Joint Kazakh-American expedition at the Eneolithic site of Krasny Yar I
19 May 2025
On May 20, 2025, archaeological research will begin at the Eneolithic settlement of Krasny Yar I (Akmola Region), conducted by a joint Kazakh-American expedition.
The fieldwork is part of the international project "Subsistence Strategies in the Steppes of Central Eurasia during the Eneolithic and Their Evolution". The project is carried out under the Cooperation Agreement between the A.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology and the University of Arkansas (USA), as well as within the framework of the fundamental research program of the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan: "Kazakhstan in Antiquity and the Middle Ages: Systematization and Analysis of Archaeological Sources."
The aim of the project is to reconstruct the subsistence strategies of the population of Northern Kazakhstan during the Eneolithic period and to trace their transformations over time. The research will involve methods of archaeozoology, paleogenomics, isotopic analysis, as well as both digital and traditional archaeological approaches.
The excavations at the Krasny Yar I settlement will include detailed digital documentation of all stages of fieldwork and the collection of samples for various natural science analyses. The materials obtained are expected to shed light on previously unexplored aspects of economic life and cultural processes during the Eneolithic.
The project is led by Candidate of Historical Sciences S.V. Zakharov on the Kazakh side and Dr. PhD T. Hermes on the American side. Scholars, students, and volunteers from Kazakhstan and the United States will participate in the expedition.