Mongolia’s Frozen Heritage: A Summary of the Archaeology of the Cultural Cryosphere
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BORIS DOI
Date of Publication
August 15, 2021
Publication Type
Article
Division/Institute
Contributor
Clark, Julia | |
Bayarsaikhan, J. | |
Ventresca Miller, Alicia | |
Vanderwarf, Sandra | |
Hart, Isaac | |
Treal Taylor, William Timothy |
Subject(s)
Series
Journal of Glacial Archaeology
ISSN or ISBN (if monograph)
2050-3407
Publisher
Equinox Publishing
Language
English
Publisher DOI
Description
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 Here we summarize the known frozen heritage of Mongolia and highlight a recent to-date unpublished case study on salvaging and studying frozen archaeological sites.
File(s)
File | File Type | Format | Size | License | Publisher/Copright statement | Content | |
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document.pdf | text | Adobe PDF | 1.49 MB | publisher | published |