Stein-Arnold Exploration Fund 2023-24 Awards
Please note: Awards are arranged alphabetically by surname of the grant recipient.
Dr Ashleigh Haruda
Project: Supplying the Silk Road: Zooarchaeology of Dzhankent
The Silk Road is the most famous global route of international trade, with a peak in the mediaeval period (700-1400 CE), yet the mechanics of transportation and provisioning is still understudied, and in particular, how flows of animals helped to sustain cities and power international connections. This project provides a valuable opportunity to investigate these questions by investigating the remains from the mediaeval city of Dhzankent (Kazakhstan), via zooarchaeological analysis of animal bones and sampling these remains for ancient genetic and isotopic analysis. This will result in both a detailed analysis of the provisioning and subsistence of the people who lived at Dzhankent and valuable insight as to the flows of animals along this route by linking with ongoing regional genetic and isotopic studies, deepening our insight into the diversity sustaining the Silk Road and contributing significantly to our understanding of its enduring stability and resilience.
Dr Alexander Parkyn-Smith
Project: Cultural identity building through artistic traditions: A visual ethnography of the knowledge, practices and communication of entrepreneurial artistic traditions in Uzbekistan
Artisanal craft plays a significant role in Uzbekistan’s current post-socialist identity building. Central to this is the meaning, history and practice of artistic traditions. This exploratory study uses visual anthropological methods, including photography, vernacular image collection, interviews and participant observation to explore how artistic traditions are recorded and communicated amongst artisanal craft practitioners in Uzbekistan. Building upon an existing research project carried out by NURCE at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, this pilot research explores the viability of using visual methods to both record and communicate cultural art practices. This research focuses on visually recording personal life history narratives, creating a contemporary archive of related materials and documenting contemporary artisanal practices. The material created will be used for a pop-up exhibition held within local communities – offering stakeholder engagement, sharing stories across multiple contexts and traditional art/craft practices. It will also produce a contemporary visual archive of artistic practice.
Dr Katalin Tolnai
Project: Khitan settlements and beyond. Comparative analysis of the fortified settlements of Khar Bukh Balgas and Ulaan kherem, Mongolia
The proposed research serves as a continuation of the Khi-Land, Khitan Landscapes in Mongolia 2017-2023 project. The aim of the Khi-Land project was to carry out historical and archaeological
research on the 10-12th century, Khitan period fortified settlements of Mongolia. Based on our previous results this proposal presents three main research aims: to understand the hinterland of Khar Bukh Balgas with the help of comparative analysis of the Khitan sites in Bulgan county of Mongolia; to conduct geophysical research on the territory of Ulaan Kherem and to collect aerial photo on the agricultural fields around Khar Bukh Balgas and Ulaan kherem. As these tasks most probably cannot be entirely fulfilled in only one field season, this project proposal is for two, consecutive field seasons.