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

在Michael Frachetti博士的监督下，罗伯特·N·斯宾格勒三世将分析在NSF赞助的2005-2007年间以及今年夏天哈萨克斯坦东南部三个新的考古遗址(Semirechye)的挖掘过程中收集的古民族植物学数据。他将对Begash、Mukri和Tuzusai等多个时期的遗址进行考古植物学比较分析，重点是青铜时代中后期(公元前2300-800年)鲜为人知的时期。和铁器时代(公元前800年-公元500年)。该项目的目的是阐明每一地点随时间推移的植物使用模式，并将这一信息与其他考古数据集结合起来。他将调查以下问题：1)在青铜时代晚期和铁器时代早期，生活在塞米雷切丘陵和平原上的流动牧民在植物利用和生存策略方面存在哪些变化？(2)当地环境变量在多大程度上影响了他们对食物生产、采集和饲料选择的依赖？(3)农业扮演了什么角色：它有多重要；哪些作物是通过交换生产或获得的；它如何适应牧区系统？他将对这些问题进行历时和区域内的研究，以讲述青铜和铁器时代生存状况的变化如何影响社会文化景观。社会的方方面面都与他们的经济交织在一起；因此，本项目在研究经济，特别是维持生计的经济时，为了解中亚流动牧民提供了必要的基础。古民族植物学最近才在更广泛的欧亚草原地区作为一种方法论方法出现，特别是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-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差异。通过研究植物的使用，研究人员将对自给自足的经济、一般的饮食多样性和农业扩散有更广泛的了解，该地区曾经被视为同质的，经济以动物产品为主。这个项目是合作的，包括美国和哈萨克斯坦的研究人员，其结果是所有相关方都感兴趣。这项研究将有助于增加与中亚考古有关的知识，帮助解决有关经济的问题。该项目所涵盖的地理区域是在宏观上塑造欧亚历史的关键位置。由于中亚在欧亚历史中扮演着承上启下的角色，了解中亚考古将有助于我们更清晰地了解欧亚大陆的文化流动和社会互动。这些结果将适用于更广泛的学术专业人士，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，这项研究还具有相当大的潜力来解决几个当代社会政治问题。例如，现代哈萨克人在后苏联世界建立民族认同的斗争中转向了考古学。本研究的结果将为文化认同和民族叙事的发展提供一个无偏见的资源。

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.