RECONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULARITIES OF ANCIENT HUMAN ACTIVITY BASED ON GEOCHEMICAL AND SOIL MICROBIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF SOTK-2 SITE (REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA)

Authors

  • Elena Vladislavovna Cernyseva Institute of physicochemical and biological problems in soil science, Pushchino
  • Mariam Armenovna Amiran Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of NAS, Yerevan
  • Maksim Vital'evic El'cov Institute of physicochemical and biological problems in soil science, Pushchino
  • Anus Andranikovna Petrosan Institute of physicochemical and biological problems in soil science, Pushchino
  • Anastasia Vladimirovna Potapova Institute of physicochemical and biological problems in soil science, Pushchino

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32653/CH184993-1013

Keywords:

soil biological memory, archaeological microbiology, phosphorus, cultural layers.

Abstract

 The article presents the results of the first joint soil-archaeological investigations on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. The cultural layers of the Sotk-2 site, located on the southeastern coast of Lake Sevan, were chosen as the object of study. The Sotk-2 played a special role in the settlement system in the region, as it is located on the way to the Bronze Age gold mine. A multi-layered settlement has been recorded here, which settled from the early Bronze Age until the early Iron Age (with certain interruptions). However, only the Bronze Age layer was characterized by the presence of anthropogenic deposits, while only scattered artifacts identified other periods of occupation. As part of joint research, samples were taken from the previous excavated trenches at the archaeological site in August 2021 for laboratory analysis. Analysis of the chemical and microbiological properties of cultural layers made it possible, for the first time on the archaeological monuments of this type, to identify periods with the lowest and highest intensity of human activity, as well as to establish the infrastructural features of the settlement. The strongest anthropogenic impact took place during the formation of the Middle – Late Bronze Age layer. Places for cooking and household pits were localized, where an increased concentration of organic phosphorus, copper, manganese, lanthanum was observed, as well as high microbial biomass and lipase activity. In another site of the settlement in the layer of the Middle – Late Bronze Age, an increased concentration of calcium, strontium and magnesium was revealed, which indicates the possibility of butchering fish in this place. The lowest residential load on the Sotk-2 site, according to soil analysis, took place in the early Bronze Age.

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Author Biographies

  • Elena Vladislavovna Cernyseva, Institute of physicochemical and biological problems in soil science, Pushchino
    Cand. Sci. (Biology), Senior researcher
  • Mariam Armenovna Amiran, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of NAS, Yerevan
    Postgraduate student, Junior researcher
  • Maksim Vital'evic El'cov, Institute of physicochemical and biological problems in soil science, Pushchino
    Cand. Sci. (Biology), Senior researcher
  • Anus Andranikovna Petrosan, Institute of physicochemical and biological problems in soil science, Pushchino
    Postgraduate student, Junior researcher
  • Anastasia Vladimirovna Potapova, Institute of physicochemical and biological problems in soil science, Pushchino
    Junior researcher

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Published

2022-12-25

Issue

Section

Archeology

How to Cite

1.
Cernyseva EV, Amiran MA, El'cov MV, Petrosan AA, Potapova AV. RECONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULARITIES OF ANCIENT HUMAN ACTIVITY BASED ON GEOCHEMICAL AND SOIL MICROBIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF SOTK-2 SITE (REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA). ИАЭК. 2022;18(4):993-1013. doi:10.32653/CH184993-1013