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Landscape archaeology in the north Caucasus mountains: Initial findings of exploration of promontory landscape in Kislovodsk during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Ageстатья
- Авторы: Reinhold S., Belinskij A.B., Korobov D.S., Fassbinder J., Borisov A.V., Peters S.
- Журнал: Eurasia Antiqua
- Том: 13
- Год издания: 2007
- Первая страница: 139
- Последняя страница: 179
- Аннотация: The Kislovodsk basin in the North Caucasian piedmonts offers one of the best archaeologically investigated areas in the South of Russia. With a history of research that reaches back more than a century and several intensive surveys, this area is a key region to investigate the formation of the wealthy archaeological landscapes in the North Caucasus in a diachronic perspective. Especially during the Early Iron Age (11th-6th century BC) and the Early Medieval Alanian Period (5th-8th century BC) human presence reached the highest intensity, with a dense settlement system and highly organised territorial structure. The discovery of a new type of settlements from the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age in 2004, however, opened a completely new perspective on this territorial structure. All newly discovered sites are found in areas above 1400 m in a region, which is not part of the predictable area of agriculture during this period. Therefore it was previously not thought suitable for human settling. Furthermore, the settlements structure with a large oval or square place in the centre of a highly standardised stone architecture designate them as ideal candidates for summer pastoral settlements specialised in herding. Our actual project at the DAI Eurasian department in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeology RAS, Moscow and Nasledie, Stavropol, has started to explore the territorial structure and function of these new type of settlements using remote sensing sources like satellite and aerial images as well as fieldwork, small scaled excavations and soil science and geophysical survey. Another crucial aspect of our project is to create a systematic network of radiocarbon dates to make out not only the chronological and cultural position of these sites, but also to try to understand their place in the general development of settlement in this area. The first results of the surveys is, that not only the settlements structure is highly structuralised, but also their interior organisation. Soil studies, geophysical survey and excavation showed for several houses a very similar picture with an intensive use of some areas, especially for keeping animals. The latter was confirmed by the analysis of soil samples, which contained such a significant number of keratin-consuming micro fungi, that it allowed to verify the presence of animals over a very long time. On the other hand, the archaeological evidence rather points towards a permanent settlement, than a seasonal one The complex architecture, the huge number of finds as well as clear indicators for production are not likely come from a site visited by and by. The investigation is to be continued to understand more about the function of these sites. This includes more excavation and more radiocarbon dates, both in the mountains and valley sites, as well as excavations in some of the numerous burial mounds near by.
- Добавил в систему: Борисов Александр Владимирович