Dr. Bayarsaikhan Jamsranjav

Dr. Bayarsaikhan received a BA in History from the National University of Mongolia and MSc in Archeology from the Mongolian State University of Education. He defended his PhD dissertation on Mongolia’s Bronze Age “Deer Stone” Culture at the National University of Mongolia, in 2016. From 2003-2020, he worked at the National Museum of Mongolia as Curator and Head of the museum’s Research Center. With international colleagues, he seeks to understand the broad range of Mongolia’s nomadic culture using archaeological evidence and material culture. He specializes in understanding Bronze Age cultures, pastoral societies, and monumental archaeology in Mongolia. Specially, his work explores the origin, timing, and meaning of ancient ritual practices and stone carvings from the Deer Stone culture – and their implications for continental Eurasia. His research has explored early animal domestication, Bronze and Early Iron Age subsistence, and the material culture of steppe empires like the Xiongnu and the Mongol Empire.   

Dr. Bayarsaikhan is also a strong advocate for the preservation and protection of Mongolian tangible cultural heritage. Between 2009-2011, he led a project for the restoration and documentation of the largest Deer Stone site in the world – located at Jargalantiin Am in Central Mongolia – which was financed by the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP). In 2017, he discovered one of the most important cemeteries of the nobility of the Mongol Empire – which has been aggressively looted, and the cultural materials from which Dr. Bayarsaikhan’s work has sought to salvage and protect.  

Publications

Books

Bayarsaikhan J. 2003. Dalai Choinkhor Van G.Tsedensonom. (Biography of Historical figure from the early XX century). Ekimto printing. 

Turbat Ts., Bayarsaikhan J., Batsukh D., Bayarkhuu N. 2011. Deer Stones of the Jargalantyn Am. Mongolian Tangible Heritage Association. 

Bayarsaikhan J. 2017. Deer Stones in the Northern Mongolia. InterPress printing.

Articles

Bayarsaikhan J. 2003. Dalai Choinkhor Van G.Tsedensonom. (Biography of Historical figure from the early XX century). Ekimto printing. 

Turbat Ts., Bayarsaikhan J., Batsukh D., Bayarkhuu N. 2011. Deer Stones of the Jargalantyn Am. Mongolian Tangible Heritage Association. 

Bayarsaikhan J. 2017. Deer Stones in the Northern Mongolia. InterPress printing.

Taylor, William., Julia, Clark., Jamsramjav, Bayarsaikhan., Tumuurbaatar, Turshinjargal., Jessica Thompson, Jobe., William, Fitzhugh., Richard, Kortum., Robert N., Spengler III., Svetlana Shnaider., Frederik Seersholm, Isaac Hart, Nicolas Case, Shevan Wilkin, Jessica Hendy, Ulrike Thuering, Bryan Miller, Alicia Ventresca Miller, Andrea Picia, Nils Vanwezer, Franziska Irmer, Samantha Brown, Aida Abdykanova, Daniel Shultz, Victoria Pham, Michael Bunee, Katerina Douka, Emily Jones, and Nicole Boivin 2020. Early Pastoral Economies and Hearding Transitions in Eastern Eurasia. Scientific Reports.

Sirak, Kendra & Fernandes, Daniel & Cheronet, Olivia & Harney, Eadaoin & Mah, Matthew & Mallick, Subhashis & Rohland, Nadin & Adamski, Nicole & Broomandkhoshbacht, Nasreen & Callan, Kimberly & Candilio, Francesca & Lawson, Ann & Mandl, Kirsten & Oppenheimer, Jonas & Stewardson, Kristin & Zalzala, Fatma & Anders, Alexandra & Bartík, Juraj & Coppa, Alfredo & Tumen Dashtseveg & Sándor Évinger & Zdeněk Farkaš & Tamás Hajdu & Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan & Lauren McIntyre & Vyacheslav Moiseyev  & Mercedes Okumura & Ildikó Pap & Michael Pietrusewsky & Pál Raczky & Alena Šefčáková & Andrei Soficaru & Tamás Szeniczey & Béla Miklós Szőke & Dennis Van Gerven & Sergey Vasilyev & Lynne Bell & David Reich & Pinhasi, Ron. (2020). Human auditory ossicles as an alternative optimal source of ancient DNA. Genome Research. 30.

Taylor, William & Clark, Julia & Jamsranjav, Bayarsaikhan & Tumurbaatar, Tuvshinjargal & Thompson Jobe, Jessica & Fitzhugh, William & Kortum, Richard & Spengler, Robert & Shnaider, Svetlana & Seersholm, Frederik & Hart, Isaac & Case, Nicholas & Wilkin, Shevan & Hendy, Jessica & Thuering, Ulrike & Miller, Bryan & Ventresca Miller, A. & Picin, Andrea & Vanwezer, Nils & Boivin, Nicole. (2020). Early Pastoral Economies and Herding Transitions in Eastern Eurasia. Scientific Reports.

Taylor, William & Fantoni, Marcello & Marchina, Charlotte & Lepetz, Sébastien & Jamsranjav, Bayarsaikhan & Houle, Jean-Luc & Pham, Victoria & Fitzhugh, William. (2020). Horse sacrifice and butchery in Bronze Age Mongolia. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 31.

Hermes, T. R., Frachetti, M. D., Voyakin, D., Yerlomaeva, A. S., Beisenov, A. Z., Doumani Dupuy, P. N., Papin, D. V., Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, G., Bayarsaikhan, J., Houle, J. L., Tishkin, A. A., Nebel, A., Krause-Kyora, B., & Makarewicz, C. A. (2020). High mitochondrial diversity of domesticated goats persisted among Bronze and Iron Age pastoralists in the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor. PloS one, 15(5), e0233333.

J.Bayarsaikhan. 2020. Salvage Archaeology in Northern Mongolia: Surprising Finds from the Mongol Empire. The 14th Annual Mongolian Studies Conference "Art and Culture among the Mongols“ February 7-9, 2020, Washington DC. Pp.50-58.

Miller Bryan., Furholt Martin., Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan., Tüvshinjargal Tömörbaatar., Brandtstätter Lennart., Wright Joshua., Ayush Tseel., Wunderlich Tina. 2019. Proto-Urban Establishments in Inner Asia: Surveys of an Iron Age Walled Site in Eastern Mongolia. Journal of Field Archaeology. 44. 267-286.

J.Bayarsaikhan. 2019. “Salvage archaeology and unforeseen new finds of the Mongol era” The 3rd Asian Regional Conference of the International Association for Mongolian Studies. Heritage and Culture of the Mongols: Archaeological and Literary Monuments. Seoul, 2019. Pp 148-155

Fages A., Hanghøj K., Khan N., Gaunitz C., Seguin-Orlando A., Leonardi M., McCrory Constantz C., Gamba C., Al-Rasheid KAS., Albizuri S., Alfarhan AH., Allentoft M., Alquraishi S, Anthony D., Baimukhanov N, Barrett JH., Bayarsaikhan J., Benecke N., Bernáldez-Sánchez E., Berrocal-Rangel L, Biglari F, Boessenkool S, Boldgiv B, Brem G, Brown D, Burger J, Crubézy E, Daugnora L, Davoudi H, de Barros Damgaard P, de Los Ángeles de Chorro Y de Villa-Ceballos M, Deschler-Erb S, Detry C, Dill N, do Mar Oom M, Dohr A, Ellingvåg S, Erdenebaatar D, Fathi H, Felkel S, Fernández-Rodríguez C, García-Viñas E, Germonpré M, Granado JD, Hallsson JH, Hemmer H, Hofreiter M., Kasparov A., Khasanov M., Khazaeli R., Kosintsev P., Kristiansen K, Kubatbek T., Kuderna L., Kuznetsov P., Laleh H., Leonard JA., Lhuillier J., Liesau von Lettow-Vorbeck C., Log-vin A., Lõugas L., Ludwig A., Luis C., Arruda AM., Marques-Bonet T., Matoso Silva R., Merz V., Mijiddorj E., Miller BK., Monchalov O., Mohaseb FA., Morales A., Nieto-Espinet A., Nistelberger H., Onar V., Pálsdóttir AH., Pitulko V., Pitskhelauri K., Pruvost M., Rajic Sikanjic P., Rapan Papeša A., Roslyakova N., Sardari A., Sauer E., Schafberg R., Scheu A., Schibler J., Schlumbaum A., Ser-rand N., Serres-Armero A., Shapiro B., Sheikhi Seno S., Shevnina I., Shidrang S., Southon J., Star B., Sykes N., Taheri K., Taylor W., Teegen WR., Trbojević Vukičević T., Trixl S., Tumen D., Undrakh-bold S., Usmanova E., Vahdati A., Valenzuela-Lamas S, Viegas C, Wallner B, Weinstock J, Zai-bert V, Clavel B., Lepetz S, Mashkour M., Helgason A., Stefánsson K., Barrey E., Willerslev E., Ou-tram AK., Librado P., Orlando L. 2019. Tracking Five Millennia of Horse Management with Extensive Ancient Genome Time Series. Cell. 2019 May 30;177(6).

Taylor, William., Clark, Julia., Reichhardt, Björn., Hodgins, Gregory., Jamsranjav, Bayarsaikhan., Batchuluun, Oyundelger., Whitworth, Jocelyn., Nansalmaa, Myagmar., Lee, Craig., Dixon, E. 2019. Investigating reindeer pastoralism and exploitation of high mountain zones in northern Mongolia through ice patch archaeology. PLOS ONE. 14.

Taylor William., Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan., Tumurbaatar Tuvshinjargal., Bender Scott., Tromp Monica., Clark Julia., Lowry K.,  Houle Jean-Luc., Staszewski Dimitri., Whitworth Jocelyn., Fitzhugh William., Boivin Nicole. 2018. Origins of equine dentistry. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115. 201721189. 10.1073/pnas.1721189115. 

Seitsonen Oula., Houle Jean-Luc., Broderick Lee., Woodley Peter., Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan. 2018. Lithics in the steppe landscape: An off-site spatial analysis of stone artefacts in the Khanuy Valley, Mongolia. Archaeological Research in Asia. 10.1016/j.ara.2018.01.003. 

Taylor William, Jargalan Burentogtokh, Lowry K, Clark Julia, Tumurbaatar Tuvshinjargal, Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan. 2017. A Bayesian chronology for early domestic horse use in the Eastern Steppe. Journal of Archaeological Science. 81. 49-58.

William Taylor., Tumurbaatar Tuvshinjargal., Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan. 2017. Exploring the Origins of Horse Herding and Riding in the Mongolian Steppe. Silk Road Journal. Volume-15. 2017. Pp 153-155.

William Taylor., Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan., Tumurbaatar Tuvshinjargal. 2015. Archaeozoology and horse transport in the Deer Stone-Khirigsuur complex. Nomadic Heritage Studies. Tomus XVI. Fasc-8. 2015. Pp 84-92.

L.G.Broderick, J.L.Houle, O.Seitsonen, J.Bayarsaikhan. 2014. The mystery of the missing caprings: Stone circles at the Great khirigsuur in the Khanuy Valley. Studia archaeologica.  Tomus XXXIV. Fasc 13. 164-174.

Broderick Lee., Seitsonen Oula., Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan., Houle Jean-Luc. 2014. Lambs to the Slaughter: A Zooarchaeological Investigation of Stone Circles in Mongolia. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 26. 10.1002/oa.2425. 

Bayarsaikhan Jamsranjav. 2012. Moğolistan’da Bulunan Arkeolojic Malumatlar Göre Eski Orta Asya Milletlerinin Inanç Sisteminde Kurdun Rolϋ. Bir Fikir Hareketinin Yüz Yılı Tϋrk Ocaklari Uluslararası Sempozyumu. Bildiler. Istanbul Üniversitesi, Edebiyat fakkϋltesi, 2012, pp. 535-552. 

U Brosseder., J.Bayarsaikhan., Bryan K Miller., Ts.Odbaatar. 2011. Seven radiocarbon dates for Xiongnu burials in Western and Central Mongolia. Nomadic Heritage Studies, Tomus XI, Fasc-13. 234-240.

Zhamsranzhav Baiarsaikhan. 2009. A 13th–14th Century Mongolian Grave at Bukhiin Khoshuu. Current Archaeological research in Mongolia. Papers from the first international conference on”Archaeological Research in Mongolia” held in Ulaanbaatar, August 19th-23^rd, 2007. Bonn Contribution to Asian Archaeology. Vol-4, Edited by Jan Bemmann, Hermann Parzinger, Ernst Pohl, Damdinsüren Tseveendorzh. Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, 2009. Pp 477-486.

Bryan K. Miller., Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan., Prokopy B. Konovalov., Tseveendorj Egiimaa., Judy Logan., Michelle Machicek. 2008.Xiongnu Constituents of the High Mountains: Results of the Mongol-American Khovd Archaeology Project. //The Silk Road Journal. Volume 5. Number 2. 2008.

Bryan K. Miller., Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan., Tseveendorj Egimaa., Christine Lee. 2008.  Xiongnu Elite Tomb Complexes in the Mongolian Altai: Results of the Mongol-American Hovd Archaeology Project, 2007. The Silk Road Journal. Vol. 5, No. 2. (Winter 2008). pp. 27-35. 

J.Bayarsaikhan. 2005. Shamanistic Elements in Mongolian Deer Stone Art.  The Deer Stone Project: Anthropological Studies in Mongolia 2002-2004. Edited by William W. Fitzhugh, J. Bayarsaikhan, and Peter K. Marsh. Arctic Studies Center and the National Museum of Mongolian History. Washington and Ulaanbaatar, 2005. Pp 41-46.

J.Bayarsaikhan. 2003. Notes on Meaning of Deer Stone Iconography. // The Hovsgol Deer Stone Project, 2003 Field Report, edited by William W. Fitzhugh. Washington: Arctic Studies Centre, National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian Institution.  USA.

He published more than 60 articles on archaeological studies of the Mongol, Xiongnu empires and Bronze Age of Mongolia in native language.  

Book chapters

Ж.Баярсайхан. 2020. Буган хөшөө, түүний тархац, он цаг, бусад дурсгалтай холбогдох нь. Археологийн судалгаа: Монголчуудын гарал, угсаа-соёлын хөгжил. УБ., 2020. Тал 68-86. 

Houle JL., Bayarsaikhan J. 2014. Mongolia: Archaeological Heritage. In: Smith C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_1971.

William Fitzhugh, Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan. 2011. “Mapping Ritual Landscapes in Bronze Age. Mapping Mongolia, Situating Mongolia in the World from Geologic Time to the Present. Paula L W. Sabloff, Editor. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (July 14, 2011).

Edited volumes

Fitzhugh, William W., Bayarsaikhan, J., and Marsh, Peter K., eds. 2004. The Deer Stone Project: Anthropological Studies in Northern Mongolia 2002-2004. Smithsonian Institution.

Theses

J.Bayarsaikhan. 2016. Deer Stones of the Northern Mongolia. Dissertation for the Archaeology and Anthropology Department at National University of Mongolia. (in Mongolian).

J.Bayarsaikhan. 2005. Bronze and Early Iron Age collection from the National Museum of Mongolian History.  Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Available in the History Department at Mongolian State Educational University of Mongolia. (in Mongolian).