Microstratigraphic Investigation of Nomadic Pastoral Campsites in Eastern Mongolia

Summary

Since the origins of domestication, pastoral societies have been an exceptional example of adaptation and resilience. In recent years, studies focusing on herbivore faecal remains have shown the importance of these remains and their implication for identifying socio-economic activities. Here we present a multi-proxy examination of these deposits for an accurate identification of herds penning. We use micromorphology of soil sediments and stable isotopes analysis combined with archaeology and ethnography to provide us new insights into past activity areas, land use, site formation processes, domestic use of fuel, manuring and stabling or foddering strategies. Mongolian mobile herders offer an exceptional ethnographical proof-of-concept to investigate the seasonal usage and occupation of pastoral camps, which is an important temporal variable in mobile societies, difficult to detect in the archaeological record. The application of this multi-disciplinary approach will provide a robust framework to understand the complex interplay between human behavior and biology in a long-term perspective, and to contribute to spread knowledge about pastoral mobile societies and their value for archaeological, ethnographical and ecological research.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Of Dung and Humans: The Archaeology of Livestock Dung   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16333