Approaches to the reconstruction of dynamic of the territory occupation according to the soil signs
Journal Title: Поволжская Археология - Year 2015, Vol 1, Issue 11
Abstract
The dynamics of human settling Samarskaya Luka (Volga bend) area adjacent to the Zhiguli archaeological site and burial ground has been studied by analyzing both the cultural layer of the monument and the soil strata in the adjacent ravine. Seven erosion and accumulation cycles have been distinguished in the ravine development during the Holocene, correlated with periods of the water catchment area development. Each cycle used to start with forest fires, leading to an increase in runoff and ravine cutting-in, and to complete with surface stabilization as grassland or forest was reestablished. The length of periods between changes of land use varied from a few decades in the agricultural cycles of the early Middle Ages, up to several hundred years in the nomadic-pastoral cycles of the Eneolithic – the Bronze Age, the Iron Age and the late Middle Ages. Vegetation changed within each cycle, as human utilization of the watershed resulted in elimination of the understory, reduction of tree species variety, an increase in the proportion of conifers, and, due to combination of fire and grazing, led to deforestation. A lengthy deforestation period occurred in the mid-Holocene (Eneolithic – early Bronze Age). A new period of progressive deforestation and open space growth started in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. Discontinuities in human occupation lasting a few hundred years observed in the mid-Holocene. Shorter breaks (less than a century) took place between the Scythian-Gorodets period and the Imenkovo-Khazar period, later between the Khazar period and the Bulgarian period, and in that preceding Russian colonization of the Samara Luka area in the 16th century.
Authors and Affiliations
Elena Ponomarenko, Dmitry Ponomarenko, Anna Kochkina
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP172948
- DOI https://doi.org/10.24852/pa2015.1.11.126.160
- Views 69
- Downloads 0
Results of a study of the production toolkit from the Late Neolithic Settlement of Durankulak-Blatnitsa (Bulgaria)
The article discusses findings of an assemblage of flint tools from the settlement of Durankulak-Blatnitsa dated to the early stages of the Late Neolithic Hamandgia culture (Bulgaria). The authors provide characteristics...
Beads from Inhumation Rite Burials of Gnezdovo Burial Mound
The beads from 33 inhumation burials at Gnezdovo burial mound are examined in the article. The beads (total 367) were crafted from stretched tube (258), stretched stick (3), winding (45), press molding (2 pcs.), welding...
«The Treasure from Aluston»: history of the find
In the 1950th, inside the church on the coastal necropolis of the medieval Alushta, E. V. Veimarn unearthed a gravestone with a rich burial inventory of the 14th century (137 objects, and 85 of which are golden). Current...
Findings of Ritual Spoons of the Early Middle Ages in the Oka-Sviyaga Interfluve
The article discusses medieval ritual spoons found on the territory between the Oka and Sviyaga rivers, so far quite poorly studied. These finds, especially in the context of funerary complexes, supplement our knowledge...
Wooden Coffins Discovered During Excavations in Moscow Theological Academy in 2014
The article deals with results of excavations 2014 in Moscow Theological Academy’s necropolis where 37 different funerary complexes were investigated. Among other findings, several wooden coffins were studied. Relatively...