ВОЗМОЖНОСТИ ЛАНДШАФТНОЙ АРХЕОЛОГИИ В ИЗУЧЕНИИ ЛОКАЛЬНОЙ МОБИЛЬНОСТИ СТЕПНЫХ СКОТОВОДЧЕСКИХ КУЛЬТУР ЭПОХИ ПАЛЕОМЕТАЛЛА

Abstract

The article is devoted to testing the effectiveness of methods of cultural landscape archaeology for studying the local mobility of steppe pastoral cultures of the Paleometal Epoch (Eneolithic — Bronze Age) of Central Eurasia. In the paradigm of landscape archaeology comprehensive studies of a series of reference polygons have been recently carried out in the North-Western Caspian region, the Middle Don region, the Southern Trans-Urals, the Ural-Mugodzhary region. The research protocol included the use of GIS technologies, means of shallow-depth geophysics, geoarchaeology, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, paleoanthropology, paleosurface science, paleoclimatology, the study of isotope archives, etc. As a result, it was found that the life support system in the reconstructed economic and cultural models was based on various forms of mobile cattle breeding with seasonal rotation of pastures and water sources with a subsidiary role of hunting and gathering. In areas where copper ore sources were located, they were harmoniously combined with mining and metallurgical production due to the coincidence of seasonal economic and production cycles. This economic system allowed achieving a dynamic balance between human needs and the natural resource potential of the developed steppe and mountain-steppe geosystems, relying on their ability to regenerate without losing their ecological function. The research has shown that landscape archaeology can claim to be a methodological basis for studying local mobility of steppe pastoralists of the Paleometal Epoch. At the same time, none of its the methods, including the most effective isotope studies, can claim to be universal. Only a comprehensive application of the entire arsenal of landscape archaeology methods can lead to the reconstruction of economic and cultural models based on mobile forms of cattle breeding.