The book explores largely overlooked areas of Silk Road studies by searching for multidisciplinary evidence on the connotations of Silk Road culture and by rewriting social complexities along the Silk Road in different historical periods. It investigates the impacts of conflicts and communication between Silk Road civilizations, presents the latest archaeological discoveries and research findings in the field of Silk Road studies, and develops a new Silk Road archaeological system. By doing so, it defines a new direction for Silk Road archaeological studies.

Dr. Xiao Li is a professor at the School of Chinese Classics, Renmin University of China, has participated in archaeological fieldwork, and pursued extensive research on the prehistoric and historical periods in Northwestern China and Central Asia. With his outstanding experience, both in fieldwork and in theoretical research, he has considerable expertise in the archaeology and history of Xinjiang, the origin and development of the central Asian civilizations, and the modes of interactions between Xinjiang and Central Asia.