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Bronze Age agro-pastoralist populations with economies and materials that are generally consistent with the Andronovo Culture--but with localised variations--are known throughout the mountains bordering the Eastern Eurasian Steppe. Recently, evidence for this tradition has also been found in north-west Xinjiang, China, although many questions remain about the production, use and significance of ceramics here. The authors' analyses of a sample of pottery from sites across the Bortala Valley permit the reconstruction of the ceramic chaine operatoire and offer two distinct stories: one of cultural connectivity with regional networks of Eurasian pastoralists, and another about self-expression through small-scale local ceramic production. Keywords: China, Xinjiang, Bronze Age, Andronovo, ceramics, chaine operatoire, Introduction Situated between the vast Eurasian Steppe, the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor and central China, Xinjiang was a central node in ancient trans-Eurasian exchanges. While best known for the historic-period [...]