Mound Construction Research Articles

Three-layered functionally specialized nest structures enhance strength and water retention in mounds of Globitermes sulphureus (Blattodea: Termitidae).

Termite mounds are a ubiquitous feature of savanna ecosystems, yet the mechanisms by which termites (Blattodea: Termitoidae) mitigate the challenges posed by seasonal drought and flooding through mound construction remain insufficiently explored. This study investigates the material properties, water retention capabilities, and resistance to raindrop penetration across three distinct layers of Globitermes sulphureus (Haviland, 1898) (Blattodea: Termitidae) nests. Our findings reveal a pronounced diversification and specialization of materials and functions across these layers. Specifically, the outer layer has decreased moisture permeability, the middle layer has enhanced resistance to water penetration, and the innermost layer has a high capacity for water retention. The integration of these functionally specialized layers provides a compelling evidence for explaining how these termites are able to adapt to the fluctuating environmental conditions characteristic of savanna ecosystems. Furthermore, this highlights the nest's buffering capability against environmental stressors. The complexity of this construction, marked by a level of self-organization rarely observed in the animal kingdom, underscores a significant instance of architectural ingenuity among non-human builders.

Firefly synchronicity and platform mound building by indigenous peoples of the Florida Peninsula, USA

ABSTRACT Although archaeologists often highlight the capacity of our field to identify broad-scale patterning in human societies, critiques of social evolution led many to focus on shorter-term, local histories. Drawing from a recent review of alternative models, we employ firefly synchronicity – the rhythmic coordination of flashing observed in some species of bioluminescent fireflies – as a model for understanding patterning in the timing of platform mound construction by Indigenous peoples of Tampa Bay, on the western coast of the Florida peninsula, USA. Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates and isotopic studies of oyster shells from three neighbouring sites reveals rhythmic coordination in the construction of platform mounds across the first millennium CE. We relate this patterning to interaction in seasonal and longer-term ritual cycles which may have facilitated collective management of zero-sum common property resources. Firefly synchronicity provides a useful model for identifying patterning in archaeological phenomena without much of the baggage of social evolution.

Effects of ant mounds construction on the carbon cycle in a drained peatland, Northeast China

Acting as ecosystem engineers, ant activities are significantly crucial in altering carbon (C) cycles by modifying the energy flows and nutrient cycles in soils. However, how ant mound constructions reshape soil organic carbon (SOC) pool heterogeneity and stability remains elusive. In this study, we compared differences in soil properties, vegetation biomass, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, and molecular composition of SOC between ant mounds and nearby soils from a drained peatland, intending to decipher factors that govern carbon dynamics during ant excavates. Results indicated that ant mound construction simultaneously caused a decrease in SOC contents and an increase in nutrient level (total nitrogen and phosphorus), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and its proportion to SOC (DOC/SOC) dramatically. The proportions of pyrolytic products derived from lignin, phenol, and aromatics decreased significantly from 31.70 % in nearby soils to 27.43 % in ant mounds. However, no significant difference in iron-bound organic carbon (OC-Fe) was found between ant mounds and nearby soils (p > 0.05). Ant mound building greatly accelerated SOC mineralization, with average CO2 emission fluxes 1–2 times higher than that in nearby soils. Notably, CH4 emissions from ant mounds was negative, meaning ant mounds acted as CH4 sinks. Meanwhile, net CH4 flux emission into the atmosphere from nearby soils were positive. Both plant biomass and SOC density (SOCd) in ant mounds were considerably lower than those observed in nearby soils. The structural equation model indicated that soil nutrient enrichment in ant mounds indirectly stimulated SOC decomposition by stimulating microbial abundance. Still, ant mounds construction had direct positive effects on labile carbon components accumulation and posed negative effects on resistant SOC compounds. Moreover, redundancy analysis and variation partitioning analysis confirmed that SOCd decline in ant mounds was primarily attributed to reduced soil moisture and elevated microbial abundance. The conceptual model implied that ants could effectively strengthen SOC content heterogeneity at the microscales, characterized by lower SOC storage and stability, and higher CO2 emission than those in nearby soils.

積石木槨墓 出現期의 樣相

The wooden chamber tomb with stone mound, representing the Silla period, is characterized by its high and large burial mounds. Therefore, the emergence of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds signifies the construction of such high and large burial mounds. However, in the early stages, the typical features of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds were not clearly observed, leading to various uncertainties. Currently, the earliest emergence of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds is observed in Coffins No. 3 and 4 in Tomb No. 109 in Hwangnam-dong. However, unlike typical wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds, the wooden chambers in this tomb overlap vertically, and the placement of protective stones around the perimeter of the mound is also indistinct. This paper aims to elucidate the characteristics of the emergence period of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds, starting from these uncertainties. Four tombs dating before and after the emergence of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds were reviewed. As a result, it was observed that despite being tombs close to the highest social hierarchy of their time, they were later overlapped or destroyed by unrelated tombs from subsequent periods. This phenomenon was commonly observed in these tombs but not in wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds that appeared afterward. Additionally, these tombs lacked protective stones and exhibited relatively low burial mounds. Therefore, the reason for overlap or destruction by later tombs can be attributed to the low and flat burial mounds. In conclusion, contrary to previous assumptions, it can be inferred that immediately after the emergence of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds, the burial mounds were low and flat. Subsequently, they evolved to have higher burial mounds along with protective stones. Recently, instances have been confirmed where burial mounds without protective stones were overlapped vertically beneath tombs with protective stones, indicating the characteristics of the emergence period of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds.

Mounds Against the State? An Anarchist Approach to Mound Construction, Environmental Stress, and Centralization of Power in Viking and Merovingian Age Scandinavia

In this article, the author explores the cooperative aspects of mound construction in Late Iron Age Scandinavia. Arguing against the outdated but widely held view that only centralized rule could organize monument construction, he investigates how participation in mound construction affected the people of Sør-Fron in south-eastern Norway. He contends, first, that repeated participation in mound construction helped create a sense of belonging and shared identity, which was maintained through centuries of major environmental and political turmoil. Second, mound construction was part of an active and conscious strategy to limit aggrandizement and prevent centralization and concentration of power. Rejection of Christianity arguably worked in similar ways. The author concludes with considerations of approaches to Iron Age monuments, emphasizing the importance of consensus and community-building and the role of communal opposition to centralized rule.

Postglacial evolution of the Lake Constance shelf and its relation to a 10-km long chain of submerged Neolithic mounds

A recent bathymetric survey of Lake Constance revealed ~ 170 mounds composed of loosely deposited rocks aligned in a ~ 10-km long chain along the southern Swiss shoreline in a water depth of 3–5 m. The mounds are 10–30 m in diameter and up to 1.5 m high. Over their entire length of occurrence, the mounds are estimated to be composed of ~ 60 million individual boulders, with a total weight of ~ 78,000 t. A ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey showed that the mounds are not linked to the glacial substrate but were rather deposited artificially on the edge of a prograding shelf composed of Holocene lake sediments. Here, we present the results of a coring campaign with four piston cores along a GPR transect across one of the mounds. The cores recovered the full Holocene sedimentary succession all the way into the basal till that is overlain by lacustrine sediments dating back to ~ 14,400 cal. yrs BP. The four cores are merged into a ~ 12.4-m long composite section reflecting continuous sedimentation from the siliciclastic-dominated Late Glacial to the carbonate-rich Late Holocene. The stratigraphic horizon representing the mound’s construction was radiocarbon-dated to ~ 5600–5300 cal. yrs BP, placing them in the Neolithic period. This age was confirmed by radiocarbon dating of wood samples collected during underwater excavation of the mounds. Geochemical analysis of the Holocene sedimentary succession shows generally high carbonate contents (average of 69%). The interval from 5750 to 4950 cal. yrs BP, a part of the mound period, is characterized by a Holocene minimum in carbonate content (average of 57%) and by larger mean grain sizes. Comparing these values to those from a recent surface-sediment depth transect indicates that this was a period of rather low lake levels, which might have favoured mound construction. Correlations to nearby archaeological sites and to the general West-Central European lake-level record indicates that the mounds likely were built during a short phase of low lake levels during a general trend of climatic cooling followed by a lake-level transgression.

경남내륙지역 목관·목곽묘의 구조적 특징과 축조양상

This study examined the wooden gasket tombs and wooden chamber tombs in Gyeongnam Inland areas from two main perspectives. It summarizes recent excavation cases to review the structural characteristics of these tombs and infers the construction style and burial methods through the example of the Jeongjang-ri Tomb No. Ⅲ-86. Firstly, the wooden gasket tombs consist of ① burial area (tomb pit), ② wooden gasket, ③ backfill soil, ④ topsoil, ⑤ wooden fence, and ⑥ mound, which are not significantly different from those found in the Yeongnam region. However, the wooden gasket tomb at Jangchon-ri B-25 is a unique half-cut chamber type. What is particularly noteworthy is that the lower part of the tomb pit is excavated about 10° eastward from the top, where the wooden gasket is placed. Additionally, the wooden gasket tomb at Dohang-ri #48 lacks backfill soil and exhibits a distinctive structure with retaining walls. The structure of the wooden chamber tombs consists of ① burial area (tomb pit), ② wooden chamber, ② wooden gasket, ③ pedestal, ④ backfill soil, ⑤ topsoil, ⑥ capstone, and ⑦ outer wall. There are various types of wooden chamber tombs, including single-chamber style, double-chamber style, and compound chamber style. Among them, the wooden chamber tombs in Jeongjang-ri is notably distinct because it has separate compartments on both walls for the relics among the double-chamber style tombs that have both the inner and outer walls and the single-chamber style tombs. Additionally, the floor surface is excavated to install a pedestal, and two to five wooden planks are placed across it. And it is clear that the inside and outside are installed on the wooden board. Second, the architectural features and burial styles have been reconstructed by inferring the procedure of construction based on the structural features of the Jeongjang-ri Tomb No. Ⅲ-86. The assumed procedure is as follows: Excavation of the ① burial area and ② tomb pit and installation of the pedestal → Installation of horizontal wooden planks and longitudinal planks → ④ Installation of inner and outer walls and backfilling → ⑤ Placement of body and artifacts → ⑥ Closing and sealing of the wooden gasket and mound construction. Therefore, the Jeongjang-ri Tomb No. Ⅲ-86, among others, holds significance as it provides an opportunity to comprehensively reconstruct the structural characteristics and construction processes of wooden chamber tombs in the Gyeongnam Inland region.

Macro-Scale Population Patterns in the Kofun Period of the Japanese Archipelago: Quantitative Analysis of a Larger Sample of Three-Dimensional Data from Ancient Human Crania

The present study collected a larger set of three-dimensional data on human crania from the Kofun period (as well as from previous periods, i.e., the Jomon and Yayoi periods) in the Japanese archipelago (AD 250 to around 700) than previous studies. Three-dimensional geometric morphometrics were employed to investigate human migration patterns in finer-grained phases. These results are consistent with those of previous studies, although some new patterns were discovered. These patterns were interpreted in terms of demic diffusion, archaeological findings, and historical evidence. In particular, the present results suggest the presence of a gradual geological cline throughout the Kofun period, although the middle period did not display such a cline. This discrepancy might reflect social changes in the middle Kofun period, such as the construction of keyhole-shaped mounds in the peripheral regions. The present study implies that a broader investigation with a larger sample of human crania is essential to elucidating macro-level cultural evolutionary processes.

The dynamics of fishing villages along the South Atlantic Coast of North America (ca. 5000–3000 years BP)

We present new chronologies that inform the timing and tempo of shell ring and shell mound construction on the South Atlantic Bight. Our project combines recently acquired dates with legacy radiocarbon dates from over 25 rings and mounds to provide a higher-resolution chronology regarding the occupation and formation of this larger landscape of the earliest fishing villages along the East Coast of the United States. We resolve the ordering and timing of occupation of these rings and mounds through Bayesian statistical modeling. These new models historicize and contextualize these shell rings in ways previously impossible. Specifically, our new chronologies of these villages indicate that the earliest villages were established prior to the invention of pottery. The early period of village establishment evidences isolated village rings, whereas later periods seem to have more villages, but these appear to have been relocated to other areas and/or islands over time. Shell mounds are fewer in number, are spread throughout the time period, and may represent special purpose sites compared to shell-rings. Once villages spread, they quickly adopted new technologies (i.e., pottery) and created new institutions and practiced village relocation, which allowed this way of life to persist for more than a thousand years.

Depositional model of the Member Deng-2 marginal microbial mound-bank complex of the Dengying Formation in the southwestern Sichuan Basin, SW China: Implications for the Ediacaran microbial mound construction and hydrocarbon exploration

Recent advances in hydrocarbon exploration have been made in the Member Deng-2 marginal microbial mound-bank complex reservoirs of the Dengying Formation in the western Sichuan Basin, SW China, where the depositional process is regarded confusing. The microfacies, construction types, and depositional model of the Member Deng-2 marginal microbial mound-bank complex have been investigated using unmanned aerial vehicle photography, outcrop section investigation, thin section identification, and seismic reflections in the southwestern Sichuan Basin. The microbialite lithologic textures in this region include thrombolite, dendrolite, stromatolite, fenestral stromatolite, spongiostromata stone, oncolite, aggregated grainstone, and botryoidal grapestone. Based on the comprehensive analysis of “depositional fabrics–lithology–microfacies”, an association between a fore mound, mound framework, and back mound subfacies has been proposed based on water depth, current direction, energy level and lithologic assemblages. The microfacies of the mound base, mound core, mound flank, mound cap, and mound flat could be recognized among the mound framework subfacies. Two construction types of marginal microbial mound-bank complex have been determined based on deposition location, mound scale, migration direction, and sedimentary facies association. Type Jinkouhe microbial mound constructions (TJMMCs) develop along the windward margin owing to their proximity to the seaward subfacies fore mound, with a northeastwardly migrated microbial mound on top of the mud mound, exhibiting the characteristics of large-sized mounds and small-sized banks in the surrounding area. Type E’bian microbial mound constructions (TEMMCs) primarily occur on the leeward margin, resulting from the presence of onshore back mound subfacies, with the smaller southwestward migrated microbial mounds existing on a thicker microbial flat. The platform margin microbial mound depositional model can be correlated with certain lateral comparison profile and seismic reflection structures in the 2D seismic section, which can provide references for future worldwide exploration. Microbial mounds with larger buildups and thicker vertical reservoirs are typically targeted on the windward margin, while small-sized microbial mounds and flats with better lateral connections are typically focused on the leeward margin.

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

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.

Grasping hold of functional trade-offs using the diversity of foot forms in Australian birds

The remarkable diversity of ecological niches that birds have evolved to inhabit have resulted in their status as model organisms to study how the same morphological features can adapt to different environments. Not least of these features is the avian foot, which has diversified into a wide range of forms suited to several different ecological functions. In this investigation, we examine how a potential trade-off between two such functions is expressed in the foot morphology of the Australian avifauna; namely, the impact that specialising for either walking or grasping has on the proportions of the phalanges. The lengths of the body, foot, third digit and its phalanges, and the hallux were recorded from 106 preserved skins belonging to 22 species. Our analysis of these data shows that this functional specialisation presents a similar morphological gradient in Australian birds as has been previously observed in American species, with a few unique exceptions. Generally, species that are reliant on the foot to grasp (e.g., perching and gripping prey) display greater distal phalanx and hallux lengths than species that are specialised for walking or wading. However, the terrestrial Megapodes of Australia demonstrate a more intermediate morphology, potentially as a result of the unique mound construction behaviour occurring in this clade. These findings have relevance not only for use in identifying the ecology of cryptic or extinct species from morphology, but also for determining future evolutionary changes in different avian groups.

КАМ’ЯНІ ГРОБНИЦІ ЗРУБНОЇ КУЛЬТУРИ ПІВНІЧНОГО ПРИАЗОВ’Я (ЗА МАТЕРІАЛАМИ КОМИШУВАТСЬКОГО МОГИЛЬНИКА)

The article presents the results of research on the burials of the Late Bronze Age Zrubna/Timber-grave culture in the stone tombs of the barrow group near the village of Komyshuvate in the North Azov region in the south of Donetsk region of Ukraine. The article considers the ritual and inventory complex of burials through the prism of the created general register of burial mounds of the Zrubna/Timber-grave culture of the North Azov region. This allowed us to clarify and systematise the source base, to give a comprehensive formalised statistical description of the funerary sites, to consider some aspects of the social organisation, material and spiritual culture of the Late Bronze Age tribes based on the data of the studied necropolis. The article analyses the stone tombs of the North Azov region, which are divided into three main groups according to their design features. The distribution of funerary complexes made in different types of burial structures by horizons allowed us to clearly illustrate the previously identified chronological features that reflect the time of appearance of a particular type of grave. The Azov mounds are largely characterised by a variety of stone architecture. The area of distribution of burial mounds with stone structures is quite extensive. However, the use of stone in mound construction is unevenly distributed and is not typical for the whole region. The mapping method allowed us to identify the location of burials with stone structures in the immediate vicinity of the raw material base. These burial grounds tend to be located in the areas of the Donetsk Ridge and the Azov Upland, which are rich in open outcrops of natural stone. The Don Delta is the eastern border of the widespread use of stone in funerary rites. In the western part of the Donetsk Ridge, in the upper rivers of the Dnipro basin, the use of stone in mound construction was not practised. Large-scale stone structures in the mounds to the west of the Berda River also remain unknown. Stratigraphic observations and analysis of the ritual and inventory complex made it possible to establish with a certain degree of probability the sequence of construction of the mounds of the Komyshuvate burial ground and the burials made in them. Qualitative features manifested in the shape and proportions of ceramic vessels, material composition, surface treatment and ornamentation allowed us to attribute the ceramic corpus of the burials of the Komyshuvate cemetery to the second (developed) horizon of the Zrubna/Timber-grave culture cemeteries of the North Azov region. According to the proposed classification, tomb 1 of mound 1 of the Komyshuvate cemetery belongs to group I (tombs with vertical masonry walls), tomb 1 of mound 4 - to group II (tombs with horizontal masonry walls), and tomb 2 of mound 4 - to group III (combined tombs with horizontal and vertical masonry walls). Burial 2 of Mound 4 and burial 1 of Mound 1 can be confidently attributed to the second (developed) horizon of the Zrubna/Timber-grave culture of the North Azov region based on the ritual and inventory complex of features. The inlet stratigraphic position and the ritual and inventory complex of burial 1 of mound 4 allow us to attribute it to the final of the II (developed) or beginning of the III (late) horizon. The late horizon is characterised by inlet burials, less often by main burials in mounds, in ground pits under stone structures, as well as in classical tombs with horizontal masonry walls and combined stone tombs, which were most common in this period. In addition, the analysis of the materials allowed us to approach the problem of social reconstructions. Researchers have repeatedly pointed out that burials in stone tombs with horizontal and combined masonry walls are distinguished by their equipment and a set of ritual features as having a high social status. Thus, the construction in the form of a stone tomb is in itself extraordinary and a sign of social rank. Both burials of barrow 4 of the Komyshuvate cemetery demonstrate a number of deviations from the model of a regular burial of the Zrubna/Timber-grave culture of the North Azov region. The presence in the burial of a wooden bowl with a metal figured rim and a "ceremonial" ceramic vessel with a "calendar" motif are status signs marking the persons involved in ritual activities. The presence of traces of ritual actions outside the grave, a stone roof over a complex stone structure, excessive equipment and meat food (the honorary back part) are also clear indicators of the social extraordinariness of the deceased and signs of high rank. Keywords: North Azov region, archaeological research, Late Bronze Age, Zrubna/Timber-grave culture, barrow, tomb, stone architecture.

Basic techniques of mound construction of the Yamnaya culture in the Southern Urals

The aim of the study. To determine the material and basic techniques for constructing burial mounds (kurgans) of the Yamnaya culture of the Bronze Age in the Southern Urals based on a comprehensive analysis with an emphasis on meso- and micromorphological analysis. Location and time of the study. The research objects are located in the Orenburg region within the East European Plain. Security excavations were carried out in 2019-2022 at three burial mounds located in the Tashlinsky (mound burial grounds Boldyrevo IV and Tashla IV) and Grachevsky districts (kurgan burial ground Kalikino II) of the Orenburg region. Mound 1 in the Boldyrevo IV burial mound, due to its significant size of 4.2 m in height and 60 m in diameter was chosen as a key object for which a full survey was carried out. Additionally, the smaller in size mounds of the 1st burial mound Tashla IV, as well as 1, 4 and 5 of the Kalikino II burial mound were studied. Methods. To determine the source of building materials and the basic techniques of soil and ground subsoil substrates for mound construction, a comprehensive analysis was carried out with an emphasis on macro-, meso- and micromorphological properties of the substrates. For the analytical study, which was carried out only for the Boldyrevo IV mound 1, total carbon content, organic and inorganic (carbonates) carbon content, loss on ignition, particle size distribution, magnetic susceptibility and pH were determinied. Results. The structure and materials of five burial mounds of the Yamnaya culture of the Bronze Age (5500 - 4300 years ago) were studied. The kurgans were proven to have been built from the local soils with the addition of anthropogenic material (silt, bones, shells). Representatives of the Yamnaya culture created variegated flowers using the construction techniques such as kneading, ramming, and the inclusion of anthropogenic material. At the micromorphological level, these techniques produces patterns of light loose and more compacted dark microzones in construction materials. Conclusions. Based on meso- and micromorphological analysis of the studied mound structures, we conclude that the representatives of the Yamnaya culture had knowledge of construction technologies and used them appropriately. The main method of mound constructing was creating a variegated mixed soil from humus or carbonate horizons with admixtures of anthropogenic and carbonate material. When building small mounds, people used rough kneading and tamping, but for larger mounds, either more complex construction was used, or more thorough kneading and tamping, as well as longer exposure to water.

Selectivity of soil constituents by termites in the construction of Brazilian termite mounds

Selectivity of soil constituents by termites in the construction of Brazilian termite mounds

Soil-archaeological studies of Koy-Gunzhar Scythian tumuli (Kazakhstan): building materials and techniques, diagenetic transformations of buried paleosols

The tumuli of the Koy-Gunzhar burial ground (2400-2000 cal years BP) in the North Kazakhstan are monumental earthen mounds, built in honour of the Scythian elite. The tumuli, besides representing the diversity of the building techniques for such earth burial mounds, also provide a unique opportunity to study the direction and character of the paleosol diagenesis for nearly 2400 years. This soil-archaeological study aimed to reveal mound building techniques, the characteristics of materials used for construction, and diagenetic changes of the buried paleosols. The comparative analysis of tumulus embankments and buried soils (their genesis and diagenetic transformations) provided the opportunity to establish the source of the building material and to reconstruct some details of the building technologies. For instance, the Calcic Someric Kastanozem (Arenic, Protosodic), buried by loam-sandy and sandy substrate of the tumulus 3, corresponds to dry steppe conditions and has no considerable signs of diagenetic transformations, whereas the paleosol under the tumulus 1 was affected by strong diagenetic transformation supposedly due to acid drainage from the embankment which originally contained sulfidic material being subjected to oxidation and acidification after the tumulus construction. Diagenesis was manifested in the redistribution of pedogenic carbonates and enrichment in iron, magnesium, manganese, and aluminum compounds in the upper 32 cm of the buried soil. These elements were partially accumulated at the carbonate geochemical barrier (over Bk horizon of the buried soil). This soil was transformed by diagenesis from Kasrtanozem to Mollic Cambic Umbrisol (Epiloamic, Katoarenic). The builders of the tumulus 1 used a loamier substrate to construct the mound, different from the parent material for adjacent soils (loamy sands and sands). The loamier substrate ensured the firmness of the mound construction. The builders employed an uncommon technique to produce a mound with defined properties and used foreign building materials brought from the distance.

About the building stones of the Eneolithic cromlech, sanctuary, and burial constructions near Shakhtar village (Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine)


 
 
 The article presents the results of petrographic research of building stone that was used for the construction of a cromlech, sanctuary, and the ceiling of the Eneolithic burials No. 20 – 22 from the kurgan No. 29 near Shakhtar village, Nikopol rayon, Dnipropetrovsk oblast. The purpose of this work was to establish a probable place for mining the stone blocks and rubble used in the construction. As a result of petrographic and X-ray fluorescence analysis, it was determined that the studied rocks can be divided into two groups, namely granitoids and limestones. The group of granitoids included tonalites, plagiogran- ites (trondhjemites), altered granite gneiss, and feldspar crystal from pegmatite. All the limestones were represented by spherical lay- ered aggregates, which most likely belong to oncoids – carbonate structures that form as a result of cyanobacteria growth. The studied samples from the materials of the cromlech and the sanctuary of burial No. 22 were represented by plagiogranitoids, pegmatoid granite, and limestones. The first of them served as the main material for the construction of the cromlech. Carbonate aggregates together with the granites were also used as a backfilling when installing wooden pillars of the cult complex associated with the burial. The plates covering the burials No. 20 and 21 were made of tonalites. All the studied granitoids are typical rocks for the area where the excavations took place. In the Middle Dnipro Area, plagiogranitoids are represented by the rocks of the Dnipropetrovskyi, Surskyi, Saksahanskyi, and Inhuletskyi complexes of the Archaean. Plagiogranitoids of the Dnipropetrovskyi complex are the most common in the studied area. They occur here in the middle and upper reaches of the Solona River and along the rivers of Bazavluk and Bazavluchok upstream the Sholokhove Reservoir. The closest to the excavation site are the occurrences of plagiogranitoids, which are exposed on the right bank of the Solona River, opposite the village of Shakhtar. In this area, pegmatoid granites are found in the form of veins that intersect plagiogranitoids. In the area of excavations, carbonate oncoids are found in the Sarmatian limestones of the Neogene. Most often they are found as the uncemented specimens that spilled out of the limestones. Today, such structures occur on both banks of the Kakhovske Reservoir, located south of the village Shakhtar. However, in ancient times there may have been closer outcrops of these rocks, as the Sarmatian limestone occurrences are common in the immediate vicinity of the excavation site, namely between the rivers Bazavluk and Solona, near their confluence, and the middle and upper reaches of the Chortomlyk River. As a result of the research, it is proved that in the valley of the river Solona during the Eneolithic, there began the active extraction of stone raw materials for mound construction, which was continued in later epochs, particularly, in the Scythian time.
 
 

Medieval Quarry Near the Koksa Bay (Krasnoyarsk Reservoir) as the Evidence of Possible Migration of the Yenisei Kyrgyz from the Sayan Mountains to the Middle Yenisei

Purpose. The results of archaeological survey in 2021 along the western shore of the Krasnoyarsk reservoir in the Koksa Bay area are presented in the process of field research. Previously unknown cultural and historical objects were revealed – a quarry on Mount Bol’shoi Togurtag, presumably of medieval times, and mounds in the form of rounded stone objects at the foot of the mountain 1 250 m from the Koksa bay.Results. The material extracted from the quarry was used in the construction of these mounds, located at the foot of the mountain. This assumption is evidenced by a similar type of rock in the quarry and on the mounds (they are of magmatic origin). Previously, similar objects for this territory were not mentioned in the scientific literature. Is the technological originality in stone processing techniques evidence of the migration to this territory of any mobile group of the population from the outside, where such technology was traditional? For example, medieval Kyrgyz kurgans in the Usinsk valley of the Western Sayan, where there are many rocks of igneous origin, are similar to them in their appearance and composition of the building material. Therefore, it is logical to assume that here, on the Middle Yenisei, some group of “Usintsy” migrated, which was quite likely as part of the process of returning to their homeland of the Yenisei Kyrgyz after the Great Power era. An exhaustive answer to this question can be given in the future only after an archaeological study of the rounded stone structures located here, similar to medieval “сhaatas” and “suukter” mounds, but composed, as indicated, of material of magmatic origin, unusual for this territory, in the form of large and medium-sized blocks of “torn” forms.Conclusion. The quarry on Bol’shoi Togurtag Mount demonstrates more labor-intensive process of obtaining stone material in comparison even with the extraction of “slabs” from layers of Devonian sandstone for the construction of mounds of the Tagar culture. All of the above and determines the originality of this object among those known in Khakassia. In this regard, their further study seems to be very relevant and expedient for the formation of a complete picture of the origin of medieval archaeological sites on the left bank of the Yenisei.

Wiggle-Matched Red Cedar from a Pre-Monumental Occupation at Kincaid Mounds, Illinois, USA

Wiggle-matched 14C dates anchored an 82-year floating cedar tree-ring chronology from the basal layer of a Mississippian Period mound to AD 1170 ± 9 (1σ) (outermost ring). Although numerical cross-matching showed preference for a temporal placement consistent with the 14C dates and visual matching, statistical scores were below critical thresholds for annual crossdating. Sapwood-corrected terminus post quem dates for the material, and their stratigraphic relationship with overlying dates, show that the earliest truncate mound construction at Mound 4 occurred after AD 1177. This date is informative for the timing of the transition of Kincaid to a major regional center and does not support an earlier hypothesis that Mound 4 was constructed in Early Kincaid times (AD 1050–1150). These results demonstrate the potential for archaeological collections to extend long tree-ring chronologies in the Midwestern U.S.

The impacts of tropical mound-building social insects on soil properties vary between taxa and with anthropogenic habitat change

Ants and termites reach high abundances in the tropics and substantially affect the environment through a range of their activities. Because of foraging and decomposition of organic matter at their nesting sites, these locations show fundamentally altered soil properties compared to the adjacent soil. However, such changes are typically studied only within one species or taxon and in one habitat type. Consequently, it is not clear how these effects vary across different taxa and in relation to anthropogenic habitat change. In this study we assess the impacts of different mound-building taxa across a gradient of tropical habitat change in SE Asia comprising primary forest, logged forest and oil palm plantation. To do this we analysed chemical soil properties of mounds of multiple taxa of social insects, with some taxa spanning the full habitat change gradient, and where taxa differ in their mound construction type. Our results show that soils in mounds and adjacent soils have consistently different properties. However, these patterns differ both between social insect taxa and across habitat types. Specifically, mounds of soil-feeding termites Dicuspiditermes spp. were substantially enriched in basic soil nutrients such as C, N, P, especially in oil palm, while mounds of the leaf litter-feeding termite Macrotermes gilvus were depleted. Ant mounds did not show a clear pattern. This indicates that different social insect taxa in a particular habitat affect soil properties in differing ways, and furthermore that such impacts can change when a habitat is anthropogenically altered. Our research highlights the importance of termites for driving the heterogeneity of soil properties and nutrient redistribution across tropical landscapes.