Research team
 | Dr. Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė. Project PI, specialist in the study of the human palaeodiet. More information |
| Prof. Kubatbek Sh. Tabaldiev. A senior researcher, one of the top archaeologists of Kyrgyzstan with many years of experience leading archaeological excavation expeditions, specializing in the Bronze Age through the Medieval period. During the project he will act as the main local archaeologist and project advisor. He will be responsible for field work formalities in Kyrgyzstan and provide access to archival data. | |
 | Dr. Elise Luneau. The leading archaeological ceramicist for prehistoric Central Asia, bringing an unmatched breadth and depth of understanding of pottery production technologies and origins. Her extensive fieldwork experience in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran includes detailed primary ceramic analysis capabilities which will be applied to understand diachronic changes in ceramic production in Kyrgyzstan. Her contribution to the project is crucial, not only for understanding high land population trade networks but also in training junior researchers in the requisite analysis techniques, such as XRF or food crust analysis. |
 | Dr. Lynne M. Rouse has significant experience in researching some of the first food producing societies in the lowlands of Central Asia, and uses landscape archaeology approaches to understanding food and technological exchanges between mobile and sedentary communities in prehistory. She is a specialist in multi-scalar GIS analyses and UAV survey techniques, with over 15 years of field research experience in Central Asia and the Near East. Her expertise will contribute greatly to reconstructing the past social and natural landscapes of high land farming communities, and for placing the results in the broader context of prehistoric Central Asian exchange networks. |
| Taylor R. Hermes is an early stage researcher, his role in the project will be examining isotope signals in ruminant teeth enamel and collagen. His research is vital to reconstructing seasonal dietary variations and animal management strategies, which will form the basis of the animal environmental adaptation component of the project. He has been working on the Bronze Age populations of Kazakhstan since 2011 and is completely familiar with the special working conditions of the region. | |
 | Mindaugas Grikpėdis is an early stage researcher and PhD student at Vilnius University and will play an important role as an GIS and data analytics specialist, critical to the final phase of the project and for publication preparation. He is currently specializing in archaeobotanical research during his PhD, In the project he will be responsible for building the plant reference collection and carrying and managing a variety of laboratory work. More information |
 | Elina Ananyevskaya is an early stage researcher and PhD student at Vilnius University. Her role in the project will be conducting zooarchaeological analysis and identifying osteological material of faunal remains from archaeological sites. She will carry out a variety of laboratory work, such as the preparation of ceramic samples for food crust analysis and bone samples for stable isotope analysis. More information |
Management personnel
Rėda Nemickienė – administration
Kristina Astravaitė – finance management