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

在迈克尔·弗拉盖蒂博士的指导下，罗伯特·n·斯宾格勒三世将分析2005年至2007年美国国家科学基金会资助的考古发掘工作中收集的古民族植物学数据，以及今年夏天在哈萨克斯坦东南部（Semirechye）三个新考古遗址的发掘工作。他将对Begash， Mukri和Tuzusai的多时期遗址进行比较考古植物学分析，重点关注青铜时代中晚期（公元前2300-800年）和铁器时代（公元前800 -公元500年）这两个鲜为人知的时期。该项目的目的是阐明每个遗址的植物利用模式，并将这些信息与其他考古数据集结合起来。他将研究以下问题：1)生活在Semirechye山麓和平原的青铜时代晚期和铁器时代早期的流动牧民在植物使用和生存策略上存在什么差异？(2)当地环境变量在多大程度上影响了它们对粮食生产、采集和饲料选择的依赖？(3)农业发挥了什么作用：有多重要；通过交换生产或获得的作物；它是如何融入牧区体系的？他将研究这些问题的历时性和区域内的关系如何在生活的变化阐明在青铜和铁器时代的社会文化景观。社会的各个方面都与经济交织在一起；因此，本项目为研究中亚流动牧民的经济，特别是温饱经济提供了必要的基础。古民族植物学直到最近才在更广泛的欧亚草原地区成为一种方法论方法，具体来说，这个项目将是哈萨克斯坦第一个系统的古民族植物学研究。这项研究将提供人类与植物相互作用的区域分析，从而更好地理解史前欧亚流动种群之间的战略变异。通过研究植物的利用，研究人员将更广泛地了解自给经济、一般饮食多样性和农业在一个曾经被视为同质的、以动物产品为主导的经济地区的分散。这个项目是合作的，包括美国和哈萨克斯坦的研究人员，其结果对所有相关方都感兴趣。这项研究将有助于中亚考古知识体系的发展，有助于解决经济问题。该项目所涵盖的地理区域在宏观上是欧亚历史形成的关键位置。由于中亚在欧亚历史上所起的联系作用，了解中亚考古学将有助于我们更清楚地了解欧亚大陆的文化流动和社会互动。这些结果将与更广泛的学术专业人士相关，包括历史学家、植物学家、经济学家、政治学家和社会学家。除了学术贡献之外，这项研究在解决几个当代社会政治问题方面具有相当大的潜力。例如，现代哈萨克人在努力在后苏联世界建立民族认同时，求助于考古学。本研究的结果将为文化认同和民族叙事的发展提供公正的资源。

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.