Left to right: Nasan-Ochir Erdene-Ochir, Nicolas Zwyns, Arina Khatsenovich, Byambaa Gunchinsuren, John Olsen, Izuho Masami, Evgeny Rybin, Tsedendorj Bolorbat, Davakhuu Odsuren
On 25 August 2023, University of Arizona Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Anthropology John W. Olsen received the Order of the Polar Star (Алтан гадас одон), the highest state award Mongolia can present to a foreign citizen. The Order was bestowed upon Olsen in acknowledgment of his contributions to Mongolian science and society extending back over three decades.
Olsen first visited Mongolia in 1991 and, since 1995, has co-directed the Joint Mongolian-Russian-American Archaeological Expeditions that have conducted excavations at many sites, especially Tsagaan Agui Cave in the Gobi Desert where several hundred thousand years of human cultural evolution are recorded in the cavern’s layers.
Previous American recipients of Mongolia’s Order of the Polar Star include President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Arizona Senator John McCain.
Dr. Habil. Evgeny Rybin and Dr. Arina Khatsenovich, researchers in the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS, were awarded medals recognizing their status as Honorary Scientists of Mongolia. Evgeny Rybin has been the leader of the Institute’s Mongolian Paleolithic research group, working in the Tolbor Valley since 2014. Arina Khatsenovich has directed research in the Orkhon Valley and at Tsagaan Agui Cave since 2018.
Photo credits: Johannes Setzer, Ts. Bolorbat, N-O. Erdene-Ochir
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