A Rare Belt Plaque in Zoomorphic Style from the Inner Tien Shan

The article publishes a very rare for Saka culture of the Tien Shan region belt plaque, made with the Scythian-Siberian animal motif. It was accidentally found at an altitude of 2300 m. in the northern part of the Inner Tien Shan, and, most likely, it was lost there in antique time. The plaque has a butterfly-shaped shape, and a relief paired heads of a snow leopard was depicted on its outer surface in a realistic manner. On its reverse side there are two small loops indicating the construction of the combat belt on which it was fixed. Apart from the main belt there were additional leather straps which also were used as laces in the front. Belts of a similar construction with plaques of similar shape were previously found only in an elite burial of the Issyk kurgan in Tien Shan region. Nevertheless, outside this region, this belt plaque has close analogies in the synchronous cultures of the Scythian type in the Forest-steppe Altay, Tuva, Ordos and Northern China, as well as in the forest-steppe part of the Urals region. Based on stylistics and analogies, this belt plaque can be dated back to the turn of the 5th and 4th centuries BC. But in these regions, with the exception of the Urals, all similar plaques have one central loop on the back side. This indicates an independent line of development of these belt garment items on the territory of Saka culture of the Tien Shan region, although the origins of this line, undoubtedly, were initially outside its distribution area.

Contacts of Bronze - Early Iron Age Archaeological Cultures with Synchronous Cultures of the Outer World (General overview)

The Eneolithic and Bronze-Early Iron Age cultures prevalent in the territory of Western Georgia do not seem to be isolated from the archeological cultures of the outside world, but there are observed quite close contact-relations between them. In the Eneolithic Age, with pottery and one group of stone artifacts, there are close contacts with Upper Imereti and pre-Maykop materials. The touching points are also revealed between the Dolmen and Proto-Colchian cultures. According to some of the metal artefacts of Upper Svaneti and Upper Racha (Brill Cemetery), contacts are observed with the materials of the Maykop and Digoria cultural materials…., Which took place through communication routes leading to some of the passes of the Central Caucasus Range. We have met elements of Mtkvari-Araks and Proto-Colchian cultures in Dablagomi settlement (Samtredia region). With some of the materials found in Colchis, some contacts are revealed with the Beden culture existing on the territory of Shida Kartli. In the territory of Western Georgia (Adjara, Eastern Colchis) mainly in the composition of bronze treasures are found the axes from Central Transcaucasian, which must have gotten here as a result of the relations between the populations of Western and Eastern Georgia. Imported pottery found in southwestern Colchis (Makhvilauri hill-settlement) reveals certain relations with the Proto-Hittite world. The connections with separate artifacts of Bronze Age ceramic materials found in Colchis with materials from Asia Minor can be seen.

To Divide or Not to Divide? How Deuterium Affects Growth and Division of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Extensive in vivo replacement of hydrogen by deuterium, a stable isotope of hydrogen, induces a distinct stress response, reduces cell growth and impairs cell division in various organisms. Microalgae, including Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a well-established model organism in cell cycle studies, are no exception. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a green unicellular alga of the Chlorophyceae class, divides by multiple fission, grows autotrophically and can be synchronized by alternating light/dark regimes; this makes it a model of first choice to discriminate the effect of deuterium on growth and/or division. Here, we investigate the effects of high doses of deuterium on cell cycle progression in C. reinhardtii. Synchronous cultures of C. reinhardtii were cultivated in growth medium containing 70 or 90% D2O. We characterize specific deuterium-induced shifts in attainment of commitment points during growth and/or division of C. reinhardtii, contradicting the role of the “sizer” in regulating the cell cycle. Consequently, impaired cell cycle progression in deuterated cultures causes (over)accumulation of starch and lipids, suggesting a promising potential for microalgae to produce deuterated organic compounds.

Ancient World

The features of depicting space in the reliefs and murals of Ancient Egypt are considered. Attention is drawn to the preservation of the connection of ancient Egyptian art with primitive art in sacred paintings and to the evolution of the ways of depicting space in secular scenes. There is enough material to reconstruct the ancient Egyptian version of the World Tree myth and to establish links with other archaic myths and ideas about the World Tree in the synchronous cultures of the Middle East. When analyzing markers of evolutionary changes, the most active channels were established and the forecast of the self-organization scenario was checked. The results are presented in the form of generalized psychological portraits and behavior patterns of representatives of the main estates.

NEW DATA ON THE HERD COMPOSITION IN THE MIDDLE AND LATE BRONZE AGE OF NORTHWESTERN CRIMEA

The paper deals with the results of an archeo-zoological study of bone materials from a num- ber of newly discovered settlements in Northwestern Crimea (Tarkhankut-Н2, Tarkhankut-Н8, Tarkhankut-18 and Tarkhankut-22а). According to the available archaeological evidence and ra- diocarbon determinations obtained on bone remains from cultural layers and semi-closed assem- blages, the materials in question belong to the early stage of the Babino culture (Tarkhankut-18, Tarkhankut-22а) and to the Sabatinovka (Tarkhankut-Н2, Tarkhankut-22а) and Belozerka (Tarkhankut-Н8, Tarkhankut-18) cultures. In addition, the Tarkhankut-22а settlement yielded some Early Iron Age materials. Altogether, 1211 bones were studied, and 284 of them proved to be identifiable. An attempt is made to consider the herd composition in its dynamics: during the final stage of the Middle Bronze Age the herd was heavily dominated by cattle, followed by small ru- minants, while the percentage of horse remains was insignificant. The Late Bronze Age witnessed an increase in the numbers of small ruminants, and the presence of horse became perceptible in the final of the Bronze Age. The authors compare their data with the information available for the Middle and Late Bronze Age settlements of Crimea and the synchronous cultures of the North Black Sea region. The analyzed materials point to the existence of pastoral stockbreeding with stone architecture represented by livestock enclosures.

Middle Ages

The sources to mind evolution study were chosen. The methods of the depicting space in the painting of the European Middle Ages and painting of previous and synchronous cultures are considered. The trends in the development of medieval pictorial art are established and their connections with the general laws of evolution of the human mind are revealed. When analyzing markers of evolutionary changes, the most active channels were established, and the forecast following from the scenario of self-organization of complex systems was checked. The results of the analysis are presented in the form of a psychological portrait of one of the most outstanding women of the Middle Ages - Eleanor of Aquitaine. The behavior patterns of the Middle Ages main estates representatives were described.