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.
The Malguzar Uzbek-American Archaeological Research (MALGUZAAR) project was formed under the agreement between the Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis (USA) and the Institute of Archaeology of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences, in 2010. The primary aim of this collaborative project is to investigate the ecology, chronology, historical geography, and archaeological landscape of mountain societies of southeastern Uzbekistan, specifically in the piedmont ecotone (ca. 1000-1700 m asl) of the Malguzar Mountains to the highland meadows of the Bedanalasi Plateau (ca. 2100 m asl) (Figure 2). The 2011 field strategy aimed to map and document archaeological locations and assess the chronology, cultural stratigraphy, and material remains of the earliest occupation in this territory. Foremost among our focus was the economic, social, and ecological strategies of ancient communities – namely mobile pastoralists – throughout the past 4000 years or more. Systematic archaeological survey and test excavations were used to document the historical landscape and cultural ecology throughout the northern tributary valleys of the Malguzar range. The primary hypothesis tested by the proposed research is that mountain populations with transitional economies between hunting and pastoralism, and how ancient communities adapted their vertical mobility patterns into a pastoralist strategy that took advantage of the domesticated animals available to them. Their strategies also developed through interactions with village agro-pastoralists, most likely first in the nearby lowlands to the southwest. The seasonal mobility of these groups living at the interface of mountain and valley settings may have fostered a subsequent diffusion of domestic animals and the intensification of mobile pastoralism through a connected mountain corridor beginning in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan and ending in the Altai Mountains, from the late 4th millennium BC to the 2nd millennium BC. In order to test this proposal, intensive archaeological survey, geological soundings, and archaeological test pitting was carried out in the Malguzar Mts. of Uzbekistan. The field survey used high resolution GPS recording, mapping and archaeological documentation of settlement locations, burial grounds, and other anthropogenic features (e.g. corrals, rock-art) in the piedmont elevations (ca. 900-1700 m asl) and summer pasture zones (ca. 2000-2500 m asl) of the Malguzar Mts. (Zaamin region, Uzbekistan). Site attributes such as size, slope, aspect, construction, surface findings, and sedimentation were recorded. Geological coring was carried out in approximately 20% of the recorded sites in order to assess the stratigraphy of the local site area and to determine the depth of anthropogenic layers and to identify candidate sites for test excavations. In cases where surface material was abundant, the site was divided into survey grids and a complete collection of material was conducted. All sites were photographed, and sketches were made in some cases. All the recorded data, including ceramic finds, photos, geo-cores, etc., have been integrated into a relational database and the project GIS. In addition to survey, test excavations were carried out at selected archaeological sites in order to achieve a more detailed chronological fit between archaeological materials, habitation events, geomorphology, and site formation. Three test trenches, 2x3m each, were dug and each trench was comprehensively sampled for datable organic material, archaeofauna, archaeobotany, as well as artifact assemblages. Detailed drawings and photographs document the historical development of the pastoralist campsites and their associated features. In addition to field research, our project worked to integrate modern western archaeological methods into the methodological repertoire of archaeologists in Uzbekistan. This included a research visit by project co-director Dr. Farhod Maksudov to the USA, where we carried out practical collaborations in methods such as GIS, satellite imagery analysis, and archaeological theory. In total, we recorded 52 new archaeological sites related to pastoral nomadic communities within the Galchasay, Zirabulak, Karatash, Besharchasay, Maily-Khotan, and Ulukdush upland valleys. Settlements ranged from individual houses, to larger settlement complexes. The sites were largely distributed along the flat shoulders and terraces of narrow valleys formed by seasonal and perennial streams flowing from the higher elevations of the Malguzar Mts. All the settlements that were tested illustrated a multi-phase occupation as well as regional consistency in terms of landuse, economy, and technological development. Given the chronological details of the sites we tested, it is safe to conclude that the Malguzar Mts. have been occupied by pastoralist societies at least for the past 4000 years, and likely for more. The impact of this conclusion is large because to date, the organization and economy of prehistoric nomadic populations in the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor has been understudied archaeologically. Although test excavations cannot provide comprehensive data concerning the lifeways of these communities, it is clear that future excavations hold extreme promise in clarifying the landuse and interactions that fostered the expansion of mobile pastoralism across Inner Asia in antiquity.
