Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

High-Altitude Agro-Pastoralism in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan

New Excavations of the Chap Farmstead (1065–825 cal b.c.)

Bibliographic Data

ID11074339
AuthorsG Motuzaite Matuzeviciute (0000-0001-9069-1551, Vilnius University, corresponding author), Kubatbek Tabaldyev (0000-0002-6679-8030, Vilnius University), T R Hermes (0000-0002-8377-468X, Vilnius University), Elina Ananyevskaya (0000-0003-1189-0339, Vilnius University), Mindaugas Grikpedis (0000-0002-0580-7685, Vilnius University), Elise Luneau (0000-0003-3738-0142, Vilnius University), Inga Merkytė (Vilnius University), Lynne M Rouse (0000-0002-2354-0099, Vilnius University)
Year2020
Volume45
Issue1
Pages29-45
Publication date2020-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Field Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0093-4690 • E-ISSN: 2042-4582
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00934690.2019.1672128
OpenAlexW2983507086
LanguageEN
Citations received27
References cited52

The highlands of Central Asia posed considerable challenges to early agriculturalists, yet the processes of human subsistence strategies there remain poorly understood. In this paper, we present results from the excavation of the Chap in Kyrgyzstan. The recovery of a rich macrobotanical assemblage consisting of several crop species and crop processing debris, together with skeletal remains of pastoral livestock, indicate a localized agro-pastoral complex at 2000 masl dating to 1065–825 cal b.c. Aerial photogrammetry, magnetometry, and topographic modeling reveal local irrigation systems, while stone artifacts are linked with cultivation and crop processing. Furthermore, the ceramic assemblage reveals a local production tradition and stylistic similarities with communities of neighboring regions. Overall, data from Chap contribute to a new understanding of human ecology and agricultural development in the mountains of Central Asia, suggesting that domesticated plants and animals were integral for the intensive occupation of high-elevation valleys in Central Asia

Agriculture · Archaeology · Assemblage (archaeology · Biology · Excavation · Fauna · Faunal assemblage · Geography · Irrigation · Livestock · Pastoralism · Subsistence agriculture · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Ecology · Forestry · Geology · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

  • Specialized wool production economy of prehistoric farmstead of Chap I in the highlands of Central Tian Shan (Kyrgyzstan)

    Open Access•Elina Ananyevskaya, Michael Buckley et al.•International Journal of…•2021

  • Reduction of Silk Road Exchange Corresponds with a Decrease in Hydraulic Output of Major Dryland Rivers in Northwest China

    Open Access•Kangkang Li, Zhiqiang Yin et al.•Journal of Archaeological Method…•2026

  • Reconceptualizing water history of Chinese Central Asia

    Open Access•Yuqi Li, Michael J Storozum et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2020

  • On the fly

    Open Access•Lynne M Rouse, Jan Krumnow•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2020

  • Above ground and underground – An integrated approach of the burial mounds within the Suusamyr plateau, Kyrgyzstan

    Open Access•Adrian C Ardelean, Adriana Sărășan et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2023

  • Unveiling The Evolving Dynamics Of Mountain Pastoralism At Various Altitudinal Zones Of Upper Swat Valley, Pakistan

    Open Access•Muhammad Nasir, Samiullah Samiullah et al.•MIGRATION LETTERS•2024

  • Irrigated Farming Among Mountain Agropastoralists

    Open Access•Haiming Li, Yuqi Li et al.•Journal of Archaeological Method…•2025

  • Re-examining climate-driven Malthusian collapse in Kashmir

    Open Access•Michael Spate, Dan Penny et al.•Quaternary International•2022

  • Dust storms or landslides? Investigating drivers of settlement, abandonment and landscape change at a Bronze Age farming site in Kyrgyzstan

    Open Access•Michael Spate, G Motuzaite Matuzeviciute et al.•Quaternary International•2025

  • Environmental change and the timing of the settlement of the Bronze Age Andronovo culture, in far northwest Xinjiang, China

    Open Access•John Dodson, Peter Weiming Jia et al.•The Holocene•2021

  • Inner Asian agro-pastoralism as optimal adaptation strategy of Wupu inhabitants (3000–2400 cal BP) in Xinjiang, China

    Open Access•Lijing Wang, Yongqiang Wang et al.•The Holocene•2020

  • Humid and cold periods in the last 5600 years in Arid Central Asia revealed by palynology of Picea schrenkiana from Issyk-Kul

    Open Access•Suzanne A G Leroy, Santiago Giralt et al.•The Holocene•2020

  • Testing the applicability of Watson’s Green Revolution concept in first millennium ce Central Asia

    Open Access•Basira Mir-Makhamad, R N Spengler•Vegetation History and…•2023

  • The first comprehensive archaeobotanical analysis of prehistoric agriculture in Kyrgyzstan

    Open Access•G Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, Basira Mir-Makhamad et al.•Vegetation History and…•2021

  • A comprehensive investigation of Bronze Age human dietary strategies from different altitudinal environments in the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor

    Open Access•Wei Wang, Yi Liu et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2020

  • Prehistoric subsistence strategy dynamics and their differences under a similar hyper-arid environment in the contiguous Turpan and Hami Basins of Xinjiang

    Open Access•Lijing Wang, Yongqiang Wang et al.•The Holocene•2024

  • Zooarchaeology of ancient Termez (Uzbekistan)

    Open Access•Rodrigo Portero, Enrique Ariño Gil et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2022

  • Seeds of Time

    Open Access•Basira Mir-Makhamad, R N Spengler et al.•Human Ecology•2026

  • Inhabiting the central Asian mountains

    Open Access•Elise Luneau, Nona A Avanesova et al.•Quaternary International•2024

  • Exploring Landscape Archaeology and UAV-Based Survey in the Kochkor Valley, Kyrgyzstan

    Lynne M Rouse, Kubatbek Tabaldyev et al.•Journal of Field Archaeology•2022

  • The Final Bronze/Early Iron Age in the Old Zerafshan Delta, Uzbekistan

    Sören Stark, Lynne M Rouse et al.•Journal of Field Archaeology•2024

  • Qarakhanids on the Edge of the Bukhara Oasis

    Open Access•Basira Mir-Makhamad, Sirojidin Mirzaakhmedov et al.•Economic Botany•2021

  • The Agro-pastoralism debate in Central Eurasia

    Open Access•Lynne M Rouse, Paula N Doumani Dupuy et al.•Journal of Anthropological…•2022

  • A water reservoir from the 3rd to 5th century AD as a possible key for understanding the subsistence strategies and environment at the margin of the Fergana basin in Southern Kyrgyzstan

    Open Access•Petr Kočár, Zdeňka Sůvová et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2026

  • The wind that shakes the barley

    Melissa M Ritchey, Yufeng Sun et al.•World Archaeology•2021

  • Carbon and oxygen stable isotopic evidence for diverse sheep and goat husbandry strategies amid a Final Bronze Age farming milieu in the Kyrgyz Tian Shan

    Open Access•T R Hermes, Clemens Schmid et al.•International Journal of…•2022

  • The integration of millet into the diet of Central Asian populations in the third millennium BC

    Open Access•G Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, Elina Ananyevskaya et al.•Antiquity•2022

  • The Origin of the Indo-Iranians

    Elena E Kuz'Mina, Anna Ślączka et al.•The Origin of the Indo-Iranians…•2007

  • Pastoralist Landscapes and Social Interaction in Bronze Age Eurasia

    Michael Frachetti, Michael David Frachetti•Pastoralist Landscapes and Social…•2008

  • Early evidence for the use of wheat and barley as staple crops on the margins of the Tibetan Plateau

    Open Access•J D''Alpoim Guedes, Jade A d’Alpoim Guedes et al.•Proceedings of the National…•2015

  • From ecological opportunism to multi-cropping

    Open Access•Xinyi Liu, Penelope J Jones et al.•Quaternary Science Reviews•2019

  • Beyond Bones

    Open Access•C Chang, Harold A Koster•Advances in Archaeological Method…•1986

  • Ceramics for the Archaeologist

    R J Gettens, Anna O Shephard•Studies in Conservation•1957

  • Ecotopes and Herd Foraging Practices In the Steppe/Mountain Ecotone of Central Asia During the Bronze and Iron Ages

    Open Access•R N Spengler, Michael Frachetti et al.•Journal of Ethnobiology•2013

  • Carbon Isotope Ratios of Plant n -Alkanes and Microstratigraphy Analyses of Dung Accumulations in a Pastoral Nomadic Winter Campsite (Eastern Mongolia)

    Natalia Égüez, C A Makarewicz•Ethnoarchaeology•2018

  • Linking agriculture and exchange to social developments of the Central Asian Iron Age

    Open Access•R N Spengler, Naomi F Miller et al.•Journal of Anthropological…•2017

  • Human biology of pastoral populations

    Open Access•I L Pike•American Journal of Human Biology•2003

  • Late Bronze Age agriculture at Tasbas in the Dzhungar Mountains of eastern Kazakhstan

    Open Access•R N Spengler, Michael D Frachetti et al.•Quaternary International•2014

  • The effect of geographical margins on cereal grain size variation

    Open Access•G Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, A K Abdykanova et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2018

  • The breadth of dietary economy in Bronze Age Central Asia

    Open Access•R N Spengler, Ilaria de Nigris et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2016

  • A model for pastoral mobility in Iron Age Kazakhstan

    Open Access•Tekla M Schmaus, C Chang et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2017

  • Early irrigation and agropastoralism at Mohuchahangoukou (MGK), Xinjiang, China

    Open Access•Yuqi Li, Michael J Storozum et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2017

  • Burial ritual, agriculture, and craft production among Bronze Age pastoralists at Tasbas (Kazakhstan)

    Open Access•Paula N Doumani, Michael Frachetti et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2015

  • Precipitation evolution of Central Asia during the last 5000 years

    Open Access•Christian Wolff, Christian M Wolff et al.•The Holocene•2016

  • The spread of agriculture into northern Central Asia

    Open Access•R N Spengler, N E Ryabogina et al.•The Holocene•2016

  • Agriculturalists and pastoralists

    Open Access•R N Spengler, Barbara Cerasetti et al.•Vegetation History and…•2014

  • Four thousand years of vegetation and fire history in the spruce forests of northern Kyrgyzstan (Kungey Alatau, Central Asia)

    Open Access•Ruth Beer, W Tinner•Vegetation History and…•2008

  • Dung burning in the archaeobotanical record of West Asia

    Open Access•R N Spengler•Vegetation History and…•2018

  • The extent of cereal cultivation among the Bronze Age to Turkic period societies of Kazakhstan determined using stable isotope analysis of bone collagen

    Open Access•G Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, E Lightfoot et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science•2015

  • A New Approach to Identifying Bone Marrow and Grease Exploitation

    Open Access•A K Outram•Journal of Archaeological Science•2001

  • Ethnoarchaeological Survey of Pastoral Transhumance Sites in the Grevena Region, Greece

    C Chang, Perry A Tourtellotte•Journal of Field Archaeology•1993

  • New evidence for Bronze Age agricultural settlements in the Zhunge’er (Junggar) Basin, China

    Peter Weiming Jia, Alison Betts et al.•Journal of Field Archaeology•2011

  • Kill-off Patterns in Sheep and Goats

    Open Access•Sebastian Payne•Anatolian Studies•1973

  • Rethinking Prehistoric Central Asia

    C Chang•Rethinking Prehistoric Central Asia•2017

  • Between China and South Asia

    Open Access•Craig Stevens, C Murphy et al.•The Holocene•2016

  • IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years cal BP

    Open Access•Paula J Reimer, Edouard Bard et al.•Radiocarbon•2013

  • Methods for Summarizing Radiocarbon Datasets

    Open Access•Christopher B Ramsey•Radiocarbon•2017

  • How ‘Pastoral’ is Pastoralism? Dietary Diversity in B ronze A ge C ommunities in the Central K azakhstan Steppes

    Open Access•E Lightfoot, G Motuzaite Matuzeviciute et al.•Archaeometry•2015

  • Multiregional Emergence of Mobile Pastoralism and Nonuniform Institutional Complexity across Eurasia

    Michael Frachetti, Michael D Frachetti•Current Anthropology•2012

  • Bronze Age textile evidence in ceramic impressions

    Open Access•Paula N Doumani, Michael Frachetti et al.•Antiquity•2012

  • Earliest direct evidence for broomcorn millet and wheat in the central Eurasian steppe region

    Open Access•Michael Frachetti, Michael D Frachetti et al.•Antiquity•2010

  • The early chronology of broomcorn millet ( Panicum miliaceum ) in Europe

    Open Access•G Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, Giedre Motuzaite-Matuzeviciute et al.•Antiquity•2013

  • Pastoralist landscapes and social interaction in Bronze Age Eurasia

    Rebecca Beardmore•Central Asian Survey•2010

  • Agriculture in the Central Asian Bronze Age

    Open Access•R N Spengler•Journal of World Prehistory•2015

  • Moving agriculture onto the Tibetan plateau

    Open Access•J D''Alpoim Guedes, Hongliang Lu et al.•Archaeological and Anthropological…•2014

  • Eurasian pastoralists and their shifting regional interactions at the steppe margin

    Michael Frachetti, Michael D Frachetti et al.•World Archaeology•2010

  • Iron Age society and chronology in South-east Kazakhstan

    Open Access•C Chang, Norbert Benecke et al.•Antiquity•2003

  • The existence of Andronovo cultural influence in Xinjiang during the 2nd millennium BC

    Open Access•Jianjun Mei, Mei Jianjun et al.•Antiquity•1999

  • From sheep to (some) horses

    Open Access•Michael Frachetti, Norbert Benecke•Antiquity•2009

  • Mixing metaphors

    Open Access•Lynne M Rouse, Barbara Cerasetti•Antiquity•2018

Unique citing works27
Citations per year4,5
Citation span2020 - 2026 (7)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 26
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae