Will Taylor - Understanding hunting, herding, and ancient animals in alpine Inner Asia

About this event

" Understanding hunting, herding, and ancient animals in alpine Inner Asia "

Will Taylor

Associate Professor, CU Boulder, Anthropology

Summary - The domestication of animals like horse, reindeer, yak, and camel fundamentally altered human history in the high mountains of Mongolia and Inner Asia. Although poorly chronicled in classic archaeological and environmental datasets, new discoveries from melting mountain ice and dry caves reveal unknown aspects of the environmental history of animal domestication - including close connections between herding, hunting, riding, and the dispersal of plants like millet, wheat, and barley across the ancient Altai. Archaeological discoveries underscore the fragile and important role of wild mammals - large and small - to human resilience in a challenging climate, and may hold clues to conservation strategies for a rapidly changing future.

Bio - William Taylor is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Curator of Archaeology at the University of Colorado Museum. He joined CU in 2019. William received his MS & Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico, and his Bachelors from Carleton College. His research investigates the ancient interactions between people and animals through archaeozoology and archaeological science, with a special focus on high mountain zones across Eurasia and the Americas.

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INSTAAR Seminar Series

All seminars are hybrid events, in person and via Zoom.

Audience : All are welcome

Location : Online and in SEEC S228. 4001 Discovery Drive, Boulder, CO.