New aspects of natural science studies of archaeological burial monuments (kurgans) in the southern Russian steppes

Abstract Soil-archeological soil studies on the kurgan burial site ‘Peregruznoe’, located to the north of the Yergeninskaya upland 80 km from the city of Volgograd, Russia, were performed. For the first time, data on the structure of soil cover in the dry steppe zone during Sarmatian times (AD 1) were obtained. From paleosol data it was established that, in the second half of the first century AD, the prevailing humid climate progressively changed to more arid conditions similar to those of the modern time. Using the methodology and theoretical conceptions of archaeological soil science, the age of the monuments investigated was detailed. For one of the kurgans, the original technology involved in erecting the monument was reconstructed and the time of year when construction had taken place was determined. Principally, new information on the details of the funeral rites of the Middle Sarmatian tribes in the Lower Volga region was obtained.