Impact of the Environment on Human Migration in Eurasia: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, held in St. Petersburg, 15-18 November 2003 ... IV: Earth and Environmental Sciences)

This book is a collection of the articles presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW 979859) held in St. Petersburg, from the 15-18 November 2003 in the Hermitage Museum. The title of the workshop was “The impact of the environment on Human Migration in Eurasia”. More than 40 scientists from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, Finland, Lithuania and Latvia took part. The themes of the workshop focused on the origin, development, interactions, and migrations of prehistoric and ancient populations, specifically the Scythians, in Eurasia and their relationships with the environment of the time. The discussion of these questions necessitated the participation of specialists from a wide range of academic fields. Beyond any doubt, the environment played an important role in the life of ancient nomadic populations, forming the basis of their economies and influencing various aspects of their mode of life. In this respect, the collaboration of specialists in the Humanities and Science is essential for the solution of scientific questions concerning these peoples. Over the past few years, a large amount of new proxy data related to environmental changes during the Pleistocene and the Holocene and their impact on human life has become available. Our discussion was predominantly limited to environmental changes related to the Holocene. In st this period of about 10000 years, the main focus was on the 1 millennium BC. Chronology and Cultural Affinity of the Kurgan Arzhan-2 Complex According to Archaeological Data....Pages 1-7 Some Chronological Problems of European Scythia: Archaeology and Radiocarbon....Pages 9-19 Migrations of Early Nomads of the Eurasian Steppe in a Context of Climatic Changes....Pages 21-33 The North Black Sea Steppes in the Cimmerian Epoch....Pages 35-44 Radiocarbon, the Calibration Curve and Scythian Chronology....Pages 45-61 The Occupation History of the Southern Eurasis Steppe During the Holocene: Chronology, the Calibration Curve and Methodological Problems of the Scythian Chronology....Pages 63-82 14 C Dating of the Siberian Steppe Zone from Bronze Age to Scythian Time....Pages 83-89 North-West Caspian Sea Steppe: Environmemt and Migration Crossroads of Pastoral Culture Population During the Third Millennium BC....Pages 91-106 Chronology of Pazyryk 2 and Ulandryk 4 Kurgans Based on High Resolution Radiocarbon Dating and Dendrochronology - A Step Towards More Precise Dating of Scythian Burials....Pages 107-116 Problems of Construction of a Radiocarbon Chronology for the Time Period 900-300 Cal BC....Pages 117-123 Possibilities and Limitations of the Use of Stable Isotopes (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) from Human Bone Collagen and Carbonate as an Aid in Migration Studies....Pages 125-135 OSL Dating in Archaeology....Pages 137-149 The Sun, Climate Change and the Expansion of the Scythian Culture After 850 BC....Pages 151-158 Large-Scale Periodicity of Climate Change During the Holocene....Pages 159-183 Archaeological and Ethnographic Toxins in Museum Collections....Pages 185-197 Changes in Palaeoenvironment and Human Migrations in the Centre of the Russian Plain....Pages 199-208 Environmental Changes of the Northeastern Black Sea’s Coastal Region During the Middle and Late Holocene....Pages 209-223 Prehistoric Environment, Human Migrations and Origin of Pastoralism in Northern Eurasia....Pages 225-242 Environmental Study of the Bronze-Iron Age Transition Period of Eastern Europe....Pages 243-254 Applications of Geochemistry to Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction in Southern Siberia....Pages 255-274 Pollen and Plant Macroremain Analyses for the Reconstruction of Environmental Changes in the Early Metal Period....Pages 275-289 Mid to Late Holocene Climate Change and ITS Influence on Cultural Development in South Central Siberia....Pages 291-307 Archaeological Cultures on the Background of Climatic Changes in the Holocene, Poland....Pages 309-321 Horse Remains From the Arzhan-1 and Arzhan-2 Scythian Monuments....Pages 323-332 The themes of the book focus on the origin, development, interactions, and migrations of the Scythians, in Eurasia and their relationships with the environment of 1st millennium BC. Without doubt, the environment played an important role in the life of ancient nomadic populations, forming the basis of their economies and influencing various aspects of their mode of life. The main focus is on the huge landmass of Eurasia where apart from global-scale environmental changes, local environmental change, including the physical landscape of forest, steppe, forest-steppe and so on changed. During the