This talk presents the preliminary results of ethnoarchaeological fieldwork conducted in autumn, 2018, with support from the ACMS.

In Mongolia, ethnoarchaeological methods have been applied with great success to questions of mobile pastoralist site formation and landscape use; however, the potential for ethnoarchaeological inquiry to address questions of nomadic craft production and consumption has so far gone unaddressed. 

This project used artifact-centered interviews in order to shed light on the social and ecological dynamics embodied in traditional hide and fiber products, with the goal of identifying patterns that can be used to interpret Mongolia's substantial organic archaeological record. The interviews revealed strong associations between specific          occupations such as horseback riding and use wear patterns on traditional garments. They also confirmed the potential for collecting high-resolution seasonality data from archaeological organics and underscored the importance of those data for addressing questions of social status, resource availability, and craft specialization in the past. 

Kristen Pearson will discuss these and other results of her research, providing examples of their applicability to archaeological assemblages in Mongolia and the surrounding region.