Natural conditions of the formation of the monument of Maly Gonbinsky Kordon-2 of the Odintsovo Culture of Altai in the 4th–8th centuries A.D.

Abstract

The study is aimed at reconstructing the natural and climatic conditions of the Upper Ob River region (south of Western Siberia) in the early Middle Ages (4th–8th centuries A.D.), based on the paleosol data obtained from the fortified settlements of Maly Gonbinsky Kordon-2/11 and Maly Gonbinsky Kordon-2 / 6-3. Settlements are located on the terrace of the right bank of the Ob River. The fortification elements are represented by a horse-shoe-shaped system of a ditch and a rampart, adjacent to the edge of the above-floodplain terrace, inside which there were dwellings and outbuildings. Archaeological investigations of the settlements permitted to study the sediments of the first terrace above the floodplain and to select core samples for palynological analysis. Applica-tion of this method allowed reconstruction of the vegetation during the occupational period of the complex of monuments MGK-2. For interpreting of the actual data, the method of landscape analysis was employed. The need for its application for carrying out paleogeographic reconstructions is warranted by the presence of the relict elements in the morphological structure of the landscapes. To establish their paleogeographic status, within the framework of this study, there was determined the percentage ratio of the amount of pollen and seeds of plants extracted from the deposits of the first above-floodplain terrace, corresponding to the existence of the Odintsovo Culture and belonging to different ecological groups. As the result, the dominance of sparse birch forests and forb dry meadows in the landscape structure of that time was established, whereas the vegetation associations featu-ring pine forests were in the status of progressive elements of the landscape structure. Also, supersedence of birch forb forests by green moss pine forests was revealed. The use of the landscape approach allowed recon-struction of natural conditions of the territory occupied by the complex of fortified settlements of MGK-2. On the basis of the digital elevation model, 3D visualization of the surface of the sediments overlapping the cultural layer of the monuments was rendered, which shows the location of the objects at the lowest elevations of the surface I above the floodplain terrace and the effects of the surface water flow. This necessitated construction of a drai-nage system, the main elements of which might be represented by shallow ditches.