Quaternary International 261 (2012) 176e182
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Quaternary International
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Environment and economic activities of Neolithic and Bronze age populations
of the Northern Pontic area
Galyna Pashkevych
Institute of Archaeology, National Academy of Sciences, ul. Geroev Stalingrada 12, 04210 Kiev, Ukraine
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Available online 31 January 2011
Available archaeological and archaeobotanical evidence shows that the colonization of the Ukraine by
agrarian tribes occurred in the Atlantic and at the beginning of the Subboreal periods of the Holocene.
Conditions were quite favourable for agricultural activities. Under conditions of a dry Subboreal climate
with the frequent occurrence of droughts and cold spells, significant changes occurred in the economy,
social structure and material culture of the populations. The Bronze Age economy in the steppe of
Ukraine was based on pastoral stock-breeding and agriculture.
Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
3. Results
In recent years, the archaeologists of the Institute of Archaeology, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine carried out investigations of
the economy of several prehistoric and early historic groups. Pollen
analysis and studies of plant remains provided insights into the
changes in subsistence and in the environment. This paper sums up
the palynological data regarding the vegetation cover on the North
Pontic Area in the Holocene as well as archaeobotanical materials
and their interrelations.
Palynological research of the Mirnoye and Beloles’e sites,
located in the western part of the Odessa Oblast (Figs. 1 and 2)
(Pashkevich, 1976, 1982) indicates that the vegetation cover of the
modern steppe zone changed in the Holocene. Presently this area of
Pontic Lowland is a treeless steppe, accompanied by typical xerophytic vegetative cover with Stipa ucrainica P. Smirn., Stipa lessingiana Trin., Stipa capillata, Festuca sulcata Hack., Koeleria gracilis
Pers., and an admixture of Lynosyris villosa (L.), Limonium sapertanum (A.Beck Gams), Medicago romanica (Prod.), and Tanacetum
millefolium (Tzvel.). Salt-marsh plant communities commonly
occur on river flood-plains and ravine bottoms (Fig. 2).
In the Holocene, based on the obtained pollen spectra from the
Beloles’e site, vegetation consisted of a Gramineae-mixed herb
steppe with poorly developed grass cover as well as commonly
occurring open soils, salt-marshes and small water bodies surrounded by mesophytic meadows and rare alder trees. This type of
vegetation remained in place during the entire Preboreal and
Boreal periods. The limited amount of tree pollen suggests limited
tree cover along the slopes of river valleys and estuaries.
The flotation of cultural deposits at the Mirnoe identified the
seeds of lambs quarters (Chenopodium album); doorweed (Polygonum convolvulus); strangle-tare (Vicia hirsuta) and sheep sorrel
(Rumex acetosella). Supposedly, these wild growing plants were
part of the Mesolithic diet. It is known that food-gathering played
a significant role in the subsistence of prehistoric communities.
Seeds of these plants are frequently identified in cultural layers. In
some areas they still are used for food.
In the eastern part of the Ukrainian steppe, the pollen data were
obtained for several Mesolithic sites and early Holocene deposits at
2. Materials and methods
Palynological studies make it possible to determine the vegetational development of the southwestern East European Plain (the
territory of modern Moldova and Ukraine) during the entire
Holocene (Grichuk, 1969; Mackevoy and Pashkevich, 1973; IsaevaPetrova, 1976; Dinesman, 1977; Dolukhanov and Pashkevich, 1977;
Kremenetskiy, 1991, 1997, 2003; Gerasimenko, 1995, 1997a, 1997b).
The analyses of plant remains, mainly grains and seeds, as well as
the imprints on pot sherds and daub retrieved from Neolithic and
Early Bronze Age sites of the southern part of East European plain
provided a large database of palaeoethnobotanical materials
(Yanushevich, 1976, 1986; Pashkevich, 1980, 1989, 1997, 2003, 2005;
Kuzminova, 1990). Some materials were retrieved by means of
manual water flotation.
E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected].
1040-6182/$ e see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.01.024
G. Pashkevych / Quaternary International 261 (2012) 176e182
177
Fig. 1. Pollen diagram of the Belolesye site.
Zimovniki, Rogalik 2, Rogalik 12, Peredelsk and Podgorovka (all in
the Lugansk area). The studied deposits are of Preboreal
(9.5 110 ka BR) and Boreal age (8.5 1.0, 8,6 0,9,
8.1 120 ka BR) (Gorelik, 1986; Gerasimenko, 1995, 1997a, 1997b).
From the pollen evidence, the watersheds were occupied by steppe
communities, and mesophytic communities existed in the river
valleys and ravines. Forests covered the watershed slopes and
included oak, elm and hazelnut, with alder on wetter ground. This
type of vegetation was fairly similar to that of the present-day
Central Russian Upland (Isaeva-Petrova, 1976). The increased
abundance of steppe xerophytes and the decreased amount of
arboreal macrofossils indicates that the climate by the end of the
Preboreal became cooler and drier.
The pollen data for Mesolithic sites on the Kerch Peninsula in
the eastern Crimea: Lugovoye I and II, Leninskoye and Frontovoye
(Mackevoy and Pashkevich, 1973), shows that the steppe vegetation
in that area had a more mesophytic character as compared to the
present time, and consisted of bunchgrass communities with
sparse forests and aquatic vegetation with Sparganium, Hydrocharitaceae and Lycopodium along water courses.
The occurrence of the highest values of tree pollen such as pine
and broad-leaved oak, elm, and lime in Beloles’e and Mirnoye
marks the Atlantic period. The prevalence of Chenopodiaceae,
Asteraceae and various herbs indicates a meadow steppe
(Pashkevich, 1976, 1982). In the western areas, in particular in the
lower stretches of the Dniester River (Moldova), the vegetation
cover of the modern steppe zone during the second half of the
Atlantic period had a mesophytic character (Volontir, 1989;
Kremenetskiy, 1991, 1997, 2003).
The Neolithic-Eneolithic periods coincided with the Atlantic
period known as the Holocene climatic optimum. The climate in the
interval of 6000e4500 BR was less continental than presently.
Winters were mild and the average annual temperature was higher
than now by 2 C. In the steppe zone the January temperature was
1 C higher than the modern one and that of July, 2 C lower. The
annual precipitation was 100e150 mm higher than now
(Kremenetskiy, 2003; Velichko et al., 2009).
The pollen evidence indicates spread of mixed coniferousdeciduous forests in the river valleys during the Atlantic period.
Forest-steppe with isolated groups of oak, elm, lime and maple
became dominant on the plateaus. Thermophilous trees increased
in the structure of forests, which moved further to the north and
east as compared to their present position. Valleys of the Dnieper,
Dniester, Southern Bug, Don and Volga were forested. The broadleaved trees penetrated into the steppe zone, which was considerably reduced, being restricted only to the southern edge of the
Pontic Lowland. Grassy cover became more mesophytic, with the
abundance of meadow plants in its composition (Dolukhanov and
Fig. 2. Pollen diagram of the Mirnoye site.
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G. Pashkevych / Quaternary International 261 (2012) 176e182
Pashkevich, 1977; Kremenetskiy, 1991, 1997, 2003; Velichko et al.,
2009).
The vegetation history of the North Pontic steppe zone is based
on the pollen evidence from the Kardashinskoe bog, the southernmost one in that area. Gramineae-wormwood steppes with
small patches of pine and birch trees were spread on sandy terraces
of the Dnieper. Forests with elm, oak, lime, hornbeam, ash, and sites
of meadow steppes grew on the flood-plains. In the second half of
the Atlantic and the subsequent Subboreal period (4.5e4.2 ka BP),
the vegetation cover consisted of broad-leaved trees and pine
forests with birch on sandy terraces of the Dnieper. The grass cover
became more mesophytic with the spread of steppe- meadow and
steppe communities (Kremenetskiy, 1991). The southern foothills
of the Volyn-Podilsk and Dnieper Uplands, presently in the
northern steppe zone, were covered with forest-steppe vegetation
(Kremenetskiy, 1991; Gerasimenko, 1997b).
Typical steppe spectra dominated by Chenopodiaceae and
Compositae with a limited occurrences of trees (pine, birch, alder,
elm, and oak) have been identified in the deposits of Early Neolithic
site of Kamennaya Mogila, located on the flood-plain of the
Molochnaya River (Melitopol Oblast, Ukraine). Kremenetskiy
(1991) reported the pollen data for Orgeyev (Orhei) palaeolake
profile, which is presently located in the steppe area of the
Dniester-Prut watershed at Moldova. The Atlantic period spectra
show the occurrence of broad-leaved forests alternating with
bunchgrass steppe.
A similar character of the vegetation cover dynamics has been
identified in the eastern part of the steppe zone. Gramineae-mixed
herb steppe with limited flood-plain forests occurred there over
a prolonged period, as has been demonstrated by palynological
records from Mesolithic sites on the Ker’ch peninsula (Mackevoy
and Pashkevich, 1973). Limited contents of heliophytes, xerophytes, xerohalophytes and halophytes are typical of the floras.
Palynological data obtained for the multilayered site Razdol’NOE (Donetsk Oblast) support this conclusion (Bezus’ko et al.,
2006). This site is located on the right bank of the river Kalmius
in the steppe with limited occurrences of hardwood forests in the
ravines. The early Neolithic layer has been radiocarbon-dated to
5825 80 BP [K{e8004] and 5630 90 BP [K{e8005]. Pollen
spectra obtained for Early and Middle Chalcolithic layers show the
prevalence of steppe-like vegetation with an abundance of mesophytic grasses and the occurrence of broad-leaved forests which
included hornbeam and alder. The occurrence of Cerealia pollen
indicates agriculture, a conclusion further corroborated by ethnobotanic evidence for cultivation of hulled wheat, hulled barley, and
millet.
Following the Altithermal, which on East European Plain is
generally estimated as 5.6e5.3 ka, the pollen spectra of eastern
Ukraine indicate a reduced precipitation with mean annual
temperatures remaining above the present-day values. Increased
rate of Chenopodiaceae was caused apparently not only by the
climate change, but also by human impact.
The Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in Europe broadly coincided with the Atlantic period. The corresponding conditions were
quite favourable for agricultural activities. Early agricultural tribes
arrived from southwest Asia through the Balkans.
P. Dolukhanov suggested, based on radiocarbon dates, the
following chronology for the spread of early Neolithic agriculture in
southeastern Europe: the earliest agricultural cultures at
8.6e7.5 ka cal BC (Franchthi Cave); the next stages of early Neolithic
in Central and Northern Greece include Proto-Sesklo
(6.5e6.0 ka cal BC) and Sesklo (6.0e5.3 ka cal BC). Further north, in
the northern Balkan area and Middle Danube basin, several early
farming cultures were recognised, including Karanovo I-II
(6.1e5.8 ka cal BC); Karanovo III (5.4e5,1 ka cal BC), Karanovo IV
(5.3e4.8 ka cal BC), Starcevo-Körös-Criş (5.9e5.5 ka cal BC) and
Vin
ca (5.5e4.0 ka cal BC) (Dolukhanov et al., 2004, 2005). Available
archaeological and archaeobotanical evidence shows that colonization of the Ukraine by agricultural tribes occurred in the Atlantic
and at the beginning of Subboreal periods of the Holocene.
Two points of view exist on the presence of agricultural tribes in
the territory of Ukraine. The first one links the appearance of first
farmers with the Star
cevo-Körös-Criş (5.9e5.5 ka cal BC) and the
Bug-Dniester Culture. The second point of view advanced by
Danilenko (1969) and supported by Kotova (2002) argues that the
population of the Bug-Dniester Culture received the skills of plant
cultivation from the inhabitants of the steppe Azov Sea area at
about 5600e6400 BC.
Early farming Starcevo-Körös-Criş communities in the Balkans
(7900e7500 BC) spread east of the Carpathian Mountains, reaching
Moldova and western Ukraine. Study of the culturally related site of
Sakarovka I in Moldova yielded the imprints of grains of emmer
wheat, spelt, hulled and naked barley, millet(?), and pea and bitter
vetch among the pulses. Charred grains of emmer and spelt, two
fragments of pea, together with grains of Setaria viridis and Setaria
glauca, seeds of Galium sp and Polygonum sp., and imprints of
Allissum sp., Agrostemma sp., and Setaria sp. were identified on the
plaster house platforms. These latter plants could be either weeds
or elements of the local vegetation (Kuzminova et al., 1998).
Cultivated plants indicated in archaeological deposits of the
Neolithic Bug-Dniester culture are generally considered as resulting
from the Starcevo-Criş influence.
About 30,000 fragments of pot sherds ceramics from 40 settlements belonging to the Bug-Dniester, Surskian, Azov-Dnieprovskaya, Donetskaya, and Kievo-Cherkasskaya cultures were
analysed in order to identify traces of plant cultivation. The quantity of imprints was poor, as usually the case, and only eight out of
18 investigated settlements of the Bug-Dniester yielded identifiable
plant imprints, at located in a forest-steppe zone. They consist of
rare imprints of grains of hulled wheat, barley, probably millet, and
seeds of linum. An easily identifiable imprint of emmer spikelet has
been found on a pot sherd from Zan’kovtsy (Kotova and Pashkevich,
2002). At the sites on the Dniester River (Soroki 1, 3, 5, Ruptura and
Sakarovka I), apart from the above-mentioned species, the imprints
of spelt, naked barley, and oats (Avena sp.) were identified
(Yanushevich, 1989). The pottery of the southernmost sites, Pugach
and Gard, shows no plant imprints. Researchers think that animal
husbandry was the basis of the local subsistence (Zhuravl’ov and
Kotova, 1996).
Only with the appearance of tribes of the Linear Pottery Culture,
estimated as 5154 62 BC (Dolukhanov et al., 2005) can the existence of farming on the territory of Ukraine be confidently asserted.
The bearers of this culture brought with them skills for cultivating
domesticated plants (mainly wheat and barley).
Settlements of this culture are known from two areas: the
north-western part of Ukraine (the province of Volhynia) and the
Middle Dniester (Moldova and Ukraine). The composition of cultivated plants is identical to that from contemporary sites in other
areas of the Linear Pottery culture in Europe (Knörzer, 1991;
Wasylikowa et al., 1991). Hulled wheat and barley with legumes
(mainly peas) and bitter vetch formed the basic crops. Bread wheat
also was recorded, but as a small admixture only.
Tribes of the Tripolye culture spread over the greater part of the
modern forest-steppe zone, from the Prut up the Dnieper. Based on
the calibrated 14C dates, the age of the Tripolye culture covers the
period from the 5th until the 3rd millennia BC. It corresponds to the
second half of the Atlanticebeginning of the Subboreal period of
the Holocene. The palynological data shows that forest-steppe
vegetation was dominant in the Tripolian landscapes (Pashkevich,
1989, 2005; Kremenetskiy, 1991; Yanushevich et al., 1993).
G. Pashkevych / Quaternary International 261 (2012) 176e182
Meadow forest-steppe formations included forests with oak, lime,
elm, hornbeam and mesophytic grass-herb meadow formations.
The Tripolye culture is an outstanding phenomenon in European
prehistory. Tribes belonging to this culture manufactured highquality painted ceramics, built two-storey houses and were able to
process copper over the period of 2500 years.
The Tripolye culture included three subsequent stages. The
earlier indications of Tripolye culture are known from Rumania
(Precucuteni 1). The Precucuteni tribes occupied the dry steppe and
as well as foothills of the Carpathians. Groups Precucuteni 2 (Tripolye, stage A) spread rapidly to the east, into the valleys of the
Dniester and later the Southern Bug. During the next period (Tripolye, stage B), under the conditions of much wetter Atlantic
climate, they reached the Middle Dnieper. The settlements at that
time became both larger and more numerous.
Tribes of the Tripolye culture disappeared under conditions of
a dry Subboreal climate. However, even at this final stage they
occupied a vast area not restricted exclusively to the forest-steppe
zone. Some groups penetrated further into the forest area in the
north and into the steppe in the south. The grass-herb steppe was
replaced by the grassy variety, while the area of forests was considerably reduced. These changes were reflected in the character of the
economy. The economic activities became complex, combining
agriculture with animal husbandry. At this time, nomadic groups
appeared in some areas of Eastern European and in the Siberian
forest zone. Agricultural communities in the forest-steppe zone of
Ukraine and Moldova rapidly diminished, as the natural conditions
became more favourable for the development of cattle breeding,
either of nomadic or of semi-nomadic character (Dergacev, 1991).
Numerous remains, including palaeoethnobotanical materials,
were found. Some researchers blame a catastrophic flood for the
disappearance of this culture. However, scientists assume a gradual,
five centuries long, disappearance of this ancient culture as a result
of climate changes.
Plant remains were recovered from nearly one hundred Tripolye
settlements in Moldova and Ukraine. As the archaeobotanical
studies show, the early Tripolye assortment of cultivated plants
remained fairly uniform throughout all three major stages of the
Tripolye culture. The dominant species of cereals were hulled
wheat: emmer (which prevailed), einkorn and spelt supplemented
by naked six-row barley and hulled barley. Bread wheat/club wheat
formed small admixtures to other cereals. Broomcorn millet was
less common. The list of cultivated plants includes Pisum sativum
and Vicia ervilia. Values of millet increased only in settlements on
the border of the steppe zone with tribes of the Usatovo culture in
Tripotye C (Yanushevich, 1976, 1986; Pashkevich, 1980, 1991, 2003,
2005; Kuzminova, 1990). Minor variations are observable only in
relative importance of these plants.
Assemblages of cultivated plants and land - usage systems did
not change for a long period. The arable lands were continuously
cultivated without any improvement and or fallow periods. The
fields were cultivated by means of horn and stone hoes and antler
“listers” which made the soil friable. Such soil was favourable for
seeding ears of hulled wheat. The harvesting method by which only
the ears were taken was used. Low yields, long periods of natural
soil regeneration, primitive tools for tilling the fields and harvesting
as well as the use of undemanding species of cultivated plants were
the basic features of Tripolye agriculture. Tripolye culture palaeoethnobotanical materials obtained in the entire area of its existence has shown that the plant assortment used by Tripolye tribes
considerably differed from those used by the tribes east of the Black
Sea. As Yanushevich (1989) has demonstrated, the basic cultivated
plants in the south of Central Asia and in the Caucasus were bread
wheat and special varieties of naked barley with round grains.
Palaeoethnobotanical analysis of materials from a group of Usatovo
179
setlements (final Eneolithic of the steppe zone): Bolshoy Kuyalnik,
and Mayaki indicated that millet was the basic staple plant food of
the local agro-pastoral populations (Kuzminova and Petrenko,
1989).
According to Gerasimenko (1995, 1997b), following the
maximum temperature rise in an interval of 5600e5300 BP,
a period of reduced precipitation with mean annual temperatures
higher than now followed in the steppe zone of Ukraine. Numerous
climatic oscillations occurred after 2800 BC. The Early Subboreal
(14C 4.6e4.3 ka BP) was cool and wet: forest-steppe spread to the
south, but broad-leaved trees were reduced. The Middle Subboreal
(14C 4.2e3.5 ka BP) featured a very dry climate. Artemisia-Poaceae
steppe dominated the southern and eastern part of the area. During
the Late Subboreal (14C 3.4e3.0 ka BP), xerophytes disappeared and
broad-leaved forest-steppe spread in the western and northeastern parts of the area. The end of the Late Subboreal
(2.9e2.7 ka BP) was dry, and steppes consisted of Poaceae and
xerophytes. Reduction of forest cover in the river valleys, various
herbs and trees were also noted. The steppe became more aridresistant with a notable increase of xerophytes and especially
Chenopodiaceae.
However, the latter could be a result of both climatic changes
and human economic activities. The sedentary-type Bronze Age
communities existing during the wet phases were replaced by
nomads during the dry episodes. During the Subatlantic period,
2.6e2.2 ka BP, the forest-steppe penetrated into the northern part
of the area. Later, alterations of mesophytic and xerophytic-type
steppe were noted. The driest phase was identified at 2.1e1.7 ka BP,
and the wettest cool phase was noted at 1.6e1.4 ka BP. The Medieval climatic optimum and the Little Ice Age are noted, particularly
in the western areas and in the foothills of the Crimean Mountains
(Gerasimenko, 1997b).
The steppe zone from the Danube in the west to the river
Molochnaya in the east was dominated by the tribes of the Nizhne
Mikhailovka culture, as well as those of Pivikha culture, further up
the Dnieper River. The quantity of identifiable imprints of cultivated
plants on fragments of pottery of these cultures is very low. Only
ten imprints were identified on 2461 fragments from the bottom
layer of Mikhailovka 1 settlement (Nizhne Mikhailovka culture).
They include: Triticum dicoccon - 4 imprints, Hordeum vulgare - 4,
Panicum miliaceum - 1, Vicia sp. - 1, as well as an unidentified cereal
and a seeds. However, the numerous finds of antler hoes together
with plant imprints at the Dereivka settlement indicate a primitive
agriculture in these locations.
The Bronze Age coincides with the Subboreal period. Under the
impact of climate with common droughts and cold spells, significant changes are notable in the economy, social life and material
culture of the Central and East European populations.
The Bronze Age economy in the steppe of Ukraine was based on
pastoral stock-breeding and agriculture. The Yamnaya Culture
tribes emerged during the first half of the Subboreal period,
accompanied by an increasingly dry climate and the expansion of
the steppe. These tribes spread over the vast territory of steppe and
forest-steppe area from the Urals in the east to Dobrudzha in the
west. The Yamnaya tribes existed in the Ukrainian steppes for
400e500 years, beginning with the second half of the third until
the beginning of the second millennium BC. Contrary to widely
accepted opinion that the pastoral stock-breeding was the base of
the subsistence of these tribes, at some sites, particularly along
river valleys, they practised agriculture.
A sack filled with spikelets of T. dicoccon and Triticum monococcum, found in the early Catacomb burial site at Bolotnoe in the
Crimea, demonstrates the existence of an agrarian component in
the economy of Catacomb Culture tribes of the Ukraine and Moldova steppe zones (Yanushevich et al., 1981).
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G. Pashkevych / Quaternary International 261 (2012) 176e182
Similar data are also available from the western steppe area. The
imprints of grains of millet and naked wheat were identified on the
vessels of the Catacomb culture at Mirnoe (Kuzminova and
Petrenko, 1989). A limited assortment of cultivated plants was
highly adaptable to the agricultural practises of nomadic and seminomadic tribes. Hulled barley equally withstands a dry climate and
poor soils. Barley is one of the principal cereals, both for human diet
as well as an important fodder for domestic animals (Zohary and
Hopf, 1988). Common millet is the preferred staple food amongst
traditional nomadic tribes, who appreciate its special qualities e
a small sowing bulk, short life-cycle and drought resistance
(Vavilov, 1987).
The quantity of imprints of cultivated plants identifiable on
fragments of Yamnaya culture pottery is very low. Only six imprints
were acknowledged on 3629 fragments from Mikhailovka 3
settlement: T. dicoccon - 3, H. vulgare - 2, and a single imprint of P.
miliaceum. Imprints of grains of millet (6) were most numerous at
the Skelya-Kamenolomnya settlement. Wheat grains were found
only in two cases. They are atypical and likely belong to Triticum
aestivum s.l. In total, 4038 fragments of ceramics were investigated.
The imprints of grains, “forks” and straw of Triticum compactum, T.
monococcum, H. vulgare, and P. miliaceum were found on burial
vessels from four settlements on the Lower Dniester, in the western
part of the Yamnaya culture area (Kuzminova and Petrenko, 1989).
The period from 2800 BC onwards featured numerous climatic
oscillations. In the interval between 1500 and 900 BC, precipitation
was 100 mm higher than now, the July temperature was 2 C lower,
and January by 1 C lower. The forested areas in of the Dnieper
valley have increased (Gerasimenko, 1997a). These changes in the
natural conditions affected the character of the economy.
The existing botanical records show that agriculture became
more important in the economy of the Middle and Late Bronze Age.
Agricultural practises intensified when the Sabatinovka tribes
spread into the south of the forest-steppe and into the steppe zone
proper. Twelve Sabatinovka sites yielded particularly informative
evidence. Thirteen thousand fragments of ceramics and 20 kg of
daub were studied. Grain imprints include hulled and naked wheat,
hulled and naked barley, millet, and pulses. Collection of charred
grains and seeds was obtained within the limits of the economic
complex at the site of Vinogradnyi Sad by flotation. Basic part of
grains (over 3 thousand grains of barley) kept the assembled crop.
There are grains of hulled wheat, naked barley, millet, pea, and
hemp. The weeds include 19 species of syntaxonomic units: Chenopodietea, Agropyretea, Plantaginetea, and Galio-Urticetea. The
common occurrence of cultivated plants and weeds indicates that
a settlement was situated in an open landscape. The agricultural
plots were probably located on a small hilltop within the South
Bug’s flood plain or on the slopes of adjoining ravines. These
locations were wet and had sandy-loam soils. The Chenopodietea
species reflect the ruderal vegetation in the vicinity of the site and
existence of weed vegetation on the margins of the fields
(Pashkevich and Kostil’ov, 1992).
Cultivated plant remains were also found in Moldova sites of the
Sabatinovka culture (Kuzminova and Petrenko, 1989). The summarised data show that barley, millet and emmer were the principal crops. The list of cultivated plants included P. sativum,
V. ervilia, Linum usitatissimum, and Cannabis sp.
Dependence on the environment is also easily seen in the
economy of the Srubnaya (Timber Grave) sites. Significant differences in archaeobotanical data suggest the occurrence of two forms
of subsistence economy in the Srubnaya cultural unit. According to
V. Otroschenko, this arises from two distinct archaeological cultures
within the Srubnaya culture complex: the Pokrovskaya and
Berezhnovsko-Maevskaya, which had different chronology and
geographical areas and had distinct subsistence economies. Animal
industries-breeding appears to have been the base of the subsistence economy of the Pokrovskaya culture, and an agricultural/
animal industries-breeding economy was characteristic of the
Berezhnovsko-Maevskaya. Thus, within the huge territory of
Eastern Europe during the seventeenth to thirteenth centuries BC,
both animal industries-breeding and agricultural/animal industries-breeding subsistence economies were of major importance.
A wide spectrum of the plant remains has been identified at Usovo
Ozero site in Donetsk Oblast (Pashkevich, 1991, 2000) and in two
settlements Bezimennoe 1 as well as in Donetsk Oblast and Pavlo
grad in the Dnepropetrovsk Oblasts (Cernych
et al., 1998; Lebedeva,
2005). The most important cereals were barley, millet and hulled
wheat. The records from the sites of Veseloe 1 and 1-st May at
Moldova have revealed insignificant quantities of cereal grain
imprints. Only emmer, barley and millet were found (Yanushevich,
1986). A wide spectrum of cultivated plants has been identified at
Usovo Ozero. In addition to the species listed above, imprints of
bread wheat, naked barley, V. ervilia, Avena sp. and Secale sp. have
also been identified (Pashkevich, 1991). Flotation of the infilled
holes and constructions at Dikiy Sad near Nikolaev (Belozerskaya
Culture, 12the10th centuries BC) produced grains of barley, millet,
naked wheat, and hulled wheat, as seeds of weed plants.
Bronze Age plant husbandry is documented by the records from
sites in Europe (Wasylikowa et al., 1991). Emmer was one of the
most common cereals. Eincorn was less important. Barley gained in
importance, as compared to the Neolithic. Bread wheat appeared
more often than in the Neolithic but always in small numbers. The
significance of millet also increased. Rye became more common,
but E. Hainalová (personal communication) believes that it
remained a weed in the crops of wheat and barley. Pulses were
represented by pea, lentil, and bitter vetch. Horsebean and
chickpea were rare. There are rare finds of Camelina sativa and
L. usitatissimum.
Archaeobotanical materials from the steppe zone differ
considerably by the very limited assortment of cultivated plants,
showing an adaptation both to environments and cultural traditions. Hulled wheat is characterized by indiscriminateness to soil
and to climatic conditions (Stoletova, 1924e1925). Hulled barley
easily adapts to a dry climate and infertile soils. Barley was one of
the most popular crops in the past. It was used both in the human
diet and for feeding the animals. Millet is most common cereal
among the traditional nomad tribes due to its high caloric content
and, a short cycle of development, good sustainability during
droughts, and the small volume of grains necessary for a crop.
In spite of technical progress, attained with the use of bronze
sickles, plant husbandry remained essentially the same as in the
3rde2nd millennia BC. It was characterized by a long-fallow
system, primitive agricultural technology and a constant development of virgin lands. Environmental changes were responsible for
changes in economic activities. Animal husbandry and agricultural
farming alternated in response to climate changes.
4. Discussion
The vegetation of Northern Black Sea Coastal area during the
Holocene had a steppe-like character. At the beginning of the
Holocene, the steppe was more drought-resistant than now. During
the Holocene optimum (Atlantic period), increased humidity had
a significant influence on the character of the vegetation cover.
Under the influence of the milder climatic conditions the vegetation took the form of Gramineae-mixed herb steppe with a poor
grassy cover, and commonly occurring open soils, salt-marshes and
small water bodies surrounded by mesophytic meadows and rare
alder trees. There were small forest patches with some deciduous
trees. Favorable conditions in the Atlantic favoured the spread of
G. Pashkevych / Quaternary International 261 (2012) 176e182
agricultural tribes into the forest-steppe zone, especially the Tripolye culture. The steppe zone economy had a mixed character. It
was characterized by a long - fallow system, primitive agricultural
technology and a constant development of virgin lands. Environmental changes affected changes in economic activities. Animal
husbandry and arable farming alternated. Food-gathering, fishing
and hunting as well as agriculture dominated the river valleys.
Deterioration of climatic conditions in the subsequent Subboreal period (late Holocene) led to changes in economic activities,
to a gradual diminishing of the role of agriculture and an increased
importance of animal breeding. Mesophytic grass-herb steppe was
replaced by the dry grassy variety, while the area of forests was
considerably reduced. These changes were reflected in the character of the economy. The economic activities were of a mixed
character, combining agriculture with animal husbandry. The
number of agricultural tribes in the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine
and Moldova was reduced. Favourable conditions arose for the
development of cattle breeding of a nomadic and a semi-nomadic
character. Xerophytic steppe developed under the influence of two
factors: the tectonic subsistence of the entire area and the influence
of economic activities of cattle breeding tribes. Pastoral digressions
under the impact of grazing result in an increased xerophytisation
of the vegetation cover (Osinchyuk, 1973).
5. Conclusion
Available archaeological and archaeobotanical evidences
strongly suggest that the agricultural colonization of the territory
of Ukraine occurred during the Atlantic and early Subboreal periods
of the Holocene. True farming started only with the appearance of
groups belonging to the Linear Pottery Culture which age is estimated as 5154 62 BC (Dolukhanov et al., 2005). They had the
skills of cultivating domesticated plants (mainly wheat and barley)
and breeding domestic animals.
The tribes of the Tripolye culture spread between the end of the
5th and the 4th millennia BC in the forest - steppe landscapes.
Archaeobotanical records of all three stages of the Tripolye culture
are similar, with distinctions acknowledgeable only in the relative
amounts of plants.
During the subsequent Subboreal period under the influence of
climate (droughts, spells of cold) changes, significant changes
occurred in the economy, social life and material culture of the
populations of Central and Eastern Europe. The Bronze Age coincided with the Subboreal period. At that time, forests in the river
valleys disappeared and the share of xerophytic plants in the grass
cover of the plains increased.
In the steppe zone at this time, subsistence strategies were
based on food-gathering, fishing, and hunting. The economy had
a cattle breeding orientation while agriculture was insignificant.
The agriculture was focused on river floors and flood-plains. Over
a prolonged period, the most important cereals remained hulled
wheat and barley. In Eneolithic cultures, emmer and barley were
more common cereals. Naked barley was replaced by hulled barley
during the Eneolithic, accompanied by pulses. Hulled barley and
millet were still well represented in the Bronze Age and later. Millet
became more popular among the pastoral tribes beginning with the
Bronze Age. Such a restricted assortment (T. dicoccon, H. vulgare and
P. miliaceum) was convenient for primitive agrarian practises. These
plants were well adapted to existing climatic conditions.
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