NEW DATA ON THE AGE OF ANCIENT IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE IN TUVA

  • T.N. Prudnikova Biosphere Research Center of the Republic of Tyva Email: tprudnikova@inbox.ru
DOI_disc_logo https://doi.org/10.14258/tpai(2023)35(2).-11
Keywords: Tuva, upper Yenisei, ancient agriculture, valleys of the Cherbi River, Tapsa, Scythian settlement, irrigation systems, age of irrigation channels, ancient metallurgy

Abstract

According to the conducted research, the Republic of Tuva is an area of ancient agriculture, which was facilitated by the geographical location and natural conditions, first of all, the mountainous terrain and the abundance of rivers in this territory. Practically in all river valleys of the region there are various irrigation systems corresponding to the capabilities of technology and the organization of social labor of certain historical periods. Here you can observe all the stages of irrigation development. According to В.А. Latynin’s classification, it is the stage of early irrigated agriculture, the stage of the simplest types of irrigation channels that turn into complex fan irrigation systems. The presence of the rudiments of agriculture in the Neolithic is evidenced by the finds of pollen of cultivated barley aged 6–5 thousand years in the valley of the Small Yenisei, made by S.B. Potakhin. Mining and ore production contributed to the development of agriculture in the Bronze Age — there are large copper deposits in the bowels of Tuva. According to the conducted research, developed irrigated agriculture existed in this territory in the Xiongnu period (Ubsunur basin, SOAN-9199; East Tuva Highlands, SOAN-9201). In 2022, radiocarbon dating was obtained for the first time, confirming the presence of irrigated agriculture in Tuva in the 1st millennium BC, Scythian-Saka time.

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Author Biography

T.N. Prudnikova, Biosphere Research Center of the Republic of Tyva

Candidate of Geographical Sciences, Leading Scientist, Center for Biosphere Research of the Republic of Tyva

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Published
2023-07-11
How to Cite
Prudnikova T. NEW DATA ON THE AGE OF ANCIENT IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE IN TUVA // THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2023. Vol. 35, № 2. P. 177-192 DOI: 10.14258/tpai(2023)35(2).-11. URL: http://journal.asu.ru/tpai/article/view/13348.
Issue
Vol 35 No 2 (2023)
Section
SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Copyright (c) 2023 Т.Н. Прудникова

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