2nd THOCA project meeting
November 2022
Finally, the whole team is meeting again in Denmark! It is a pleasure and great honor to welcome a delegation of our colleagues from the Tajik Academy of Sciences to Scandinavia. Two days are filled with sharing of research findings, scientific discussions, and enjoying the surprisingly sunny Danish weather!
More fieldwork
September 2022
Another field work season has started! This time, the team focusses on sampling for biomarkers and ancient DNA. What to learn more? Check out our Methods section!
A trip to the Pamir Mountains!
June 2022
The Pamir Mountains constitute Tajikistans highest region, with many peaks that are taller than 6000 m above sea level, and the highest mountain "Ismoil Somoni" (7,495 m). This region is home to many glaciers, and the cradle of numerous large Central Asian rivers. These rivers are also a source of sediment to the large Central Asian deserts, and one possible contributing source to the loess around Khovaling.
Paleoclimate and provenance sampling on the Khovaling Loess Plateau
June 2022
Even the geologists are back to Khovaling this year! A new trench was dug at Khonako II due to some severe erosion of the previous trenches during the winter. This made the work more challenging, but nonetheless, sampling was successful. In addition, several of Tajikistans largest river were sampled in order to find out if they were sources of the loess deposited on the Khovaling Loess Plateau.
Excavations ongoing!
May 2022
This year, the focus of the excavations is the Lakuthi IV site close to Obi Mazar. This site hosts an abundance of artefacts in the pedocomplexes 5 and 6 and are roughly 400 thousand years old. Many hundreds of artefacts were recovered from the two soil layers.
THOCA in the media
19th November 2021
Uppsala University published an article about the fielwork season 2021! Available in English and Swedish.
Time to come back - and to start lab work!
14th October 2021
After packing, several kilograms of sediment samples were then brought back by the team members to their respective countries.
First seminar in Dushanbe
12th October 2021
After collecting the samples, the first seminar to present THOCA objectives took place at the Ahmadi Donish Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan in Dushanbe, where the new lab for samples treatment was inaugurated.
On the Khovaling Loess Plateau
2nd October 2021
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The team met in the village Lakhuti in the Khovaling region to collect samples for ten days.
Going to the field29th September 2021
After a long trip, part of the team from Denmark, Sweden and Hungary arrived in Dushanbe at the the end of September and met the leaders of the Tajik Academy of Sciences before leaving for the Khovaling region.
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