This project aims to study the socio-economic and environmental adaptation strategies of civilizations in a context of multifactorial upheavals that could lead to the collapse. Echoing the difficult situations that our contemporary society faces, the project will investigate an emblematic but still poorly documented case, the disappearance in Central Asia of the Oxus civilization and the formation of the Sine Sepulchro cultural complex during the transition between the Bronze and Iron Ages (around 1500 BCE). While the search for direct causes of this disappearance is currently inconclusive, this project aims to question societal transformations by focusing on the processes of adaptation during this transition and the period that followed (2nd half of the 2nd mill. BCE). The strategies implemented appear to have been successful, since the Early Iron Age was characterized by an extreme stability for five centuries. This pivotal period, however, remains little studied because it was long considered a period of decline caused by “barbarian invasions”. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the interactions between human societies and their environment during this transition, the TransOxus project intends to question societal resilience at the local level. It will focus on a recently discovered settlement area in southern Uzbekistan, the Kayrit oasis. It is unique for several sites dating from this transition period have been recorded there, which constitute the only known settled complex in an altitude area and in proven contact with cultures from the steppe of northern Central Asia, which certainly played a role in this phenomenon. This multidisciplinary project will combine archaeology, bioarchaeology, geophysics, geography and GIS. It is organized around two main axes and is based on three field missions and a significant laboratory analyses component. The first axis will aim to document and diachronically characterize the material culture and settlements of the Kayrit Oasis, and will include geophysical surveys on the identified sites, archaeological soundings, and study of material production. These studies will contribute to our understanding of settlement type, land occupation, material culture and socio-economic practices. They will provide a reliable chronological framework that will also be supported by a radiocarbon dating program. The second research axis will aim at reconstructing agricultural practices and the relationship of the oasis’ inhabitants with their environment. Archaeobotanical studies (analyses of botanical macro-remains, phytoliths, isotopes) will aim to document the interaction between man and plants. Geoarchaeological and geographical studies will reconstruct the ancient environment and evaluate existing resources and constraints, document subsistence and exploitation strategies (cultivated areas, gardens or livestock parks), and identify and date irrigation networks. They will be based on prospecting and auger drilling, as well as sediment analyses (grain size analyses, organic matter and calcium carbonate rates, OSL and C14 dating). Particular attention will also be paid to current agricultural practices in mountain areas, which are still very traditional. All the data obtained as well as those available in the scientific literature on other types of neighbouring sites (petroglyphs, kurgans) will be integrated into a geographical information system, allowing multiscalar data to be read and queried at site and oasis level and beyond.