Inner Asian Agropastoralism Within the Mongol Empire: Multi-Proxy Investigations at SelUngur Cave, Kyrgyzstan
Brancaleoni G. Shnaider S.V. Blinnikov M. Boxleitner K. Mentzer S.M. Alekseitseva V. Zhilich S.V. Chargynov T. Alisher kyzy S. Parkhomchuk E.V. Spengler R. Viola B. Krivoshapkin A.I. Krajcarz M.T.
November/December 2025John Wiley and Sons Inc
Geoarchaeology
2025#40Issue 6
Agropastoralism has been a widespread subsistence strategy in Central Asia from prehistory to the present. While significant research has aimed at understanding past agropastoral communities in the region, reconstructing a generalized economic model remains challenging due to the complex topographic and ecological conditions, as well as its social and political variability. It is likely that subsistence strategies were flexible and adapted to local conditions. Most of what we know about these communities comes from burial sites, with comparatively less information derived from temporary encampments or occupation contexts. Caves and rockshelters have been readily used by pastoralists for millennia. In this study, we present the results of a multi-proxy study of a Holocene sequence from one of the most archeologically significant cave sites in Central Asia: the SelUngur Cave of Kyrgyzstan. We combined chronometric dating with phytolith, carpological, and fecal-spherulite concentration analyses, as well as micromorphological, micro-XRF, and micro-FTIR studies. The deposits are primarily composed of charred materials and ash, forming the fumier facies. Micromorphological and micro-analytical methods have enabled us to identify penning activities and periodic burning as the dominant site formation processes. High-temperature burning destroyed diagnostic features necessary for more precise identification of herd animals. Notably, “vitrified” dung fragments were observed and inferred through micromorphology and micro-XRF. Through phytolith and archaeobotanical analyses, we were able to infer that livestock mainly grazed locally. The low abundance of domesticated plants—wheat, millet, and barley—as well as fruit seeds, such as grape, pistachio, and walnut, points toward the use of these as a supplement to the herders diet. The presence of local and allochthonous domesticated plant species alongside evidence for herding suggests the implementation of a mixed economic strategy, likely combining transhumance and agropastoralism. Chronological analysis of the fumier deposits indicates that SelUngur Cave was used as a pen between the 12th and 15th centuries.
Central Asia , fumiers , Medieval , micro-analytical methods , micromorphology , pastoralism
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
International Research Laboratory ZooStan, ArchaeoZoological Center for the study of Central Asia, CNRS, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Geography Program, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN, United States
Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Department of Earth and Environmental Systems, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN, United States
Kyrgyz National University named after J. Balasagyn, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Osh State University, Osh, Kyrgyzstan
Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Institute of Geological Sciences
Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS
International Research Laboratory ZooStan
Geography Program
Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution Research Group
Institute for Archaeological Sciences
Department of Earth and Environmental Systems
Kyrgyz National University named after J. Balasagyn
Osh State University
Novosibirsk State University
Department of Anthropology
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026