The Holocene Climate Optimum turned the Gobi Desert from a mainly grassland habitat into a mosaic landscape composed of dune-fields, wetlands and high elevation forests (Janz 2012, 2016; Janz et al. 2017). The populations that inhabited the region at the time adapted by adopting new settlement patterns and tools, which might have allowed them to better exploit a new wide range of resources (Janz 2012, 2016; Janz et al. 2017). This thesis investigates the emergence of ground stone tool technology in the Gobi Desert and its connection with wild plant use by foragers at the time. Twenty-one implements were studied through experimental, use-wear and residue analysis. The results reveal that the tools were used to process several categories of wild plants. By conducting this investigation in legacy collections, this study also proved that archaeological micro-botanical evidence can be recovered from such materials and that their contamination can be assessed through specific protocols.
Author Keywords: Gobi Desert;, Ground Stone Tools;, Macro-lithics;, Mongolia;, Neolithic;, Northeast Asia;