High Risk Archaeology Along The Inner Asian Mountain Corridor: Investigating The Earliest Development Of Mobile Pastoralism In The Zaamin Mts. Of Uzbekistan

最近在哈萨克斯坦、乌兹别克斯坦、土库曼斯坦和塔吉克斯坦等前苏联加盟共和国边界内进行的考古，引发了我们对史前经济以及中亚偏远沙漠、山脉和草原农业文明和游牧文明之间的区域互动的理解发生了相当大的变化。在这一进展的基础上，国家科学基金会将支持Frachetti博士和他的团队启动Zaamin考古试点项目(ZAPP)，该项目包括在乌兹别克斯坦东部Zaamin地区进行两个实地考古调查和试掘。Zapp的目标是调查该地区史前最核心的两个问题：流动牧民何时开始占领中亚的高原地区，以及5000多年前山地游牧民族与生活在绿洲城镇的农业人口是如何互动的？该项目是对扎明山地区的首次考古探索，也是乌兹别克斯坦和美国考古学家之间仅有的积极合作之一。研究团队包括各种专家和研究生，他们将科学地研究扎明地区山地游牧民的生存战略、贸易和定居生态，目的是了解中亚专业牧民经济最早的传播之一。Zapp包括在乌兹别克斯坦的两个主要野战行动。将在2010年夏末进行初步实地考察，作为实地工作前后勤评估的一部分。从2011年初夏开始，第一个初步研究阶段需要对从低地平原到扎明山脉高地领土的皮埃蒙特地区进行为期4周的考古调查。调查方法采用空间建模方法，将考古数据和生态数据(以地理信息系统格式)相结合，动态绘制野外调查发现图。人类和相关的环境特征将用标准化的调查表格记录下来，使用遥感和全球定位系统(GPS)进行定位，拍摄照片，并对考古和有机材料进行铲子采样。在对地表考古遗迹进行测绘和记录之后，将选择少量遗址进行更系统的测绘和地下测试(研究阶段2)。这些试掘将提供有限的地层学记录的考古数据，包括用于放射性碳测年的有机材料、用于古植物漂浮的土壤样本、物质文化和考古动物，这将提供关于该地区早期游牧社会及其互动网络的年代学和组织的关键信息。弗拉切蒂的项目将有助于在美国和乌兹别克斯坦科学家之间建立一个新的合作时代，这种合作至少从2004年就开始了。撒马尔罕考古研究所最近被任命为新的所长，这促进了那里积极合作关系的发展。通过引入新的方法和途径来研究山地游牧民，ZAPP帮助在世界这一重要地区建立科学研究。该项目的合作框架极大地加强了开放的学习氛围，并为一个国际曝光率有限的国家的智力发展奠定了基础。因此，Zaamin考古试点项目代表着乌兹别克斯坦发展公正合作研究的基础步骤，并反映了一个基于科学基础的计划，该计划旨在为美国在中亚的创新考古研究建立未来的合作伙伴关系。

Recent archaeology within the borders of former Soviet Republics such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan, has sparked considerable changes to our understanding of prehistoric economies and regional interaction among agricultural and nomadic civilizations of the remote deserts, mountains, and grasslands of Central Asia. Building on this progress, the National Science Foundation will support Dr. Frachetti and his team to initiate the Zaamin Archaeological Pilot Project (ZAPP), which consists of two field-seasons of archaeological survey and test excavations in the Zaamin territory of eastern Uzbekistan. The goal of the ZAPP is to investigate two of the most central issues to the region's prehistory: When did mobile pastoralists begin to occupy the highland territories of Central Asia and how did mountain nomads interact with agricultural populations living in oasis towns over 5000 years ago? This project represents the first archaeological exploration of the Zaamin Mountain region and is one of the only active collaborations between Uzbek and American archaeologists. The research team includes a variety of specialists and graduate students who will scientifically study the subsistence strategies, trade, and settlement ecology of mountain nomads in the Zaamin region with the goal of understanding one of the earliest diffusions of specialized herding economies in Central Asia. The ZAPP consists of two main field operations in Uzbekistan. Initial field touring will be performed as part of a pre-fieldwork logistical assessment in the late summer of 2010. Starting in early summer 2011, the first primary research phase entails a 4-week archaeological survey of the piedmont territories ranging from lowland plains to the highland territories of the Zaamin Mountains. The survey method uses a spatial modeling method that combines archaeological data with eco-data (in GIS format) to map survey finds dynamically in the field. Anthropogenic and related environmental features will be recorded with a standardized survey form, positioned using remote sensing and GPS (Global Positioning System), photographed, and shovel sampled for archaeological and organic materials. After mapping and documenting the surface archaeological remains a small number of sites will be selected for more systematic mapping and subsurface testing (research phase 2). These test excavations will provide a limited array of stratigraphically documented archaeological data including organic material for radiocarbon dating, soil samples for paleobotanical flotation, material culture, and archaeofauna, which will provide key information about the chronology and the organization of early nomadic societies and their interactive networks in the region.Dr. Frachetti's project will help to build a new era of collaboration between American and Uzbek scientists, which has been absent since at least 2004. The Institute of Archaeology in Samarkand is recently under new directorship, which has facilitated the development of a positive collaborative relationship there. By introducing new methods and approaches to the study of mountain nomads, the ZAPP helps to establish scientific research in this essential region of the world. The project's collaborative framework critically strengthens an open climate of study and establishes the basis for intellectual growth in a nation that has had limited international exposure. Thus, the Zaamin Archaeological Pilot Project represents a foundational step for the development of unbiased collaborative research in Uzbekistan and reflects a scientifically grounded program to build future partnerships for innovative American archaeological research in Central Asia.