Lisa Janz | University of Toronto (original) (raw)

Papers by Lisa Janz

Proceedings of the 3rd Meeting of the Association of Ground Stone Tools Research, 2022

Journal of Archaeological Science Reports, 2024

Between 1989 and 1990 the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain excavated a group of 15 tombs at the E... more Between 1989 and 1990 the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain excavated a group of 15 tombs at the Early Bronze Age IA (c.3700-3400) cist-tomb cemetery at Fifa, Jordan. These tombs contained a variety of grave goods including beads made from carnelian. The present study employs morphometric data and microscopic indicators of manufacture and use to explore the relationship between carnelian beads, burial practices, manufacturing processes, and exchange. Manufacturing traces suggest that the beads from Fifa were created through a process of knapping and progressive stages of abrasion. Beads were perforated through pecking on one or two sides. Polish from use was observed on beads throughout the assemblage, suggesting that the beads were worn prior to their deposition, albeit for an unknown period of time. The amount of this use polish was highly variable suggesting that different beads were in use for greater or lesser periods of time. Morphometric and manufacturing data were utilized in tandem in order to suggest where the beads were produced. While a great deal of prior scholarship has suggested that carnelian beads found in the Early Bronze Age Levant originated in Egypt, we argue that some or all of these beads may alternatively have been produced in Northwestern Arabia or Eastern Jordan. This study demonstrates the value of systematic approaches to the study of beads in order to better understand processes of ritual behavior, craft production, and exchange.

The Holocene, 2022

Dryland regions are particularly challenging for human survival over the course of deep time. Thi... more Dryland regions are particularly challenging for human survival over the course of deep time. This is true for institutionally complex communities as well as small-scale societies that have existed in semi-arid regions throughout the Holocene. This paper examines some of the successful strategies employed by small-scale mobile communities which enhanced their ability to thrive in drylands over the course of thousands of years. Small-scale societies living in drylands must rely on the transmission of Traditional Ecological Knowledge across generations. Some of this knowledge relates to the availability and use of wetlands and other more ephemeral water sources, the exploitation of a diverse range of resources, and the potential for natural storage of food resources as a buffer against regularly occurring drought years in these regions. We compare this understanding with our environmental archeological findings at the Mid-Holocene site of Zaraa Uul in the eastern Gobi Desert of Mongolia. At the site of Zaraa Uul, we show how hunter-gatherer groups returned to a campsite near the edge of a wetland environment over the course of at least two phases during the Mid-Holocene. Here they took advantage of a greater diversity of animal species and plants, including small-grained-grasses and sedges, which could enhance their caloric intake and increase the potential for storable commodities which could be collected as needed from their natural habitat.

Journal of Palaeolithic Archaeology, 2023

Many recent publications have discussed the development and distribution of Initial and Early Upp... more Many recent publications have discussed the development and distribution of Initial and Early Upper Palaeolithic (IUP/EUP) technologies in East Asia, with a special emphasis on the Siberian Altai, Transbaikal, and northern Mongolia as the epicentre of Upper Palaeolithic technological traditions. These studies largely associate the IUP with the arrival of anatomically modern Homo sapiens from the west. Two major gaps in our understanding of this period are as follows: (1) the relationship between blade-based reduction with earlier flake-based and Levallois-type reduction strategies and (2) the nature of IUP/EUP technological traditions beyond the northwestern edge of East Asia. Here we report on new archaeological finds from two open-air sites in the Ögöömöriin Govi Valley of eastern Mongolia and contextualize them within the broader scope of region-wide technological change. Lithic assemblages postdate 40 ka but are consistent with the IUP, revealing evidence for Levallois-flake based methods, bidirectional Levallois-like core reduction, and bidirectional prismatic core blade-based techniques, in addition to symbolic or ritual behaviour. Findings from these and other sites in southern and eastern Mongolia and Inner Mongolia suggest that IUP methods, including the use of Levallois-flake and bidirectional Levallois-like core technology, were widely adopted and continued to be used for many millennia. The broader data likewise suggests adoption by existing groups who were already familiar with Levallois methods of core preparation. New data from Ögöömöriin Govi sites shows that IUP reduction strategies continued to be used until they were replaced by bladelet production from volumetric cores.

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2024

Diet is fundamental and closely interconnected with land-use, technology, and economy. When socie... more Diet is fundamental and closely interconnected with land-use, technology, and economy. When societies undergo major diet shifts, the entire human niche shifts, including all interrelated aspects of social organization. As such, larger patterns in social organization can inform us about diet in the absence of direct evidence. This study focuses specifically on patterns of land-use in the Gobi Desert of China and Mongolia, a place where direct evidence of diet is scanty due to the poor preservation of organics. The purpose is to explore diachronic changes in the spatial distribution of sites and variation in intensity of site use in order to explore proposed changes in subsistence economies. Here, a reorganization of technology, raw material use, and settlement that began in the early to middle Holocene ("Oasis 2") supports the idea of diet breadth expansion between the Palaeolithic and Bronze Age. Strategies of land-use during all three periods are considered. The findings offer a foundation from which to build testable hypotheses about local land-use and subsistence, but also a model for exploring such transitions in other regions where direct evidence is scanty (e.g., forest landscapes, many arid regions and the very deep past).

PLoS ONE, 2021

Environmentally-based archaeological research at Zaraa Uul, including zooarchaeology, phytolith a... more Environmentally-based archaeological research at Zaraa Uul, including zooarchaeology, phytolith analysis, and radiocarbon dating, is the first of its kind in Mongolia and presents critical new insight on the relationship between periods of occupational intensity and climatic amelioration from the earliest anatomically modern humans to the adoption of pastoralism. The palaeoenvironmental and faunal record of Zaraa Uul show that Early-Middle Holocene hydrology and species distributions were distinct from all other periods of human occupation. Holocene hunter-gatherers inhabited an ecosystem characterized by extensive marshes, riparian shrub and arboreal vegetation along the hill slopes and drainages. The exploitation of species associated with riparian and wetland settings supports the hypothesis of, but suggests an earlier timing for, oasis-based logistical foraging during the Early-Middle Holocene of arid Northeast Asia. The onset of wetter conditions at 8500 cal BP agrees with other regional studies, but multiple lines of evidence present the first integrated field-and laboratory-based record of human-environment relationships in arid East Asia during the Holocene Climatic Optimum. We compare it to Late Pleistocene climatic amelioration, and highlight specific responses of the hydrological, vegetative and faunal communities to climate change in arid Northeast Asia.

Antiquity, 2021

The shift to sedentary lifeways represents a significant change in human adaptation. Despite the ... more The shift to sedentary lifeways represents a significant change in human adaptation. Despite the broadly contemporaneous timing of this transition across East Asia during the Holocene Climatic Optimum, such changes varied regionally. This article synthesises new and existing data from Neolithic sites on the Mongolian Plateau to reveal a simultaneous shift towards investment in site architecture, with distinct variation in the organisation of settlement and subsistence across biogeo-graphic zones. The development of sedentary communities here emphasises the importance of climatic amelioration for incipient sedentism, and demonstrates how differences in ecological and cultural contexts can encourage various responses to the same environmental stimuli.

Quaternary International, 2020

Recent research on the origins of domesticated herd animals and bronze metallurgy in China sugges... more Recent research on the origins of domesticated herd animals and bronze metallurgy in China suggests that the Ejiin gol in western China was a primary conduit of trade between northern pastoralists and southern agri-culturalists (Jaang, 2015). It is within the context of long-distance trade in luxury goods that we see the shift from isolated populations of pastoralists in the mountains of western Mongolia to the widespread adoption of pastoralist cultural traditions. Based on evidence of interaction between Gobi Desert groups and agrarian villages to the south, we see this desert region as the geographic core of cultural transformations among indigenous populations, and at the forefront of a third stage of advance in the spread of East Asian pastoralism. Evidence presented here for increased trade in luxury goods at the beginning of the second millennium BC, when production was at its height, combined with the rapid pace of transformations in burial culture during the mid-second millennium BC suggests that the movement of goods held extreme significance for the spread of pas-toralism. Therefore, the role that Gobi Desert groups played in the formation of early trade networks is vital for understanding the spread of pastoralism in Mongolia. Here, we present new evidence for stone bead production and dairying in the Gobi Desert, and discuss the full range of evidence for the role of Gobi Desert groups in emerging long-distance trade networks. Т О В Ч Л О Л Сүүлийн үед Өвөр Монгол болон Шинжааны нутагт гаршуулсан мал амьтан болоод хүрэл боловсруулах технологи хэрхэн нэвтэрсэн талаарх судалгаа эрчимтэй хийгдэж байгаа билээ. Эдгээр судалгаанаас харахад неолитийн төгсгөл, хүрлийн эхэн үед Өвөр Монголын Эзнээ хошууны нутаг буюу Эзнээ голын хөндий нь малчин нүүдэлчид болон өмнөд зүгийн газар тариаланч нарын хоорондын худалдаа, солилцооны гол суваг болж байжээ (Jaang, 2015). Тэгэхлээр говийн бүс нутаг нь нүүдэлчид болон өмнөдийн суурьшмал иргэд хоорондын хамгийн эртний (НТӨ III мянган) гэж хэлж болохуйц харилцаа, худалдааны төвд тооцогдоно. Эзнээ голын хөндий дэх үйлдвэрлэлийн түүхтэй холбоотой хэд хэдэн дурсгалаас НТӨ II мянганы эхээс эхлэн умард болон өмнөдөөс гаралтай олдворуудын хоёр талт хөдөлгөөн илт нэмэгдэж байгаа нь харагддаг. Тиймээс говь нутагт амьдарч байсан хүмүүс нь эртний бус нутгийн худалдаа, солилцооны сүлжээ үүсэхэд чухам ямар нөлөө үзүүлсэн гэдгийг тодруулан судалснаар бид Монголын мал аж ахуйн үүсэл гарал, хөгжлийн зүйл тогтолыг ойлгох нэгэн боломж бүрдэнэ хэмээн үзсэн юм. Тиймээс бид энэхүү судалгаандаа тухайн үеийн говийн оршин суугчид бүс нутгийн хэмжээнд худалдаа, солилцоо хийж байсныг харуулах баримт эх хэрэглэгдэхүүнийг тусгайлан авч үзэв. Мөн Монголын мал аж ахуйн үүсэл гарал, он цагийн талаар болон Зүүн Азийн хүрлийн үеийн хөгжилд томоохон нөлөө үзүүлсэн малчин нүүдэлчдийн аж ахуй, нийгмийн байгууламжийг судлахад чиглэгдсэн хэд хэдэн саналууд дэвшүүлж байна.

World Archaeology, 2019

Building an understanding of cultural innovations and the mechanisms of their dispersal, in which... more Building an understanding of cultural innovations and the mechanisms of their dispersal, in which new technologies, foods, or ideas were made available for adoption or rejection, requires both good data and good theory. Not surprisingly, our picture of long-term patterns of inter-regional cultural interaction has largely been shaped by the study of European prehistory, given that the discipline grew out of early intellectual advances in European antiquarianism . However, increased global interest in a rigorous and evidence-based understanding of the human past has now begun to shape our understanding of prehistory in notable ways. Recent and transformative examples include the identification of a Pleistocene tradition of figurative rock art in Southeast Asia (Aubert et al. 2018, 2019), new understanding of the distribution and chronology of Early Pleistocene hominins in China (Li et al. 2017), and the earliest use of pottery as early as the Late Pleistocene by Northeast Asian hunter-gatherers . Many of the basic theories and approaches for understanding regional interaction that had developed from the framework of Mediterranean and European archaeology have been reinforced by this global florescence, but that regional emphasis has sometimes also affected an ignorance of alternative trajectorieslargely those of politically and economically underrepresented groups, including the indigenous peoples of colonized nations and the hunter-gatherer and nomadic pastoralist societies that exist on the periphery of powerful nation states (e.g. Teixeira and Smith 2008; Hall, Kardulias, and Chase-Dunn 2011). This tendency is reinforced by the widespread, and often implicit, acceptance of world-systems perspectives within archaeology. One of the most influential models for understanding the inter-regional flow of materials, world-systems theory focuses on economic relationships between core, semi-periphery, and periphery countries as regulated by economic structures and power relations emanating from the core (e.g. Wallerstein 1974). These models were widely adopted within archaeology and applied at temporal scales far beyond the historic colonial-capitalist systems they were meant to describe .

by Lucas Stephens, Sean Ulm, Lisa Janz, Oula Seitsonen, Andrea Kay, Gary Feinman, Kristina G Douglass, Mark D McCoy, Timothy Beach, William E Doolittle, Peter Hiscock, and Sonia Archila

Science, 2019

Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, b... more Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth’s transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.

Science, 2019

Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, b... more Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than
250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth’s transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.

by Lisa Janz, Oula Seitsonen, Erle C Ellis, Andrea Kay, Gary Feinman, Chelsey Geralda Armstrong, Kristina G Douglass, Sonia Archila, Sean Ulm, K. Ann Horsburgh, and Timothy Beach

Science, 2019

Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, b... more Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than
250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth’s transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.

Studia Archaeologica, 2018

Сүүлийн үед Хятадад хэрхэн гэршүүлсэн мал амьтан болоод хүрэл боловсруулах технологи нэвтэрч эхэл... more Сүүлийн үед Хятадад хэрхэн гэршүүлсэн мал амьтан болоод хүрэл боловсруулах технологи нэвтэрч эхэлсэн тухай судалгаа ихэд эрчимжиж байгаа билээ. Тэдгээр судалгаанаас харвал неолитийн сүүл, хүрлийн эхэн үед Өвөр Монголын Эзнээ хошууны нутаг буюу Эзнээ голын хөндий нь малчин нүүдэлчид болон өмнөд зүгийн газар тариаланч нарын хоорондын худалдаа, солилцооны гол суваг болж байжээ (Jaang 2015). Тэгэхлээр говийн бүс нутаг нь нүүдэлчид болон өмнөдийн суурьшмал иргэд хоорондын хамгийн эртний (НТӨ III мянган) гэж хэлж болохуйц харилцаа, худалдааны төвд тооцогдохоор юм. НТӨ II мянганы эхээс эхлэн умард болон өмнөдөөс гаралтай олдворуудын хоёр талт хөдөлгөөн илт нэмэгдэж байгаа нь Эзнээ голын йлдвэрлэлтэй холбоотой хэд хэдэн дурсгалт газруудаас харагдана. Тиймээс говь нутагт амьдарч байсан хүмүүс эртний бус нутгийн худалдаа, солилцооны сүлжээ үүсэхэд чухам ямар нөлөө үзүүлсэн гэдгийг тодруулж эхэлбэл, бид Монголын мал аж ахуйн үүслийг ойлгох боломж бүрдэх юм. Бид энэхүү судалгаандаа говийн иргэд бүс нутгийн худалдаа, солилцоо хийж байсныг харуулах баримт сэлтийг авч үзэх бөгөөд монголд мал аж ахуй урьд нь бодож байснаас хамаагүй эрт эхэлсэн гэдэг санааг дэвшүүлж байгаа юм. Үүнээс гадна, Зүүн азийн хүрлийн үеийн хөгжилд томоохон нөлөө үзүүлсэн малчин нүүдэлчдийн аж байдлыг судлахад хэрэг болох цөөн хэдэн санаа дэвшүүллээ.

Journal of Field Archaeology, 2018

Although our practice has come to be defined by a focus on excavation as the trademark of archaeo... more Although our practice has come to be defined by a focus on excavation as the trademark of archaeological research, research on archaeological collections lies at the scientific heart of the discipline. We demonstrate through two very different case studies how a return to primary sources (in this case, boxes of artifacts) can upend our understanding of the objects themselves and create new narratives of social and technological change. At the same time, access to museum collections is becoming increasingly difficult as institutions struggle with the growing pressure to enhance public outreach and modernize data management, while simultaneously contending with persistent budget cuts. As archaeologists who work closely with museum curators and museum collections, we offer suggestions for how researchers can work with museums to ensure that future generations of researchers and the general public can learn from the ancient materials preserved within their collections.

The desert and arid steppes of Mongolia and northern China were geographically central to the spr... more The desert and arid steppes of Mongolia and northern China were geographically central to the spread of pastoralism and the rise of pastoralist states, but research on the organizational strategies of pre-pastoralist hunter-gatherers and the spread of herding has been extremely limited. Until recently, catalogues of sites collected by Westerners in the 1920s and 1930s comprised the body of English-language publications on Gobi Desert prehistory. This article introduces a wealth of new site-specific and interpretive data, drawing on English-language sources as well as Russian-and Mongolian-language publications to create a synthesis for the prehistory of the Gobi Desert from the end of the Last Glacial Maximum to the adoption of herding. Special emphasis is placed on the relationship between a major shift in desert ecosystems, comparable to the 'greening of the Sahara', the establishment of an oasis-based broad-spectrum foraging strategy, and progressive desertification and deforestation after 2000 BC. We conclude that an oasis-based adaptation was contemporaneous with the expansion of forests and wetlands and persisted throughout the early stages of herding. A major decline in these economies occurs after 1000 BC, in conjunction with continuing trends towards heightened aridity and major societal changes across Northeast Asia. The persistent coexistence of Bronze Age burials and microblade-based habitation sites around oases, as well as similarities in material culture, suggest that these groups overlapped geographically or were the same entity.

Товчлол: Монгол болон Умард Хятадын говь, говь хээрийн бүс нутаг нь газарзүйн хувьд мал аж ахуй болон түүнд суурилсан нүүдэлчдийн төрт улсууд бүрэлдэн бий болоход нөлөөлсөн чухал бүс нутаг юм. Гэвч эдгээрийн суурь болсон эртний анчин, түүвэрлэгч нарын нийгмийн бүтэц, мал аж ахуйн тархалтын талаарх судалгаа туйлын бага хийгджээ. Саяхныг хүртэл 1920-1930-аад оны үед барууны судлаачдын говьд хийсэн түүхийн өмнөх үеийн судалгааны бүтээлүүд хожмын англи хэлээр бичигдсэн цөөн хэдэн эрдэм шинжилгээний ажлуудын гол хэрэглэгдэхүүн болсоор иржээ. Харин энэхүү өгүүлэл нь сүүлийн жилүүдэд тухайн бүс нутагт хийгдсэн монгол, англи, орос хэл дээрх археологийн судалгааны эх хэрэглэгдэхүүнд тулгуурлан мөстлөгийн сүүл үеэс мал аж ахуйн үүсэл хүртэлх үеийн говь нутгийн түүхийн өмнөх үеийн асуудлуудыг нэгтгэн дүгнэсэн юм.

Мөн зохиогчид өнөөгийн “Сахаарын цөлийн ногоорол” хэмээх үзэгдэлтэй жишиж болохуйц эртний экосистемийн томоохон өөрчлөлт, хүмүүсийн “Баянбүрд” түшиглэсэн амьдралын хэв маяг болон НТӨ 2000 оноос хурдацтайгаар явагдаж эхэлсэн цөлжилт гэх зэрэгт онцгой анхаарал хандуулан тэдгээрийн хоорондын уялдаа холбоог судалсан байна.

Эртний хүмүүсийн баянбүрд түшиглэсэн амьдралын хэв маяг нь ойн болон чийглэг хөрст бүс тэлэн өргөжсөнтэй нэг цаг хугацаанд явагдаж мал аж ахуйн хөгжлийн эхний үе шат хүртэл үргэлжилсэн хэмээн зохиогчид үзжээ. Харин энэхүү амьдралын хэв маяг нь Зүүн хойд Азийг хамарсан хэт хуурайшилт болон тухайн үеийн нийгмийн бүтцэд томоохон өөрчлөлт гарч эхэлсэн зэрэг шалтгааны улмаас НТӨ 1000 оноос хойш аажмаар хумигдаж эхэлсэн байна. Зохиогчид говь хээрийн бүсэд өргөн тархсан баянбүрдүүдийн ойр орчимд хүрлийн үеийн булш оршуулга болон ижил хэлбэрийн бичил ялтас бүхий бууц суурингууд олноор тохиолдож байгаа нь эдгээр дурсгалуудыг үлдээсэн бүлгүүд нэг дор эсвэл хоорондоо холгүй амьдарч байсныг харуулахаас гадна нэг угсааны хүмүүс байх магадлалтайг цохон тэмдэглэжээ.

Increasing diet breadth, a distinguishing characteristic of human foraging strategies at the end ... more Increasing diet breadth, a distinguishing characteristic of human foraging strategies at the end of the Pleistocene and in the early Holocene, is known to be a key development contributing to domestication and the spread of agriculture and pastoralism. Many scholars have focused on broad-spectrum foraging as a result of resource depression due to demographic stress and/or environmental degradation. However, these factors are absent in an increasing number of cases. New research in the Gobi Desert shows that a dramatic change in organizational strategies, including the intensified use of low-ranked foods from dune-field and wetland habitats, is closely correlated with the establishment of dispersed patches boasting high species diversity and a concentrated abundance of small prey. According to a global suite of paleoenvironmental and archaeological data, it appears that the fragmentation of more homogeneous grassland habitats coincided with the rise of broad-spectrum foraging and that these fragmented ecosystems were ideally suited to the unique set of foraging strategies employed by modern humans. This study shows how broad spectrum foraging, increased human population density, and the shift toward food production should be considered by-products of major environmental changes that created an ecological setting ideal for enhanced human reproduction.

Studia Archaeologica, 2015

The goal of "Gobi-Steppe Neolithic" project is to determine chronologies of the Neolithic sites i... more The goal of "Gobi-Steppe Neolithic" project is to determine chronologies of the Neolithic sites in Southern and Eastern Mongolia and to explain the cause of economic changes (broad spectrum foraging and herding) following the Last Glacial Maximum and leading up to the Bronze Age.

Introduced in this article are some results of survey in Eastern Mongolia and excavation carried out at Zaraa Uul, which is located in Tuvshinshiree soum, Sukhbaatar province. As a result of the survey we have discovered dozens of Neolithic sites with surface scatters around Delgerkhaan Uul and Moltsog Els of Dariganga soum. The Zaraa Uul habitation sites are the biggest in terms of lithic scatter and assemblages. Therefore, in 2015, we conducted excavations at Zaraa Uul, where we identified and mapped 7 overlapping clusters of surface scatters. Based on lithic density, we carried out two test excavations within the Zaraa Uul 2 scatter, which yielded cultural layers that contained stone tools, pottery sherds, and animal bones. Results of radiocarbon AMS (14C) on ceramic and bone suggest that Test Unit 1 is likely associated with the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, whereas Test Unit 2 is very clearly related to the Early Neolithic. It is very interesting that results of Test Unit 1 overlap or slightly pre-date the Ulaan Zuukh culture as expressed in nearby burial monuments.

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2015

The vast majority of known archaeological sites in arid Northeast Asia are surface assemblages co... more The vast majority of known archaeological sites in arid Northeast Asia are surface assemblages containing few or no organic remains. The lack of stratified sites and a relative absence of organic remains in surface assemblages hinders our ability to date sites, create local chronologies, and contextualize technological and socio-economic change. Such problems are common in arid regions around the world. New radiocarbon and luminescence dates on collections from the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and China are used here to assess the potential for direct dating of commonly occurring artefacts like ostrich eggshell and pottery. Direct dating also allows for the identification and sorting of mixed-age assemblages. Here, we compare dates derived from Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) on ostrich eggshell, AMS on pottery, and luminescence on pottery. Our findings show that Accelerator Mass Spectrometry and luminescence are highly complementary methods and produce results consistent with expected archaeological ages, while ostrich eggshell dates were older than the associated site assemblages.

Prior to this study, knowledge of Gobi Desert prehistory was mostly limited to early and mid-20th... more Prior to this study, knowledge of Gobi Desert prehistory was mostly limited to early and mid-20th century descriptions of undated stone tool assemblages from unanalyzed museum collections. This research focuses on the use of extensive existing museum collections to establish a baseline chronology of technology, economy, and land-use for prehistoric Gobi Desert groups. Radiocarbon and luminescence dating is used to establish an artefact-based chronology and provide a relative age for 96 archaeological site assemblages. Interpretations of land-use derived from lithic analysis are compared to detailed regional and local palaeoenvironmental records in order to contextualize residential mobility and subsistence. Results indicate that a dramatic shift in land-use after about 8000 years ago was related to a combination of widespread forestation and the increased productivity of lowland habitats during a period of high effective moisture. Hunter-gatherers organized their movements around dune-field/wetland environments, but utilized a range of both high- and low-ranked foods such as large ungulates from adjoining plains and uplands, and seeds and/or tubers from dune-fields and wetlands. New radiocarbon dates indicate that the use of dune-fields and wetlands persisted into the early Bronze Age, overlapping with the rise of nomadic pastoralism across Northeast Asia. These findings illuminate the period just prior to the rise of nomadic pastoralism in Northeast Asia and add considerable depth to our understanding of hunter-gatherer adaptations within arid environments following the Last Glacial Maximum.

Proceedings of the 3rd Meeting of the Association of Ground Stone Tools Research, 2022

Journal of Archaeological Science Reports, 2024

The Holocene, 2022

Journal of Palaeolithic Archaeology, 2023

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2024

PLoS ONE, 2021

Antiquity, 2021

Quaternary International, 2020

World Archaeology, 2019

by Lucas Stephens, Sean Ulm, Lisa Janz, Oula Seitsonen, Andrea Kay, Gary Feinman, Kristina G Douglass, Mark D McCoy, Timothy Beach, William E Doolittle, Peter Hiscock, and Sonia Archila

Science, 2019

Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, b... more Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than
250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth’s transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.

by Lisa Janz, Oula Seitsonen, Erle C Ellis, Andrea Kay, Gary Feinman, Chelsey Geralda Armstrong, Kristina G Douglass, Sonia Archila, Sean Ulm, K. Ann Horsburgh, and Timothy Beach

Science, 2019

Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, b... more Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than
250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth’s transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.

Studia Archaeologica, 2018

Journal of Field Archaeology, 2018

Studia Archaeologica, 2015

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2015

Radiocarbon dating of organic-and carbonate-carbon in Genyornis and Dromaius eggshell using stepp... more Radiocarbon dating of organic-and carbonate-carbon in Genyornis and Dromaius eggshell using stepped combustion and stepped acidification.

by Dorian Q Fuller, Lisa Janz, Maria Marta Sampietro, Philip I. Buckland, Agustín A Diez Castillo, Ciler Cilingiroglu, Gary Feinman, Peter Hiscock, Peter Hommel, Maureece Levin, Henrik B Lindskoug, Scott Macrae, John M. Marston, Alicia R Ventresca-Miller, Ayushi Nayak, Tanya M Peres, Lucas Proctor, Steve Renette, Gwen Robbins Schug, Peter Schmidt, Oula Seitsonen, Arkadiusz Sołtysiak, Robert Spengler, Sean Ulm, David Wright, and Muhammad Zahir

Science, 2019

Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of 5 agriculture,... more Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of 5 agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 BP to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers and pastoralists by 3,000 years ago, significantly earlier than land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by over 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological 10 expertise and data quality, which peaked at 2000 BP and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth's transformation through millennia of increasingly intensive land use, challenging the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly recent. 15 One Sentence Summary: A map of synthesized archaeological knowledge on land use reveals a planet transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers and pastoralists by 3,000 years ago.

Authors not found on Academia:
Torben Rick, Tim Denham, Jonathan Driver, Heather Thakar, Amber L. Johnson, R. Alan Covey, Jason Herrmann, Carrie Hritz, Catherine Kearns, Dan Lawrence, Michael Morrison, Robert J. Speakman, Martina L. Steffen, Keir M. Strickland, M. Cemre Ustunkaya, Jeremy Powell, Alexa Thornton.