Investigating the Dietary Economy of Ancient Margiana: Ongoing Archaeobotanical Research at Togolok 1 (2300–1700 BC)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Advances and New Perspectives in Central Asian Archaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeobotanical research in Central Asia has expanded greatly in the last two decades, changing much about our understanding of past subsistence strategies and lifeways throughout the broader region. Archaeobotany is a crucial tool for gaining insight into the way that human/plant relationships shape and structure society. The mid-third to second millennium BC is a time of increasing interconnectivity in southern Central Asia. We see the buildup of cities and increased exchange between adjacent regions. Yet, despite the growing interest in archaeobotanical methods, we still know very little about the paleoeconomy in the area during this dynamic time. Here we present recent archaeobotanical research from Togolok 1, one of only a handful of sites in Turkmenistan to have been systematically examined for macrobotanical remains. Togolok 1 is an urban settlement located on the Murghab Alluvial Fan. Its macrobotanical assemblage revealed a rich collection of domesticated grains, legumes, and fruits, as well as several wild plant species. These findings, when considered with the zooarchaeological evidence, suggests that the inhabitants of Togolok 1 took part in a mixed agropastoral economy. This presentation will also contextualize the archaeobotanical findings at Togolok within the Murghab (ancient Margiana) and wider prehistoric Central Asia.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Advances and New Perspectives in Central Asian Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37505.0