UW’s Surovell to Lecture March 19 on Mongolia Reindeer Herder Research

UW Professor Todd Surovell rides a reindeer and uses the animal to haul firewood during his time in the Khovsgol Province of Mongolia to study the Dukha, nomadic reindeer herders. He will discuss his research during a special lecture Monday, March 19, at 3 p.m. in the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. (Todd Surovell Photo)

University of Wyoming Department of Anthropology Professor Todd Surovell will discuss his research of nomadic reindeer herders in Mongolia during a special lecture Monday, March 19, at 3 p.m. in the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center.

Surovell, director of the George C. Frison Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, will present “Studying the Present to Learn About the Past: Gender and Space Among Mongolia’s Reindeer Herders.”

UW President Laurie Nichols invites members of the UW community and others to attend the lecture, followed by a reception.

Surovell has traveled to the Khovsgol Province of Mongolia at least five times to study the Dukha (pronounced Do-ha), nomadic reindeer herders of Tuvan descent. The research is part of the Dukha Ethnoarchaeological Project, which began in 2012.

Ethnoarchaeology is the study of living peoples for the purpose of developing tools for improving interpretation of the archaeological record. This project differs from traditional spatial ethnoarchaeology, in that Surovell shifted the focus from the mapping of material remains to the direct mapping of human behavior. To do so, he has used a combination of observational mapping and time-lapse photography coupled with photogrammetry, or mapping from photographic imagery.

Funding and sponsorship of the Dukha Ethnoarchaeological Project have been provided by the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Scholars Program and the George C. Frison Institute.