SCYTHIAN-SAKIAN SETTLEMENT OF CHERBI‑2 (THE UPPER YENISEI): NEW RESULTS OF COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH

  • T.N. Prudnika Biosphere Research Center of the Republic of Tyva Email: tprudnikova@inbox.ru
  • R.B. Saryglar Biosphere Research Center of the Republic of Tyva Email: rshanmak@mail.ru
  • D.N. Shaulo Central Siberian Botanical Garden SB RAS Email: dshaulo@yandex.ru
  • I.S. Zyuganova Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences Email: szyuganova@igras.ru
  • A.K. Kasparov Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences Email: alexkas@yahoo.com
DOI_disc_logo https://doi.org/10.14258/tpai(2025)37(3).-11
Keywords: Tuva, upper Yenisei River, Tapsa river valley, natural features, floristic analysis, ancient agriculture, Cherbi 2 settlement of the Scythian-Saka period, cultural layer, carpological analysis, osteological material, economic practices

Abstract

In 2020, a settlement site involved in an ancient irrigation system was discovered for the first time in the valley of the Tapsa River, a left tributary of the Bolshoy Yenisei (Biy-Khema). Landscape, floral, archaeological, paleobotanical, osteological studies, as well as radiocarbon dating were carried out in the designated area, which generally represents the first material on geoecological studies at ancient irrigation sites in the upper Yenisei. The age of the settlement, according to preliminary archaeological exploration, as well as the age of ancient irrigation, determined by radiocarbon dating of buried soils, correspond to the Scythian-Saka time (Prudnikova, 2023). Soil sections revealed the cultural layers of the settlement, saturated with bone material, fragments of charcoal and ceramics, and plant remains. From the cultural strata, 3 samples were selected for carpological analysis to possibly determine the features of paleogeography and economic activity. The analysis of the obtained material provides the first insight into the economic practices of the local population in the first millennium BC, the peculiarities of the natural environment and its changes.

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Author Biographies

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

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

R.B. Saryglar, Biosphere Research Center of the Republic of Tyva

Candidate of Biological Sciences, Senior Researcher at the Center for Biosphere Research of the Republic of Tyva

D.N. Shaulo, Central Siberian Botanical Garden SB RAS

Candidate of Biological Sciences, Head of the Herbarium Laboratory, Central Siberian Botanical Garden SB RAS

I.S. Zyuganova, Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Candidate of Geographical Sciences, Senior Researcher, Department of Paleogeography of the Quaternary Period, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences

A.K. Kasparov, Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Candidate of Biological Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of Archaeological Technologies, Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences

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Published
2025-11-22
How to Cite
Prudnika T., Saryglar R., Shaulo D., Zyuganova I., Kasparov A. SCYTHIAN-SAKIAN SETTLEMENT OF CHERBI‑2 (THE UPPER YENISEI): NEW RESULTS OF COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH // THEORY AND PRACTICE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 2025. Vol. 37, № 3. P. 231-247 DOI: 10.14258/tpai(2025)37(3).-11. URL: https://journal.asu.ru/tpai/article/view/18245.
Issue
Vol 37 No 3 (2025)
Section
SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Copyright (c) 2025 Т.Н. Прудникова, Р.Б. Сарыглар, Д.Н. Шауло, И.С. Зюганова, А.К. Каспаров

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