T59 The Geoenvironmental Context of Human Migrations and Settlement
Sunday, 31 October 2010
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Mile High Ballroom 4AB
GEOARCHAEOLOGY OF THE LATE BRONZE AGE IN SOUTHERN UKRAINE: PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Paper number: T59-6
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:50 PM – 3:05 PM
Authors
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Zoe T. MiddlebrooksEarlham College, Richmond, IN
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P. Geer GillespieEarlham College, Richmond, IN
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Yakiv P. GershkovichUkrainian Academy of Sciences/Нац. Академія На, Kyiv/м.Київ, N/A
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Kiril G. GorbenkoMikolayiv State University/Mикoлаївcький Д. У, Mikolayiv/м. Mикoлаїв, N/A
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Dmitry FilatovMikolayiv State University/Mикoлаївcький Д. У, Mikolayiv/м. Mикoлаїв, N/A
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Nicholas Efremov-KendallWashington University, St Louis, MO
Abstract
Current work in southern Ukraine seeks to elicit the ecological circumstances of the Bronze Age-Iron Age transition. Traditionally thought to be represented by a cultural shift from sedentism to nomadism, this transition is poorly represented archaeologically. This summer’s fieldwork at the Late Bronze Age (3.5-2.5 ka) sites of Rozanivka/Розанівка, Reprinka/Репринка, and Dikij Sahd/Дикий Сад revealed relatively fertile alfisols. The soil parent at Rozanivka and Reprinka is the Archaean granulite-gneiss of the Ukrainian Shield/Український щит, while soils at Dikij Sahd are sourced in alluvial sand deposits. Though pollen records from other sites indicate a drying trend for the terminal Bronze Age, our initial results indicate relative stability in soil-forming processes from occupation to the present. Geochemical and geomorphological analyses are also underway for each site.