Research - Publications - Training

The rise and development of the Laboratory of Geo-archaeology strictly happened in the frame of international cooperation projects.
The members of the Laboratory are a multidisciplinary group of specialists (natural scientists and archaeologists) who, within perestroika, switched from their former institutions to new patterns of cooperation in the frame of international projects such as INCO-Copernicus, INTAS, INQUA, UNESCO, TACIS, PAGES, etc. This international help allowed the coagulation of some researchers into new structures such as NGO's or into new departments within the framework of old structures. The latter is the case of the "Laboratory of Geo-archaeology", born in the context of the restructuring of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan.
International cooperation characterizes all the work of the Laboratory in the fields of research, publications and conferences, and training.

RESEARCH

Research represents for the Laboratory the most important subject of international cooperation. Research fields are paleo-climate, paleo-environment and paleo-ecology, geo-archaeology, and the protection and conservation of monuments.
Cooperation with international institutions and specialists happened in the context of INTAS, UNESCO and other international funding agencies.

INTAS

-   97-2220: “The formation process of the nomadic societies in Semirechie during the Bronze and Early Iron epochs. Ecological and archaeological investigations”. Coordinator: Henry-Paul Francfort (CNRS); Principal Investigator: Renato Sala. (1998-2000)

-   2000-0699: “Land use and irrigation work in KZ in present and historical times: geo-archaeological investigations”. Coordinator: Maurizio Forte (CNR-ITABC); Principal Investigator: Renato Sala. (2002-2005)

-   “Soil resources of the Kazakhstan part of the Aral Sea region”. Team Leader: Kostantin Patchikin (2003-2005)
http://www.intas.be/

UNESCO:

-   Elaboration of the WH Tentative List of Kazakhstan, in cooperation with NIPI PMK (1999)

-   Land and aerial survey and documentation of the cultural properties of Tamgaly, Turkestan, Otrar (Kazakhstan) for their nomination in the UNESCO-WHL (2000-2004)

-   CARAD, Central Asia Rock Art Database. Coordinator: Alexey Rogozhinsky

-   ACTED-UNESCO: Land survey and documentation of the monuments and cultural landscape of Eastern Pamirs (Tajikistan) for protection and conservation measures (2004)

-   Aerial survey and documentation of the medieval towns of the Chu valley (Kyrgyzstan) for protection and conservation measures (2005)
http://www.unesco.org
http://www.natcom.unesco.kz/

OTHERS:

-   “Palinological study and dating of the archaeological complex of Tamgaly”, with sponsorship from Mercedes-Kazakhstan (1999). Coordinator: Bolat Aubekerov

-   “Pedological and environmental study of the Tienshan Natural Reserves”, with sponsorship from World Bank. Team Leader: Kostantin Patchikin

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PUBLICATIONS

Publications in cooperation with international colleagues and on international magazines mainly happen as a diffusion of data collected and elaborated in the context of international research projects, but also as proceedings of conferences, exhibitions, other media. Exemplary international publications are the following ones.

Research results and proceedings of conferences

-   Aubekerov B, Sala R, Nigmatova S (2003) Changes of Atmospheric Circulation, Paleoclimate and Paleogeography in the Tienshan-Balkhash System. In: PAGES news vol 11 n° 2-3.  (TEXT)

-   Clarke D, Sala R, Deom J, Meseth E (2005) Reconstructing irrigation at the Otrar Oasis, Kazakhstan 800-1700 AD. In: Integrated Land and Water Resources Management in History ISBN 3-8334-2463-X , pp 3-14. (TEXT)

-   Rogozhinsky A (ed) (2004) Rock Art sites of Central Asia: documentation, conservation, management, community participation. Almaty, NIPI PMK  (hard copy in Russian, CD in English) (under sponsorship of UNESCO)  (TEXT) (FIGURES-TAMGALY) (FIGURES-KULJABASY)

-   Sala R, Deom J (2005) Petroglyphs of South Kazakhstan. Almaty, Lab of Geoarchaeology (in English and Russian) (under sponsorship of SOROS)  (TEXT) (FIGURES-PHOTOS) (FIGURES-MAPS)

Exhibitions, films

-   Exhibition “Petroglyphs of South Kazakhstan”. Almaty Gallery Myn Oi, May 2004; Chimkent Regional Museum, June-July 2004; Turkestan Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum, August-September 2004; Astana, September 2005 (EU Commission, UNESCO, etc)

-   Film Channel-4 & National Geographic (2005) Going to extremes: the Silk Routes - Kazakhstan. Documentary (54 minutes), part 2. Keofilms, director Mat Dickinson.

-   http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/silkroute.html

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TRAINING

Training of young specialists is a major concern among the activities of the Laboratory and is open to national and international participants. It consists of PhD research and summer training camps for the study of arid zones in the fields of: geology and climatic change; paleo-ecology and surface and underground water use; methods of survey, archaeological study and protection of cultural monuments.

The section "Volunteer Camps" provides information about the summer training camps for archaeological volunteers from around the world, which the Laboratory runs every year.

Thematic compilations for didactic purposes on geo-archaeology in arid zones are provided in Russian and English (see the section "Publications").

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