Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Plant Use and Domestic Economy among Eurasian Mobile Pastoralists: Semirech'ye, Kazakhstan during the Bronze and Iron Age Interface

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Under the supervision of Dr. Michael Frachetti, Robert N. Spengler III will analyze paleoethnobotanical data gathered during NSF sponsored excavations from 2005-2007 and from excavations this coming summer of three new archaeological sites in southeastern Kazakhstan (Semirechye). He will conduct comparative archaeobotanical analyses from the multi-period sites of Begash, Mukri, and Tuzusai, Focusing on the poorly understood time periods of the Middle to Late Bronze Age (2300-800 B.C.) and Iron Age (800 B.C.-A.D. 500). The purpose of the project is to elucidate patterns of plant use at each site through time and to combine this information with other archaeological data sets. He will investigate the following questions: 1) What variation in plant use and subsistence strategy existed among Late Bronze Age and early Iron Age mobile pastoralists living in the foothills and plains of Semirechye? (2) To what extent did local environmental variables influence their reliance on food production, gathering, and fodder selection? (3) What role did agriculture play: how important was it; what crops were produced or acquired through exchange; and how did it fit into the pastoral system? He will investigate these questions diachronically and intraregionally to relate how changes in subsistence articulate on the sociocultural landscape during the Bronze and Iron Ages. All aspects of society are intertwined in their economy; therefore, in studying economy, specifically subsistence economy, this project provides a necessary foundation for understanding Central Asian mobile pastoralists. Paleoethnobotany has only recently emerged as a methodological approach in the wider Eurasian steppe region and this project, specifically, will be the first systematic paleoethnobotanical study in Kazakhstan. This study will provide a regional analysis of human-plant interactions, leading to a better understanding of strategic variation among prehistoric Eurasian mobile populations. By studying plant use researchers will gain a wider understanding of subsistence economy, general dietary diversity, and agricultural dispersal in a region once seen as homogenous and having an economy dominated by animal products. This project is collaborative, incorporating American as well as Kazakh researchers, and the results are of interest to all involved parties. This research will contribute to the growing body of knowledge relating to Central Asian archaeology, helping to address questions about economy. The geographic area encompassed by this project has been a pivotal location in the shaping of Eurasian history on a macro-scale. Because of the connecting role Central Asia played in Eurasian history, understanding Central Asian archaeology will help us develop a clearer picture of culture flow and social interaction across Eurasia. These results will be pertinent to a wider range of academic professionals, including historians, botanists, economists, political scientists, and sociologists. In addition to the academic contributions, this research has considerable potential to address several contemporary sociopolitical issues. For example, modern Kazakhs have turned to archaeology in their struggle to establish national identity in a post-Soviet world. The results of this research will provide a non-biased resource for the development of cultural identity and national narrative.