Will Taylor Awarded NSF CAREER Award & Stands Up for Archaeology in Recent NYT Article
Professor Will Taylor awarded an NSF CAREER Award for his research project “Understanding Animal Domestication and Human-Environmental Relationships.”
Taylor’s research aims to understand animal domestication and human-environmental relationships on northeast Asian prehistory through archaeology.
His NSF CAREER project will investigate rare, well-preserved archaeological and biological assemblages recovered from archaeological field research in western Mongolia—including new finds from high mountain snow and ice features and excavation of stratified dry caves—spanning the last four millennia and beyond.
The research will be paired with a multifaceted program of museum education and outreach, building on Taylor’s past findings, providing infrastructure for the protection of cultural resources and the cultivation of international scientific cooperation while supporting early-career scientists and expanding public education in Mongolia and the United States.
The NSF CAREER support will aid Taylor and his Mongolian partners, including the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and National Museum of Mongolia, to analyze ancient animal remains, artifacts and ecofacts with cutting-edge techniques from archaeozoology, biomolecular sciences and paleoenvironmental data from the Mongolian Altai. The research team will seek to establish data-driven models for the introduction and dispersal of domestic livestock to northeast Asia; the timing and role of Mongolian cultures in the innovation of large animal transport, including the chariot, the saddle/stirrup and reindeer riding; and the relationship of key social developments to ancient environments in the eastern Steppe.
“Leveraging partnerships and expertise from scientists and institutions at home and abroad, this award will produce key scientific research on animal domestication and the human story,” Taylor noted, adding that the CAREER award will help “to build important educational tools and capacity for a future generation of scientists and scholars, along with strong international partnerships and scientific cooperations between Mongolia and the United States.”
Professor Will Taylor’s comments in The New York Times article "Archaeology Faces Deep Cuts in Federal Budget Proposal" highlight a critical issue for both science and cultural heritage. As an expert in archaeology and anthropology, Taylor underscores how drastic funding cuts could jeopardize our ability to study and preserve the past limiting discoveries, stifling innovation, and erasing irreplaceable histories.
Read the article
