Microbial characteristics of soils depending on the human impact on archaeological sites in the Northern Caucasus

Microbiology Meets Archaeology: Soil Microbial Communities Reveal Different Human Activities at Archaic Monte Iato (Sixth Century BC)

“…Microbial long-term survival has often been questioned; however, there are several reports on the successful isolation/revival of microorganisms from archaeological sites. For example, active microorganisms were found in soils in prehistoric settlements and their different characteristics were attributed to varying human impacts at archaeological sites [3]. Sporogenic bacteria and fungi were revived from soil samples from a stratified deposit under a house buried 4000 years ago at a Bronze Age archaeological site in Iran [59].…”

“…After the removal of the anthropogenic impact, organic matter is lost due to mineralization and transformation by soil microorganisms. However, the ancient anthropogenic impact on soils can be preserved in soil microbiota and their activities [1–3]. High input of organic matter usually stimulates microbial activity, which leads to increased microbial biomass and enzyme activity.…”

“…In recent years, however, soil studies related to archaeological projects in Russia and elsewhere have introduced a microbiological perspective to the investigation of paleosols and sediments that had been anthropogenically influenced [3, 4]. The use of microbiology as a tool within nonbiological fields provides valuable data to complement and to upgrade knowledge about past events.…”

“…Moreover, on the time scales of human history and archaeology, microbiological data can contribute to unraveling human cultural habits, microbe-related human diseases, and alterations in cultural artifacts due to biochemical reactions [5]. For example, microbiological studies in archaeological contexts focused on pathogens and on the abundance of microbial spores or coprophilous microorganisms ([3] and references therein).…”

Soil fungal communities as bioindicators of ancient human impacts in medieval settlements in different geographic regions of Russia and southwestern Kazakhstan

“…Cumulatively, the presence of keratinophilic fungi (without species identification) was determined in prehistoric settlement Kabardinka 2 site in the North Caucasus (Russia) dated as the Late Bronze Age (XVIeX B.C.). This settlement belongs to a community which specialized in intensive animal farming (Peters et al, 2014). The growth of keratinophilic fungi was not detected into inner rooms of houses, but obviously increased in outer rooms.…”