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Papers by Jean-Luc Houle

Khirigsuurs are communal ritual and mortuary monuments that featured prominently on Late Bronze A... more Khirigsuurs are communal ritual and mortuary monuments that featured prominently on Late Bronze Age pastoralist landscapes of the Mongolian steppe through the mid-late second millennium to early first millennium cal BC. Khirigsuurs sustained ceremonies that legitimized the relationship between the deceased and the participants, facilitated the formation of new alliances, and emphasized integration and cohesion between mobile pastoralist communities through monument building, ritual horse slaughter, and feasting. Horses played a prominent role in ceremonial activities conducted at khirigsuurs, their heads and hooves regularly deposited in small stone satellite mounds as part of publically visible ceremonies associated with mortuary celebrations that simultaneously integrated mobile pastoralist communities. Here, strontium and oxygen isotopic analyses of sequentially sampled teeth of horses from khirigsuurs located in the Khanuy Valley, a major center of monumental activity situated north of the Khangai mountains in Mongolia, indicate horses from distant locales were ceremonially placed in khirigsuur satellite mounds, while patterned seasonal variation in carbon isotopes suggests horses were fodder provisioned during the winter months. These isotopic data suggest horses were well cared for, reflecting their status as a prestige animal, and were key to facilitating regionally integrative ceremonial activities conducted at khirigsuurs that brought together people from geographically distant mobile communities.

A B S T R A C T Lithics are the most persistent archaeological material in many parts of the worl... more A B S T R A C T Lithics are the most persistent archaeological material in many parts of the world. Accordingly, the study of lithics on a landscape scale is important for making interpretations of various traits of past human behaviour and cognizance. In this paper, we present an overview of the lithic finds located in the Khanuy Valley, north-central Mongolia. A lithic assemblage collected in the systematic surveys since 2004 presents material dating from the Palaeolithic to the Late Bronze Age. Based on the spatial distribution and landscape characteristics of the lithic find locations, interpretations of broad-scale diachronic changes in the land use and landscape cognizance are suggested. These form working hypotheses as a baseline for future inquiries into lithic technology, land use, and ways the prehistoric inhabitants comprehended and utilized their landscape in the Khanuy Valley and in the wider region.

Archaeological research in the Eurasian Steppe has given the impression that prehistoric pastoral... more Archaeological research in the Eurasian Steppe has given the impression that prehistoric pastoral populations moved almost constantly and over great distances across the steppe and that wide-scale population movement characterised the Bronze and Iron Ages. Recent work, however, suggests that mobility patterns were more varied than generally believed. In fact, despite the absence of permanent domestic features, mobility seems to have been very limited in scope during the pivotal Late Bronze Age in the Khanuy Valley region of Northern Central Mongolia. The possibility of (some) continuity linking ancient and modern populations in this region has been deemed useful for analogical purposes and a combination of ethnographic and zooarchaeological data are discussed here in order to reconstruct the residential mobility patterns during Mongolia’s Late Bronze Age.

Les sociétés complexes sont souvent apparues suite à l’établissement d’une vie agri¬cole sédentai... more Les sociétés complexes sont souvent apparues suite à l’établissement d’une vie agri¬cole sédentaire propice aux interactions directes. Cependant, de nombreuses socié¬tés de pasteurs nomades ont également présenté des caractéristiques d’organisation sociale complexe et on continue de s’interroger sur les circonstances dans lesquelles ces sociétés ont développé et maintenu de telles organisations sociales. Deux régions de Mongolie sont comparées ici afin de comprendre les circonstances dans lesquelles des organisations sociales complexes se sont développées dans une région et pas dans l’autre. Il semble que la stabilité d’occupation, plutôt que la simple continuité d’occupa¬tion, ait joué un rôle important.

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2014

Recent excavations at KYR40 in the Khanuy Valley, the largest khirigsuur in Mongolia, have reveal... more Recent excavations at KYR40 in the Khanuy Valley, the largest khirigsuur in Mongolia, have revealed that stone circles contain the highly calcined remains of domestic bovids. This solves one of the great remaining mysteries in Mongolian khirigsuur research but leads to more questions regarding the role and function of stone circles and their relationship to khirigsuurs. A model is proposed here which sees stone circles act as ‘altars’ at large communal monuments – khirigsuurs – and elsewhere. In particular, analogy is drawn with modern day multi-purpose shamanic rituals which involve the sacrifice of domestic bovids.

Архангай аймгийн Өндөр-Улаан сумын нутаг Хануйн хөндийд хэд хэдэн асар том хиригсүүр бий. Үүний нэг нь монгол нутаг дахь хамгийн томоохон хиригсүүрийн нэгэнд тооцогдох Урт булагийн амны хиригсүүр (KYR40) бөгөөд энэ дурсгалын орчимд Монгол-Америкийн хамтарсан “Хануйн хөндий” төслийн судалгааны баг 2011 онд малтан судалсан цагираг хэлбэрийн тахилгын байгууламжуудаас өндөр хэмд шатсан бог малын болон үхрийн ясны жижиг хугархай хэсгүүд гарсан билээ. Энэ нь монголын хиригсүүрийн судалгааны нэгэн асуудлыг шийдэх урьдчилсан боломжийг олгосон төдийгүй цагираг хэлбэрийн тахилгын байгууламж түүний үүрэг зориулалт, хиригсүүртэй хэрхэн холбогдох хамаарлын талаарх асуултууд руу хөтөлсөөр байна. Энэхүү өгүүлэлд дэвшүүлсэн үзэл санааны загвар нь цагираг хэлбэрийн тахилгын байгууламж нь томоохон хэмжээний нийтийн дурсгал болох хиригсүүр болон бусад дурсгалын орчин дахь “тахилга”-ын зан үйл болохыг илчилж байна. Ялангуяа орчин үеийн бөө мөргөлийн олон талын зорилго бүхий тахилгын зан үйлд бог мал болон үхрээр тахилга өргөх зан үйлтэй ижил төстэй байна.

Stone circles are a common monumental feature of the Mongolian Bronze Age (c. 1500- 800BC), frequ... more Stone circles are a common monumental feature of the Mongolian Bronze Age (c. 1500- 800BC), frequently occurring in association with other monument types, especially khirigsuurs. Until now the content of the stone circles has not been identified, a fact which has hampered our understanding not only of khirigsuurs and their related cosmology but also of the contemporary economy, owing to a research paradigm that was monument-focused until very recently. The identification of domestic bovids in these features thus has profound implications for our approach to studying the society of this period and region. These implications, including a well-developed cosmology and economy which included the ritual sacrifice of at least three different kinds of livestock, are introduced here.

Our current state of knowledge of subsistence strategies and dietary breadth in Bronze Age Mongol... more Our current state of knowledge of subsistence strategies and dietary breadth in Bronze Age Mongolia has been hampered by a monument focused research paradigm, which has largely ignored habitation sites. This approach has skewed our understanding by extrapolating the ordinary from the extraordinary. The Khanuy Valley Project has recently excavated Bronze Age transhumant habitation sites in central Mongolia and recovered the associated faunal remains. Analysis has revealed a complex subsistence strategy focused on the herding of several species of domestic animal, with dietary breadth increased through the minimal exploitation of wild resources.

Keywords: Bronze Age Central Mongolia; Mongolian Zooarchaeology; Mongolian Palaeoeconomy; Bronze Age Mongolian Economy; Khanuy Valley; Bronze Age Pastoralism

Archaeological Approaches to Movement and Mobility., 2014

Xiongnu Archaeology – Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the First Steppe Empire in Central Asia. (Bonn Contributions to Asian Archaeology 5), 2011

Houle, J.-L., Broderick, L.G., 2011. Settlement Patterns and Domestic Economy of the Xiongnu in K... more Houle, J.-L., Broderick, L.G., 2011. Settlement Patterns and Domestic Economy of the Xiongnu in Khanuy Valley, Mongolia. In Brosseder, U., Miller, B.K., eds. Xiongnu Archaeology – Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the First Steppe Empire in Central Asia. (Bonn Contributions to Asian Archaeology 5). Vor-und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn: Bonn. pp. 137-152

2014. In Past Mobilities: Archaeological Approaches to Movement and Mobility, edited by Jim Leary... more 2014. In Past Mobilities: Archaeological Approaches to Movement and Mobility, edited by Jim Leary. Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing.

Mongolian Journal of Archaeology, Anthropology and Ethnology, Vol. 7 (1):149-157.

PhD Dissertation by Jean-Luc Houle

Conference Presentations by Jean-Luc Houle

Fuel (wood, bone, dung and coal) and the selection of it, has always been an integral part in the... more Fuel (wood, bone, dung and coal) and the selection of it, has always been an integral part in the lifeways of nomadic pastoralists. Certainly, the gathering of fuel, the storage of it, and its eventual use represents a large part of daily culture. Yet, it remains an understudied aspect of ancient household economies. This is unfortunate since understanding fuel selection and use can also serve to evaluate specific cultural practices and human-environment relationships since there is often a close link between specific types of available fuel and local environmental conditions. Through ethnoarchaeological research in the Altai region of western Mongolia, information about local use of fuel in a domestic setting was gained. Based on current archaeological research it is believed that present-day inhabitants in the Altai region share a similar nomadic pastoralist mode of subsistence with the people living in this same region during the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age (mid-Second to mid-First millennia BC). Local lake core data also suggests that the Bronze and Early Iron Age environmental landscape in this region was fairly similar to that of today. These similarities allow us to infer that Bronze and Iron Age societies possibly had an overall domestic economy similar to the modern people of this region, thus allowing us to evaluate both past and present human-environment relationships. By gaining information regarding traditional ecological knowledge and the traditional importance of dung as a fuel source in this semi-arid region (largely devoid of wood) it is possible to gain insights about environmental and domestic economic sustainability.

Stone circles exclusively containing burnt mammal bones have long been known as a common feature ... more Stone circles exclusively containing burnt mammal bones have long been known as a common feature of Bronze Age archaeology in Mongolia. Recent excavations of contemporaneous domestic sites have shown conclusively that this is not a post-depositionary taphonomic process however. These habitation sites comprise both burnt and unburnt faunal material and show that burning is one of several significant destructive taphonomies affecting the recovered bone assemblages.
Significant levels of burning pose specific problems of understanding for zooarchaeologists, who are forced to acknowledge real issues of equifinality in their interpretations. In order to better understand the role of burning in site and assemblage formation processes (and ultimately to gain insight into what this could tell us about the lives and activities of prehistoric people) an intensive ethnoarchaeological project was carried out. This project involved both interviews with people living in the same area and also survey and recording of present day campsites. The information gathered from the project has helped shape our explication of life in prehistoric Mongolia by shedding light on the purposes behind the burning of faunal material. This presentation aims to demonstrate the potential of the model for elucidation into faunal assemblages from elsewhere, through our Mongolian case-study.

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2014

Keywords: Bronze Age Central Mongolia; Mongolian Zooarchaeology; Mongolian Palaeoeconomy; Bronze Age Mongolian Economy; Khanuy Valley; Bronze Age Pastoralism

Archaeological Approaches to Movement and Mobility., 2014

Xiongnu Archaeology – Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the First Steppe Empire in Central Asia. (Bonn Contributions to Asian Archaeology 5), 2011

Mongolian Journal of Archaeology, Anthropology and Ethnology, Vol. 7 (1):149-157.

This paper examines the issue of mobility in the context of Bronze Age Mongolia. Recent fieldwork... more This paper examines the issue of mobility in the context of Bronze Age Mongolia. Recent fieldwork has identified a pattern of seasonal mobility in the Khanuy Valley which shows considerable similarity to present day patterns. Supportive ethnographic work has shown that the issue of mobility is integral to perceptions of identity in the present day population in the same region, and that this mobility is expressed through daily, annual, decadal and generational cycles. The spatial relationship between domestic habitation sites in the region and large-scale monumental complexes suggest that the themes of mobility and liminality were also an intrinsic part of belief systems in the region in the Bronze Age. The theme of movement through the landscape and through the seasons is explored through the analysis of landscape archaeology, ethnoarchaeology and zooarchaeological evidence. It is suggested that understanding past mobilities in the region is crucial to our interpretation of past lifestyles and cultures.

"Extensive archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork in northern-central Mongolia has identified ... more "Extensive archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork in northern-central Mongolia has identified a pattern of habitation in the Bronze and Iron Ages that seems broadly similar to that of today and zooarchaeological and palynological evidence suggests that the corresponding climate also compares favourably with that of today. This apparent stability and consistency masks more subtle adaptations in the way that the human population of the region adapted to its environment.

Ethnoarchaeological and zooarchaeological studies indicate a system of subsistence focused on the seasonal exploitation of pastures and resources in the Bronze Age, with large monuments of that period at the centre of the seasonal migration paths. Many of these Bronze Age seasonal habitation sites are occupied today and, also in the Iron Age. At that time though, the monumental focus of the region switches to the periphery and one area of the existing areas of habitation becomes exploited more intensively. From the end of the Iron Age, however, there are scant traces of occupation on the sites until the present day but there are archaeological indicators of habitation on the opposite edge of the region from the Iron Age monumental sites. Local and regional palynological studies suggest that this shift in the human ecology of the region may coincide with a change in the climate and, thus represent adaptation to differing resource availability.

The research presented here then, presents a picture of a region in which changes in subsistence strategy have happened at least twice as a result of (or, at least, coincident with) local and regional climate change. At the same time, changes to the social dynamics of the population and to the corresponding strategies of resource use also occurred at least once within the same environmental constraints, indicating that a degree of choice and cultural expression might always be evident in human ecologies.
"

Research into prehistoric Mongolia has often been monument focused, which has led to a skewed und... more Research into prehistoric Mongolia has often been monument focused, which has led to a skewed understanding of a variety of facets of past cultures. One of these aspects is diet and subsistence. Recent work in Arkhangai aimag, in Central Mongolia, has focussed on identifying and excavating habitation sites associated with Bronze Age and Xiongnu cultures. Alongside material culture, the excavations have also yielded faunal remains.
This paper interprets the analysis of the animal bones from these sites to shed new light on the economy and lifestyle of the peoples associated with them: for the first time we can begin to glimpse a complex subsistence strategy which functioned in sympathy with the local environment. This strategy was to prove so successful that, once adopted, it changed little between the Bronze and Iron Ages and, indeed, through to the present day.

Stone circles, sometimes known as hearths, are one of the most frequently occuring Bronze Age Mon... more Stone circles, sometimes known as hearths, are one of the most frequently occuring Bronze Age Mongolian monuments, appearing in conjuction with khirigsuurs and deer-stones as well as separately. Despite their ubiquity, little is understood about their function or contents - previously best identified as cremated medium mammal - with opinion divided as to whether or not fires were lit within the stone circles.
This paper presents new data which seeks to clarify some of these questions. Between 2010 and 2012 a number of stone circles were excavated in Central and Western Mongolia, principally in association with khirigsuurs but also some from deer-stone complexes. New mapping of large kihrigsuur complexes helps to situate the features in the landscape, and so suggest how they fit into people's lives, whilst systematic excavation has shed new light on the despotional circumstances. Finally, zooarchaeological analysis has revealed more precisely the contents of the stone circles.

Extensive archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork in northern-central Mongolia has identified a... more Extensive archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork in northern-central Mongolia has identified a pattern of habitation in the Bronze and Iron Ages that seems broadly similar to that of today and zooarchaeological data and stable isotope analysis of horse teeth and lake cores suggest that the corresponding climate also compares favourably with that of today. This apparent stability and consistency masks more subtle adaptations in the way that the human population of the region adapted to its environment.

Ethnoarchaeological and zooarchaeological studies indicate a system of subsistence focused on the seasonal exploitation of pastures and resources in the Bronze Age, with large monuments of that period at the centre of the seasonal migration paths. Many of these Bronze Age seasonal habitation sites are occupied today and, also, in the Iron Age. At that time though, the monumental focus of the region switches to the periphery and one area of the existing areas of habitation becomes exploited more intensively. From the end of the Iron Age, however, there are scant traces of occupation on the sites until the present day but there are archaeological indicators of habitation on the opposite edge of the region from the Iron Age monumental sites. Stable isotope analysis and regional palynological studies suggest that this shift in the human ecology of the region may coincide with a change in the climate and, thus represent adaptation to differing resource availability.

Lithics are the most persistent archaeological material in many parts of the world. Accordingly, ... more Lithics are the most persistent archaeological material in many parts of the world. Accordingly, the study of lithics on a landscape scale is important for making interpretations of various traits of past human behaviour and cognizance. In this paper, we present an overview of the lithic finds located in the Khanuy Valley, north-central Mongolia. A lithic assemblage collected in the systematic surveys since 2004 presents material dating from the Palaeolithic to the Late Bronze Age. Based on the spatial distribution and landscape characteristics of the lithic find locations, interpretations of broad-scale diachronic changes in the land use and landscape cognizance are suggested. These form working hypotheses as a baseline for future inquiries into lithic technology, land use, and ways the prehistoric inhabitants comprehended and utilized their landscape in the Khanuy Valley and in the wider region.

Recent excavations at KYR40 in the Khanuy Valley, the largest khirigsuur in Mongolia, have reveal... more Recent excavations at KYR40 in the Khanuy Valley, the largest khirigsuur in Mongolia, have revealed that stone circles contain the highly calcined remains of domestic bovids. This solves one of the great remaining mysteries in Mongolia khirigsuur research but leads to more questions regarding the role and function of stone circles and their relationship to khirigsuurs. A model is proposed here which sees stone circles act as ‘altars’ at large communal monuments – khirigsuurs – and elsewhere. In particular, analogy is drawn with modern day multi-purpose shamanic rituals which involve the sacrifice of domestic bovids.

Rock Art and Archeology: Investigating Ritual Landscape in the Mongolian Altai. Field Report 2012