INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE STUDY IN IKH NARTIIN CHUULUU NATURE RESERVE, DORNOGOVI AIMAG, MONGOLIA: CULTURAL HERITAGE IN A MONGOLIAN PROTECTED AREA Joan S. Schneider, PhD Random sample pedestrian inventory of Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve (hereafter Ikh Nart), in north-western Dornogovi Aimag, has produced the first systematically acquired archaeological data for this little-known area. As of this date (June 2013) 90+ sites in the northern portion of Ikh Nart have been registered with the Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences. A 0.64 percent sample (3.5 km²) of the 544 km² northern part of Ikh Nart has been intensively surveyed using 500 m x 500 m sample blocks. The results of this relatively small preliminary sample will be the basis for a larger stratified random sample protocol in future work. Random sample inventory of the southern portion of Ikh Nart is just getting underway. Sites registered include those of the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Turkic, Mongolian Empire, Chinese, and Buddhist periods. Burial and ceremonial features are prominent, but residential, hunting, mining, and religious-community sites also are present. To date, very limited test excavations indicate that little, if any, subsurface archaeological deposits are present at the earlier sites. Ikn Nart was created in 1996 when the Mongolian government set aside the area because of its relatively pristine Gobi-Steppe ecosystem as well as concerns about the survival of large and small animal species that inhabit it. Since 2001, conservation research focused on wildlife has been on-going. Since 2010, the Denver Zoological Foundation and its cooperating partners, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Earthwatch Institute, have added the archaeology of Ikh Nart to the research and conservation efforts. The goal of the Ikh Nart archaeological project is to gain an understanding of the cultural landscape in order to inform a newly developed management plan that will include conservation of cultural, as well as natural, resources. Since Ikh Nart is entirely managed by Darlanjagalan and Airag Soums (like a county) and Dornogovi Aimag (like a province or state), Reserve management and its funding is the responsibility of local people, including the nomadic herders of the region. Eco-tourism and Cultural-tourism, conservation education, and minimization of impacts from looting and poaching, over-grazing, illegal mining, and vehicle traffic will all be important components of a viable management plan. The project has been conducted (and will continue) as a collaboration of Mongolian, United States, and British-based entities including: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park of the California State Parks system, Earthwatch Institute, the Institute of Archaeology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, the Denver Zoological Foundation, and the Mongolian Conservation Coalition. The project leaders are Joan S. Schneider, PhD, Associate State Archaeologist (retired), California State Parks and Yaadma Tserendagva, PhD, Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences. An international team that includes Earthwatch volunteers, American and Mongolian archaeologists, as well as archaeological undergraduate and graduate students, will continue its efforts in summer 2014. The Archaeology of the Mongolian Steppe project has been financially supported by the Earthwatch Institute, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, the Fulbright Grant Program, Anza-Borrego Foundation, and private donors. Joan S. Schneider, PhD, California State Parks, Colorado Desert District (retired); University of California, Riverside, Extension, joanschn@gmail.com Dalantai Sarantuya, Jennifer Farquhar, Patrick Hadel, Jim Cassidy, Roger Riolo, Charles Bennett, Mongolian Institute of Archaeology, Anza Borrego Foundation, Earthwatch Institute Keywords: Mongolia, Dornogovi, Cultural Landscape, Random Sample Survey, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Turkic, Buddhist, Mongolian-American cooperative project, Gobi-Steppe ecosystem, granitic outcrops, high plateau Permanent URI: http://www.saa.org/currentresearch/pdf/saa_cro_156_international_cooperative.pdf External Links: www.denverzoo.org; Bounding coordinates (decimal degrees): www.earthwatch.org; www.theabf.org West: 44.96 North: 111.97 East: 46.8 South: 109.69 Citation Example: Joan S. Schneider, PhD (2013) International Cooperative Cultural Landscape Study in Ikh Nartiin Chuuluu Nature Reserve, Dornogovi Aimag, Mongolia: Cultural Heritage in a Mongolian Protected Area. SAA Current Research 156, http://www.saa.org/currentresearch/pdf/saa_cro_156_international_cooperative.pdf, accessed (current date) Current Research Online No: 156:1
Granitic rock outcrops characteristic of Ikh Nart Nature Reserve Current Research Online No: 156:2
Microblade cores and their products are typical artifacts of the Neolithic in Ikh Nart Current Research Online No: 156:3
A Late Bronze Age slab burial in Ikh Nart; one of many. Current Research Online No: 156:4
A cast bronze horse ornament used by Bronze-Age inhabitants of Ikh Nart. Current Research Online No: 156:5
Petroglyphs and pictographs cover a granitic outcrop at a well where herders bring their animals for watering. Current Research Online No: 156:6 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)