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ActuAl trends
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 German Archaeological Institute Nasledie Stavropol
The Administration for Protection and Maintenance of Cultural Heritage
of the Republic of Adygea
The Northern-Caucasus branch of the State Museum of Oriental Art

Actual trends of bronze age

archaeology
in the North Caucasus

International conference
2-6 may 2016
Maykop Stavropol

Stavropol 2016
 ISBN 978-5-906137-74-6

This booklet presents the abstracts of the international workshop

Actual trends of Bronze Age Archaeology in the North Caucasus. This
workshop is part of a kick-off meeting of an international research proj-
ect on the bioarcheology of North Caucasian Bronze Age populations.
In this project, an international team of scholars from Russia, Germany,
and Switzerland will conduct interdisciplinary bioarchaeological re-
search at the borderline of the humanities and sciences. The project
aims at complex research on the mobility of people in the past. Using
bioarchaeological data allow to target this questions beyond aspects of
burial rituals, ideologies, or images derived from modern history.
 5

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Ju.Ju. Piotrovskij 10 Burials of the Maikop culture in the North Caucasus:
past and present perspectives

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V.R. Erlikh 15 Unresolved Questions in the History of the Northwest
Caucasus during the late Bronze Age: Migration and
(or) Autochthonous development

. 17 Bioarccaucasus ,
..

S. Hansen 19 Bioarccaucasus mobility, migration
A.B. Belinskij and demographic change in the Bronze Age of North
Caucasia

. 21

S. Reinhold 23 Bronze Age in the Northern Caucasus open
questions on subsistence and mobility

.. 24
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.
N.Ya. Berezina 27 The potential
A.P. Buzhilova of paleoanthropological studies
Ju. Gresky on Caucasian Bronze Age populations

International conference. 26 may 2016

6 . 29
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J. Krause 31 The role of the Caucasus
W. Haak in the formation of the genetic makeup
in Eurasia: Insights and Questions
from Ancient DNA research

. 33

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C. Knipper 35 Bronze Age diet and mobility in south-
ern Russian steppes: Insights from
stable isotope analyses

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S.L. Pichler 37 The Arbon Bleiche 3 Neolithic
C. Gerling lakeshore settlement (Switzerland)
diversity in resource exploitation re-
flected in archeological, archeozoologi-
cal, archeobotanical and stable isotope
data

. 26 2016
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International conference. 26 may 2016

10 Juri Ju. Piotrovskij
Department for the Archaeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia,
State Hermitage, Sankt-Petersburg, Russia

Burials of the Maikop culture

in the North Caucasus:
past and present perspectives

The burial complexes, which we today term

Maikop culture were discovered for the first time
at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th
century. The first sites discovered were located in
the Cis- and Trans-Kuban areas.
The following increase of known burials is linked
to the intensification of research in the entire terri-
tory of the Northern Caucasus. And whereas in the
1950s there were still only a few sites known, be-
ginning with the 1970s their number has risen con-
siderably. Likewise, the area where such burials are
known has been extended considerably. Maikop
sites are now known from almost all areas east of
the Pri-Kuban region. The number of burial com-
plexes known today represents an illustrative sum
of Maikop sites. Nevertheless, a major problem is
the lack of decisive criteria to define the respective
burials as Maikop. In addition, to aggravate the prob-
lem, the burials are divided into two groups with their
own traditions Maikop and Novosvobodnaya.
The problems are not only related to the existing ter-
minology, they are likewise due to the lack of work
on the actual definition and differentiation of these
groups, which includes details of the burial practices
and the presence or absence of specific artefacts

. 26 2016
that should be specific for the one or the other group, 11
which are nearly synchronous local variants.
The chronological position of these sites
changed during this period from an Eneolithic to an
Early Bronze Age affiliation, again without precise
criteria. Even more problematic is the radiocarbon
chronology. The problem is less the method as such,
as the treatment of these dates. They were rated
sometimes only as a the second level of argumen-
tation, because in some cases they do not support
the periodization based on the stratigraphy of the ar-
chaeological sites at all. As a result, in some cases,
similar complexes are separated by hundreds of
years, or the secondary burial is older than the pri-
mary complex in the same mound.
The change in the chronological position of
these sites also dramatically changes the system
of external contacts. The assumption the emrgence
Maikop groups with an Near Eastern origin was first
discussed on the basis of the Cis- and Transkuban
sites. It is, however, difficult it judge this period from
the archaeological basis. Parts of the wealthy ar-
chaeological complexes show the presence of ar-
tifacts with a probable southern origin. For a long
time it was assumed, that the diffusion of the Mai-
kop culture in the North Caucasus proceeded from
the west to the east. The discovery of entire new
groups of archaeological sites in Azerbaijan, that
are analogous to the North-Caucasian ones, how-
ever, turned the direction of a possible intrusion of
such southern populations. At the moment it rath-
er looks likely, that such an intrusion originated in
the east. This, however, raise many new questions
that first of all relate to the chronology.
To solve a whole serial of answersmuch hope
had been put on anthropological materials. Those
studies, however, are strongly biased by the inter-

International conference. 26 may 2016

12 pretation of the archaeological materials, and the
anthropologist usually accepts these. In the begin-
ning of the 1990s A.V. Shevchenko restored one
scull from the Klady burial site near the village of
Novosvobodnaya (mound 28, grave 1) and con-
cluded that careful correlation led us to believe,
that the nearest morphological analogies can be
found amongst the populations of the Funnel Bea-
ker Culture in Poland, the Globular Amphora Cul-
ture and partly the Fatyanovo culture. AMaikop
skull from the Evdyk I site similarly has analogies
in Eastern Europe, but more in the Near Eastern
Material. However, the methodological approach
applied is today outdated. Therefore, the hope now
lies on the investigation of the ancient DNA with ad-
equate modern research methods.

. 26 2016
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International conference. 26 may 2016

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. 26 2016
 Vladimir R. Erlikh 15
Dr. Hist., Department of Material Culture and Ancient art, State
Oriental Museum, Moscow, Russia

Unresolved Questions in the History

of the Northwest Caucasus during the late
Bronze Age: Migration
and (or) Autochthonous development

In the history of the ancient population of the

Western Caucasus exist a number of dark ages,
when one archaeological culture already stopped
to persist, but the following culture had not yet been
shaped. This is for instance the fact for the two pe-
riods that are associated with the formation and the
end of the Meotian archaeological culture. This cul-
ture represents the Early Iron Age in the Northwest
Caucasus dating from the 9th to the 4th century BC.
Whereas the end of the Meotian culture can cer-
tainly be associated with the migration processes
at the beginning of the Migration Period, its forma-
tion in one working hypothesis is linked likewise to
the immigration of populations, then moving from
the Black Sea steppe into the area of the right bank
of the Kuban during the aridisation of the steppe at
the beginning of the 1st millennium BC.
However, concurrently an autochthonous for-
mation of the modern Adygo-Abkhas language
group and its speakers in the West Caucasus since
the Early Bronze Age has been and still is advo-
cated for. It is first of all based on the correlation
of the modern settlement areas of the Adyge and
Abkhas and the area of the megalithic traditions of
the Bronze Age Dolmen culture.

International conference. 26 may 2016

16 Recent discoveries of megalithic structures at
the cemetery of Shushuk meanwhile allow suggest-
ing that the tradition of constructing dolmen con-
tinued in the piedmont area of the Northwest Cau-
casus until the Late Bronze Age (Rezepkin 2013).
The results of an expedition by us in the same area
raise hope that it will be possible to close the gap
between the monuments in Dolmen tradition and
the Early Iron Age.
It is meanwhile apparent for the archaeologists
that the answer to a bundle of questions related to
the genetic descent of the populations of the Early
Iron Age in the West Caucasus, the question of
their Bronze Age ancestry, and the role of migra-
tion processes in the formation of the Protomaotian
group of sites will deeply depend on the quality of
multi-disciplinary research.

. 26 2016
 17
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International conference. 26 may 2016

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 Svend Hansen 19
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c., Director, Eurasia-Department, German
Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany
Andrej B. Belinskij
Dr., Nasledie Ltd., Stavropol, Russia

BIOARCCAUCASUS mobility, migration

and demographic change in the Bronze Age
of North Caucasia
From the 19th century onwards, the Indo-Euro-
pean expansion has been a grand historical narra-
tive in Europe telling that during the 3rd millennium
BC pastoral nomads migrated in waves from the
Eurasian steppes into the West. The image of high-
ly mobile groups riding on horses, using wagons,
and burying their dead in monumental mounds is
supported by the virtual absence of settlements in
these areas. The objective of the proposed study
is to review this expansionist image of the Eur-
asian Bronze Age and to challenge its central para-
digm the existence of large scale migrations. An
international team of scholars from Russia, Ger-
many, and Switzerland will conduct interdisciplinary
bioarchaeological research at the borderline of the
humanities and sciences. The project will integrate
archaeological studies and bioarchaeological re-
search on skeletal remains including stable isotope
analyses of strontium, oxygen, carbon, and nitro-
gen in human teeth and bones and anthropologi-
cal procedures, such as palaeopathology and the
analysis of skeletal activity markers.
Caucasia area is central in the transfer of
technological and social innovations in the Bronze
Age. From here they spread into the steppe and

International conference. 26 may 2016

20 to Europe, transported either by mobile groups or
as a transfer of ideas. The Stavropol collection of
anthropological material will ensure a representa-
tive data basis. Moreover, the study will draw on
archaeological and modern samples to establish
isotope comparative maps of the chemical ele-
ments under investigation. The project will foster
international collaboration, integrated research and
disclose past mobility patterns using evidence that
is independent of burial rituals, ideologies, and im-
ages derived from modern history.

. 26 2016
 21
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. 26 2016
 Sabine Reinhold 23
PD Dr., Eurasia-Department, German Archaeological Institute,
Berlin, Germany

Bronze Age in the Northern Caucasus

open questions on subsistence and mobility

For many decades questions on subsistence,

economic and social history of the different Cau-
casian cultures in the Northern Caucasus were
answered only superficially. Except from animal
bones in graves and the distribution of sites in the
landscape, nearly no information on the economic
basis was known. But landscapes and their eco-
nomic potential shift with changes in climate or an-
thropogenic factors, and animals in graves might
be a very selective source. Therefore the actual
bioarchaeological project offers a huge potential to
investigate the subsistence strategies and discuss
models of Bronze Age Economies. Its basis are the
human protagonists and their animals themselves,
the methods reflect a new level of research inde-
pendent of burial customs or preservation. We have
now started to sample in more different ecological
zones the Kaspi-Manych steppe zone, the Ku-
ban steppe zone, the North Caucasian piedmonts
and high mountain sites. This likewise includes all
Bronze Age cultures both of the Caucasian and the
steppe-related Cultures.

International conference. 26 may 2016

24 .
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. 26 2016
 Natalia Ya. Berezina 27
Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology,
Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Aleksandra P. Buzhilova
Dr. Hist., corresponding member of the Russian Academy
of Sciences , Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of
Anthropology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Julia Gresky
Dr. med., Department of Natural Sciences, German
Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany

The potential
of paleoanthropological studies on Caucasian
Bronze Age populations

The study of Bronze Age skeletal material

from the Caucasus using physical anthropology
has a long tradition. However, the skeletal mate-
rial has been typically investigated using a meth-
odology with a focus on the skeletal metrics, often
limited only to craniometrics. This is why despite
of the huge bulk of data and interpretations from
these earlier investigations, large proportion of in-
formation is still not considered. A systematic bio-
archaeological approach based on a statistically
representative selection of skeletons increases the
possibilities to study the everyday-life of Bronze
Age people. It allows tracking similarities and dif-
ferences between the populations related to the ar-
chaeological cultures or those who occupy different
landscapes.
A pilot study on more than 170 skeletons, dat-
ing from the Eneolithic to the Late Bronze Age re-
vealed a prevalence of male burials and exposed

International conference. 26 may 2016

28 indicators for specific lifestyle. The study of stress
markers and pathologies of dentofacial system al-
lows you to talk about periods of stress e.g. in child-
hood, a specific type of food and using teeth as
auxiliary tools. The presence of particular markers
on the bones thus helps to reconstruct the mode of
life and the most characteristic physical activities
an individual performed during his/her life.
Research on pathologies at the bone surfac-
es does not only add information on the physical
activities of an individual, but can likewise reveal
diseases that result in deformations of the joints.
Conclusions about the intra-group conflicts and
tribalism are possible from studying traumas at the
scull or the post-cranial skeleton. The identification
of a significant amount of successfully performed
surgeries, in particular difficult cranial trepanations,
testifies the presence of skilled surgeons and, per-
haps, indicates an early medical center where such
difficult techniques were developed and medical
knowledge was handed down for generations.
The identification of a lot of injuries of fingers
and feet, usually not mentioned in earlier publica-
tions, raise the question how to reconstruct the
everyday-life of the different groups. The material
from the case study showed the absence of specific
infectious processes, but revealed in some cases a
long-term shortage of vitamin C resulting in scurvy.
Also this raises the question on the peculiarities of
life in the Bronze Age.

. 26 2016
 29
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. 26 2016
 Johannes Krause 31
Prof. Dr., Director, Max Planck Instiute for the Science of
Human History, Jena, Germany
Wolfgang Haak
Dr., Group leader Molecular Anthropology, Max Planck Instiute
for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany

The role of the Caucasus in the formation

of the genetic makeup in Eurasia:
Insights and Questions
from Ancient DNA research
Recent genetic research on autosomal and
uniparentally-inherited markers has shown a re-
markable genetic uniformity of Caucasian popu-
lations despite the regions notable linguistic and
cultural diversity. When compared to neighbour-
ing regions, the smooth genetic transition from
the Near/Middle East to the Caucasus is in stark
contrast to the marked differences to populations
from the East European steppes. Flanked by the
Black and the Caspian Seas, it remains unclear
to what extent the Caucasus served as a corridor
and whether and if so when ancient migrations had
affected and shaped the regions genetic profile.
Ancient DNA research on Mesolithic, Neolithic and
Bronze Age individuals from Western Eurasia have
recently thrown fresh light on the Caucasus as re-
gion, which appears to have played a critical role in
the formation of the genetic ancestry of the Yam-
naya people, Bronze Age pastoralist of the east Eu-
ropean steppes. The Yamnaya carry strong signals
of eastern hunter-gatherer (EHG) ancestry and an-
cient Near Eastern ancestry that is different from

International conference. 26 may 2016

32 the one that giving rise to early European farm-
ers. While modern-day South Caucasians are the
best proxy for the putative source population of the
EHG dilution in the steppes, it is highly likely that
prehistoric cultural groups from the Caucasus will
provide a much better temporal and contextual fit.

. 26 2016
 33
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International conference. 26 may 2016

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. 26 2016
 Corina Knipper 35
Dr., Isotope Group, Curt-Engelhorn-Centre Archaeometry,
Mannheim, Germany

With contributions by Sabine Reinhold, Julia Gresky, Natalia

Berezina, Andrej Belinskij, Svend Hansen, Kurt W. Alt

Bronze Age diet and mobility

in southern Russian steppes:
Insights from stable isotope analyses
Caucasia, especially the northern flank of the
High Caucasus, is an area with highly variable
environments including high mountain steppes,
woodlands, forest as well as wet and dry steppes.
These provided rich and diverse resources for ani-
mals and humans and formed the basis for differ-
ent subsistence strategies. Building on extensive
and well documented archaeological excavations
of Bronze Age burial mounds in different environ-
mental zones and excellent bone preservation, the
north Caucasus offers exceptional conditions for
integrative anthropological and isotope analyses.
Skeletal remains are key sources to investigate di-
etary habits and mobility patterns via stable carbon
and nitrogen as well as strontium isotope ratios of
bones and teeth. The presentation will introduce
case studies from the dry steppe and more humid
areas which produced highly diverse isotope data-
sets that are formed by environmental and human
behavioural influences. Based on archaeological
models of mobility patterns and subsistence strate-
gies we will discuss their informative potential but
also challenges of data interpretation in a study
area whose environmental complexity still requires
profound basic research.

International conference. 26 may 2016

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 Sandra L. Pichler 37
PD Dr., Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science,
University Basel, Swizzerland
Claudia Gerling
Dr., Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science,
University Basel, Swizzerland

The Arbon Bleiche 3 Neolithic

lakeshore settlement (Switzerland)
diversity in resource exploitation
reflected in archeological,
archeozoological, archeobotanical
and stable isotope data
The Neolithic lakeshore settlement of Arbon
Bleiche 3 (Switzerland) exhibits marked intra-site
differences in subsistence practices and resource
exploitation strategies. Its short, single-phase oc-
cupation (33843370 BC) and houses dated to
exact calendar years by dendrochronology permit
unique insights into the workings of the Neolithic
community. The interdisciplinary exploration of the
archaeological, archaeozoological, archaeobotani-
cal and stable isotope data reveals multiple aspects
of the intra-site diversity and generates information
on the functioning of the settlement as an adaptive
unit against the backdrop of a deteriorating climate.

International conference. 26 may 2016

 28.04.2016.
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nasledie@nasledie.org
www.nasledie.org