Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 39 (4) 2011

Annotation:  The Upper Paleolithic Site of Dodekatym-2 in Uzbekistan Daggers from the Fofonovo Burial Ground in the Collection of the Museum of the Buryat Scientifi c C Hundidero: MIS 4 Open Air Neanderthal Occupations in Sierra de Atapuerca Absolute and Relative Chronology and Cultural Attribution of Neolithic Sites in the Kulunda Steppe Technological Analysis of Ceramics from Early Sarmatian Burials in the Southwestern Urals Archaeological Studies of the Kamenny Ambar (Olgino) Fortifi ed Settlement Silver Dish with Fighting Scenes from the Lower Ob Region Lacquer Cups of the Western Han Dynasty (Noin Ula, Mongolia): An Analysis of Inscriptions Tinder Bag with a Chinese Inscription Ancient Agriculture in Western Siberia: Problems of Argumentation, Paleoethnobotanic Methods, and A Red Marals at Satakular in the Alai The “Kirghiz Frontier” and the Frontier Volosts of the Tomsk Uyezd in the 17th Century: Formulation Sacred Space and the Art of its Representation in the Ethnic Culture of Northern Asia: Artifacts of Pottery Making in the Village of Balkhar, Dagestan The Diet of Siberian Peasants on Lenten Days (the 19th Century) Craniometric Characteristics of the Ust-Ishim People (the Southern Taiga Part of the Irtysh Basin,   

Ancient Agriculture in Western Siberia: Problems of Argumentation, Paleoethnobotanic Methods, and Analysis of Data

N.E. Ryabogina and S.N. Ivanov.

The problem relating to the emergence of ancient agriculture and the specifi c character of its development in Western Siberia is considered on the basis of paleobotanical data analysis. This article provides information on basic methods of searching and identifying phytoliths, grains (or grain prints), and pollen of domesticated cereals, as well as evaluates the feasibility for using these techniques in examining this problem. Currently known paleobotanical indicators of agriculture in Western Siberia, Kazakhstan, the Altai, and Zhetysu are summarized, and new indicators are presented. The attempt at reconstructing the centers for cultivating domesticated cereals starting in the Late Bronze Age is based on the analysis of spatial and temporal distribution of the cereals’ grains and pollen.

Keywords: Ancient agriculture, paleobotanical methods, grains, pollen, domesticated cereals, ancient agricultural areas, Western Siberia.