The University of Oregon has completed a project to document and analyze a remote, little-known, yet fascinating area of the world. The Mongolian Altai Inventory Project is an atlas, website and digital photo archive that showcase ancient archaeological discoveries from the mountainous region of northwestern Mongolia that was home to hunters and pastoral nomads for thousands of years.

The published 224-page atlas, “Archaeology and Landscape in the Mongolian Altai: an Atlas”, the corresponding website, “Archaeology and Landscape in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia”, and a digital photo archive are the result of 18 field seasons in the Altai Mountains of Russia and Mongolia. The project was made possible by a USD316,000 Research Materials Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in the USA.

The inhabitants of the region erected large stone altars, burial mounds, standing stones and image stones in the valleys. They also left behind vast concentrations of rock art in the high valleys; these images tell their life stories.  With vivid maps and photographs, the atlas and website present the cultural heritage of a rugged environment, focusing on the interconnection of the surface human-made structures and the landscape. The project was developed to appeal to geographers, archeologists, educators and general readers interested in ecotourism, preservation, geography and ancient human cultures.