scholarly journals The Pyrogenic Archives of Anthropogenically Transformed Soils in Central Russia

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Alexandra Golyeva ◽  
Konstantin Gavrilov ◽  
Asya Engovatova ◽  
Nikita Mergelov ◽  
Nailya Fazuldinova
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Central Russia ◽  
Burial Rate ◽  
Cultural Layers ◽  
Plough Layer ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Native Soils

Charred materials (anthracomass) stored within a soil constitute a major part of its pyrogenic archive and could provide evidence of past fire events, both natural and anthropogenic. However, the dynamics of man-made contributions to the total anthracomass of soil at different time scales are insufficiently understood. In this study, we determined the anthracomass concentrations, stocks, and particle-size distribution in anthropogenically transformed soils of different genesis and ages. Materials were collected from the following archaeological sites within Central Russia—3 Upper Paleolithic sites (Avdeevo, Khotylevo-2 and Yudinovo-1), 2 Early Iron Age settlements (Khotylevo-2 and Yaroslavl), and 1 Medieval site (Yaroslavl). Samples from different cultural layers (CLs), plough layers, and native soils (control) were studied. We identified anthracomass accumulation over a wide chronological scale starting from the Upper Paleolithic Period. The high degree of preservation of anthracomass in ancient anthropogenically transformed soils was explained by the presence of large fragments of charred bones, which are more durable in comparison to wood charcoal. The anthracomass concentrations and stocks in the Early Iron Age plough layer were lower than those in the Medieval plough layer. CLs were generally more enriched in the anthracomass than plough layers, due to their sedimentational genesis, which is more favorable for anthracomass preservation than the turbational genesis of plough layers. However, the differences between charred particle sizes in synlithogenic CLs and turbational plough layers were less clear than expected, due to the specific conditions of formation of each particular layer, e.g., burial rate, duration of ploughing, and type of agricultural land use.

scholarly journals The Application of Buried Soil Properties for Reconstruction of Various Stages of Early Habitation at Archaeological Sites in Moscow Kremlin

Geosciences ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Golyeva ◽  
Olga Khokhlova ◽  
Asia Engovatova ◽  
Vladimir Koval ◽  
Anna Aleshinskaya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Household Waste ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Agricultural Land Use ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
Cultural Layers ◽  
Shallow Soils

Combined archaeological and pedogenetic study allows reconstructing the history of early habitation in Moscow Kremlin (Moscow, Russia). The area is confined to the third terrace of Moskva River with Podzols as native soils formed in fluvioglacial sandy deposits under virgin broad-leaved forests with conifers. From the Early Iron Age (1500–2000 BP) to the 12th century, alternating stages of agricultural land use and abandonment resulted in human-induced transformation of natural ecosystems into agricultural landscapes. Agricultural land use provoked soil erosion that lead to truncation of the upper soil horizons. Sediments deposited due to slope erosion and mineral materials transported by ancient people enhanced initial lithic discontinuity of soil parent material. Ancient agricultural practices included melioration of soils by mineral and organic fertilizers. During the Early Iron Age the pasture was fertilized by ash and limed by crushed dolomite. Melioration of the 12th century included not only ash and dolomite but also crushed bones, manure and household waste. A change from the agricultural to urban land use after 15th century resulted in the accumulation of cultural layers. A few interruptions in their accumulation, which were caused by accidental fires or other phenomena, were accompanied by regeneration of natural vegetation cover and the formation of shallow soils imprinted on cultural layers.

RESEARCH INTO MULTI-LAYERED MULTICULTURAL COMPLEXES OF UPPER PRICHUMYSHYE: SITES IN THE ULUS AREA

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 224-230
Author(s):  
Kungurov A. ◽  
◽  
KUNGUROVA O. ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Altai Mountains ◽  
Cultural Layers ◽  
The Creation

The Upper Prichumyshye is a region comprising two different orographic zones, the Biysk Chumysh highland and the Salair Ridge. Currently, it is one of the most studied archaeological microdistricts. The peculiarities of the Chumysh valley formation led to the creation of a valley-beam relief with a large number of expressive micro-valleys, capes and small tributaries. In different periods of history, the areas of the valley that were most convenient for living and implementation of appropriating and producing economy, were settled several times. The article presents materials that continue the cycle of publications devoted to the multi-layered archaeological sites of the Upper Prichumyshye (The Tselinnyi Region of the Altai Krai). The work characterizes the settlement of Ulus. This site contains cultural layers of the Upper Paleolithic era, the developed Bronze Age, the early Iron Age and the period of late antiquity. The materials are represented by stone tools, ceramics of various forms and ruined quarry burials of Andronian culture. Initially, the site was opened by the creator of the local museum v. Pobyeda P.F. Ryzhenko in the 50s of the last century. Keywords: Altai mountains, Upper Prichumyshye, archaeology, P.F. Ryzhenko, stone tools, burials, ceramics

scholarly journals Revisiting the “West-Baltic” Type Hydronymy in Central Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-87
Author(s):  
Pavel A. Gusenkov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
East European Plain ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
The West ◽  
East European ◽  
Central Russia ◽  
Distribution Scheme ◽  
Eastern Baltic

The article examines the substrate hydronymy of the middle Oka and the Dnieper regions (ending in -va, -da, etc.) that is typically attributed to the West-Baltic toponymic stratum and associated with the language of the Moschinskaya archaeological culture and the related archaeological sites. The author analyzed its spatial distribution in the East European Plain. The study has found that: 1) the spread of names of waterbodies ending in -va correlates with the distribution scheme of substrate Baltic hydronymy in general and the monuments of the Dnieper-Dvina, Yukhnovskaya, and Late Dyakovo cultures of the Early Iron Age; 2) the spread of hydronyms with zh/z sound variation (including as a distinctive feature) correlates with the Krivich and Radimich culture areas, and the range of Russian dialects with lisping pronunciation which makes no difference between sibilants and hushing sounds; 3) Baltic hydronymy ending in -da is not attested in the area of the Moschinskaya culture and related archaeological sites; 4) among the names with the root ape-/upe- found in the same cultural milieu, only those containing Eastern Baltic variant are verifiable; 5) the hypothesis for East Baltic origination of the names with the root stab- is not inferior to the West Baltic; 6) there are no sufficient grounds for tracing some river names to the Prussian words pannean and sug since most of these hydronyms refer to a later period while the others have more plausible explanations; 7) for some hydronyms (Zerna, Opochinka, Ponya, Sezhikovka, etc.) the substrate origin is not confirmed. Based on the above observations, the hypothesis for the presence of a West-Baltic layer of hydronymy in the middle Oka region and the consequent assumption of the West-Baltic origin of the Moshinskaya culture were disputed.

scholarly journals Chronology of Prehistoric Cultural Complexes of Sakhalin Island (Russian Far East)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 353-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaroslav V Kuzmin ◽  
Alexander A Vasilevski ◽  
Sergei V Gorbunov ◽  
G S Burr ◽  
A J Timothy Jull ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Far East ◽  
Sakhalin Island ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Continuous Sequence ◽  
The Middle Ages

A chronological framework for the prehistoric cultural complexes of Sakhalin Island is presented based on 160 radiocarbon dates from 74 sites. The earliest 14C-dated site, Ogonki 5, corresponds to the Upper Paleolithic, about 19,500–17,800 BP. According to the 14C data, since about 8800 BP, there is a continuous sequence of Neolithic, Early Iron Age, and Medieval complexes. The Neolithic existed during approximately 8800–2800 BP. Transitional Neolithic-Early Iron Age complexes are dated to about 2800–2300 BP. The Early Iron Age may be dated to about 2500–1300 BP. The Middle Ages period is dated to approximately 1300–300 BP (VII–XVII centuries AD).

scholarly journals Pottery of Early Iron Age from the Glinjeni II-La Șanț (North-Western Pontic Sea Region): Composition, Technology and Raw Material Sources

Heritage ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 2853-2875
Author(s):  
Marianna A. Kulkova ◽  
Maya T. Kashuba ◽  
Aleksandr M. Kulkov ◽  
Maria N. Vetrova
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Ceramic Technology ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
The North ◽  
Material Sources ◽  
Cultural Layers ◽  
Thin Section Analysis ◽  
North Western

Transition to the Early Iron Age was marked by the appearance of innovations such as iron technology and changes in the lifestyle of local societies on the territory of the North-Western Pontic Sea region. One of the most interesting sites of this period is the Glinjeni II-La Șanț fortified settlement, located in the Middle Dniester basin (Republic of Moldova). Materials of different cultural traditions belonged to the Cozia-Saharna culture (10th–9th cc. BC) and the Basarabi-Șoldănești culture (8th–beginning of 7th cc. BC) were found on this site. The article presents the results of a multidisciplinary approach to the study of ceramic sherds from these archaeological complexes and cultural layers as well as raw clay sources from this area. The archaeometry analysis, such as the XRF-WD, the thin section analysis, SEM-EDX of ceramics, m-CT of pottery were carried out. The study of ancient pottery through a set of mineralogical and geochemical analytic methods allowed us to obtain new results about ceramic technology in different chronological periods, ceramic paste recipes and firing conditions. Correlation of archaeological and archaeometry data of ceramics from the Glinjeni II-La Șanț site gives us the possibility to differ earlier and later chronological markers in the paste recipes of pottery of 10th–beginning of 7th cc. BC in the region of the Middle Dniester basin.

What Is the Norm?

2020 ◽  
pp. 170-189
Author(s):  
Nils Müller-Scheessel ◽  
Carola Berszin ◽  
Gisela Grupe ◽  
Annette Schwentke ◽  
Anja Staskiewicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Great Variability ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Small Children ◽  
Burial Practices ◽  
Isotopic Analyses ◽  
The Dead ◽  
High Degree

Despite great variability, most burials of the Early Iron Age in Central Europe exhibit a high degree of standardization. Richly furnished graves consist of wooden chambers furnished with grave goods like chariots, vessels, and other objects, while less “rich” burials—clustered in “regular” cemeteries—show the same orientation to the south as well as regularly reappearing objects like weapons or ornaments. Because of these strict rules, scholars have accepted such burials as “the norm,” and any other form of deposition of the dead as “abnormal,” hinting at macabre customs like cannibalism or sacrifice. This chapter analyzes one kind of Iron Age deviant burial, those in settlement pits, discussing bioarchaeological and isotopic analyses, a reassessment of archaeological evidence, and a comparison with normative burial practices. The dead in settlements belonged to at least three social categories, each probably considered incomplete in some way and unfit to be buried in regular cemeteries: very small children, adolescents, and other individuals that had suffered an untimely or “bad” death, and individuals of low social standing.

Borodino, Seima and their Contemporaries: Key Sites for the Bronze Age Chronology of Eastern Europe

1957 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 143-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marija Gimbutas
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
North West ◽  
Central Russia ◽  
Central Caucasus ◽  
Key Sites ◽  
The Bronze Age

The hoard from Borodino, north-west of the Black Sea, and the cemetery of Seima in central Russia are the best known names in the literature dealing with the Bronze Age of eastern Europe. On the alleged dates of Borodino and Seima the whole structure of the Bronze Age chronology of Russia and even Siberia is built.Tallgren in his Pontide Préscythique (1926) and in his earlier publications dated the Borodino and Seima finds to the period from 1300–1100 B.C. This date was used by many other archæologists. Tallgren based his views on analogies between Borodino and Koban axes (Tallgren 1926, 140) which actually do not exist. Koban axes are different; they belong to the Koban culture of the early Iron Age in the central Caucasus around the end of the second millennium B.C. The Borodino hoard is definitely earlier than the Koban culture. Another indication of a more or less absolute date of the Borodino hoard is the similarity of the ornamental motifs executed on the Borodino pin with those on the gold buttons from Shaft-Graves Nos. IV and V of Mycenæ. This relationship was already indicated by Spitsyn (1916).

scholarly journals Odonthological characteristics of the anthropological series from the Early Iron Age burial ground Verkh-Suzun-5 from the Novosibirsk Ob region

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 137-149
Author(s):  
M. S. Kishkurno
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Burial Mound ◽  
Burial Ground ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
High Frequencies ◽  
Anthropological Study ◽  
Minusinsk Basin ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Similar Combination

Purpose. The article is devoted to the discussion of the results that was obtained from the anthropological study of the materials from the burial mound Verkh-Suzun-5. The burial ground is located in the Novosibirsk Ob area, 4.5 km South-West from the village Verkhniy Suzun. The main goal of the work is to reveal the genesis of the studied population and the measure of influence on its formation of various migration processes. This article is devoted to the study of the odontological series, which was studied according to the standard odontological program developed by A. A. Zubov and also according to the program of archaic dental markers, developed by A. V. Zubova. Results. The series from the Verkh-Suzun-5 burial ground is characterized by the average frequencies of shoveling I1, low frequencies of six-tubercle M1 and deflecting wrinkle M1, high frequencies of the Carabelli’s trait M1, average frequencies of four-tubercle M2. A similar combination of features in earlier epochs is found in the Okunevo, Andronovo and Karasuk populations of the Khakas-Minusinsk basin, where there is a complex with average frequencies of shoveling I1, high frequencies of six-tubercule M1, lack of M1 gracilization and average frequencies of deflecting wrinkle M1. The Okunevo series differs from the Verkh-Suzun group by the high frequencies of the distal trigonid crest, but during Andronovo time the percentage of this trait in the Khakas-Minusinsk basin drops sharply. Feature combinations are similar to those observed in Verkh-Suzun are traced in Andronovo groups from Orak burial grounds, Solenoye Ozero-1 and some others, and also in Karasuk groups. In the Early Iron Age, a similar combination of characters is found in the UyukSaglyn population of Tuva (burial ground of Dogee-Baary II). This complex characterizes by high frequencies of the Carabelli’s trait M1, the lack of M1 gracilization and the high degree of M2 gracilization, and also the average frequencies of the deflecting wrinkle M1 is traced here. The series from Dogee-Baary II differs from the series from Verkh-Suzun-5 by the absence of six-tubercle forms of M1 and high frequencies of the distal trigonid crest M1. Also a comparative intergroup analysis was carried out by the method of analysis of the principal components, which also showed us the convergence of the series from the Verkh-Suzun-5 cemetery with the Okunev population of the Khakas-Minusinsk basin and the Scythian population of Tuva. Proceeding from this, it can be concluded that the basis of the composition of the studied population is the autochthonous component, which fixes in the earlier epoch of the Okunev population. In this case, the general component of these two populations is expressed in the high frequencies of the Carabelli’s trait M1, the absence of M1 gracilisation, and the average frequencies of deflecting wrinkle M1. This component is typical for Okunev groups; he occupies an intermediate position between the races of the first order (in this case, the Mongoloid and the Caucasoid). Conclusion. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the composition of the group from Verkh-Suzun-5 was predominant in the local ancient component that occurs in the earlier epoch of the Okunev population of the Khakas-Minusinsk basin, and also this component marks Southern Eurasian Anthropological Formation.

MULTILAYER CAVE SITES IN RAVINES CHERKEZ-KERMEN AND ZAMIL IN THE CRIMEA

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (72) (3) ◽  
pp. 149-166
Author(s):  
M. Zhilin ◽  
V. Ruev ◽  
A. Simonenko
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Multidisciplinary Research ◽  
Late 19Th Century ◽  
The Crimea ◽  
Cultural Layers ◽  
Late Mesolithic

The article sums up available data about excavations of multilayer cave sites in ravines Zamil and The sites Zamil-Koba 1and 2 were discovered and excavated by D. A. Krainov in 1935–1937. The former yielded two cultural layers dated to the Early and Late Mesolithic, and the latter yielded besides these two also layers dated to the Neolithic, Early Bronze Age, Early Iron Age and Middle Ages. Excavations of ZamilKoba 3 site carried out in 2020 yielded two cultural layers dated to the Late Mesolithic and Middle Ages. Directions of future multidisciplinary research of multilayer cave sites in the Zamil ravine are outlined.Cherkez-Kermen in the South-Western Crimea. The latter were excavated in the late 19th century.

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