Mongolia’s Frozen Heritage: A Summary of the Archaeology of the Cultural Cryosphere

Clark, Julia; Bayarsaikhan, J.; Ventresca Miller, Alicia; Vanderwarf, Sandra; Hart, Isaac; Caspari, Gino; Treal Taylor, William Timothy (2021). Mongolia’s Frozen Heritage: A Summary of the Archaeology of the Cultural Cryosphere. Journal of Glacial Archaeology, 5, pp. 103-120. Equinox Publishing 10.1558/jga.19784

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While pastoral cultures from Mongolia and the dry steppes of eastern Eurasia have had an outsized impact on Eurasian history, the region’s geomorphology, reliance on organic materials, and a nomadic culture that lacks long-lasting architecture on the landscape have conspired to limit our knowledge of important anthropological processes in the deep past. Frozen archaeological sites, including permafrost and finds from glaciers and ice patches, serve as a key exception to this rule, providing detailed snapshots into the ancient lifeways of Mongolia’s mountain zones. However, these sites pose unique challenges for archaeological conservation, and rapid climate warming, paired with other issues like looting, threatens to degrade them faster than they can be identified, studied, or preserved. Here we summarize the known frozen heritage of Mongolia and highlight a recent to-date unpublished case study on salvaging and studying frozen archaeological sites.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of Archaeological Sciences > Near Eastern Archaeology
06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of Archaeological Sciences
06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of Archaeological Sciences > Pre- and Early History

UniBE Contributor:

Caspari, Gino Ramon

Subjects:

900 History > 930 History of ancient world (to ca. 499)

ISSN:

2050-3407

Publisher:

Equinox Publishing

Language:

English

Submitter:

Gino Ramon Caspari

Date Deposited:

15 Jun 2022 12:40

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 16:20

Publisher DOI:

10.1558/jga.19784

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/170637

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/170637

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