Soil and Environmental Conditions at the Oroshaemoe Neolithic–Eneolithic Archeological Site in the Lower Volga Region

Abstract

The results of interdisciplinary research conducted at the Eneolithic archeological site Oroshaemoe (5–7 ka BC) in Saratov oblast are presented. The studied soils are calcareous light chestnut soils (Eutric Cambisols (Loamic, Protocalcic, Ochric)); in the archeological excavation, they are human-modified and contain various artifacts. A set of pedological, paleopedological, paleoclimatic, and paleobotanical methods and radiocarbon dating have been applied. Information on alternation of the periods of humidization and aridization of the territory, stages of soil formation and sedimentation, and on the vegetation cover in the Holocene at the archeological site has been obtained and refined. According to our data, periodic alternation of more humid and more arid conditions has taken place since 7245 ± 60 BP. The stages of aridization were accompanied by the short-term sedimentation related to the activation of eolian processes. Loesslike sediments deposited during these stages are archeologically sterile (do not contain artifacts) and are relatively thin in comparison with the cultural layers separating them. The stages of humidization were marked by more active sedimentation accompanied by soil formation. The obtained data suggest that the past 5000 years have been the period of some humidization of climatic conditions. Preliminary estimates of sedimentation and soil formation rates in the Holocene in the study area attest to their considerable fluctuations. Thus, the rate of soil formation varied from 35 to 0.8 cm per century. The results of this study allow us to refine paleoclimatic reconstructions for the considered area. Periodic changes in the environmental conditions during the Holocene affected the life of the tribes, patterns of human settling, and regional and, possibly, global migration processes. The reconstruction of natural and climatic features of the archeological site and its comparison with published data attest to the uneven paleogeographic situation in the Lower Volga region. It is argued that the chronology of landscape and climatic changes during the Holocene as presented in the publications for the southern arid regions of the East European Plain needs to be revised and made more detailed.