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It would seem that pastoral nomads have ceaselessly occupied a distinct space in our world, imaginations, and academic discourse, often revolving around the concept of periphery. Pastoral nomads inhabit interstitial spaces, adjacent and secondary to urban centers and the refinement of civilization. Further, pastoral nomads are caught in popular imaginations as simple, barbarous, warlike, and constantly peripatetic—characteristics perceived to be antithetical to sedentary agriculturalists. These essentializations of pastoral nomadism have had real consequences in academic scholarship, and it is here this dissertation makes its intervention. Accordingly, early North American and Soviet intellectual trajectories in archaeology and the social sciences led scholars to have a predisposition to burial excavation and seriation, solidify false connections between subsistence and political forms, and to focus on the pastoral nomad’s connection with urban centers. In the examination of political economic shifts in prehistoric Late Bronze to Late Iron Age Mongolia (ca. 1200 BCE-100 CE), I place nomads at the forefront of inquiry looking to detail internal dynamics and mechanisms of social change at work over time. I ask: How did the adoption of pastoralism alter economic practices on the landscape, and what were the rhythms? How did shifts in economic life change political structures and the social processes used to (re)make those relationships? In short, I advocate for the analyses of malleable and active social processes over concepts that employ static systems of change. This study brings together the results of 76 km² of pedestrian survey and the recovery and recording of thousands of features and artifacts in Bayankhongor province, Mongolia. These data are scrutinized through an epistemological framework called occupational landscapes which finds its strength in breadth of focus and flexibility of scale. As such, the tripartite scheme of occupational landscapes takes an ecological, vocational, and semiotic approach to artifacts and assemblages, utilizing scales of analysis ranging from a single chemical element to the regional spatial patterning of material culture. In doing so, each aspect of the occupational landscape emphasized various social processes that encourage a reevaluation of pastoral nomadic communities themselves, and as members in wider social entanglements. Thus, this dissertation attempts to revise the way in which we investigate, discuss, and chronologically represent pastoral nomadic communities, refracting cultural change through active and agentive social processes. As such, the social processes that are explored in this study include: (im)mobility, place-making, flake and stone tool production, habitation patterning and pasture politics, semiotic usurpation of funerary rites and messaging, the production of ceramic and chains of craft-knowledge, skill or specialization, and the navigation of unsolidified extents of (de)centralized authority. In contrast to a reliance on ideas of a “grand narrative,” linear neoevolutionary progress, or burial forms as the preeminent marker for cultural change or replacement, I find that the shifts in political economy during the Mongolian Late Bronze and Late Iron Ages are subtle, yet intricate and vibrant. In pursuing a people-centered approach to prehistory, I argue that the first-half of the first millennium BCE in Bayankhongor Mongolia was a time fraught with uncertainty, experimentation, and fluidity—both economically and politically—and should not be continually described using linear temporalities of complexity or the diachronic presence or absence of particular burial forms.

Cerapus bundegi n.sp. Figs. 1–2 Type material. HOLOTYPE, 3, 4.77 mm, AM P62291; PARATYPE, ♀, 3.85 mm, AM P62385; 41 PARATYPES, AM P62381; PARATYPE, 3, 3.54 mm, AM P62383; PARATYPE, 3, 2.74 mm, AM P62384; north of jetty, Cottesloe Beach, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 31°59'S 115°45'E, just outside limestone reef, sand with scattered seagrass, 4 m, J. Just, 3 April 1984, AU 28. 21 PARATYPES, AM P62382, off end of South Mole, Arthur Head, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia, 32°3'S 115°44'E, brown & red algae, 6 m, R. T. Springthorpe, 25 December 1983, WA 274. Additional material. 2 specimens, AM P62292, Sargassum sp. and sand, 2.3 m; 6 specimens, AM P62332, broad-leaf Sargassum sp., sand & algal bottom, 2.8 m; 3 juveniles, AM P62334, fine Dictyota sp. and sand, 2.6 m; 2 specimens, AM P62338, broad-leaf Sargassum sp. and sand, 2.9 m; 13, AM P62339, fine Sargassum sp. and sand, 2.9 m; 13, AM P62340, Padina sp., Lobophora sp. and sand, 2.7 m; 1♀, AM P62341, fine Dictyota sp. and sand, 2.3 m; 3 juveniles, AM P62387, Padina sp. and sand, 2.3 m; 13, AM P62392, Dictyotales and sand, 2.8 m; 4 specimens, AM P62395, Sargassum sp. and sand, 2.7 m; 3 specimens, AM P62397, Dictyotales and sand, 2.8 m; 2 specimens, AM P62404, Sargassum sp. and sand, 2.9 m, west side of Malus Island, Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, Australia, 26°30.61'S 116°38.92'E, R.A. Peart, 27 September 1999, WA 661. 13, AM P62388, south side of Kendrew Island, Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, Australia, 20°20.63'S 116°31.99'E, Sargassum sp. and sand, 3.8 m, R.A. Peart, 30 August 1999, WA 694. 4 specimens, AM P62389, mixed brown algae, 17 m, M. Hewitt; 3 juveniles, AM P62391, Dictyopteris sp., 17 m, P. Morrison, Nelson Rocks, Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, Australia, 20°26.51'S 116°40.23'E, 7 September 1999, WA 715. 433, AM P62386, Dictyopteris sp., intertidal zone, 0.5 m; 1♀, AM P62394, Padina sp., intertidal, 0.5 m, Tish Point, Rosemary Island, Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, Australia, 20°29.67'S 116°35.89'E, R.A. Peart, 30 August 1999, WA 685. 11 specimens, AM P62335, beach at north end of Bundegi Reef, Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, Australia, 21°49'S 114°11'E, rocky rubble, coralline algae with green epiphyte, 2 m, H.E. Stoddart, 4 January 1984. Many specimens, AM P62336, seagrass with bases and sand, 2 m; 12 specimens, AM P62398, mixed algae, 2 m, J.K. Lowry; many specimens, AM P62393, south Ned’s Camp, Cape Range National Park, Western Australia, Australia, 22°00'S 113°55'E, seagrass, 2 m, R. T. Springthorpe, 31 December 1983. many specimens, AM P62337, Ned’s Camp, Cape Range National Park, Western Australia, Australia, 21°59'S 113°55'E, green algae, 1.5 m, R. T. Springthorpe, 2 January 1984, WA 380. 6 specimens, AM P62290, 4 m, R. T. Springthorpe; 3 specimens, AM P62333, mixed coralline algae, 4 m, J.K. Lowry, Red Bluff, Kalbarri, Western Australia, Australia, 27°42'S 114°9'E, 10 January 1984. 4 specimens, AM P62286, 16 specimens, AM P62285, reef close to shore, Champion Bay, Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia, 28°45.88'S 114°36.83'E, Ecklonia radiata on shallow rocky reef at low tide, 0.5 m, R.A. Peart, 28 November 2000. 4 specimens, AM P62396, Seven Mile Beach, Western Australia, Australia, 29°11'S 114°53'E, Amphibolis sp. (seagrass), 1 m, G.J. Edgar, 6 June 1987. 2 specimens, AM P62402, 10 specimens, AM P62406, 5 specimens, AM P62403, 2♀♀, AM P62405, Cottesloe Beach,Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 31°59'S 115°45'E, sand patch on limestone reef with algae & seagrass (Amphibolis sp.), 2 m, J. Just, 2–3 March 1984. 13, AM P62390, reef west of groyne, 2 km south of Cape Peron, Western Australia, Australia, 32°16'S 115°41'E, Caulerpa sp. in deep channels in limestone reef, 6 m, J.K. Lowry, 26 December 1983, WA 302. 1♀, AM P62399, sponges, 6 m, R. T.Springthorpe; 5 specimens, AM P62400, Caulerpa sp., 6 m, J.K.Lowry; 2 juveniles, AM P62401, orange gorgonacean, 6 m, R. T. Springthorpe, end of South Mole,Arthur Head, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia, 32°3'S 115°44'E, 25 December 1983, WA 286. Diagnosis. Head, rostrum long, apically acute; anteroventral corner subquadrate. Antenna 1 peduncular article 1 longer than article 3, swollen along posterior margin. Pereonite 2 with sternal keel. Pereopod 5 merus posterior lobe with 4 plumose setae. Description. Based on holotype male, 4.77 mm. Head, rostrum long, apically acute, length 0.4× head; lateral cephalic lobe with ventral corner rounded, subocular margin weakly recessed, anteroventral corner subquadrate, ventral margin horizontal, posterior margin vertical. Antenna 1 long, length 0.5× body length; peduncular article 1 longer than (1.2×) peduncular article 3, not produced anterodistally and anteromedially, swollen along posterior margin, posterodistal corner not produced; flagellum 6-articulate; article 1 short. Antenna 2 length 0.9× antenna 1; flagellum 5- articulate; article 1 short. Epistome and upper lip fused, straight. Mandible with palp article 2 long and slender, length 3.1× breadth, 1.2× article 3; palp article 3 slender, blade-like, long, 3.3× breadth. Pereon. Pereonite 1 without lateral keel; without sternal keel. Pereonite 2 with sternal keel. Pereonite 3 without sternal keel. Pereonite 5 length 2.1× depth. Gnathopod 1 coxa not fused to pereonite 1, length 1.4× depth, without anteroventral lobe; basis length 1.6× depth; carpus, length 1.2× depth with setose posterior lobe, broad; palm extremely acute, with barbed robust setae. Gnathopod 2 carpochelate; coxa not fused to pereonite 2, length 1.7× depth, without anteroventral lobe or cusp; basis short, broad, length 1.3× breadth; carpus long, broad, length 1.2× breadth; palm shallowly excavate, anterodistal tooth small, located near articulation with propodus, posterodistal tooth well defined, medium, length 1.2× width; propodus broad, slightly curved, length 3.2× width, without proximal tooth on posterior margin, posterodistal corner smooth, without tooth; dactylus, length 0.7× propodus. Male gnathopod 2 changes significantly through growth stages. Figure 1 illustrates these changes for specimens ranging in size from 2.74 to 4.77 mm. Pereopod 3 coxa not fused to pereonite 3, length 2.2× depth, without anteroventral lobe; basis, length 1.7× breadth, evenly rounded, with simple setae along anterior margin, without denticles along anterior margin; ischium long, length 1.6× breadth; merus short, length 0.8× breadth, without ridges. Pereopod 4 coxa not fused to pereonite 4, length 2× depth, without anteroventral lobe; basis length 1.3× breadth, with simple setal group midway along anterior margin; ischium long, length 2× breadth; merus short, length 1× breadth. Pereopod 5 coxa length 1.3× depth, without patches of small setae, without setae along ventral margin; merus with anterior lobe not extending beyond anterior margin of carpus, posterior lobe with 4 plumose setae; propodus with 1 seta along posterior margin; dactylus short, uncinate with one accessory hook. Pereopod 6 coxa without setal fringe ventrally, without patch of small setae near anterior margin; basis without patch of small setae near anterior margin; merus, length 1.2× breadth; dactylus short, uncinate, with two accessory hooks. Pereopod 7 coxa without posterodorsal lobe, without patch of small setae; merus, length 1.7× breadth; dactylus, short, uncinate, with two accessory hooks. Pleon. Pleopods 1 to 3 decreasing in size. Pleopod 1 inner ramus 8-articulate; outer ramus 8-articulate, article 1 evenly swollen. Pleopod 2 biramous; inner ramus reduced, 1- articulate; outer ramus, broad, 1-articulate. Pleopod 3 present; inner ramus present, reduced; 1-articulate. Uropod 1 biramous, peduncle with distoventral corona of cuticular teeth, length 1.4× outer ramus; rami with distoventral corona of cuticular teeth; outer ramus with lateral row of denticles, without medial setae, with 9 lateral setae, with large apical robust seta without smaller slender setae; inner ramus, length 0.5× outer ramus, without medial or lateral setae, with large apical robust seta without smaller slender setae. Uropod 2 uniramous, length of peduncle 2.4× breadth, 3.8× ramus; ramus small, with 4 denticles and 1 apical seta. Uropod 3 uniramous, peduncle length 1.5× breadth; ramus with 3 curved hooks. Telson length 0.5× breadth, moderately cleft, 0.6× length, each lobe with 17–18 anteriorly directed hooks, in 2 rows. Female (sexually dimorphic characters). Based on paratype female, 3.85 mm (P62385). Antenna 1 flagellum 4- articulate. Pereonite 2 without sternal keel. Pereonite 5 length 1.5× depth. Gnathopod 1 coxa length 1.7× depth; basis length 2.3× depth; carpus, length 1.1× depth with setose posterior lobe. Gnathopod 2 subchelate; coxa length 1.9× depth; basis slender, length 1.8× breadth; carpus short, compressed, length 1.3× breadth. Pereopod 5 coxa length 1.5× depth, with setae along ventral margin. Oostegites from gnathopod 2 to pereopod 5. Etymology. The species is named after Bundegi Reef, in the northern part of its range. Tube. Wrapped, parchment-like; seagrass and algae “wrapped” to form a tube. Habitat. Littoral, 0.5 to 6 m depth. Life-style. Epifaunal sediment, algal or seagrass dwellers. Remarks. Cerapus bundegi is a common, widespread species along the western Australian coast. The tubes of C. bundegi and C. volucola are almost identical, but morphologically the species differ in many ways. The most obvious differences are the shape of male gnathopod 2, and the number of dorsal recurved hooks on the telson (17–18 in C. bundegi and 14–15 in C. volucola). Distribution. Western Australia: Malus Island, Kendrew Island, Nelson Rocks, Tish Point, Rosemary Island, all in the Dampier Archipelago; Bundegi Reef, Exmouth Gulf, Ned’s Camp, Cape Range National Park; Red Bluff, Kalbarri; Champion Bay, Geraldton; Seven Mile Beach; Cottesloe Beach, Perth; Cape Peron; South Mole, Arthur Head, Fremantle (20°S to 32°S)., Published as part of Lowry, K. & Berents, P. B., 2005, Algal-tube Dwelling Amphipods in the Genus Cerapus from Australia and Papua New Guinea (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Ischyroceridae), pp. 153-164 in Records of the Australian Museum 57 (2) on pages 154-157

Family Ischyroceridae Stebbing, 1899 Subfamily Ischyrocerinae Stebbing, 1899 (Myers & Lowry, 2003), Published as part of Lowry, K. & Berents, P. B., 2005, Algal-tube Dwelling Amphipods in the Genus Cerapus from Australia and Papua New Guinea (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Ischyroceridae), pp. 153-164 in Records of the Australian Museum 57 (2) on page 154, {"references":["Stebbing, T. R. R., 1899. Revision of Amphipoda (continued). Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 4: 205 - 211."]}