Scientists will test a hypothesis about ancient farmers
TSU soil scientists have discovered signs of ancient agriculture near Tomsk. The finds - a primitive plow layer filled with coal - were made near the Shaitan archaeological microdistrict in the south of the Tomsk Region. Radiocarbon analysis showed that farming was attempted over 3,000 years ago, as early as the 6th–7th centuries A.D. Soil scientists intend to test this hypothesis with TSU archaeologists.
- An unusual find was made by chance. We arrived at the Shaitan natural boundary at the invitation of our fellow archaeologists. Several years ago, excavations of burial grounds from the Middle Ages were carried out in this area, and burials with artifacts were found, - says Sergey Loiko, a researcher at the laboratory Bio-Geo-Clim. - It should be noted that there is little data in the literature on agriculture among the population of Tomsk Priobye before the arrival of Russians. These are mainly finds of labor tools in burial grounds. Now, traces of farming were found directly in the soils, in the form of a surface humus layer with traces of plowing and a large amount of charcoal - this is very similar to the ancient arable land that emerged as a result of the use of slash-and-burn farming technology.
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