Soil microbiological properties in livestock corrals: An additional new line of evidence to identify livestock dung

Abstract In the article we have attempted to expand the list of methods for identification of livestock dung produced by cattle kept in corrals at archaeological sites on the basis of an integrated approach combining soil microbiology and chemistry methods. A multidisciplinary study of soils in the stone corrals in the Kislovodsk basin (North Caucasus, Russia) was carried out. The time of corral creation was from first millennium BC to the first millennium AD. The study of soils from the corrals showed that the most informative microbiological indicators for identifying livestock keeping locations at archaeological sites are the activity of enzymes involved in the phosphorus cycle and the abundance of thermophilic microorganisms. A significant increase in the phosphate content can be observed in soils of corrals, especially in soils of the occupation layer; however, high enzyme activity and the abundance of thermophilic microorganisms are reliable indicators of cattle dung accumulation and may be used as indicators of ancient corrals.