Late Bronze Age to Iron Age land use and subsistence strategies in the Semirech'ye region of Kazakhstan
This thesis presents the results of phytolith and faecal spherulite analysis from three sites in the Semirech'ye region of south eastern Kazakhstan, dating from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age (3rd to 1st millennia BC) The primary aim of the research is to generate new data relating to the exploitation of plant resources that can inform on changing land use and subsistence strategies over time. The research is placed in the context of the current understanding of the archaeological and palaeoclimatic record for the region, and aims to offer new insights into the transitional period from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age, around the turn of the 1st millennium BC. During this period both the archaeological and palaeoclimatic records point to significant changes in material culture, social organisation, and climate, and this thesis proposes resilience theory as a theoretical model with which to integrate these multi level data and conceptualise human environment interactions in the Semirech'ye region and the wider Eurasian steppe zone.