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169
VII/2/2016
InterdIscIplInarIa archaeologIca
natural scIences In archaeology
homepage: http://www.iansa.eu
Negative Efects of Late Bronze Age Human Activity on Modern Soils and
Landscapes, a Case-study on the Muradymovo Settlement, Urals, Russia
Alexandra Golyeva
a*
, Olga Khokhlova
b
, Nikolai Shcherbakov
c
, Iia Shuteleva
c
a
Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Staromonetniy pereulok 29, 119017 Moscow, Russia
b
Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems of Soil Science – Pushchino Scientifc Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino,
Moscow Region, Russia
c
Archaeological Laboratory of Bashkir State Pedagogical University, Oktyabrskoy Revolutsii street 3a, Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia
1. Introduction
Pedological studies on archaeological sites can often help
to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment of an archaeological
monument’s functioning period (Weiss, Courty 1993;
Redman 1999; Vrydaghs, Devos 2007; Zielinski
et al.
2011;
Sánchez-Pérez
et al.
2013 and many others). This allows
archaeologists to better understand the life-styles and
economic activities of the ancient people and their
interactions with the palaeoenvironment (Engovatova,
Golyeva 2012; Jankowski, Kittel 2012; Goldie 2013;
Markiewicz
et al.
2013).
In some cases, the human impact on ancient landscapes
has been so profound that local soils still remain signifcantly
afected even after hundreds and thousands of years
(Bettis 1988; Lima
et al.
2002). There are no natural soils
left within such sites, being replaced by completely diferent
anthropogenic soils with specifc properties (Woods,
McCann 1999; Nicocia
et al.
2011; Antisari
et al.
2013;
Pawłowski
et al.
2015; Thy
et al.
2015).
Studying the causes and implications of such negative
infuences of past human activities on soils and the
environment is necessary to prevent similar accidents in
the future. We believe this is an important research area
at the present time, when anthropogenic pressures on the
environment are increasing.
The present article describes a case-study of the extremely
severe and long-lasting impact of ancient people on their
soils and environment. The study site is the Late Bronze Age
settlement of Muradymovo located in the Bashkortostan
Republic (Urals region, Russia). The site and its area
have a peculiar “hillocky” microrelief that does not occur
anywhere else in the Bashkortostan Republic. The local
residents assumed that the hillocks were old tree stumps
overgrown with grass, but we suggested that they were traces
of ancient human activity. According to the archaeological
Volume VII ● Issue 2/2016 ● Pages 169–178
*Corresponding author. E-mail: golyevaaa@yandex.ru
ARtICtle Info
Article history:
Received: 23
rd
March 2016
Accepted: 28
th
December 2016
Key words:
ancient settlement
modern soil
properties
gypsum
transformation rate
ABStRACt
The study site is the Late Bronze Age (1750–1350 BC cal) settlement of Muradymovo located in the
Urals, Russia (53°58′44.8″ N, 55°30′58.8″ E). Despite the presence of a humid climate, the modern
soils of the study site contain more than 27% of gypsum at a depth of just 10 cm from the surface and
have a microrelief typical of a gypsum desert. The nearby background Chernozems are gypsum-free to
a depth of 2 metres. The ancient people of the “Srubno-Alakul” archaeological culture had a tradition
of building their houses from gypsum rock. This is an excellent construction material in dry climates,
but dissolves quickly under humid conditions. According to the archaeological data, the ancient people
rebuilt their houses more than fve times within a period of 200 years, thereby bringing a lot of gypsum
to this site, which was later abandoned. At the present time, this area is still unsuitable for human
settlement, because the water of the nearest small river is still contaminated by gypsum and has a bitter
taste. The properties of modern soils directly afected by Late Bronze Age human activities have been
identifed as a result of our studies on soil morphology and chemistry (pH, Corg., P
tot
, gypsum and
calcium carbonate concentrations). Remarkably, there is residual soil contamination by gypsum even
after 3,500 years since the abandonment of the site.
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IANSA 2016 ● VII/2 ● 169–178
Alexandra Golyeva, Olga Khokhlova, Nikolai Shcherbakov, Iia Shuteleva: Negative Efects of Late Bronze Age Human Activity on Modern Soils and Landscapes,
a Case-study on the Muradymovo Settlement, Urals, Russia
170
data (Shcherbakov
et al.
2013; Shcharbakov
et al.
2015),
the Muradymovo people belonged to the “Srubno-Alakul”
culture of the Late Bronze Age and came here from an
extra arid semidesert region of the southern Kazakhstan,
where they used to build their houses of gypsum rock.
There is a deposit of gypsum rock just 5 km away from the
Muradymovo settlement site.
Gypsum is an excellent construction material in the
driest parts of arid regions, for example, within depressions
that remain from former inland lakes or seas (Rosen,
Warren 1990; Bolen
et al.
1991). However, in humid climates
gypsum is soluble and houses made of it undergo rapid
degradation. The residual piles of gypsum rock account for
the appearance of the aforementioned hillocky microrelief of
the study site (Slavnyi 2003). A similar microrelief typically
occurs in deserts (Gorbunova 1977; Watson 1985; Eckardt
et.al.
2001; Warren 2006), but would not be expected to be
found in this humid region of Urals. In addition, the ancient
settlement site Muradymovo is located on a hill, and not
within a depression.
The aim of our study was to investigate the properties
of modern soils at the Bronze Age settlement site and
understand more about the factors that led to their formation
and transformation.
2. Materials and methods
2.1 Materials
2.1.1 Location and natural conditions at the site
The study site (53°58′44.8″ N, 55°30′58.8″ E) is located
2.5 km north of the village of Muradymovo, in the
Aurgazinskiy District of the Bashkortostan Republic
of Russia (Figure 1.1–2). The site of the Muradymovo
ancient settlement with a total area of 6 ha is found within
the Kamsko-Belsky Depression with generally a levelled
topography resulting from denudation processes, on the frst
terrace of the right bank of the Urshak River, 0.2 km east of
the mainstream, on a hill about 1.5–2 m high (Figure 1.4).
The bedrock is composed of gypsum, anhydrite, dolomite
and sandstone of the Kungur stage of the Permian Period.
The bedrock is overlain by loess-like silty sediments of the
Quaternary Period that serve as parent rocks for the soils.
The
climate is continental, moderately cold. The mean
annual air temperature is +2.5°С, the mean temperatures of
January and July being –15°С and +19.5°С, respectively.
The frost-free period lasts 140 days, being the longest within
the Bashkortostan Republic. The mean annual precipitation
is about 500 mm, with more than 300 mm falling during the
growing season. The hydrothermal coefcient is about 1
(Atlas of the Bashkortostan Republic, 2005).
The typical modern vegetation is represented by steppe
communities.
The typical
soils are Greyzemic Chernozems (WRB,
2014) that are naturally gypsum-free to a depth of 2 metres
(Bogomolov 1954; Khaziev 2007).
2.1.2 Archaeology
According to the archaeological data (Obydennova
et al.
2008; Shuteleva
et al.
2010), the settlement was built
by ancient people of the “Srubno-Alakul” archaeological
culture of the Late Bronze Age (1750–1350 BC cal), who
lived here for no longer than 200–300 years. Later the
settlement remained abandoned. At present, the site is
covered with sparse steppe vegetation, partially used as a
pasture and bordered by a gully from the west and north.
There are six depressions (house pits) with areas from 260
to 300 m
2
and depths from 0.25 to 0.4 m recorded within the
site.
We studied two pits (houses III and IV) with the most
representative morphology of cultural layers (Figures 2.2
and 2.3). Their past uses were diferent: pit III was a farm
building whereas pit IV was an inhabited house. The distance
between the pits was no more than 50 m (Figure 1.3). Pit III
contained the remains of a farm building constructed on a
single occasion and used for keeping cattle, as was indicated
by the archaeological fnds. Pit IV included several layers
of house remains (no less than 5) and a hearth,
i.e.
this
residential house had been rebuilt several times.
Two background soils outcropping from the banks of a
small river opposite to each other at a short distance from the
archaeological excavation site were also studied. These soils
were least afected by the ancient settlement construction.
The frst soil profle (background soil 1) was on the same
river bank as the settlement and contained a white-coloured
lens between the surface horizon and the humus horizon
(Figure 2.1.1). The other profle (background soil 2) was
on the opposite bank and had no traces of ancient human
impact, such as a white lens near the surface of the frst
profle (Figure 2.1.2).
The modern microrelief consists of small hillocks
separated by deep frost cracks, which cover the whole area
of the study site and beyond, up to the banks of the river and
gully. Frost cracks have resulted from the recent infuence of
the continental climate. The hillocks are about 50 cm high
and 1.5–2.2 m long (Figure 1.4). Such a peculiar microrelief
is absent on the other side of the gully.
2.2 Methods
Our study was designed to describe the morphological
characteristics of the pits and profles in the feld (according
to archaeological standards) and to conduct chemical
analyses of the samples in the laboratory using conventional
techniques (Arinushkina 1970; Vorobiova
1998; 2006).
We collected samples in vertical columns from all pits
and profles studied. The samples were dried and prepared
according to the requirements for each specifc analysis.
2.2.1 Total phosphorus
We determined the total phosphorus (P
tot
), as we agree with
Holliday and Gartner (2007) that P
tot
“seems to be the best
indicator of human activity”. The procedure included sample
combustion with concentrated sulfuric acid. Phosphate in the
extract was determined calorimetrically using a SPECOL
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IANSA 2016 ● VII/2 ● 169–178
Alexandra Golyeva, Olga Khokhlova, Nikolai Shcherbakov, Iia Shuteleva: Negative Efects of Late Bronze Age Human Activity on Modern Soils and Landscapes,
a Case-study on the Muradymovo Settlement, Urals, Russia
171
Figure 1.
Study site locations: 1.1 Map of Russia with location of Muradymovo settlement (star) and areal map (Google) of Volga-Ural area with location
of Muradymovo settlement (red ring). 1.2 Plan of the settlement area with excavated pits. 1.3 3D-reconstruction landscape of Muradymovo settlement by
Golden Surfer Programme 9.0 Version. 1.4 Specifc micro-relief on the surface of ancient settlement.
0 16 m
N
III
II
IV
I
V
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
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Alexandra Golyeva, Olga Khokhlova, Nikolai Shcherbakov, Iia Shuteleva: Negative Efects of Late Bronze Age Human Activity on Modern Soils and Landscapes,
a Case-study on the Muradymovo Settlement, Urals, Russia
172
Figure 2.
Soil profles: 1.1 – Background soil 1 with gypsum lens on the surface. 1.2 – Background soil 2 without gypsum. 2 – Excavation pit III. 3 –
Excavation pit IV. The thickness of cultural layers and burial soils are shown on both excavation pits.
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Alexandra Golyeva, Olga Khokhlova, Nikolai Shcherbakov, Iia Shuteleva: Negative Efects of Late Bronze Age Human Activity on Modern Soils and Landscapes,
a Case-study on the Muradymovo Settlement, Urals, Russia
173
211 spectrophotometer and a blue ammonium molybdate
method with ascorbic acid as a reducing agent (Vorobiova,
1998; 2006).
2.2.2 Gypsum
Gypsum was determined using 10% BaCl
2
solution
(Arinushkina 1970).
Each sample was boiled for 3 minutes
in 0.2N HCl, cooled for 30 minutes and passed through a
flter. The fltrate was diluted with distilled water and passed
through H-cationite. The resulting solution was titrated with
BaCl
2
solution. The obtained values of SO
4
concentrations
were recalculated for gypsum (CaSO
4
×2H
2
O).
2.2.3 Water pH
Water pH (pH
H
2
O
)
was determined using a potentiometer, in
suspension with soil to water ratio of 1:2.5, after a single
shaking followed by settling for 30 min (Arinushkina 1970).
2.2.4 Organic carbon
The organic carbon was determined by the Tyurin method,
which included the wet combustion of organic substance in
a mixture of 0.4 N K
2
Cr
2
O
7
and concentrated H
2
SO
4
(1:1)
at 150
o
C for 20 min. The measurements were performed
by photometry on a SPECOL 211 spectrometer at 590 nm
(Arinushkina 1970).
2.2.5 Calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate concentrations in the samples were
determined by alkalimetry using the Kozlovskii procedure. A
soil sample was treated with 2 M HCl; the released CO
2
was
absorbed by a 0.4 M NaOH solution. Then a saturated BaCl
2
solution was added to the tube with NaOH, and the excess of
alkali was titrated with 0.2 M HCl (Vorobiova
1998; 2006).
The obtained values of the carbonate ion concentrations
were recalculated for calcium carbonates.
3. Results
3.1 Morphological description
The soils studied were considerably diferent from each
other (Figure 2).
The background soil 1 had a light-coloured lens from
5 to 20 cm thick, containing powdery gypsum and no
artefacts. The lens occurred between the surface litter and
the humus horizon. All other morphological characteristics
of background soil 1 were typical for Chernozems: high
content of organic carbon and the secondary calcic horizon
under the mollic horizon.
The background soil 2 had features of typical Chernozem,
with the organic horizon thicker than 25 cm, underlain by the
calcic horizon.
Soil of excavation pit IV had an 80-cm-thick, light-
coloured surface layer containing difuse secondary calcium
sulfate and abundant artefacts – pottery, bones and charcoal
(Shuteleva
et al.
2010). This layer was underlain by buried
Chernozem.
Soil of excavation pit III had a dark organic surface
horizon, gypsum free. There were numerous artefacts within
the upper 60 cm of this soil.
3.2 Chemical analyses
The results of chemical analyses are presented in Table 1.
3.2.1 Background soils
Both background soils are alkaline throughout the profle
and strongly alkaline at the bottom. Alkalinity of the lower
layers is generally typical and connected with the presence
of calcium carbonate, but the alkalinity of the uppermost part
of the soil profle is atypical.
The organic carbon content and distribution are typical
for Greyzemic Chernozems (IUSS Working Group WRB,
Table 1.
Chemical properties of soils and cultural layers.
Depth, cm
рН
H2O
Сorg, % P tot, %, CaСО
3
, %
CaSO
4
, % (gypsum)
Pit IV, inhabited house
0–5 7.9014.380.48 3.4 0.7
5–108.2511.370.6415.3 1.9
10–208.25 3.830.26 9.549.8
20–308.20 2.650.2913.649.9
30–408.15 2.910.4215.339.2
40–508.20 2.310.5014.438.2
50–608.00 2.670.4819.4 8.0
60–707.90 2.180.4815.931.4
70–807.90 1.540.4518.425.6
80–868.00 2.060.3824.6 3.9
86–968.40 2.380.2133.1 1.3
96–1068.60 1.790.1938.3 2.7
106–1169.10 1.590.1942.2 2.3
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Alexandra Golyeva, Olga Khokhlova, Nikolai Shcherbakov, Iia Shuteleva: Negative Efects of Late Bronze Age Human Activity on Modern Soils and Landscapes,
a Case-study on the Muradymovo Settlement, Urals, Russia
174
2014), with the maximal organic carbon content within the
upper 50 cm followed by a sharp decrease in deeper layers.
The content of P
tot
in both background soils is low in
comparison with the anthropogenic soils of the excavation
pits. The highest values (0.21–0.22%) occur within the litter
horizon, while the mineral horizons have a uniform small
concentration of phosphorus, which is typical for native soils.
Calcium carbonate content is low (1.6%) within the upper
40-cm-thick layer and signifcantly increases in deeper
layers, which is also typical for native soils.
The only diference between the background soils 1 and
2 is connected with the presence of the gypsum lens in the
former. There is a sharp peak of gypsum content at a depth
of 10–20 cm in this profle, corresponding to the clearly
delineated white lens between the darker surface horizon
and the humus horizon. Lower down, the gypsum content
sharply decreases to almost zero at deeper than 70 cm. At
the very bottom of the profle, there is a very small peak of
gypsum concentration (50 times smaller than above).
Depth, cm
рН
H2O
Сorg, % P tot, %, CaСО
3
, %
CaSO
4
, % (gypsum)
Pit III, farm building
0–8 8.30 7.310.2912.70.07
10–208.70 5.670.3116.90.09
20–308.95 4.830.3120.30.16
30–409.00 3.390.3024.40.18
40–509.10 3.220.3425.80.18
50–609.25 2.220.2530.10.09
60–709.20 0.410.1337.40.39
Background soil 1
0–10 8.00 8.250.22 3.7 1.5
10–208.10 5.840.16 1.520.8
20–307.85 3.750.14 0.3 5.1
30–408.15 2.410.09 1.7 4.8
40–508.30 0.830.09 5.3 3.9
50–608.55 0.450.0713.1 2.1
60–708.90 0.350.0718.9 0.8
70–808.85 0.200.0721.0 0.7
80–908.95 0.180.0720.9 0.2
90–1009.00 0.140.0720.3 0.0
100–1108.80–0.0721.6 0.0
110–1208.90–0.0821.3 0.3
120–1309.00–0.0823.5 0.3
130–1409.00–0.0823.3 0.3
140–1509.00–0.0822.2 0.4
Background soil 2
0–10 7.3512.720.21 3.40.0
10–207.95 5.360.17 1.70.0
20–308.15 4.650.15 0.00.0
30–408.15 3.070.10 0.00.0
40–508.25 2.190.08 1.80.0
50–608.30 2.470.08 4.50.0
60–708.30 1.190.07 9.30.0
70–808.15 0.880.0715.70.0
80–908.15 0.450.0718.60.2
90–1008.20 0.160.0823.20.2
100–1108.25–0.0823.30.3
Table 1.
Chemical properties of soils and cultural layers. (
Continuation
)
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Alexandra Golyeva, Olga Khokhlova, Nikolai Shcherbakov, Iia Shuteleva: Negative Efects of Late Bronze Age Human Activity on Modern Soils and Landscapes,
a Case-study on the Muradymovo Settlement, Urals, Russia
175
4.2.2 Excavation pit IV (residential house)
The soil has a neutral reaction within its upper part and
alkaline within its lower part. A similar pH distribution
pattern is typical for the native soils of the study region
and refects the general trend of downward migration of
calcareous soil solutions. The organic matter content is high
throughout the soil profle. The maximum amount of organic
matter is concentrated within the upper 10-cm-thick layer,
which is generally typical for Chernozems.
The P
tot
distribution is irregular. The cultural layers occurring
at 0–86 cm depth are characterized by a high content of total
phosphorus (0.26–0.64%). The buried Chernozem (86–96 cm
depth) has a lower P
tot
content, virtually equal to that of the
uppermost layer of the modern background soil.
The CaCO
3
content is high throughout the profle, being
slightly higher in its lower part.
The gypsum content and distribution are very unusual. In
the feld, at a macromorphological scale, the cultural layers
of the excavation pit appeared to be composed of a whitish-
grey, ash-like material, relatively homogeneous, compacted,
with inclusions of various artefacts. The laboratory analyses
have revealed that the cultural layers are composed of a
mixture of gypsum and organic matter, with a small amount
of calcium carbonate. The data obtained (Table 1) show that
a high content of gypsum (more than 49%) is registered
within the cultural layers at depths from 10 to 86 cm, with
a gradual downward decrease. The surface layer (0–10 cm)
is relatively impoverished in gypsum (1.3%) as a result of
leaching.
4.2.3 Excavation pit III (farm building)
The excavation pit III
contains the remains of a farm building
constructed on a single occasion, in contrast to the series of
houses in pit IV. This accounts for certain diferences in the
chemical characteristics as presented below.
The reaction of soil solution is from alkaline at the top to
highly alkaline at the bottom of the profle, being generally
typical for all the excavation pits within the ancient
settlement.
The organic carbon content is characterized by a gradual
decrease with depth, unlike the irregular “saw-tooth”
distribution pattern in pit IV.
The P
tot
content within the cultural layer is high (more than
0.3%). The 60 cm depth can be considered as a lower border
of the cultural layer, with the natural parent rock of the soil
occurring below.
The calcium carbonate content is high at the surface
(12.7%) and clearly increases with depth.
4. Discussion
The upper horizons of pits III and IV are the ancient cultural
layers (with anthropogenic genesis) according to their
morphological characteristics and the archaeological data
(Shuteleva
et al.
2010). The background soils bear no traces
of former human impact.
4.1 Background soils
By the content and distribution of P
tot
, both background soils
adequately refect its natural background level, which can be
used as a reference for separating the natural and anthropogenic
layers: the former are poor in phosphorus, while the latter are
characterized by a P
tot
content above 0.22–0.23%.
A small amount of calcium carbonate within the uppermost
horizon has a biogenic origin, resulting from the calcium
carbonate uptake by plant roots and its return to soil upon
the roots’ death and decay (Afanasyeva 1966; Khokhlova
et.al.
2001; Khokhlova, Kouznetsova 2004; Kouznetsova,
Khokhlova 2010). This is a general natural phenomenon. A
slightly “stretched” CaCO
3
distribution pattern can be due to
the migration of calcium carbonate solutions in soils under
the humid conditions of the region.
The very limited amount of gypsum in background soil 2
is natural for soils formed in humid climates (Khaziev 2007).
But the presence of a gypsum lens within the upper part
of background soil 1 is very untypical and indicative of
secondary salinization. Judging from the low content of
gypsum at the bottom of the profle, the salinization could
not have developed from below, as a result of groundwater
evaporation. The sources of gypsum either came from the
surface or from seepage from higher slopes. The latter seems
most probable because of the layered texture of the gypsum
lens in background soil 1. Similar forms of gypsum occur
within the A horizon of background soil 1.
In general, background soil 1 represents a typical
anthropogenic profle, with secondary gypsum accumulation
being its single distinction from native soils. Most likely, this
process is recent and associated with an additional horizontal
infux of salts from higher topographic positions with the
hummocky microrelief. When dry gypsum gets wet, it swells
and increases in volume. Because of the large quantities of
gypsum present in the soil, such shrink-swell phenomena
lead to the formation of an uneven (hummocky) microrelief.
The homogeneous stratum of microcrystalline gypsum is
broken by frost cracks, which become major channels for the
vertical movement of salt solutions. In summer, when many
cracks occlude, the main direction of fow is horizontal, and
the lower areas of hummocky microrelief are enriched in
gypsum and carbonates.
4.2 Excavation pit IV
There is an overall decrease of organic matter content
with depth, with occasional humus-rich lenses. These
lenses in the upper layers apparently result from man-
made depositions of organic matter during the period of
settlement building and exploitation and indicate the
anthropogenic origin of the cultural layers. Similar lenses
in the lower layers, deeper than 86 cm, are a part of the
organic matter of the buried paleosol.
The “saw-tooth” pattern of the P
tot
distribution within
the total depth of the cultural layers refects the stages of
increase and decrease of anthropogenic pressure during the
settlement’s period of functioning (Hamond 1983; Holliday,
Gartner 2007; Engovatova, Golyeva 2012; Golyeva
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Alexandra Golyeva, Olga Khokhlova, Nikolai Shcherbakov, Iia Shuteleva: Negative Efects of Late Bronze Age Human Activity on Modern Soils and Landscapes,
a Case-study on the Muradymovo Settlement, Urals, Russia
176
et al.
2014). There is no phosphorus depletion within the
upper 10 cm, which is surprising after such a long period
(more than 3000 years) following the abandonment of
this site. Perhaps the site was later visited by people and/
or another cause of the presence of phosphorus within the
surface layer could be its uptake by plants with subsequent
decomposition of plant material.
In this excavation pit, the content of calcium carbonate
is signifcantly higher than that in both background soils.
The latter are calcareous only at depths more than 50 cm,
while the excavation pit profle is calcareous from a depth
of 5 cm. Taking into account the relatively high solubility
of calcium carbonate, its occurrence in large concentrations
at a shallow depth in soils under a percolative water regime
is unusual (Khokhlova
et al.
2001). However, such large
concentrations at a shallow depth are typical for the sites
of ancient settlements (Golyeva 2014). They are residues
of limestone that was used as house building material.
Calcium carbonate forms almost insoluble complexes with
phosphates and organic matter (Hamond 1983). That is why
even under a percolative water regime the cultural layers of
settlements are calcareous.
Comparing the content of gypsum and calcium carbonates
revealed a change in the use of bonding agents used in the
mud-bricks for house building (Shutileva
et al.
2010). The
bonding agents were CaCO
3
-based at the beginning of site
occupation and later changed to gypsum. At the fnal stages
of settlement existence gypsum was used with little or no
calcium carbonate content.
The present day gradual dissolution of these salts results
in the wider distribution of saline solutions beyond the
settlement area. The high rainfall of the region causes calcium
sulfate swelling, which leads to signifcant increases in the
volume of the gypsum horizon and the further development
of the characteristic hummocky microrelief. This microrelief
is now observed not only within the settlement area but also
far beyond, even in the background soil profle (Figures
2 and 1).
Such a microrelief is typical for gypsum deserts
(Nettleton
et al.
1982; Minashina, Shishov 2002) and absent
in the study region, which is within the natural steppe zone.
4.3 Excavation pit III
A series of peaks in the organic matter content identifed
within the cultural layer may be associated with a series of
superimposed layers of ruined houses.
In contrast to excavation pit IV, the distribution of
phosphorus in excavation pit III is relatively uniform,
without any sharp peaks, and in general, with relatively
small amounts of phosphorus.
The principal distinctive feature of excavation pit III is
an absence of gypsum, which indicates that the former farm
building was constructed using only calcium carbonate and
without any gypsum.
Because excavation pits III and IV are both located in
close proximity to each other,
i.e.
in similar lithological,
geomorphological and climatic conditions and with a
common geological and natural history of development, the
considerable diferences in gypsum content in these pits are
uniquely associated with human activity. People brought
gypsum from a nearby mine to build their residential houses.
When gypsum-bearing soils become dry, they can become
very dense, so after heavy rain the surface run-of is very
abundant with little amounts of water absorbed by the local
soils. Soils at the bottom of the slope, by the river bank, have
become enriched in gypsum and calcium carbonate, despite
being far away from the former buildings. These lateral
inputs of gypsum and calcium carbonate have resulted in the
formation of gypsum and calcareous pedofeatures within the
humus horizon of these modern soils.
Gypsum, calcium carbonate and other salts were most
likely leached through soils into the groundwater during the
period of the settlement building and habitation and later
led to severe salinization of the groundwater forcing the
inhabitants to abandon the site.
5. Conclusion
On the basis of the data obtained it can be confdently
concluded that the gypsum-bearing strata in the upper parts
of the excavation pits have anthropogenic origin. In other
words, people built their houses of mud-bricks made of a
mixture of gypsum and organic matter, occasionally with the
addition of small amounts of calcareous rocks.
This hypothesis is supported by the diferences in gypsum
content in excavation pits III and IV. The former is gypsum-
free and represents a single-stage farm building, while the
latter contains almost pure gypsum within the upper layers
and represents a consecutive series of houses built one
after another at the same place. The accumulation of large
amounts of gypsum rocks within the ancient settlement site
resulted in contamination of the environment with gypsum.
The Muradymovo settlement site is located in a humid
climatic zone with frequent rainfall, especially in summer.
Gypsum solubility in water is relatively high, which causes
a gradual deterioration of houses constructed of gypsum and
a subsequent contamination of the surrounding areas with
gypsum. With a high degree of confdence it can be stated
that the abandonment of this area was caused by a human-
induced ecological disaster,
i.e.
severe salinization of the
groundwater, which made it impossible to stay in this area.
During the period of abandonment of this site, the
natural processes homogenized the cultural layers of the
construction pits. The leaching of salts during the wet seasons
was accompanied by the process of upward migration and
precipitation of salts during occasional summer droughts as
well as severe frosts. Still, the residual amount of gypsum
is still large after more than 3000 years following the
contamination. Therefore, it can be assumed that the initial
man-made soil contamination by gypsum was extremely
strong. The properties of the modern soils are being directly
afected by the Late Bronze Age human activities, with
3.5 thousand years being an insufcient timescale to restore
the soils to be naturally gypsum-free.
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IANSA 2016 ● VII/2 ● 169–178
Alexandra Golyeva, Olga Khokhlova, Nikolai Shcherbakov, Iia Shuteleva: Negative Efects of Late Bronze Age Human Activity on Modern Soils and Landscapes,
a Case-study on the Muradymovo Settlement, Urals, Russia
177
Recently, many more settlements belonging to the “Srubno-
Alakul” archaeological culture have been discovered along
the Urshak River. We have observed similar cases of gypsum
contamination in fve sites of these settlements. Therefore,
it can be concluded that the extremely negative infuence of
the Late Bronze Age human activity on modern soils and
landscapes has occurred in several locations within this
region.
Acknowledgement
The feld work and laboratory analyses were supported by
the Russian Science Foundation (projects No. 14-27-00133
and 16-17-10280, respectively). Archaeological excavations
were supported by the Russian Humanitarian Fund
No. 16-11-02003. We also thank Inga Spiridonova and
Michael Hayes for correction of the English language.
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