Research history of geoarcheological sites of the Middle Dnieper Left Bank

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the study of archeological sites by methodology of natural sciences on the left bank of the Middle Dnieper, namely 23 sites from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Iron Ages (11 in Chernihiv region; 2 in Sumy region; 6 in Poltava region; 2 in Kyiv region and 1 in Dnipropetrovsk region). Three stages in the sites research have been established on the basis of the complex of methods applied: 1) 1st half of the 20th century - 1980s – the discovery of majority of the sites and settlements on the left bank of the Middle Dnieper region; mainly geological and palaeontological studies. 2) 1980s–2000 – introduction of new (or improved) natural science methods, the complex interpretation and analysis of former research materials. The first appearance of pollen data in the studied area was an important milestone; 3) the beginning of the 21st century – nowadays – further implementation of pollen and palaeopedological methods in the study of the previously known and newly discovered sites. Uneven distribution of the Palaeolithic sites in the area studied was shown (with their significant concentration in the Desna region). The geoarchaeological sites were studied with a different number of methods – 13 out of 23 sites were dated by the radiocarbon method, 9 sites also had palynological and palaeopedological data, 18 of them had paleontological findings. The most complete and representative information is obtained for the following Palaeolithic sites: Pushkari I, Buhorok, Dobranichivka, Hintsi, Buzhanka II, Obolonnia and the Neolithic site Pohorilivka-Vyrchyshche. The Bronze and Chalcolithic sites in the area were studied less intensely and with less number of methods than the Palaeolithic sites. The necessity for further palynological and palaeopedological studies of the archaeological sites is highlighted.