The earliest herders of East Asia: Examining Afanasievo entry to Central Mongolia

The Afanasievo world reportedly overlaps the borders of five nations including two countries East Asia: Mongolia and China. Across these several regions, first appearance domestic herd animals (sheep, goat, cattle) initial practice copper bronze metallurgy are associated with communities. Since mobile pastoralism has long been a significant part Mongolian cultural tradition question when, where, how groups entered is extreme interest to archaeologists. Over past 50 years important sites have reported analyzed but still little known among Western scholars. In this study we provide brief overview archaeology, its peripheries, recent analytical breakthroughs then develop unique perspective on from farthest eastern edge in central Mongolia. We assess different roles migration diffusion process animal introduction present current hypotheses explaining intensification region during late 3rd early 2nd millennium BC. argue that impact entry into Asia was transformative must be understood context innovations made by Asian indigenous communities, eventually leading form steppe