Geoarchaeological Analysis of Soils and Structures of the Kurgan Shumny, Krasnodar Region

Abstract

The chronosequence of soils buried under constructions of different ages at the large (h – 3.5 m, d – 74 m) kurgan Shumny in the Krasnodar Region has been studied. The kurgan was built sequentially by the people of Catacomb (XXVIII–XXII centuries BC) and Srubnaya (XV–X centuries BC) cultures, and includes five constructions, that built from the material of local soils and anthropogenic material. Each of the subsequent construction overlapped the previous one and went beyond it, covering some an additional space which allow studying a consecutive series of buried under the constructions soils. During the kurgan building (XXVIII–X centuries BC), the morphological and physicochemical properties of the soils changed: the content of organic matter and magnetic susceptibility increased, whereas the mixing up of the upper horizons by burrowing animals, the content of carbonates, and the share of exchangeable sodium in the composition of exchangeable bases decreased. The directions of these properties change in the materials of kurgan constructions, from early to late, agree with that for the soils buried below them. For the building of uneven-aged constructions of the kurgan, local soils were used, which had different properties at the time of a particular construction. Those soils occupied a significantly larger area than the kurgan, which increases the certainty of the studies. The evolution of soil properties and earth materials allow to suggest climatic trend for the period during the mound construction - atmospheric moisture increased and the mean annual temperature decreased from the Early Catacomb to Srubnaya cultures. For buried soils was carried out a palynological analysis, which, regardless of paleosol data, confirms the conclusions about climate changes. According to micromorphological observations, the Early Catacomb time can be additionally characterized as arid, which led to soil cracking and accumulation of carbonates in the upper part of soil profiles. Based on the structure and properties of mounds it is possible to identify the technology of their construction, which included compacting earthen material in dry and wet form, coarse mixing, adding of river silt, coals and bones.