Soil and Ecological Features of the Neo-Eneolithic Algai Settlement in the Lower Volga Region

• Published in: Eurasian soil science 2024, Vol.57 (1), p.155-165
• Main Authors: Ovchinnikov, A. Yu, Zanina, O. G., Lopatina, D. A., Vybornov, A. A., Makshanov, A. M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthropogenic factors; Archaeology; Cambisols; carbon radioisotopes; Carbonates; Castanea; Climate; Community composition; Developmental stages; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Environmental changes; Environmental conditions; Epigenetics; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Holocene; Holocene epoch; human settlements; Natural environment; Paleobotany; Paleopedology; paleosolic soil types; Paleosols; people; Radiocarbon dating; Radiometric dating; Salinization; Sedimentation; Sedimentation & deposition; Soil; Soil formation; Soil surfaces; Soils; Species composition; species diversity; Steppes; Vegetation
• ISSN: 1064-2293; 1556-195X
• DOI: 10.1134/S1064229323602561

The results of the study of the Algai archeological site in the Lower Volga region (Aleksandrov-Gai district, Saratov oblast) are presented. The Algai settlement of the Neo-Eneolithic period includes several cultural layers formed over the last eight thousand years. Anthropogenically transformed light chestnut carbonate soils are the modern background surface soils (Eutric Cambisol (Loamic, Protocalcic, Ochric)). Soil, paleosol, and paleobotanical methods and radiocarbon dating have been used in this study. The soil stratum is represented by stratigraphically separated multitemporal full-profile Holocene soils showing different rates of eolian sedimentation and soil formation, vegetation change, and anthropogenic loads in the study area. Paleosol and paleobotanical data indicate hat the natural environment of the territory was not stable throughout the Holocene, and dry steppes existed in the studied territory. The most active sedimentation and soil formation occurred in the middle of the Holocene during the AT-2 period. During the stages of climate aridization, active sedimentation and vegetation suppression took place, which led to the disappearance of people from this territory. The stages of climate humidization were expressed in epigenetic soil formation with the development of organo-accumulative horizons under diverse plant associations and rich species composition of wild animals. These stages were favorable for human habitation. The obtained materials attest to considerable changes in the environmental conditions of the studied area in the Holocene marked by different stages of soil development and accompanied by periodic migration of humans. Unlike the background surface soil, buried soils were formed under extremely arid conditions and are characterized by soda salinization. This study made it possible to obtain new data on the climatic, soil, and paleobotanical features of the studied region.