"Mongolian-American Joint Northern Mongolian Archaeology Project" wins Research Project of the Year at the Mongolian Archaeology Conference 2018

The joint project, which includes William Taylor of the MPI-SHH, explores Mongolia’s earliest prehistory, from the Paleolithic through the first pastoral peoples of the Bronze Age.

Group photo of the Mongolian-American Joint Northern Mongolian Archaeology Project.

Group photo of the Mongolian-American Joint Northern Mongolian Archaeology Project.

The "Mongolian-American Joint Northern Mongolian Archaeology Project" was awarded Research Project of the Year from the Mongolian Archaeology Conference 2018 in Ulaanbaatar. This joint award was based on the team’s publications in both English and Mongolian.

The Northern Mongolia Archaeology Project consists of a collaborative team led by Dr. J. Bayarsaikhan. It includes work by Dr. Julia Clark and MPI-SHH researcher Dr. William Taylor in Khuvsgul Province as part of Dr. Clark's NOMAD Science project, and work by Dr. Taylor and MPI-SHH Ph.D. candidate Nils Vanwezer in western Mongolia, and explores Mongolia's earliest prehistory, from the Paleolithic through the first pastoral peoples of the Bronze Age.

The Mongolian Archaeology Conference 2018 was held on January 24-25, 2019, and involved more than 100 researchers and 67 presentations on various aspects of Mongolia's history and prehistory. As part of the conference, prizes were awarded for excellence in archaeological research in 2018. Elements that contributed to the awards included publications and discoveries in the field.

The award from the Mongolian Archaeology Conference 2018.

The award from the Mongolian Archaeology Conference 2018.

Highlights from the research of the project that helped it earn the award include Dr. Clark and Dr. Taylor's new discovery of artifacts emerging from melting ice in the high mountains of northern Mongolia, and the team's publication regarding the world's first evidence of veterinary dentistry, published in PNAS.