First dendro-archaeological evidence of a completely excavated medieval settlement in the extreme north of Western Siberia

Phylatova, M.O.; Büntgen, Ulf; Omurova, Gulzar T.; Kardash, O.V.; Myglan, Vladimir S.

doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2017.05.004

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In comparison, other settlements and monuments that were recently investigated, showed felling dates that lie within short timeframes, for example the Yarte VI settlement, dated to 1066-1106 AD (Shiyatov and Hantemirov, 2000), the Buchta Nakhodka settlement dated to the second quarter of the 13th century (Sidorova et al, 2017), the settlement Zelenaya Gorka dated to the end of the 13th century and the cemetery in Zelenyi Yar which is dated to 1280 AD (Shiyatov et al, 2005;Slepchenko et.al., 2019) (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Settlement Developmentmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Past archaeological excavations, accompanied by dendrochronological studies, have been carried out in the forest-tundra zone of western Siberia. These have provided insights into the settlement history from the Mesolithic to the Medieval period (Aleksashenko and Kosintsev, 2010;Goryachev et al, 2002;Gurskaya, 2008;Myglan and Vaganov, 2005;Shiyatov, 1980;Shiyatov et al, 2005;Sidorova et al, 2017). The investigations of the frozen cultural layers of settlements (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The investigations of the frozen cultural layers of settlements (e.g. Mangazeya, Polui (Obdosk), Ust Voykar, Bukhta Nahodka) significantly contributed to our knowledge of the material culture, social structure and ethnic composition of the indigenous population in this region (Gurskaya, 2008;Omurova et al, 2013;Shiyatov, 1980;Shiyatov et al, 2005;Sidorova et al, 2017). Since written sources about settlements in this region are scarce, archaeological remains are the only source of information about the settlement history and ethnic composition of the indigenous population in northern Siberia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Construction history and timber use of the medieval settlement Nadymskiy Gorodok in the northwestern Siberian forest-tundra

Omurova

Seim

Баринов

et al. 2020

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Archaeological investigations in the forest-tundra zone of western Siberia are highly important for understanding the material culture, social structure and ethnic history of the indigenous population. Extraordinary preservation conditions for organic material in the frozen cultural layers favour the preservation of wooden material suitable for dendrochronological studies. During archaeological surveys in 2011 and 2012 in the Nadymskiy Gorodok settlement, located in the forest-tundra zone in Yamalia, northwestern Siberia, 347 samples of construction 2 timbers were taken and analyzed with dendroarchaeological methods. The main species are larch (Larix sibirica (Ledeb.)), spruce (Picea obovata (Ledeb.)) and pine (Pinus sibirica (Du Tour)).Methodical approaches that allow the determination of the source of the wood and correct dating of the time of the constructions are presented. The tree-ring dating of eleven buildings and parts of the palisade highlighting four periods of construction activity during the second half of the 15th century (i.e. at around 1466 AD and 1475 AD) and the first half of the 16th century (at the beginning of the 16th century and after 1530 AD). The results determine that only two wooden structures were built using wood from local forests. In all other cases, the distribution of the dendrochronological dates and timber provenance indicates the use of driftwood from forests further upstream of the Nadym River. Thus, for a precise determination of construction activity in the Nadymskiy Gorodok settlement, a long exposure time of the driftwood needs to be considered and previous presumptions about the settlement history revised.

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Section: Settlement Developmentmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Construction history and timber use of the medieval settlement Nadymskiy Gorodok in the northwestern Siberian forest-tundra

Omurova

Seim

Баринов

et al. 2020

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…The increasing availability of non-destructive methods for tree ring analysis (e.g., Grabner et al 2009;Bill et al 2012;Stelzner & Million 2015;Bossema et al 2021) and accessibility of tree-ring chronologies from Siberia (e.g., Siborova et al 2017) should enable artefacts made from Arctic driftwood to be provenanced more easily. Additionally, on-going advances in DNA analysis may also aid in the identification of driftwood species.…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timber as a Marine Resource: Exploitation of Arctic Driftwood in the North Atlantic

et al. 2023

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The North Atlantic islands of the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland have always been relatively poor in terms of native timber resources, due to their cold climate and exposed topography. Nevertheless, timber was vital to the material culture of the Norse settlers of these islands, and driftwood often met this need. As in subarctic Norway, where trees are also scarce, driftwood use and ownership were prescribed in medieval law codes. Historical documentary evidence shows that wealthy landowners bought driftwood rights as valuable assets, and ethnohistorical sources reveal a wide range of local and regional customs related to driftwood exploitation. However, driftwood was an unstable resource, and its delivery depended on a range of unpredictable factors related to climate and ocean currents. There is also ongoing debate regarding the relative importance of imported timber, which is for example often referenced in the Icelandic sagas. The use of driftwood is difficult to demonstrate through macroscopic, microscopic, or (geo-)chemical analysis. Similarities in the microscopic anatomy of boreal wood taxa preclude definitive provenancing through taxonomic analysis, and material traces of immersion in seawater are often either impermanent or ambiguous, especially in archaeological wood remains. This paper presents a comprehensive review of current historical and archaeological research on the exploitation of driftwood timber in the Medieval North Atlantic and explores potential future directions in this field. Furthermore, it asserts that this line of research should be pursued with some urgency, as anthropogenic climate change threatens both driftwood delivery and the preservation of archaeological wood remains.

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“…In addition, the official records of land use history in the area are lacking, which complicates retrieving indigenous land use information. Due to these limitations, the growth rings of old-growth trees surviving in slash-and-burn areas might be a useful proxy for reconstructing fire history and subsequent indigenous land use history [15][16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth-Ring Analysis of Diploknema butyracea Is a Potential Tool for Revealing Indigenous Land Use History in the Lower Himalayan Foothills of Nepal

Chowdhury

Bhattarai²,

Ridder

et al. 2020

Forests

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Slash-and-burn is a farming practice of the indigenous communities in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal. The traditional land-tenure system is based on a customary oral tradition. However, the government’s persistent denial of land rights has fueled the indigenous conflicts in the last few decades. Deliverance of scientific evidence-based arguments may underpin the ongoing conflict-resolution dialogues between the authorities and the indigenous communities. Dating growth rings of trees in a slash-and-burn system might help the indigenous people to find evidence of their historic land uses in the mountainous landscape. In this pilot study, we examined the potential of Diploknema butyracea (Roxb.) H. J. Lam growth rings for documenting land use history of Nepalese indigenous farming practices, as this species is being preserved during the slash-and-burn practices. The species is an economically important and ecologically interesting (as it flushes leaves when everything is dry, and sheds leaves while everything is green) deciduous tree species belonging to Sapotaceae family and widely distributed in Sub-Himalayan tracts. Five stem discs were studied which were originated from the Kandrang valley of the Chitwan district, Nepal. For the first time, we revealed distinct growth rings in this species which are marked by fibers with thicker cell walls. Growth-ring anomalies, i.e., wedging and partially missing rings, were also found. Four out of five samples could be crossdated at a marginal level (GLK ≥ 60 and t ≥ 2.0) which is a confirmation of the annual nature of growth rings. One of the samples showed black spots of oxidized wood which are traces of fire, suggesting evidence of slash-and-burn practices in the study area since 1933. This study suggests a strong potential of D. butyracea for growth-ring analysis to reconstruct indigenous land use history in Nepal.

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First dendro-archaeological evidence of a completely excavated medieval settlement in the extreme north of Western Siberia

Cited by 8 publications

References 14 publications

Construction history and timber use of the medieval settlement Nadymskiy Gorodok in the northwestern Siberian forest-tundra

Construction history and timber use of the medieval settlement Nadymskiy Gorodok in the northwestern Siberian forest-tundra

Timber as a Marine Resource: Exploitation of Arctic Driftwood in the North Atlantic

Growth-Ring Analysis of Diploknema butyracea Is a Potential Tool for Revealing Indigenous Land Use History in the Lower Himalayan Foothills of Nepal

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