Archaeological Analogies to the Traditional Costume Elements in the Eastern Hindukush Area

The article analyzes 22 details of the costume of Kafirs and partially the Kalasha of Hindukush which have close analogies among related ancient Iranian-speaking peoples of Pre-Islamic time. The Indo-Scythians and Kushans, who created large powers nearby in the 1st c. BC — 1st c. AD, have the most of such analogies. These peoples had an impact on the clothing of the local Indo-Iranians and, probably, participated in their ethnic history. The infl uence of the ancient Iranian peoples, who lived closer to the Hindukush, manifested itself in large costume accessories, as well as in headdresses and hairstyles. It is also easy to explain the presence of similar elements in the “world empire” of the Achaemenids and among such an active people in the early Middle Ages as the Sogdians. However, many details of the costume of the somewhat isolated societies of the highlands with their simple rural life did not find analogies in the ceremonial art for the elite of various Iranian peoples. Collaboration between a cultural anthropologist and an archaeologist seems to be important to solve this problem. New methods of such joint research are proposed.