Soil Evolution and Landscape-Climatic Changes in the Bronze Age for the Steppe Zone of the Kuban-Azov Plain Based on the Study of a Large Mound

Studies of paleosols buried under earthen archaeological monuments (mounds/kurgans) for the purpose of reconstructing the paleoecological conditions of previous epochs are of great interest. This work aims to study soil evolution and climate dynamics during the Bronze Age based on the study of soils buried during several stages of earthen mound construction within one large kurgan in the southern steppes of the Kuban-Azov Plain, Russia. The kurgan-1 in the Beysuzhek-9 kurgan cemetery of the Bronze Age, situated in the Korenovsky municipal district, Krasnodar krai, consists of three earthen mounds made at different times. The soils buried under three mounds of the kurgan are in close vicinity from each other and have similar lithology and geomorphic position. They form a chronosequence representing three time slices. The paleosols were buried sequentially from the center to the periphery of the kurgan. The height of the kurgan is about 4 m that ensures good preservation of the buried soils. The research is based on the comparative analysis of morphology, micromorphology, and analytical properties of three paleosols buried under different constructions in the kurgan and surface soil. Also, the palynological analysis was performed for the uppermost layers (0-5 cm) of three paleosols. Reconstruction of paleoclimatic conditions based on paleopedological study showed that during the construction of the kurgan the region’s climate gradually changed towards an aridity increase. During the construction of the third kurgan structure (the Catacomb culture of the Middle Bronze Age, the 21st—16th centuries BC) the climate was mostly arid. Palynological analysis confirmed this conclusion. During the construction of the kurgan, in plant community, which was described as the southern forest-steppe overall, the percentage of grass plants increased markedly, and typical steppe species appeared in the Catacomb culture time only.

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