PRE-SAUROMATIAN BURIALS IN THE LOWER VOLGA REGION ACCORDING TO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND PALEOPATHOLOGICAL DATA

In the Archaic period, Mediterranean and Greek North Pontic imports, rather well represented in Early Scythian burials on the Lower Don, are practically unknown in the burials of the nomads in the Lower Volga and South Urals regions.
 The analysis of archaeological sources shows that in the second half of the 4th century BC imported beads and pendants made of glass, frit and amber reach the nomads of the Lower Volga and South Urals, and a little later, at the turn of the 4th and in the first third of the 3rd century BC — in addition, Greek pottery and possibly vessels made of precious metals, alabaster and onyx. Olbian bronze «borystheni» of the late 4th—3rd centuries BC also were found into the Lower Volga region.
 If for the 5th and most part of the 4th century BC. imports that entered the South Urals were mainly represented by products of the Achaemenid circle, then after the fall of the Achaemenid state and the resulting geopolitical changes in the Lower Volga region and the South Urals imports began to be distributed from (via) the North Pontic region. It is worth noting that in the burials on the Manych river and in the Lower Volga region, finds of transport amphorae were combined with similar black-glazed echinus bowls, and the find of another such bowl in the South Urals suggests that they enjoyed particular popularity among the nomads, even if they did not penetrate Sarmatia within the same batch.
 The above discussed observations rather convincingly support the hypothesis put forward by D. B. Shelov and I. B. Brashinskii. There are grounds reason to suggest that beads and pendants, as well as amphoras, black-glazed pottery and coins could have reached the nomads of the Lower Volga and South Urals precisely via the Elizavetovskoe settlement at the mouth of the Don: probably, beads and pendants — even through the Scythian settlement, on which various industrial complexes and shops existed, allegedly destroyed in the 340s BC, whereas amphoras, black-glazed pottery and coins — already through the so-called Bosporan colony, founded on the site of a settlement in the last quarter of the 4th century BC, which existed until the mid-70s of the 3rd century BC.

Introduction. The article presents the results of the analysis of mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome samples obtained from the representatives of Sarmatian populations from the Lower Volga region belonging to all stages of the culture. Methods and materials. The authors have screened samples from 202 individuals representing three cultural and chronological Sarmatian groups (Early Sarmatian, Middle Sarmatian and Late Sarmatian cultures). As a result, the researchers have determined the structure and phylogenetic position of 62 mitochondrial DNA samples and 12 Y-chromosome samples, carried out a comprehensive analysis of the results. The authors have interpreted the obtained results in terms of the formation of the Sarmatian genetic composition and their genetic relationships. Results and discussion. The paper shows that the Sarmatian mitochondrial DNA pool is characterized by a high level of diversity, which is also typical for other Early Iron Age nomadic groups. The mitochondrial DNA lineages of Western Eurasian origin dominate in the Sarmatian gene pool, while lineages of Eastern Eurasian haplogroups cover less than 13% of the total sample. Data on both genetic markers suggests that the formation of the main features of the Sarmatian gene pool could be alternatively influenced by populations from more eastern regions, genetically more related to the Andronovo historical and cultural community, which is consistent with the data of physical paleoanthropology, or autochthonous populations of the Lower Volga and adjacent regions. The mitochondrial DNA data indicates a significant genetic influence of the populations from more southern regions of the Eurasian steppe belt on the Sarmatian gene pool. In addition, the authors show the presence of Eastern Eurasian components in the gene pools of all chronological Sarmatian groups, which may indicate the genetic influence of early nomads from eastern regions of the Eurasian steppe belt. The exact time of the appearance of these eastern genetic components in the Lower Volga region remains unclear. At the same time, the authors did not find the signs of an increase in the role of eastern components during the transition from the Early to Middle and to Late stages of the Sarmatian culture, which could be expected based on the data of archaeology and physical anthropology. Prospects. Prospects for a more detailed reconstruction of the Sarmatian genetic history in the Lower Volga region are associated with the further development of the diachronic model, including the accumulation of more mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome data for the population of each stage of the Sarmatian culture, the involvement of groups preceding the Sarmatians in the region in the study and the analysis of additional markers of nuclear DNA.

Bird studies have been conducted in the area of Volgograd oblast since the second half of the eighteenth century. The first studies were conducted by the heads of large academic expeditions: S.G. Gmelin (1771, 1777), I.I. Lepekhin (1771, 1795), and P.S. Pallas (1788). Therefore, this period of studies can be called the “academic period.” In the middle of the nineteenth century, professors, masters, and undergraduate and graduate students of large Russian universities (Eversmann, Artzibascheff, Bogdanov, Yakovlev, Khlebnikov, and Bostanzhoglo) started to study the bird fauna of the Volga region, and this second period of studies can be called the “university period.” In addition, a great amount of data on the birds of the Lower Volga region had also been published by German taxidermists (together with zoologists) who were gathering bird collections for sale to European museums (Moeschler, Badeker, Rikbeyl, Henсke, Pelzam, Loretz, et al.). In the first half of the twentieth century, the majority of studies on bird fauna in the Lower Volga region were scientific and practical and were aimed at the organization of their use and protection. In addition to planned studies performed by specialists, important data on bird fauna were collected by amateur ornithologists who came to the Lower Volga region accidently (Kracht, Vietinghoff, Torne, and Bub). In the second half of the twentieth century, active ecological and geographical research was initiated by the staff of the Volgograd Pedagogical Institute, who studied the parasites of birds of prey and corvids, the urban bird population, and the birds of fish ponds. At the end of the twentieth century, a number of studies were conducted in the Lower Volga region within the Important Bird Areas of Russia program supported by foreign grants. These works were followed by a large series of publications; unfortunately, these publications contained little significant ecological and faunistic information.

The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of the distribution of plant species belonging to the families Typhaceae, Potamogetonaceae, Ruppiaceae, Juncaginaceae, Alismataceae, Butomaceae, Hydrocharitaceae in the Lower Volga region based on the materials of the herbarium of the Saratov State University named after N. G. Chernyshevsky (SARAT). Species of the families Typhaceae, Potamogetonaceae, Ruppiaceae, Juncaginaceae, Alismataceae, Butomaceae, Hydrocharitaceae are confined to coastal-aquatic and aquatic habitats vulnerable to anthropogenic factors, especially in the steppe zone. Analysis of the distribution of these species will help determine the methods of protecting such biotopes. During the entire existence of the herbarium of the Saratov State University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky (SARAT), a significant amount of valuable material has been collected, which is currently being processed and systematized. To clarify the distribution of species, the data from the summary of the “Lower Volga Region Flora” and the Saratov State University Herbarium (SARAT) were analyzed, since only part of the herbarium data was used when writing the first volume. The Saratov State University Herbarium (SARAT) registered 23 species of Potamogetonaceae, nine belong to Hydrocharitaceae, six to Alismataceae, five to Typhaceae, two to Juncaginaceae, one each of Ruppiaceae and Butomaceae out of 60 species listed in the literature for the Lower Volga region. The most numerous is the Potamogetonaceae family (787 herbarium specimens), followed in descending order by Alismataceae (366), Hydrocharitaceae (243), Typhaceae (155), Butomaceae (121), Juncaginaceae (90), and Ruppiaceae (7). The collection currently contains 1,769 herbarium specimens belonging to the studied families, which were collected from 1902 to 2021 in the Lower Volga region. The largest number of specimens were herbarized in the Saratov region (1,260 herbarium specimens), followed by the Astrakhan region (262) and the Volgograd region (179). As a result of a comparative analysis for 37 species, the understanding of their distribution in the studied territory was expanded.

Bo Stig Hansen, Michael Reichardt Hansen, Udo Pletat and Rudi Studer: An abstract model of a distributed office system, Institute fuer Informatik, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 1985

Chinese mirrors from the burials of the nomads of Eastern Europe of the second half of the 1st millennium BC-first centuries AD: Typology, chronology, distribution and technology of manufacture

For the Lower Volga region with difficult soil and climatic conditions, forecasts bear an increase in the length of the growing season, an increase in heat, and a softer winters. This indicates the need for studies of subtropical plants for an objective assessment of the identification of mechanisms for their adaptation and prospects for creating protective forest plantations in sparsely wooded regions. Theoretical and practical interest for the Volgograd region is a valuable fruit, medicinal, forest reclamation and ornamental shrub (unabi) plant Zizyphus jujuba Mill. (family Rhamnaceae). The purpose of the research is to study the ecological and physiological features of subtropical woody plants of Zizyphus jujuba and to identify indicator signs of their adaptation in the Volgograd region. The objects of research were the varietal plants of the unabi (Ta-yang-zao, Southerner - large-fruited, Druzhba, Phenicia - medium-fruited, Sochi, Temryuk - small-fruited). They are tested in the Volgograd region for the first time, obtained from the FSBI (city of Sochi) and are cultivated in FSBI FNTS Agroecology RAS (Volgograd region, Russia). The soils of the experimental plot (50 ° 4´-50 ° 5´N and 45 ° 22´-45 ° 23´E) are characterized by a low humus content (from 0.57 to 1.15%). It was revealed that the study area (Volgograd region) is characterized by a small amount of precipitation, low temperatures in winter, high temperatures in summer, droughts of high and medium intensity. The amplitude of the absolute maxima and minima varies from seventy-eight (dry steppe) to ninety degrees Celsius (semi-desert). It has been established that the agroclimatic resources of natural distribution areas differ from the introduction points of Zizyphus jujuba Mill. to culture. Different levels of morphological variability, as well as water availability, lead to a change in the ability to expend and retain water, to a lack of moisture in the leaves of Z.jujuba. The insignificant effect of drought on the state of the aboveground plant organs during the arid periods was observed in medium-sized and large-fruited varieties. Young, non-lignified shoots are damaged (at an air temperature of about 40 ° C and a decrease in air humidity of up to 10%). A decrease in leaf turgor was observed with water deficit indicators of 28.3-35.8%. Water deficiency decreases by 6-10% with increasing age, which is due to increased adaptation and regulation of water balance. According to the indicators of the relative electrolyte yield, groups were determined according to the degree of drought resistance: low - Southerner, Ta-Yan-Zao (4.23-4.71), medium - Finik, Friendship (3.10-3.61) and high - Temryuk, Sochi (1.64-1.99). Ecological tolerance of various organisms to low temperatures is quite specific. Evaluation of different varieties of Zizyphus jujuba under light-brown soils showed that the adaptation of plants to low temperatures increases with increasing age. In small varieties with an increase in age, the damage is minor. Based on the vegetation experience, the limits of ecological tolerance of small-fruited forms of Zizyphus jujuba to chloride salinity were established, which makes it possible to predict their successful cultivation on soils with a chlorine ion content of 0.1%. Thus, complex ecological and physiological studies of the adaptive capacity of subtropical plants Zizyphus jujuba revealed indicator signs that allow to evaluate and predict the degree of adaptation depending on the variety and the response to stress factors specific to the conditions of the Lower Volga region.

This work is dedicated to the processes of urbanization, that took place in the Lower Volga region during the Golden Horde period. Based on archaeological materials, that have appeared in recent decades, the opinion formulated in the 1960s, that before the Golden Horde era there was no developed settlement structure in the Lower Volga region and the urbanization of this area began only with the arrival of the Mongols is refuted. In the process of urbanization of the Lower Volga region, two stages are conditionally distinguished, each of which is characterized. The data on the number of archaeological objects of the preMongol period and the Golden Horde epoch are presented. Versions about the location of two capitals – Sarai and Sarai al-Jedid, the names and time of appearance of other settlements are considered.

The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of the distribution of cryptogam vascular and gymnosperms plants in the Lower Volga region based on materials from the herbarium of the Saratov State University (SARAT). Plants of the devisions Lycopodiophyta, Equisetophyta, Polypodiophyta and Pinophyta are among the ancient representatives of the flora of the globe. The rarity and increased vulnerability of species of these devisions is caused by both natural and anthropogenic reasons. For the entire existence of the herbarium of Saratov State University (SARAT) collected a significant amount of valuable material on cryptogam vascular and gymnosperms plants, which is currently being processed and systematized. To clarify the distribution of species, the data from the report «Flora of the Lower Volga Region» and the herbarium of the SSU (SARAT) were analyzed, since when writing the first volume, the herbarium data were only partially used. The herbarium of the SSU (SARAT) registered 33 species of higher spore-bearing vascular plants: Lycopodiophyta – four, Equisetophyta – six, Polypodiophyta – 19 and Pinophyta – four out of 41 species indicated in the literature for the Lower Volga region. The fund currently contains 1539 herbarium sheets related to the studied devisions the collections of which were carried out from 1902 to 2017. The most numerous is the Polypodiophyta devision, followed in descending order by the Equisetophyta, Pinophyta and Lycopodiophyta. The largest number of specimens were herbalized in the Saratov region, the Astrakhan region is in second place, and the Volgograd region is in third place. As a result of a comparative analysis for 23 species, the understanding of their distribution in the studied area has been expanded.

The paper presents the results of our four-year observation of Bulbocodium versicolor (Ker-Gawl.) Spreng populations in the Saratov and Volgograd regions. A low ecological plasticity of the species was established. Although the species grows in steppe phytocenoses that vary in composition and structure, the specimens’ morphology was rather conservative, which can be explained by the homogeneity of the species’ vegetation conditions over the territory under study during active vegetation and flowering. It is shown that in the Lower Volga region, B. versicolor is characterized by the reduced stress component of its life strategy and a low index of size plasticity. The species uses a ‘patient’ strategy. Morphologically, plants respond to stress by a diminishment of the reproductive organs and the reproductive-to-vegetative transition. The ecotopic and phytocenotic tolerance of B. versicolor manifests itself in the species’ capacity to retain the occupied territory for a long time and to avoid competition via habitat selection. According to the conservation priority index, the majority of B. versicolor populations in the Lower Volga region are at high risk of becoming endangered and their preservation requires immediate action. The decline in the species’ size in the region is most likely induced by the climate aridization and direct human impact, specifically the transformation of wild lands to croplands. There is no decisive proof that overgrazing and gathering for bouquets have had any significant negative impact on the species. It may be attributed to the secluded location of the remaining species’ habitats that makes the species practically inaccessible in the period of massive flowering.

The article is devoted to the publication and analysis of new burial materials of the pre-Scythian period (9th – 7th centuries BC), obtained as a result of excavations of several burial mounds in the Volgograd region. The work was carried out by the expedition of Volgograd State University from the end of the past to the beginning of the present century. The burial mounds were located on the coastal terraces of the Don river and some of its tributaries, as well as on the steppe watersheds associated with the Don basin. The sample includes seven pre-Scythian burials, the burial rite and clothing material of which allows us to correlate them with the previously discovered monuments of the Chernogorovskaya Culture of the southern Russian steppes and date them within the boundaries of the initial stage of the early Iron Age. According to archaeological and anthropological data, various components were involved in the formation of this culture in the Lower Volga region and the neighbouring Don and the Volga-Ural regions. The basis was autochthonous substrates of the Late Bronze Age, as well as cultural formations derived from them at the final stage of the Late Bronze Age. The combination of local and imported cultural traditions is also reflected in the grave inventory of the studied series, especially in the ceramic complex, which shows technological and typological features of various origin. The variety of elements of the funeral rite and the mixed nature of the accompanying inventory of the presented burial series reflect the complex processes of cultural genesis in the Lower Volga region in the pre-Scythian period during transition to a nomadic economy.

This paper reviews an anthropological aspect of the artificial skull deformation which was practiced by the tribes of catacomb cultural-historical community of the Middle Bronze Age of the Lower Volga region and adjacent territories. Craniological series, numbering 207 skulls, was checked for the presence of deformation traces. 81 skulls had the traces of deformation, which is 35,2% of the total number. On average, the percentage of deformed skulls in some burial grounds of the catacomb culture of the Volgograd Region is about 17,0%, but there are a few burial grounds in craniological series where deformed skulls are absent. The type of deformation is identified as annular and frontal-occipital. The analysis of anthropological works of Russian and foreign authors as well as written sources allows to agree with the idea of A.V. Shevchenko that the custom of the skull deformation among the tribes of catacomb cultural-historical community penetrated through the cultural centers of Western Asia. The comparison of deformed and unstrained series of skulls showed that only signs of the cerebral box undergo a change under the influence of the deforming structure in most cases. The deforming effect of the structure on facial features is very weak. When the process of pressure is completed, the skull acquires a tower shape or a shape of a high cone.

The paper is exploring the problem of the vital rate data in the Lower Volga region during the famine of 19321933. Despite the ample quantity of papers presenting this problem the estimations and indicators differ even in the papers of the same authors and valuation methods are not always reliable. The birth rate of the Lower Volga region was 76223 while the mortality was 184570 during the 1933 famine peak by our estimate. However, there are no vital rate data on the Kalmykia in the central statistical administration archives and the registration of 15,2 thousand deaths were not ascertained identically. The real losses from the famine of 19321933 in the Lower Volga region (excluding Kalmykia) are estimated at 175 thousand maximum and birth rate losses are 147 thousand in 19321934. The mortality of the Lower Volga region had clear geographical distribution and location. The high mortality regions were allocated on the Volga Upland and abutting the Oka-Don plain eastern frontier and on the Medium Syrt frontier in Saratov Krai. The allocation of high mortality regions to the Volga River is interpreted as associating with regions containing major cities and towns with high mortality neighborhoods to the Volga. Stalingrad Krai is defined as a region with lower mortality and gradual slow in its increase with a low peak displaced to July 1933. In 1933 the Lower Volga mortality dynamics was from north to south epidemic; whereas in the south there was time to assume the measures as opposed to northern regions. Some Lower Volga regions in 1933 were characterized by a catastrophic low birth rate and high mortality and at the same time by high birth rate and low mortality and positive vital rate data. The distribution of high mortality regions was determined by the character of local authorities activities and local conditions including geographical description (orthometric height), that requires background study.

Pleistocene palaeoenvironments in the Lower Volga region (Russia): Insights from a comprehensive biostratigraphical study of the Seroglazovka locality

The Lower Volga region territory plays a large part in studying the origin of producing economy. It is particularly important to determine the time of this process commencement. The researchers assumed the coexistence of the late Neolithic and Early Eneolithic monuments in this area. On that basis they highlighted the Neo-Eneolithic period. The researchers dated it to the middle of the 5 millennium BC. They associated this period and the emergence of producing economy at the territory under discussion. The weak point of this hypothesis was a small number of radiocarbon dates on this issue. Obtained after 2007, the radiocarbon dates on the Neolithic and Eneolithic monuments in the Lower Volga region demonstrate a 500-year chronological gap between them. That is why the hypothesis of the Neo-Eneolithic period is not confirmed. At the same time there is a reason to believe that the Late Neolithic and the Caspian Sea region culture coexisted during 5800-5500 BC. However, the referring of the Caspian Sea region culture to the Eneolithic suffers from the lack of evidence that its carriers were familiar with metal. There is also no evidence that they had cattle breeding. The situation changed after studying the Oroshaemoye I archaeological site in the Lower Volga region in 2014-2015. Cultural layer with materials from only the Caspian Sea region culture was found there. This increases the significance of the monument. The bones of domestic sheep and goats were found in this cultural layer. This is the first significant evidence of producing economy existing among the population of the Lower Volga region. AMS radiocarbon dates 4800 and 4700 BC were obtained from domestic sheep bones from this site. Thus, it is possible to make a reasoned conclusion that producing economy had being formed in the Lower Volga region among the carriers of the Caspian Sea region culture. This process can be reliably dated to the beginning of the 5 millennium BC.