dune area to the east of The Small River Pl.
II a, the dunes being 6—10 m. high. Along this part of the route a Turkish servant
picked up the beautiful jade axe Pl. 5: 16, the largest axe known from the Lop de-
sert. After 11 km. we reached a s a t m a, which served as the summer abode of
another Turkish family. Here the river makes a couple of bends eastwards. We
crossed the river for the first time, the bed being hardly 10 m. wide, but it was
surrounded by small irregular lakes and reedy marshes which robbed the stream
of much water; and there may be other branches which we did not touch. Young
tamarisks were growing abundantly, and grass and reeds afforded excellent pastur-
age.

Less than 3 km. due south of the last-mentioned s a t m a there is another one
belonging to a young able Turk bearing the name Abdurahman. From his place
onwards the river seems to follow a single bed for several kilometres. The water
was running fast over small thresholds in a bed not exceeding 10 m. in width.

About 2 km. SSE of Abdurahman's place the dune area, for a short distance,
closes in on both sides of the river. After that we traversed big expanses of mixed
reeds and tamarisks; two abandoned s a t m a s were passed. The river was lost
sight of on our left. About 12 km. due SE of Abdurahman's place we reached
another Turkish settlement situated at a small lake called Pataliq-köl; it was fed
by the river and had many curiously winding bays, as seen in Pl. X a, a photo
which also clearly shows the high-water marks on the muddy shores.

From there the river takes a southerly course for 10—11 km. with sand dunes on
both sides at a distance not exceeding 1 km. Burial place 4 — to be described pre-
sently — is situated on this part of the river "valley", and near to it we found the

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