Discovery of Shang Shung
the ancient Civilization of Tibet
John Vincent Bellezza
Introduction
For over a decade, I have been documenting the existence of Shang Shung, an ancient
civilization based in northern and western Tibet. In this stunningly beautiful part of
the Tibetan plateau known as the Changthang, the dwellers of Shang Shung built a
large network of temples, forts, villages and tombs. This great construction occurred
in what is now mostly wilderness. The descendents of Shang Shung are the Drokpa,
yak and sheep herders, who wander the great empty ranges of the Changthang.
Shang Shung flourished until circa 1300 years ago, when the deteriorating climate
and cultural and religious changes in Tibet conspired in its demise. At 15,000 to
17,000 feet above sea level, Shang Shung represents the highest elevation civilization
ever to have existed. Why did people chose to live at such a high elevation and how
did they manage to cope are questions just now being asked by specialists in ancient
Tibetan culture.
According to legend, Shang Shung flourished in Tibet before the introduction of
Buddhism in the seventh to ninth centuries. Scriptures belonging to Bon, the
indigenous religion of Tibet, provide elaborate accounts of the pre-Buddhist Iron Age
civilization of Shang Shung. These ancient texts speak of a powerful kingdom with
its own language and system of writing that held sway in Tibet for centuries. Until
recently, little scientific evidence of Shang Shung’s purported greatness had emerged
and thus, the academic community remained justifiably skeptical. Now, with my
series of archaeological discoveries, the identity of Shang Shung is much clearer.
As an independent scholar specializing in the religious and cultural history of
northern and western Tibet, I have made the documentation of Shang Shung a top
priority. I first undertook to learn as much as I could about Shang Shung, studying
Tibetan texts and interviewing senior members of the Tibetan community. I was to
realize, just as the chief professor of the Bon religion Lopon Tenzin Namdak
indicated, that if I carefully searched the wild mountains and plains of Tibet I would
find Shang Shung. Working closely with Tibetan scholars such as Lopon Tenzin
Namdak and the head of the Bon religion, Menri Trizin, I first located on the map
where prime Shang Shung sites are probably situated. Then came the greatest
challenge: getting into Tibet and mustering the resources necessary to actually find
Shang Shung.
In the early years, in my quest to discover Shang Shung, I could not rely on the
Chinese government for assistance for even ordinary tourists were discouraged from
visiting all but a small handful of cities. I had to go at it alone relying on my years of
trekking and mountaineering experience in the Himalaya. I however, was highly
motivated and more than a decade and 11 major expeditions later, I have run the
gauntlet and weathered every storm.
The Process of Discovery
The home of Shang Shung is the Changthang, the remote north and west of the
country, and the highest, coldest and driest part of the Tibetan plateau. This is a vast
land of expansive plains, long snowy mountain ranges and interminable vistas,
covering an area the size of Arizona and California combined. My only chance of
success was to pinpoint certain regions for exploration but still I ended up driving
approximately 16,000 miles and covering another 4000 miles on foot. My exertions
proved fruitful and I was able to chart some of the ancient monuments and
settlements of Shang Shung, significantly adding to discoveries made by other
Western scholars in the first half of the Twentieth century and those of contemporary
Chinese and Tibetan researchers. To set the stage for what I have found let us look at
the achievements of others who strove to understand ancient Tibet.
Among the last blank spaces on the world map, Tibet is a land that has captured
popular imagination for over a century. Ringed by the highest mountain ranges in the
world, Tibet did not yield its geographic secrets until the early twentieth century
when explorers such as Sven Hedin of Sweden began compiling detailed maps of the
hinterlands. After the 1905 Younghusband invasion, Britain played a major part in
making Tibet known to the world. Tibetology, the study of Tibetan history and
culture, developed rapidly under the British. The focus of much of this scholarship
was the study of Buddhism but there were also those scholars who took an interest in
Tibet’s pre-Buddhist past.
The opportunity to roam the Tibetan countryside combined with deep knowledge of
her people and culture placed men such as Professor Guiseppe Tucci, Hugh
Richardson, the British Resident in Tibet and the Russian scholar George Roerich in
a unique position to explore Tibet’s ancient past. They uncovered a variety of preBuddhist archaeological sites including the remains of forts, megalithic sites and
graves. Despite their pioneering efforts no systematic excavations were ever
undertaken and in 1951, with the Chinese Communist invasion of Tibet, all research
in Tibet came to an abrupt end.
The Chinese in Tibet were slow to begin archaeological exploration in Tibet. In fact,
during the Cultural Revolution some 30 years ago, many archaeological monuments
along with ancient monasteries and other cultural sites were ruthlessly destroyed. The
situation began to slowly improve when in 1976, the Beijing Academy of Sciences
mounted an expedition to Tibet to collect Stone Age tools lieing on the surface. In the
1980’s, among the most notable work done by Chinese archaeologists was the
excavation of the Neolithic villages of Karou in the Chamdo prefecture of eastern
Tibet and Chukhong located in the Lhasa valley. The 1980’s also saw the discovery
and preliminary excavation of New Stone Age (1500 - 3000 B.C.), Metal Age (1500
B.C. - Seventh Century A.D.) and Imperial Era (618 A.D. - 850 A.D.) tombs in
several parts of the country.
In the early 1990’s, Chinese and Tibetan archaeologists studied more than 50 rock art
sites in the Changthang. In the last several years, they have turned their attention
towards extreme western Tibet where a number of Buddhist and pre-Buddhist finds
have been made. Taken as a whole, archaeological work in Tibet has been slow to
gain ground; it has been poorly funded and lacking trained personnel. Fortunately,
there are now signs that the situation is changing as researchers petition the
government for permission and the funds needed to explore Tibet’s rich ancient
legacy. Work on Shang Shung is still in its infancy but an encouraging development
was an expedition launched by the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences in 1998, to
study the cultural history of Shang Shung.
The Character of Shang Shung
Not intent to sit on the sidelines and wait for local scholars to make headway, I
realized that if I wanted to learn about Shang Shung I would have to do the leg work
myself. I have published my findings in a number of scholarly monographs and in a
book detailing the cultural history of sacred mountains and lakes in northern Tibet.
My work is one of a series of stepping stones that is significantly augmenting our
knowledge of pre-Buddhist Tibet. A quantum leap forward will occur when
excavation begins at some of the sites I have documented. Until that time, the
chronology of Shang Shung sites will remain in question. At this juncture, it is not
often possible to delineate Stone Age and Metal Age sites from those subsequently
associated with the Imperial Era or with primitive cults that existed in northern Tibet
as late as the Thirteenth century. Evidence indicates that certain places were
inhabited for long periods of time and do not belong to one period alone. In the
annals of world archaeology, the rebuilding of ancient monuments and the
resettlement of ancient sites is common.
The antiquity of the Shang Shung sites is uncontested, they are clearly labeled preBuddhist in the oral and textual histories. Among the earliest written sources
extolling Shang Shung is the ninth century Old Tibet Chronicle written within 200
years of its downfall. Bon scriptures, in particular, are an excellent source of
information on Shang Shung. Compiled primarily between the eleventh and fifteenth
centuries, these texts record with great pride the accomplishments of Shang Shung
era saints who practiced an early form of the Bon religion.
Data on ancient climate (paleoclimatology) and spores and pollens (palynology)
buttresses historical information. A significant number of the Shang Shung villages,
forts, temples, megaliths and cave art sites are now uninhabited but were once
favorable for settlement. Another indication of age is the physical evidence: great
monuments have been reduced to rubble or even leveled not due to invasion but
through the agency of time. On some stones orange climax lichens are found in
abundance, a clear indication in the high elevation environment that these building
materials have not been disturbed for centuries.
Like ancient builders the world over, the dwellers of Shang Shung looked for special
types of environmental conditions in which to live. Among the most important
settings was the great lake belt that stretches 600 miles across the breadth of the
Changthang between 30 degrees, 30 minutes and 32 degrees north latitude.
Numbering in the thousands, these bodies of water boast the most radiant colors
imaginable. Left by the retreating glaciers of the Pleistocene, the lakes have no outlet
so minerals concentrate in the water and over millennia, this has led to salifaction. In
the time of Shang Shung a more congenial climate meant that many of these lakes
contained fresh water, a vital constituent of any civilization. But there are also other
factors at play.
The lake belt occupies the most hospitable part of the Changthang: to the south, on
the high flanks of the Trans-Himalaya ranges, the climate is extremely severe with
blizzard conditions prevailing year round while to the north, there are frigid alpine
deserts. The islands, cliffs and headlands where many of the Shang Shung sites are
found also have defensive value, an important attribute in a land long known for its
bellicose tribesmen. These factors alone, however, are not sufficient to explain the
attraction the great lakes had for Shang Shung. There are many other permanent
sources of fresh water near the lakes such as rivers and springs. Moreover, the rocky
lake shores are often poor grazing for livestock and removed from choice hunting
grounds. Therefore, there was not an economic imperative for settling directly on the
lakes. It would seem purely on functional grounds for buildings to have been
constructed away from the immediate lake shore, precisely the pattern of settlement
we see in modern times.
To fully explain the location of Shang Shung sites on the lakes one must examine
primitive beliefs still associated with the Bon religion. It is well established that
before the advent of Buddhism, more than 1200 years ago, the indigenous Bon deities
were primarily associated with topographical features and celestial phenomena.
Residing in sacred lakes and mountains these ambivalent supernatural forces had
both a protective and ancestral function. One type of ancient god, the Yulha presided
over different locales and guarded the inhabitants. The Yulha also figured in the
myths of creation and as an ancestor figure of the community. My research has
shown that the inhabitants of Shang Shung frequently chose to build their
communities near the dwelling places of the Yulha, particularly at the great lakes.
These lakes were envisioned as powerful goddesses and mistresses of the community
who ruled a bevy of lesser Yulha. From what can be gleaned from Bon texts it
appears that these goddesses even took precedence over the male mountain gods. The
lakes were the hubs of a spiritual and ecological network that extended across the
Changthang. The soul force, heart and other important anatomical features of the
goddesses were envisioned as the islands and headlands in the lakes, the very places
that many important Shang Shung sites are located. The selection of the most
inaccessible and sacred sites for settlement seems to indicate that they were occupied
by a religious and cultural elite.
The Shang Shung Archaeological Sites
1) Nam Tsho
Approximately 100 miles northwest of Lhasa is the largest lake in the Changthang,
Nam Tsho (‚Celestial Lake’). This nearly 50 mile long body of brackish water is said
to be the soul lake of the Tibetan nation and the home of Yum (‚Mother’), a form of
the most powerful Bon goddess. With its towering limestone and granite cliffs and
precipitous headlands, the north shore of Nam Tsho is very rugged and convoluted. It
was here that a series of Shang Shung monuments were built, all within sight of the
lake. This part of the lake was visited in the 1870’s by two of the Pundits, Indian
spies who worked for the British Imperial government. They returned to India with
fantastic stories of pyramids and other ancient wonders. Subsequently, there is no
record of archaeological exploration at the north shore of the lake until my six
expeditions to the area in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
The forgotten north shore of Nam Tsho proved
fertile ground for exploration. Carrying a heavy
pack and traveling alone, I walked the whole
way. My efforts were rewarded by the
discovery of a number of ancient monuments.
Along the eastern half of the north shore is a six
mile long peninsula called Do Ring (‚Long
Headland’), the longest at Nam Tsho. The
setting is most spectacular, with the cobalt blue
waters of Nam Tsho surrounding Do Ring on
three sides. According to Bon histories, the
Shang Shung saint Tong Gyung Thuchen
meditated here with his consort, an emanation
of the lake. A small group of ruins at the tip of
the headland appears to be his ancient
hermitage. At the center of the ruins
Yungdrung (Bon counterclockwise swastika)
and a Bon mantra were inscribed on a boulder
proving its association with the ancient religion
of Tibet. A couple miles west of Doring is Sha
Do (‚Deer Headland’), the site of another group of ancient ruins which were
constructed with granite blocks. According to local oral histories, deer were found in
the region but they are now extinct. West of Sha Do along the boulder strewn lake
shore is Nying Do (‚Heart Headland’), the site of a pre-Buddhist village consisting of
about one dozen houses. There is little left here save for crumbling walls which have
almost been flattened to the ground.
An imposing structure is the citadel of Tragu Dara located about 2 miles west of
Nying Do in the Razhung valley. In the middle of the valley is a rocky mount
surmounted by the seven foot perimeter walls of the old stronghold. Within the walls,
an area of approximately 15,000 square feet, are various foundations but none of the
structures that rose from them are intact. Tragu Dara is associated with Tragu
Ngongan, an ancestral hero of the local shepherds. Tragu, or one of his descendants,
is mentioned in a religious history of the Taglung, a Buddhist sect. Set in the
thirteenth century, the account tells how the hero was converted to Buddhism before
dying, spelling the end of the last pre-Buddhist power in the eastern Changthang.
About 15 miles west of Tragu Dara, in the middle of the north shore of Nam Tsho, is
the headland of Tamchog Ngangpa Do (‚Excellent Goose Horse Headland’). At the
base of the headland are two pyramidal formations of red limestone called ‚Horse’s
Ears’. In one of the formations, a natural passageway with stairs leads to the summit.
On the summit is a small group of walls, the remains of a Shang Shung temple,
according to the elders of the region. Although small in size, the magnificent setting
certainly lends an air of sanctity to the site. Pummeled by the extreme cold it was
probably the ‚Horse’s Ears’ that the Pundit Krishan Singh mistook for manmade
pyramids during his brief visit in January, 1872. He noted in his report that there was
a passageway in one of the pyramids in which an ancient lama meditated.
Crossing even more desolate country, there is an escarpment called Lug Do (‚Sheep
Headland’) ten miles west of Tamchog Ngangpa Do. Several mounds and crude stone
rings up 50 feet in diameter are found here which resemble Metal Age graves found
in other parts of Tibet and Central Asia. However, they cannot be positively
identified until excavation of the site is carried out. Also at Lug Do, is an extensive
network of partially buried foundation walls.
Traversing an eight mile stretch of cliffs rising more than 1000 feet above Nam Tsho
from Lug Do, the ancient Bon site of Tong Shong Phuk is reached. According to Bon
invocatory scriptures, the goddess of the lake Yum had her Shang Shung era fort
here. There are only the faintest traces of structures visible to the naked eye but in a
large adjoining cave is a collection of Bon rock paintings. Painted in red ocher, the
chaotic mix of paintings and presence of expletives graphically depicts the historical
conflict between the Bon religion and Buddhism. Buddhism emerged victorious at
the end of the tenth century and Bon accepted many of its tenets, however, the
conflict between the religions moldered on for another 250 years.
On the southeast corner of the Nam Tsho is a large peninsula called Tashi Do. In
1993, researchers from the Tibet Commission of Archaeology and Museums under
the scholarly guidance of Sonam Wangdu, charted some of the extraordinary cave
paintings found here. I have continued this work and have been able to document
many other paintings located in hard to get to caves at several locations around the
lake. Research indicates that painting began at the end of the Tibetan Stone Age or
beginning of the Metal Age, some 3000 years ago. On the basis of style and content, I
have been able place the paintings in a rough chronology, yet we must await
advances in the technology of direct dating of cave paintings. In the 1990’s, such
dating techniques have been pioneered in the ‚Pecos River style’ paintings of Texas
and in Australian Aboriginal pictographs. The content of the Tashi Do paintings
varies greatly and includes early hunting scenes, Imperial era Bon stupas (a kind of
religious monument) and supernatural beings.
2) Dang ra Yumtsho
Situated 225 miles west of Nam Tsho is Dangra Yumtsho (‚Ocean Turquoise Lake’),
another lake that reaches nearly 50 miles in length. In Bon mythology, this lake is
inhabited by the benefactress Dangra Gyalmo, a manifestation of the mother of the
universe. Dangra Yumtsho is also considered the soul lake of Shang Shung meaning
that it was inextricably tied to the life of the kingdom. In 1994 and 1995, I
circumambulated the lake, becoming the first Westerner on record to visit its entire
shoreline. There is a great wealth of archaeological sites at Dangra Yumtsho befitting
its status as one of the capitols of the ancient kingdom. In my survey, I found a chain
of ancient structures and defunct agricultural lands concentrated on the east shore
confirming local beliefs that Dangra Yumtsho was at its zenith in the time of Shang
Shung.
Near the south shore of the lake are the remains of a walled agricultural settlement
called Gangs Lung Lhatse. Traces of the irrigation system that watered the settlement
are still detectable. The heart of Gangs Lung Lhatse is its citadel with foundation
walls up to six feet thick. In the vicinity of the citadel are extensive ruins within the
shadow of the sacred warrior mountain Gangs Lung Lhatse. About 20 miles south of
Dangra Yumtsho, at the confluence of the Targo and Nangma rivers, is a megalithic
site called Sumbug Doring. Overlooking the sacred mountain Targo Gegen (‚Ancient
Venerable Snow Mountain’), Sumbug Doring consists of around 1000 standing
stones ranging in height from one to five feet. The standing stones or stelae are
arrayed in two quadrangles, one of which hosts about 800 well preserved specimens.
On the basis of appearance, the Tibetologists Guiseppe Tucci and George Roerich
believed that such menhirs did indeed belong to the Megalithic, a period that spanned
the very end of the Stone Age and the beginning of the Bronze Age. Their assessment
is supported by the absence of references to megalithic sites in Bon literature, an
indication that they were constructed prior to the Iron Age.
On the southeast side of Dangra Yumtsho near the mouth of a stream emptying into
the lake are the ruins of Chugtsho Trogpo, a fort reputed to have been founded in the
time of Shang Shung. This was a large hill top complex of at least 30 buildings
rivaling in size the big forts of central Tibet. On a nearby slope are the tenuous
remains of a Shang Shung temple complex. Often misrepresented as monasteries by
the herders, these temples were known as Se Khar (‚Divine Fortress’) in the language
of Shang Shung.
Along the northern half of the east shore are the ruins of other forts said to have been
founded in the time of Shang Shung. These include the three forts of Kyidsum,
Gyampai Dzong, Khyung Dzong and Ombu Dzong. Khyung Dzong (‚Eagle Fort’) is
of special interest because it belonged to the last king of Shang Shung, Ligmigya.
Ligmigya was betrayed by his rival the King of Tibet and killed while riding with a
small contingent of men near his fort. Rebuilt several times, most recently in the
1980’s, the nearby Bon monastery of Yubun (‚Turquoise Mist’) is believed to
enshrine the soul cave of the goddess of the lake, Dangra Gyalmo. As such, it is
among the oldest archaeological sites on the lake.
3) Teri Nam Tsho
Forty miles west of Dangra Yumtsho is another giant salt lake called Teri Nam Tsho
(‚Sky Lake of Variegated Mountains’). In 1998, during my survey, I became the first
westerner to make a circuit of the lake. Teri Nam Tsho is so named because of four
different colored sacred mountains flanking it. In Buddhist mythology, these four
mountains called the Gyalchen Ri Zhi, were used by the famous eighth century
tantric master Guru Rinpoche to pin down the demoness of the lake. However, in the
older Bon mythology, the Gyalchen Ri Zhi are the servants of the goddess of the
lake, Prati Ralcigma. Three of the Gyalchen Ri Zhi are home to pre-Buddhist
settlements founded no later than the close of the Shang Shung period and probably
much earlier. This is clearly established by the lack of water on the island settlements
- they could only have been viable when Teri Nam Tsho was potable. The lake
according to Chinese studies was fresh 7000 years ago but since then it has become
progressively saltier. Although detailed studies of the salifaction process are
demanded it doesn’t seem possible that people could have tolerated drinking the
water in the last 1500 years.
Associated with the northern white mountain of crystal, Muro Ri, are the remains of
four pre-Buddhist villages; two of these, Thongdrol Drag and Podo Gongma, are
located on the mainland while the other two are on ancient islands. Now attached to
the mainland by an area of akaline flats and quicksand these isolated islands known
as Podo Sharma (‚Fragrant Eastern Headland’) support several dilapidated all-stone
houses.
On the east side of Teri Nam Tsho opposite the black mountain of iron, Do Nag, is
Do Drilbu (‚Bell Headland’), an ancient island now connected to the mainland by a
narrow gravel isthmus. This natural three mile long bridge gives access to a long
abandoned village consisting of the remains of at least one dozen homes, a 150 feet
long structure of many rooms, various shrines and several small pillars rooted in the
ground. The structures, like those of Muro Ri, are oriented facing east. The ruins at
Do Drilbu are among the best preserved I have discovered. The largest residence
which I coined Founder’s House, has most of its stone roof intact. Stones up to five
foot in length were cut into rafters on which the stone slabs of the roof rest.
Founder’s House was partitioned into six or seven rooms, most of which are
interconnected. Inside the rear of the house, a two foot tall pillar of unknown function
was erected.
On the south side of Teri Nam Tsho, at the red mountain of copper, Do Mar, is the
largest of the ancient villages found at the lake, Khangro (‚Ruined Houses’). Built in
a similar style to the island settlements, at least 23 houses existed here. These house
feature an anterior courtyard and a series of small, irregularly shaped rooms in the
rear. Arranged around a flaming red limestone escarpment, the structures are built in
tiers, the largest of which appears to have been a communal building and not the
residence of a single family.
About 20 miles from the lake on the biggest river feeding it, the Tshochen Tsangpo,
are three megalithic sites which probably mark the location of tombs. The mounds
found in the vicinity are an excellent candidate for excavation.
4) Darok Tsho
Seventy miles west of Teri Nam Tsho is another large sacred lake called Darok Tsho
home to the Bon goddess Drog Tsho Menma. I had the good fortune to trek around
this lake in the winter of 1997 and complete a preliminary archaeological survey,
which has been published in the spring 1999 edition of The Tibet Journal. Darok
Tsho has the special distinction of still containing fresh water. At the time of Shang
Shung, 13 centuries ago, the north shore of the lake supported a dense pattern of
settlement. This same area today lies in desolation. Some of the ruins at Darok Tsho
are mentioned in Bon histories detailing mystic practices thought to have been
prevalent in Shang Shung. Like the other lakes I explored, the Shang Shung sites of
Darok Tsho are found on islands, rocky headlands and cliffs.
In the center of the north shore, on a large peninsula that juts into the lake, are
numerous ruins which spill over to the largest of the three islands of the lake, Tsho
Do. According to Bon history, Tsho Do (located about one mile offshore) is where
the eighth century Shang Shung saint Nangzher Lodpo meditated. Oral histories
designate these ruins as being from pre-Buddhist times and thus corroborate the Bon
texts. Indications point to the settlements at Tsho Do and the big peninsula as
belonging to the Iron Age. The largest structure found here measures 60 feet in length
and like the others, was constructed wholly from stones. Other Shang Shung ruins are
found on the ancient island of Do Kyipu which is now connected to the mainland by
a narrow land bridge. Among the many Shang Shung cave hermitages at Darok Tsho
is one called Shawadong Lhakhang (‚Temple of the Deer Face’). Suspended in the
cliff face, Shawadong consists of several rooms built into a large cave. Not all the
ruins on the north side of Darok Tsho are Shang Shung, for a historical Bon
hermitage called Lhakhang Marchag is also found in the crags. On the walls of the
hermitage Bon prayers, symbols and a likeness of the semi-mythical Bon master
Taparisa were painted. These paintings afford historians and archaeologists important
evidence of Bon practices of 1000 years ago. The Bon religion of this time had
already been profoundly influenced by Buddhism and was soon to disappear
altogether from Darok Tsho.
There are other Shang Shung sites in northern and western Tibet, like the ruins at
Chima Yungdrung at the headwaters of the Brahmaputra, or Khyung Lung Ngul Khar
near the Indian border, but there must be many others still awaiting discovery. In the
next few years, I hope to continue my work and engender more interest and support
leading to the excavation of some of the sites. Given the expense of working in such
a remote and harsh land, the unearthing of Shang Shung may still be some years off.
Yet, it is only when experts from many disciplines take up the search will the real
extent and character of Shang Shung be revealed. There are many questions which
must be answered: How large and sophisticated really was Shang Shung? What kinds
of technology did it possess? What trade links did it have with contemporaneous
civilizations and how was it influenced by them? There is so much to learn before
Tibet yields her ancient mysteries.
Suggested Reading List:
Bellezza, J.V. 1997. Divine Dyads: Ancient Civilization in Tibet. Dharamsala, India:
Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. A comprehensive but highly technical
account of the archaeology and cultural history of Nam Tsho and Dangra Yumtsho.
Chayet A. 1994. Archéologie et Art du Tibet. Paris: Picard. A scholarly overview of
Western and Chinese archaeological discoveries in Tibet. Few Shang Shung sites are
mentioned but an excellent background work for those who read French.
Roerich, G. N. 1931. Trails to Inmost Tibet. New Haven: Yale University Press. A
captivating account of the adventures and discoveries of George Roerich, a pioneer in
Tibetan archaeology.
Tucci, G. 1973, TransHimalaya. Geneva: Nagel Publishers. A excellent volume
detailing the archaeological discoveries of Professor Tucci, one of the Twentieth
century’s greatest Tibetologists.
Tulku, Tarthang. 1986. Ancient Tibet: Research Materials from the Yeshe De
Project. Berkeley: Dharma Publishing. This is the most readable work dealing with
Tibetan archaeology.
Wangdu, Sonam. 1994. Art of Tibetan Rock Paintings. Chengdu: Sichuan Publishing
House. A fine coffee table book with many superb pictures of Tibetan rock art. The
text written in Tibetan, Chinese and English, is one of the most accessible to the nonspecialist.
© 1999 John Vincent Bellezza