Claudia Chang

Iron Age society and chronology in South-east Kazakhstan

This new view of Iron Age society in Kazakhstan breaks away from the old documentary and ethnic framework and offers an independent archaeological chronology. Excavated house types and new environmental data show that nomadism and cultivation were practised side by side. Scholars had previously tended to emphasise the ability of documented Saka leaders to plunder and collect tribute from sedentary agriculture groups through military aggression. But what really gave them a political and economic edge over other steppe groups was a dual economy based upon farming and herding.

Palaeoenvironments and economy of Iron Age Saka-Wusun agro-pastoralists in southeastern Kazakhstan

A detailed geoarchaeological and environmental study of southeastern Kazakhstan reveals subtle changes of land use and environment during the Iron Age. Major economic changes from pastoralism to agriculture over time may be reinterpreted from these new findings.

Agricultural production in the Central Asian mountains: Tuzusai, Kazakhstan (410–150 b.c.)

Abstract The site of Tuzusai is located in the Tien Shan Mountains of eastern Kazakhstan; occupation at the site between 410 B.C. and a.d. 150 represents the transition between the Saka and Wusun periods (Saka: 800–200 b.c.; Wusun: 200 b.c.–a.d. 400). Iron Age people of Central Asia are often described simply as mobile pastoralists, yet at Tuzusai, we have evidence that agriculture was practiced along with pastoral transhumance. This multiresource economic system combined pastoralism and hunting with the cultivation of a variety of crops. Our new finding is significant because Tuzusai has the first clear evidence for the presence of agriculture from the Iron Age of northern Central Asia. The diversity of crops grown at Tuzusai required varying labor and time inputs and a well-planned scheduling system.

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

AbstractIn spite of numerous conjectural attempts to prove or disprove the existence of historical continuity between contemporary and prehistoric pastoral transhumance, the evidence for specialized pastoralism has yet to be found in the archaeological record. The ethnoarchaeological survey of contemporary pastoral sites in the Grevena Prefecture of Greek Macedonia is a first step toward developing a diachronic model for the pastoral exploitation of upland areas in the eastern Pindos Mountains. The survey transect crosscuts two environmental zones of the eastern flank of the Pindos Mountains, ranging from 840 to 1540 m in elevation and including a total of 87 modern pastoral sites. Ethnographic information includes data on animal husbandry practices, mobility strategies, and length of site occupation among koutsovlach and other pastoralists from the Grevena region. Archaeological data include site locational variables, site contents (architecture, artifacts, and ecofacts), and attributes associated with s...