Papers by Elizabeth Baker Brite
Antiquity, May 31, 2024
Amid resurgent geopolitical fissures and in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a gr... more Amid resurgent geopolitical fissures and in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a growing awareness in the sector of the need for, and concern about, national and international collaboration in archaeological projects. This article reflects on present-day challenges for international collaboration in central Eurasian archaeology and furthers a much-needed discussion about (re)integrating local narratives with interregional trends in future research. Responsible and practical proposals for bridging collaborator differences in institutional or publishing obligations, language capacities and access to resources are discussed.
Anthropocenes – Human, Inhuman, Posthuman
This contribution to Anthropocenes Interventions brings together the narrative accounts of five u... more This contribution to Anthropocenes Interventions brings together the narrative accounts of five undergraduate students frm the Purdue University John Martinson Honors College (JMHC) enrolled in the course HONR 39900: The Anthropocene in fall 2021. The students' starting point for writing was Erle Ellis' commentary about human origins, which he identifies as narratives deeply challenged by the Anthropocene; in rewriting the role of humanity on planet Earth, Ellis argues we are likewise rewriting history, refashioning our understanding of the diachronic processes that shape our world and inform our actions within it. Students were asked to explore these ideas through a re-examination of their own origin stories. Specifically, they were asked to identify their original stories, to consider how these stories have shaped their understandings of their place within the Earth system, and to explore how these understandings might be challenged, amended, undermined, or upheld by the A...
Journal of Field Archaeology, 2017
ABSTRACT This paper reports on the results of archaeological field excavations at the site of Kar... more ABSTRACT This paper reports on the results of archaeological field excavations at the site of Kara-tepe, in the semi-autonomous region of Karakalpakstan in northwestern Uzbekistan. Investigations at the site in 2008–2009 turned up an unusually rich assemblage of remains from a household context. Combined analysis of the household botanical and faunal remains has allowed us to reconstruct the agropastoral practices of local inhabitants in this oasis region during a critical period of social and environmental change in the Early Medieval transition (4th–5th centuries a.d.). The results of the study raise important new questions about agropastoralism in the oases of Central Eurasia, highlighting continuities of practice between oasis and steppe populations, and revealing dynamic changes in these systems over time.
Arts asiatiques, 2015
Dans l’enregistrement des donnees archeologiques, la couleur est une categorie d’investigation a ... more Dans l’enregistrement des donnees archeologiques, la couleur est une categorie d’investigation a valeur critique, mais souvent sous-etudiee. Dans cet article nous examinons comment l’usage de la couleur dans l’art monumental peut etre utilise pour analyser les marqueurs culturels du statut social. L’objet principal de cette analyse est la couleur des costumes dans un groupe de figures en buste, composant une galerie peinte a la fin du premier millenaire avant notre ere sur le site d’Akchakhan-kala dans l’ancien Khorezm (Ouzbekistan). L’analyse revele que la selection des couleurs a Akchakhan-kala a ete influencee a la fois par la disponibilite des matieres premieres et par les tendances plus larges de l’usage de la couleur dans le monde iranien et celui de la steppe. Un examen systematique de la couleur facilite une perspective mieux informee sur les statuts differencies de ces elites de l’Asie centrale preislamique. Cet article fournit une premiere etape pour construire une base de donnees sur les couleurs mises en contexte trouvees dans l’ensemble de la region, et aussi un point de depart pour l’etude des couleurs dans le costume porte par les elites dans les contextes ceremoniels du monde iranien preislamique.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2013
Recent excavations at the site of Kara-tepe in northwestern Uzbekistan revealed evidence for the ... more Recent excavations at the site of Kara-tepe in northwestern Uzbekistan revealed evidence for the production of cotton (Gossypium sp.) in domestic contexts dated to ca. 300-500 AD. These archaeobotanical remains help to document the spread of Old World cotton production, and predate the existing evidence for its cultivation in Central Asia. The context in which these remains were found-in temperate Eurasia at a time of intense environmental and social change-suggests that the spread of cotton agriculture to this region occurred when new plant varieties were incorporated into domestic production regimes as part of local adaptive strategies. The development and transmission of cotton as a global cultigen was initiated by these small-scale innovations aimed at the expansion of economically and environmentally sustainable subsistence practices in Central Asia. Subsequent worldwide transmission occurred when emerging empires helped to spread cotton agriculture more widely across the Old World.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
Available open access through Sep. 21, 2022: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1fWRZ-JVbvBXC In cent... more Available open access through Sep. 21, 2022: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1fWRZ-JVbvBXC In central Eurasian archaeology, Soviet- and post-Soviet investigations and more recent biologically-focused analyses are often subtly presented as two extremes of archaeological synthesis, although both bodies of research complement one another and wrestle with similar questions about the human past. Through three case studies that marry 20th and 21st century research, we examine the archaeological context(s) of agro-pastoralism as one inroad to broader questions about past socio-economies. We argue that the archaeology of Bronze and Iron Age central Eurasia has reached an inflection point, in which the sum total of existing data allows us to move beyond identifications of what, where, and when, to the deeper anthropologically-oriented questions of who?, how?, and why? We draw from contemporary debates around the recognition and nature of agro-pastoralism in pre- and proto-historic central Eurasia to illustrate some specific cases where integrated research might more deeply probe the links between archaeological methods and interpretation. Flowing from this, we see opportunities to expand a self-reflective discussion about the process of archaeological inquiry and knowledge reproduction.
Anthropocenes: Human, Inhuman, Posthuman, 2022
This contribution to Anthropocenes Interventions brings together the narrative accounts of five u... more This contribution to Anthropocenes Interventions brings together the narrative accounts of five undergraduate students from the Purdue University John Martinson Honors College (JMHC) enrolled in the course HONR 39900: The Anthropocene in fall 2021. The students' starting point for writing was Erle Ellis' commentary about human origins, which he identifies as narratives deeply challenged by the Anthropocene; in rewriting the role of humanity on planet Earth, Ellis argues we are likewise rewriting history, refashioning our understanding of the diachronic processes that shape our world and inform our actions within it. Students were asked to explore these ideas through a re-examination of their own origin stories. Specifically, they were asked to identify their origin stories, to consider how these stories have shaped their understandings of their place within the Earth system, and to explore how these understandings might be challenged, amended, undermined, or upheld by the Anthropocene concept. The five selected accounts capture a range of responses that touch upon important, current themes in Anthropocene discourse, including questions pertaining to belonging, ruination, global flows and the stratigraphy of the archaeosphere. As a historical record, they also serve to document emergent understandings of place, agency, and planetary power among a generation of 21st-century students in a US institution focused intently on technological advancements. The themes of each student's contribution are explored and highlighted in a brief introduction written by the course instructor before presenting each student's authored contribution. They are followed with the instructor's summary comments that consider implications for pedagogies of the Anthropocene. Available open access.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2022
Available open access through Sep. 21, 2022:
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... more Available open access through Sep. 21, 2022:
https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1fWRZ-JVbvBXC
In central Eurasian archaeology, Soviet- and post-Soviet investigations and more recent biologically-focused analyses are often subtly presented as two extremes of archaeological synthesis, although both bodies of research complement one another and wrestle with similar questions about the human past. Through three case studies that marry 20th and 21st century research, we examine the archaeological context(s) of agro-pastoralism as one inroad to broader questions about past socio-economies. We argue that the archaeology of Bronze and Iron Age central Eurasia has reached an inflection point, in which the sum total of existing data allows us to move beyond identifications of what, where, and when, to the deeper anthropologically-oriented questions of who?, how?, and why? We draw from contemporary debates around the recognition and nature of agro-pastoralism in pre- and proto-historic central Eurasia to illustrate some specific cases where integrated research might more deeply probe the links between archaeological methods and interpretation. Flowing from this, we see opportunities to expand a self-reflective discussion about the process of archaeological inquiry and knowledge reproduction.
Journal of Political Ecology, 2016
The Khorezm oasis sits at the epicenter of an environmental disaster. Since the late 19th century... more The Khorezm oasis sits at the epicenter of an environmental disaster. Since the late 19th century, the continual expansion of irrigation in this region has altered the natural hydrology of the Amu Darya delta, leading to widespread desertification and the near total disappearance of the world's fourth largest lake, the Aral Sea. The situation is widely acknowledged as an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented scale, and yet it is not the first irrigation crisis in Khorezmian history. Numerous events of irrigation collapse are recorded in the archaeological record of this oasis, with many in the scientific community now very interested in this past record for its potential to inform on the modern crisis. Unfortunately, there has also been a tendency to overlook the different historical conditions that led to irrigation in this oasis over the last three millennia. In this article, I take an alternative approach that draws on political ecology's insights about the cultural ...
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2018
Irrigation canals played an essential role in the Soviet conquest of Central Asia in the 20th cen... more Irrigation canals played an essential role in the Soviet conquest of Central Asia in the 20th century. From the time of Lenin onwards, Soviet authorities invested significant human and material capital to dig new irrigation channels in Central Asia's arid deserts, in an effort to subdue native peoples and integrate the region into a command economy. While the Soviet Union's great success with environmental transformation in Central Asia was indeed extraordinary (and notorious), too little attention has been given to the ways that this transformation was assembled. In this contribution to the special issue on Archaeologies of Empire and Environment, I explore an archaeology of the contemporary past of Soviet irrigation in Central Asia, utilizing the insights of new materialism theory. Rather than conceiving of the Soviet imperial project as exclusively human-driven, I consider the multiple other non-human agents that exerted forces on irrigation development and drove its emergence within Central Asia's desert environments. The example of the region's largest irrigation canal is examined. Using a critically-informed, animated GIS, I show how this canal emerged through negotiations between human and non-human agents. In this process, a hydrosocial objectthe Karakum Riverwas produced that continues to promote the imperial agenda even after the Soviet Union's collapse. The implications for 21st century discourses on environmental degradation and post-Sovietism, and the methodological possibilities of a theoretically-informed, animated GIS for symmetrical, contemporary archaeologies, are also explored.
Journal of World Prehistory
The study of agricultural origins has been revolutionized by genomic science. Whole genome sequen... more The study of agricultural origins has been revolutionized by genomic science. Whole genome sequencing of plant domesticates opens a door to multiple new approaches by which the timing, nature, and geography of human selective pressures on the evolution of domesticated species might be detected. These new scientific pathways greatly enhance understandings of domestication as an evolutionary process, but they also renew long-standing questions for archaeologists about whether and how to perceive human agency in the ancient past of human–plant interspecies relations. Due to its importance as a global commercial crop, the apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) was the tenth plant genome to be successfully sequenced in 2010. The genomic record of the apple reveals a deep history of human–plant co-evolution by unconscious selection, domestication through hybridization, and a phylogeographic origin in Central Asia. The first two of these insights document a domesticate that has evolved from protracted and unconscious processes, but the third—the identification of the progenitor Malus sieversii (Ledeb.) M. Roem. in Central Asia, and the necessary corollary that its hybridization arose along the ‘Silk Road’—invites further discussion about the roles of human agency and intentionality in the initial stages of plant domestication. This paper presents a review of apple domestication studies in archaeology and genetics and considers the problematic of Central Asia and the Silk Road in the current paradigm shift of agricultural origins research.
The Holocene, 2017
In a recent special issue of The Holocene, Miller et al. review the evidence for the spread of mi... more In a recent special issue of The Holocene, Miller et al. review the evidence for the spread of millet ( Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica) across Eurasia. Among their arguments, they contend that millet cultivation came to Eurasian regions with hot, dry summers when irrigation was introduced, as part of a region-wide shift toward agricultural intensification in the first millennium BC. This hypothesis seems to align with the pattern of agricultural change observed in the Khorezm oasis, a Central Asian polity of the first millennium BC and first millennium AD. While we wholeheartedly accept this hypothesis for its explanatory value regarding trends across Eurasia, in this paper we nevertheless suggest that the introduction of millet to Central Asia needs further explication. Specifically, we seek to address the underlying assumption that this introduction was predicated upon centrally organized, state-level land development, increased sedentism, and the rise of Mesopotamian-style...
Iranica Antiqua, 2021
This paper gathers information on a period of region-wide settlement abandonments in the 3rd-6th ... more This paper gathers information on a period of region-wide settlement abandonments in the 3rd-6th centuries CE in Khorezm. Soviet archaeologists characterized this period as a dark age, and sought explanations for culture change based largely in processes of migration. More recent evidence from environmental studies of the Aral Sea littoral suggests that changes in the local ecology and climate may have played a substantial role. The existing evidence is reviewed, and a case is made for further attention to the diversity and heterogeneity of cultural responses to environmental change within the Khorezmian deltas.
Antiquity
Archaeological remains at a religious site dedicated to a Yasawiyya Sufi saint reveal a possible ... more Archaeological remains at a religious site dedicated to a Yasawiyya Sufi saint reveal a possible centre of iron production along the trade routes connecting the medieval urban centres of Central Asia.
Antiquity
Archaeological remains at a religious site dedicated to a Yasawiyya Sufi saint reveal a possible ... more Archaeological remains at a religious site dedicated to a Yasawiyya Sufi saint reveal a possible centre of iron production along the trade routes connecting the medieval urban centres of Central Asia.
Journal of World Prehistory, 2021
The study of agricultural origins has been revolutionized by genomic science. Whole genome sequen... more The study of agricultural origins has been revolutionized by genomic science. Whole genome sequencing of plant domesticates opens a door to multiple new approaches by which the timing, nature, and geography of human selective pressures on the evolution of domesticated species might be detected. These new scientific pathways greatly enhance understandings of domestication as an evolutionary process, but they also renew long-standing questions for archaeologists about whether and how to perceive human agency in the ancient past of human–plant interspecies relations. Due to its importance as a global commercial crop, the apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) was the tenth plant genome to be successfully sequenced in 2010. The genomic record of the apple reveals a deep history of human–plant co-evolution by unconscious selection, domestication through hybridization, and a phylogeographic origin in Central Asia. The first two of these insights document a domesticate that has evolved from protracted and unconscious processes, but the third—the identification of the progenitor Malus sieversii (Ledeb.) M. Roem. in Central Asia, and the necessary corollary that its hybridization arose along the ‘Silk Road’—invites further discussion about the roles of human agency and intentionality in the initial stages of plant domestication. This paper presents a review of apple domestication studies in archaeology and genetics and considers the problematic of Central Asia and the Silk Road in the current paradigm shift of agricultural origins research.
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Papers by Elizabeth Baker Brite
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In central Eurasian archaeology, Soviet- and post-Soviet investigations and more recent biologically-focused analyses are often subtly presented as two extremes of archaeological synthesis, although both bodies of research complement one another and wrestle with similar questions about the human past. Through three case studies that marry 20th and 21st century research, we examine the archaeological context(s) of agro-pastoralism as one inroad to broader questions about past socio-economies. We argue that the archaeology of Bronze and Iron Age central Eurasia has reached an inflection point, in which the sum total of existing data allows us to move beyond identifications of what, where, and when, to the deeper anthropologically-oriented questions of who?, how?, and why? We draw from contemporary debates around the recognition and nature of agro-pastoralism in pre- and proto-historic central Eurasia to illustrate some specific cases where integrated research might more deeply probe the links between archaeological methods and interpretation. Flowing from this, we see opportunities to expand a self-reflective discussion about the process of archaeological inquiry and knowledge reproduction.
https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1fWRZ-JVbvBXC
In central Eurasian archaeology, Soviet- and post-Soviet investigations and more recent biologically-focused analyses are often subtly presented as two extremes of archaeological synthesis, although both bodies of research complement one another and wrestle with similar questions about the human past. Through three case studies that marry 20th and 21st century research, we examine the archaeological context(s) of agro-pastoralism as one inroad to broader questions about past socio-economies. We argue that the archaeology of Bronze and Iron Age central Eurasia has reached an inflection point, in which the sum total of existing data allows us to move beyond identifications of what, where, and when, to the deeper anthropologically-oriented questions of who?, how?, and why? We draw from contemporary debates around the recognition and nature of agro-pastoralism in pre- and proto-historic central Eurasia to illustrate some specific cases where integrated research might more deeply probe the links between archaeological methods and interpretation. Flowing from this, we see opportunities to expand a self-reflective discussion about the process of archaeological inquiry and knowledge reproduction.