Lunchtime Seminar – 18 November – Urjinkhand Gansukh

N.B. This seminar is in-person only

Geographical characteristics and comparison of urban settlements during the Xiongnu and Mongol Empire

Urjinkhand Gansukh (MIASU Visiting Scholar, University of Cambridge)

This study examines how the nomadic empires that existed in different historical periods within the territory of Mongolia—specifically the Xiongnu Empire (ca. 3rd century BCE–1st century CE) and the Mongol Empire (13th–14th centuries CE)—selected the locations of their urban settlements in relation to geographical features and environmental conditions. It also explores how their pastoral economy influenced the choice of settlement locations. Furthermore, based on the main natural and socio-economic factors influencing settlement location, spatial analysis is conducted to identify potential suitable areas where ancient cities might have been located, and the resulting spatial models of possible settlement locations are presented. Building upon the results of settlement suitability analysis, an experimental study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of automatically detecting archaeological remains. The experiment was carried out over a 600 ha area in the Türgen River valley of Türgen soum, Uvs Province, using deep learning and remote sensing methods. The results of this experimental research are presented in the final section of the study.