This monograph is the first work in historiography devoted to the history of the formation of the Great Silk Road, which played a crucial role in the history of the Old World. The Silk Road is described as a route for the spread of "things, ideas and people" that led to a dialogue of cultures, enabling historical progress. Analysis of the historical development of the Eurasian steppes from the Danube to China made it possible to reconstruct the main directions of connections during the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. Much attention in the book is paid to the natural relationship between the dynamics of the ecology of the steppes and the development of the economy and the formation of nomadism of the steppe peoples. The problems of transport are also considered: the appearance of carts, chariots, the domestication of the horse and camel as conditions for the functioning of the Road. The book is recommended for historians, geographers, sociologists, cultural experts, as well as all interested readers.

Contents: From the executive editor (G. M. Bongard-Levin) PrefaceIntroductionChapter I. Dynamics of the ecology of the Eurasian steppesChapter II. Formation and development of a productive economy in the Ponto-Caspian steppes and the role of Western connections1. Early stages of development of a producing economy2. The problem of domestication and early use of the horse3. Formation of the Yamnaya cultural community4. The spread of wheeled transport is a prerequisite for the opening of the routes of the Great Silk RoadChapter III. Culture of the Eurasian steppes of the Bronze Age. Development of the routes of the Great Silk Road1. Proto-urban civilization of the “country of cities”2. Chariots of the Eurasian steppes3. The crisis of complex economy and the formation of nomadism in the steppes of Eurasia. Development of the routes of the Great Silk Road4. Origin and distribution of the Bactrian camelChapter IV. Southern route1. Contacts of farmers of the south of Central Asia with the population of the steppes in the Eneolithic era2. Contacts of farmers of the south of Central Asia and Afghanistan with the population of the steppes in the Bronze Age. Indo-Iranian problemChapter V. Eastern route1. Contacts of the population of Xinjiang with the West during the Chalcolithic era. Tocharian problem2. Contacts of the population of Xinjiang with the West during the Bronze Age Chapter VI. Three methods of chronologization and three directions of synchronization of cultures along the routes of the Great Silk Road1. Methods for establishing chronology2. European synchronization line3. South Asian synchronization line4. Chinese Synchronization LineConclusionAppendixBibliographyList of AbbreviationsMapsIllustrations