Recent years have seen the rapid expansion of airborne and spaceborne remote-sensing products ado... more Recent years have seen the rapid expansion of airborne and spaceborne remote-sensing products adopted by archaeologists for interpreting ancient landscapes and managing heritage resources. A growing and increasingly specialized literature attests to the promise and availability of commercial and publicly funded satellite imagery, as well as UAV-mounted sensors across a range of resolutions and price points. In the South Caucasus (including the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia), a growing commitment to landscape approaches in archaeology is stimulating the adoption of satellite remote sensing as an important new tool for identifying and managing archaeological resources while tracing the impact of historic land-use alterations in survey areas. Nevertheless, budgetary challenges and a lack of training opportunities among international partners and heritage organizations outside of the funding streams of large academic institutions can lead to widening technological gulfs in the discipline that reinforce colonial relationships. Building on recent technical articles covering specific imagery datasets, this article aims to address this by providing a general review of free or low-cost remotely sensed datasets available to archaeologists, with the aim of broadening awareness of these important tools and their vocabularies, and illustrating them with recent published examples from the South Caucasus.
During four field seasons spanning 2014 through 2017, Project ArAGATS (Archaeology and Geography ... more During four field seasons spanning 2014 through 2017, Project ArAGATS (Archaeology and Geography of Ancient Transcaucasian Societies) expanded our long-term research on the origins and development of complex political systems in the South Caucasus with a comprehensive study of the upper Kasakh River valley in north-central Armenia. The Kasakh Valley Archaeological Survey employed both systematic transect survey of 43 km 2 and extensive satellite-and drone-based reconnaissance to accommodate the complex topography of the Lesser Caucasus and the impacts of Soviet-era land amelioration. Though our survey was animated by questions related to the chronology and distribution of Bronze and Iron Age fortifications and cemeteries, we also recorded Paleolithic sites stretching back to the earliest human settlement of the Caucasus, Early Bronze Age surface finds, and historic landscape modifications. Concurrent to the survey, members of the ArAGATS team carried out test excavations at select settlement sites and associated burials, and a series of wetland core extractions, with the goals of affirming site occupation sequences and setting them within their environmental context. This report provides an overview of the results of these multidisciplinary activities. 1
Recent years have seen the rapid adoption of digital site recording strategies following the prol... more Recent years have seen the rapid adoption of digital site recording strategies following the proliferation of GPS-enabled mobile devices and data collection apps. Much of the emerging literature on digital-or paperless-archaeology, however, has focused on excavation contexts, with fewer discussions of mobile-GIS solutions on archaeological survey. This article discusses the design and implementation of a site survey workflow based on Esri's ArcGIS Collector mobile app in the context of Project ArAGATS's Kasakh Valley Archaeology Survey in northwestern Armenia. The Collector app provides a simple, map-centric user interface that allows surveyors with little-to-no GIS experience to record site locations, enter attribute data on customized digital forms, and attach photographs. With a network connection, the Collector app instantly uploads site information as GIS data to the project geodatabase and refreshes the data across surveyors' mobile devices. Although the Collector app lacks certain GIS features and requires an institutional Esri license, we found that the native integration with our project GIS and broad access to visualization and recording tools in the app made in-field decision-making and interpretation more collaborative and inclusive across the survey team.
The South Caucasus occupies the divide between ancient Mesopotamia and prehistoric Europe, and wa... more The South Caucasus occupies the divide between ancient Mesopotamia and prehistoric Europe, and was thus crucial in the development of Old World societies. Chronologies for the region, however, have lacked the definition achieved in surrounding areas. Concentrating on the Tsaghkahovit Plain of northwestern Armenia, Project ArAGATS's multi-site radiocarbon dataset has now produced Bayesian modelling, which provides tight chronometric support for tracing the transmission of technology, population movement and social developments that shaped the Eurasian Bronze and Iron Ages.
In response to increased international collaboration in archaeological research of the South Cauc... more In response to increased international collaboration in archaeological research of the South Caucases, a recent workshop has addressed important issues in applying GIS to the study of heavily modified landscapes in the former Soviet republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 2013
In this case study of territoriality in Armenia’s Late Bronze Age Tsaghkahovit Plain we examine l... more In this case study of territoriality in Armenia’s Late Bronze Age Tsaghkahovit Plain we examine land claims and political relations among fortified communities with highly varied subsistence and economic practices, including mobile pastoralism. Integral to political relations between fortress-based institutions and mobile subjects was the need to create highly legible places for political subjection, authorization, and action. However, the same social, political, economic, and religious institutions that help elucidate the spatial dimensions of politics in the LBA— shrines, workshops, storage spaces, cemeteries—also demonstrate that political claims and commitments to land did not likely resemble the neat borders of absolutist cartographies essential to modern nation-states. We detail potential models of territorial organization that incorporate the strategies of rule and socioeconomic dynamics derived from a decade of archaeological survey and excavation on the plain by Project ArAGATS.
TheconstructionoflargestonefortressesacrossmuchofnorthernArmeniaduringtheLateBronzeAge(ca.1500^11... more TheconstructionoflargestonefortressesacrossmuchofnorthernArmeniaduringtheLateBronzeAge(ca.1500^1150 BC) represented a shift away from centuries of nomadic pastoralism, and also marked a profound transformation in the constitution of political authority and how social orders were mediated through the built environment.To date, how- ever, little archaeological attention has been given to Late Bronze Age (LBA) settlements located outside the fortress citadels, partly due to the difficulty in detecting them from the surface. In this report we highlight results and observations from a magnetic gradiometry survey in northwestern Armenia where we test the hypothesis that an extensive LBA domestic complex existed at the base of the fortified hill at the site of Tsaghkahovit. The study surveyed four grids in the settlement area at the base of fortress. Three test units were excavated in three of the four survey areas to test selected anomalies. Two of the test units confirmed the presence of subsurface LBA deposits, including basalt stone walls, burned features, and a storage pit, appearing in the data as large dipoles.The spatial configurations of buildings revealed by the gradiometry surveys elucidate the extent of the Tsaghkahovit settlement and the formal differentiation of domestic and institutional spaces as new architectural traditions emerge during the Middle to Late Bronze Age tran- sition. However, targeted subsurface tests also hint at the ephemeral nature of the domestic constructions suggesting the retention of mobility among subject populations under the authority of settled fortresselites.
Recent years have seen the rapid expansion of airborne and spaceborne remote-sensing products ado... more Recent years have seen the rapid expansion of airborne and spaceborne remote-sensing products adopted by archaeologists for interpreting ancient landscapes and managing heritage resources. A growing and increasingly specialized literature attests to the promise and availability of commercial and publicly funded satellite imagery, as well as UAV-mounted sensors across a range of resolutions and price points. In the South Caucasus (including the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia), a growing commitment to landscape approaches in archaeology is stimulating the adoption of satellite remote sensing as an important new tool for identifying and managing archaeological resources while tracing the impact of historic land-use alterations in survey areas. Nevertheless, budgetary challenges and a lack of training opportunities among international partners and heritage organizations outside of the funding streams of large academic institutions can lead to widening technological gulfs in the discipline that reinforce colonial relationships. Building on recent technical articles covering specific imagery datasets, this article aims to address this by providing a general review of free or low-cost remotely sensed datasets available to archaeologists, with the aim of broadening awareness of these important tools and their vocabularies, and illustrating them with recent published examples from the South Caucasus.
During four field seasons spanning 2014 through 2017, Project ArAGATS (Archaeology and Geography ... more During four field seasons spanning 2014 through 2017, Project ArAGATS (Archaeology and Geography of Ancient Transcaucasian Societies) expanded our long-term research on the origins and development of complex political systems in the South Caucasus with a comprehensive study of the upper Kasakh River valley in north-central Armenia. The Kasakh Valley Archaeological Survey employed both systematic transect survey of 43 km 2 and extensive satellite-and drone-based reconnaissance to accommodate the complex topography of the Lesser Caucasus and the impacts of Soviet-era land amelioration. Though our survey was animated by questions related to the chronology and distribution of Bronze and Iron Age fortifications and cemeteries, we also recorded Paleolithic sites stretching back to the earliest human settlement of the Caucasus, Early Bronze Age surface finds, and historic landscape modifications. Concurrent to the survey, members of the ArAGATS team carried out test excavations at select settlement sites and associated burials, and a series of wetland core extractions, with the goals of affirming site occupation sequences and setting them within their environmental context. This report provides an overview of the results of these multidisciplinary activities. 1
Recent years have seen the rapid adoption of digital site recording strategies following the prol... more Recent years have seen the rapid adoption of digital site recording strategies following the proliferation of GPS-enabled mobile devices and data collection apps. Much of the emerging literature on digital-or paperless-archaeology, however, has focused on excavation contexts, with fewer discussions of mobile-GIS solutions on archaeological survey. This article discusses the design and implementation of a site survey workflow based on Esri's ArcGIS Collector mobile app in the context of Project ArAGATS's Kasakh Valley Archaeology Survey in northwestern Armenia. The Collector app provides a simple, map-centric user interface that allows surveyors with little-to-no GIS experience to record site locations, enter attribute data on customized digital forms, and attach photographs. With a network connection, the Collector app instantly uploads site information as GIS data to the project geodatabase and refreshes the data across surveyors' mobile devices. Although the Collector app lacks certain GIS features and requires an institutional Esri license, we found that the native integration with our project GIS and broad access to visualization and recording tools in the app made in-field decision-making and interpretation more collaborative and inclusive across the survey team.
The South Caucasus occupies the divide between ancient Mesopotamia and prehistoric Europe, and wa... more The South Caucasus occupies the divide between ancient Mesopotamia and prehistoric Europe, and was thus crucial in the development of Old World societies. Chronologies for the region, however, have lacked the definition achieved in surrounding areas. Concentrating on the Tsaghkahovit Plain of northwestern Armenia, Project ArAGATS's multi-site radiocarbon dataset has now produced Bayesian modelling, which provides tight chronometric support for tracing the transmission of technology, population movement and social developments that shaped the Eurasian Bronze and Iron Ages.
In response to increased international collaboration in archaeological research of the South Cauc... more In response to increased international collaboration in archaeological research of the South Caucases, a recent workshop has addressed important issues in applying GIS to the study of heavily modified landscapes in the former Soviet republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, 2013
In this case study of territoriality in Armenia’s Late Bronze Age Tsaghkahovit Plain we examine l... more In this case study of territoriality in Armenia’s Late Bronze Age Tsaghkahovit Plain we examine land claims and political relations among fortified communities with highly varied subsistence and economic practices, including mobile pastoralism. Integral to political relations between fortress-based institutions and mobile subjects was the need to create highly legible places for political subjection, authorization, and action. However, the same social, political, economic, and religious institutions that help elucidate the spatial dimensions of politics in the LBA— shrines, workshops, storage spaces, cemeteries—also demonstrate that political claims and commitments to land did not likely resemble the neat borders of absolutist cartographies essential to modern nation-states. We detail potential models of territorial organization that incorporate the strategies of rule and socioeconomic dynamics derived from a decade of archaeological survey and excavation on the plain by Project ArAGATS.
TheconstructionoflargestonefortressesacrossmuchofnorthernArmeniaduringtheLateBronzeAge(ca.1500^11... more TheconstructionoflargestonefortressesacrossmuchofnorthernArmeniaduringtheLateBronzeAge(ca.1500^1150 BC) represented a shift away from centuries of nomadic pastoralism, and also marked a profound transformation in the constitution of political authority and how social orders were mediated through the built environment.To date, how- ever, little archaeological attention has been given to Late Bronze Age (LBA) settlements located outside the fortress citadels, partly due to the difficulty in detecting them from the surface. In this report we highlight results and observations from a magnetic gradiometry survey in northwestern Armenia where we test the hypothesis that an extensive LBA domestic complex existed at the base of the fortified hill at the site of Tsaghkahovit. The study surveyed four grids in the settlement area at the base of fortress. Three test units were excavated in three of the four survey areas to test selected anomalies. Two of the test units confirmed the presence of subsurface LBA deposits, including basalt stone walls, burned features, and a storage pit, appearing in the data as large dipoles.The spatial configurations of buildings revealed by the gradiometry surveys elucidate the extent of the Tsaghkahovit settlement and the formal differentiation of domestic and institutional spaces as new architectural traditions emerge during the Middle to Late Bronze Age tran- sition. However, targeted subsurface tests also hint at the ephemeral nature of the domestic constructions suggesting the retention of mobility among subject populations under the authority of settled fortresselites.
The attached file is the abridged version of this report. To download the full version, please vi... more The attached file is the abridged version of this report. To download the full version, please visit the Reports page of the CHW website at caucasusheritage@cornell.edu.
Caucasus Heritage Watch (CHW) was founded in 2020 in the wake of the second Nagorno-Karabakh war,... more Caucasus Heritage Watch (CHW) was founded in 2020 in the wake of the second Nagorno-Karabakh war, to monitor and document endangered and damaged cultural heritage using high-resolution satellite imagery. The proliferation of highresolution commercial satellite imagery has transformed the ways in which archaeologists can respond to cultural heritage crises. CHW introduces the techniques of satellite surveillance of endangered heritage to the South Caucasus and pursues a model of engaged, public archaeology that provides authoritative data for local heritage management decisions, and forensic evidence for international preservation efforts. On a regular monitoring cycle, we have hundreds of discrete cultural heritage sites under satellite observation, including churches and mosques, cemeteries and khachkars, bridges and fortresses, and other cultural properties that tell the dynamic story of centuries of life in the region. In this article, composed in honor of Pavel Avetisyan, we outline the steps in establishing our monitoring process, share some of our early findings, and narrate our workflow for the regular observation of heritage sites at risk.
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