Gender: Male
Ph.D. in History
Title: Associate Professor, Master’s Supervisor
Affiliation: School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University

Education:

· B.A. and Ph.D. in Archaeology, Northwest University

· Joint Master’s Program, Washington University in St. Louis, USA

Academic Appointments:

· Postdoctoral Researcher, Postdoctoral Program of World History, Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, Northwest University

· Visiting Scholar, Stanford University, USA

Academic Roles & Recognition:
Core member of:

· National Archaeological Talent Revitalization Plan Team

· Sanqin Talent Special Support Program - Innovation and Entrepreneurship Team

· The Youth Innovation Team of Shaanxi Universities

· Shaanxi Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Course Team

Research Interests:

· Ancient Chinese Subsistence Economy and Civilization Evolution

· Agro-pastoral Interaction and Civilizational Exchange in Ancient Eurasia

· Production and Utilization of Ancient Crops along the Silk Road

· Diffusion and Development of Agriculture in the Middle and Upper Reaches of the Yellow River

Fieldwork:
Participated in archaeological surveys, excavations, and data analysis at multiple sites along the Belt and Road, including locations in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Shaanxi (China), and Uzbekistan.

Research Projects:

· Presided over: Youth Project of National Social Science Fund of China; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Project.

· Participated in: Major Project National Social Science Fund of China; National Key R&D Program of China; Ministry of Education Major Special Project.

Publications & Achievements:
Published extensively in high-level domestic and international journals and edited volumes covering Scientific Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, and Field Archaeology.

Honors & Awards:

· Shaanxi Provincial Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation

· Concluding results of the National Social Science Fund of China project assessed as “Excellent”

Teaching:

· Led and participated in various teaching reform and curriculum ideology and politics projects.

· Pioneered the first undergraduate and graduate courses on Foreign Archaeology within the NWU Archaeology discipline.

· Taught core courses including Introduction to Archaeology and Comprehensive Field Archaeology Practicum.

Recent Publications:
† First co-author; * Corresponding author

2025

1. Xia Xinyu, Tian Duo*, Qiang Yuwei, Xia Peichao, Chong Jianrong. The Carbonized Plant Remains at the Ducheng Site Reveal a Diverse Crop Composition Structure that has Developed in the Guanzhong region[J]. Quaternary Sciences, 2025, 45(1): 255–266.

2. Betts A, Jia P, Cong D, Spate M, Tian D, Meng Q, Caspari G. WHERE ON THE MOUNTAIN?: Patterns of Bronze Age Transhumant Pastoralism in the Western Tianshan Region of Xinjiang, China[M]//Jean-Luc Houle. Mobile Pastoralist Households: Archaeological and Ethnoarchaeological Perspectives. New York & Oxford: Berghahn, 2025: 45–71.

2024

1. Tian Duo, Shao Jing, Pei Xuesong, Li Jingbo. Analysis of Charred Plant Remains and Related Issues from the Jiangliu Site in Jingyang, Shaanxi[J]. Archaeology and Cultural Relics, 2024(1): 121–128.

2. Cao Jiafeng, Zhu Yingpei, Tian Duo*, Shao Jing, Li Jingbo, Ma Zhikun. Analysis of Plant Remains Unearthed from the Han Dynasty Tomb at Dabaozi, Jingyang, Shaanxi[J]. Acta Micropalaeontologica Sinica, 2024, 41(4): 384–397.

3. Ren M, Chen L, Xi T, You Y, Tian D, Wang J, Festa M, Ma J. Living Together, Living Apart: Residential Structures in Late Bronze Age Shirenzigou, Xinjiang[J]. Land, 2024, 13(5): 576.

4. Wang Yongqiang, Yuan Xiao, Tian Duo, Ruan Qiurong. Excavation Report of the Jirentai Goukou (Jartai Pass) Cemetery in Nilka County, Xinjiang[J]. Wenbo, 2024(6): 3–19.

2023

1. Tian D†*, Li J†, Wang Y, Dang Z, Zhang X, Li C, Xu Y. Unveiling the Dynamics of Millet Spread into Xinjiang: New Evidence of the Timing, Pathways, and Cultural Background[J]. Agronomy, 2023, 13(7): 1802.

2. Ma Zhikun, Liu Shu, Ren Meng, Ma Jian, Xi Tongyuan, Wang Jianxin, Wan Zhiwei, Tian Duo, Ren Weihe*. Agricultural and Pastoral Activities at the Shirenzigou Site in the Eastern Tianshan Region of Xinjiang: Evidence from Charred Seeds, Phytoliths, and Pollen[J]. Acta Micropalaeontologica Sinica, 2023, 40(2): 181–193.

2022

1. Tian Duo, Ma Jian, Wang Jianxin, Zhao Zhijun. Analysis of Plant Remains from Structure III F1 at the Shirenzigou Site in Barkol, Xinjiang[J]. Archaeology and Cultural Relics, 2022(05): 121–128.

2. Tian D†, Sun Y†, Ritchey M M, Xi T, Ren M, Ma J, Wang J, Zhao Z, Ling X*, Liu X*. Varying Cultivation Strategies in Eastern Tianshan Corresponded to Growing Pastoral Lifeways between 1300 BCE and 300 CE[J]. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2022, 10: 966366.

3. Dang Z, Li C, Zhang X, Xu Y, Li Y, Tian D, Zhang C*. Early Urban Occupation in the Tarim Basin: Recent Fieldwork Results from the Fortified Site of Kuiyukexiehai'er (Koyuk Shahri) [J]. Antiquity, 2022, 96(386): 463–470.

2021

1. Tian D*, Festa M, Cong D, Zhao Z, Jia P W, Betts A. New Evidence for Supplementary Crop Production, Foddering and Fuel Use by Bronze Age Transhumant Pastoralists in the Tianshan Mountains[J]. Scientific Reports, 2021, 11: 13718.

2. Tian Duo, Xi Tongyuan, Ren Meng, Ma Jian, Wang Jianxin, Zhao Zhijun. Agricultural Production in Barkol, Xinjiang in the First Millennium BC: from the Perspective of Farmland Weeds[J]. The Western Regions Studies, 2021(03): 72–82+171.

3. Tian Duo, Ma Jian, Ren Meng, Xi Tongyuan, Wang Jianxin, Zhao Zhijun. Barley Production in Early Xinjiang: Evidence from Archaeobotanical Remains in the Shirenzigou Site, Northern Tianshan Mountains[J]. Agricultural History of China, 2021, 40(03): 44–55.

2019

1. Li Y*, Storozum M, Tian D, Frachetti M, Su K, Wang X. Farming Strategies of 1st Millennium CE Agro-pastoralists on the Southern Foothills of the Tianshan Mountains: A Geoarchaeological and Macrobotanical Investigation of the Mohuchahangoukou (MGK) Site, Xinjiang, China[J]. PLOS ONE, 2019, 14(6): e0217171.

2018

1. Tian D*, Ma J, Wang J, Pilgram T, Zhao Z, Liu X*. Cultivation of Naked Barley by Early Iron Age Agro-pastoralists in Xinjiang, China[J]. Environmental Archaeology, 2018, 23(4): 416–425.

2. Tian Duo. The Emergence of Foxtail Millet in Southern China during the Pre-Qin Period and Its Environmental Context[J]. Jianghan Archaeology, 2018(2): 48–56.

2017

1. Liu X*, Lister D L, Zhao Z, Petrie C A, Zeng X, Jones P J, Staff R A, Pokharia A K, Bates J, Singh R N, Weber S A, Motuzaite Matuzeviciute G, Dong G, Li H, Lü H, Jiang H, Wang J, Ma J, Tian D, Jin G, Zhou L, Wu X, Jones M K. Journey to the East: Diverse Routes and Variable Flowering Times for Wheat and Barley En Route to Prehistoric China[J]. PLOS ONE, 2017, 12(11): e0187405.