ISSN 1067-4136, Russian Journal of Ecology, 2006, Vol. 37, No. 6, pp. 437–439. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2006.Original Russian Text © A.V. Tuganaev, V.V. Tuganaev, 2006, published in Ekologiya, 2006, No. 6, pp. 475–477.

437

The settlement Zolotarevskoe Gorodishche is anarchaeological landmark of the early 13th centurylocated in the Penza Volga region. Its history is con-nected with the fire that occurred during the Tatar–Mon-gol conquest in 1236. Archaeologist Dr. G.N. Belory-bkin, who conducted excavations at this site, uncovereda layer containing plant fruits and seeds mixed withsoil. As such rare findings are a very valuable source ofinformation on the composition and structure of agro-cenoses and specific features of arable soils, samplestaken from this layer were handed over to specialists forfurther analysis. We also received one sample.

The aim of this study was to analyze the composi-tion of cultivated and weed plants and to assess basiccharacteristics of medieval arable soils in the studyarea.

The Penza Volga region is situated in the central partof European Russia, occupying the northwestern slopeof the Volga Upland and the eastern part of the Oka–Don Lowland (53–55

°

N, 42–49

°

E). It has a temperatecontinental climate. Gray forest soils characteristic ofcontinental broadleaf forests prevail in the northernpart, and chernozemic (podzolized and leached) forest–steppe soils prevail in the southern part of the region.Broadleaf and conifer forest approach its territory fromthe north, and steppe areas penetrate from the south.

The mode of subsistence characteristic of the localpopulation in the Middle Ages involved both hunting–gathering and husbandry (agriculture and livestockraising), as natural conditions in the region were favor-able for these occupations (Belorybkin, 2003).

The material for analysis, taken from excavation site4 in the area of Zolotarevskoe Gorodishche in 2003,consisted of a mixture of fruits and seeds with soil. Itwas manually cleaned of extraneous matter (smallstones, plant fragments, etc.) and screened through geo-logical sieves (mesh size 2 to 0.25 mm). Thereafter,fruits and seeds of cultivated and weed plants were col-

lected for botanical analysis and soil samples for agro-chemical analysis were taken.

Fruit and seed morphology was studied under anMBS-9 binocular microscope. To determine plant spe-cies by fruits and seeds, we used handbooks byLen’kov (1932), Dobrokhotov (1961), Maisuryan andAtabekova (1978), and Kats et al. (1965); monographs(

Sornye…

, 1934–1935;

Kul’turnaya…

, 1935–1937), aswell as drawings, photographs, and diagrams fromnumerous publications of Soviet (Russian) and foreignscientists. In addition, we used the collection of fruitsand seeds kept at the Department of Botany, UdmurtState University, and our own collection.

The soil was analyzed for the contents of phospho-rus, potassium, and humus. In addition, exchangeableand hydrolytic acidity, exchangeable bases, and basesaturation were determined according to the procedurerecommended by the Central Institute of AgrochemicalService (Kuznetsov, 1997).

Cultivated crops.

The results of analysis of botani-cal material (see table) show that grains (caryopses) ofItalian millet (

Panicum italicum

L.) were its main com-ponent. This crop was common in medieval agriculture(Pashkevich, 1991; Tuganaev and Tuganaev, 2001).Arabian traveler A. Gardizi noted its prevalence in hisdescription of the land of Volga Bulgars in the 11th cen-tury (Fakhrutdinov, 1984).

Grains of rye (

Secale cereale

L.) were equally abun-dant. As rye occurred only in a mixture with spring cul-tures, it could only be of the spring form. Moreover, itis known from the history of agriculture that cultivationof winter rye in the middle Volga region began onlywhen the Russians came there, and this occurred afterthe Russian conquest and annexation of the Kazan kha-nate in the 16th century.

Oats (

Avena sativa

L.) were also represented by arelatively large number of grains. Both rye and oatsalready had the status of true cultivated crops in the

SHORTCOMMUNICATIONS

Cultivated Plants and Weeds in Fields of the Penza Volga Region in the Middle Ages

A. V. Tuganaev and V. V. Tuganaev

Udmurt State University, ul. Universitetskaya 1, Izhevsk, 426034 Russiae-mail: tuganaev@udm.ru

Received August 2, 2004

DOI:

10.1134/S1067413606060129

Key words

: paleoethnobotany, agroecosystems, cultivated plants, weeds, polydominant agrocenoses, weedi-ness.

438

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2006

A.V. TUGANAEV, V.V. TUGANAEV

Middle Ages. As noted by Vavilov (1926), their statusas weeds pertains to still earlier historical time. Grainsof emmer (

Triticum dicoccum

(Schrank.) Schuebl.) andbarley (

Hordeum vulgare

L.) were less numerous,although both species were common in the MiddleAges, as follows from historical records and paleobo-tanical studies (Khalikov, 1981; Tuganaev, 1984;Khuzin, 2001). Although the botanical form of barleycould not be determined from its caryopses, it is likelythat common, two-row, six-row, naked, and gluma-ceous forms occurred in the region of ZolotarevskoeGorodishche. Soft wheat (

Triticum aestivum

L.), dwarfwheat (

Triticum compactum

Host.), and legumes (gar-den pea

Pisum sativum

L. and common lentil

Lens culi-naris

Medik.) were also represented in the sample as anadmixture to millet and rye.

In the Middle Ages, all these crops were cultivatedon a large scale in the middle Volga and middle Cisuralregions, with peas and lentils being represented bysmall-seeded forms (Tuganaev, 1984; Tuganaev andTuganaev, 2001).

Weed plants.

Among diaspores of cultivated plants,seeds and fruits of the following weeds were found (thenumber of specimens is shown in parentheses):

Che-nopodium album

L. (22),

Brassica campestris

L. (7),

Polygonum hydropiper

L. (1),

Stachys annua

L. (1),

Atriplex patula

L. (1),

Potentilla argentea

L. (1), and

Thymus serpyllum

L. (11).According to modern views, 44 seeds of weed spe-

cies per 3084 caryopses and seeds of cultivated plantsis a relatively high index of weediness. However, theproportions of weeds in paleobotanical materials fromother historical sites of Volga Bulgaria and the middleCisural region proved to be even greater, exceeding 300seeds per 1000 fruits and seeds of cultivated plants(Kir’yanov, 1958; Tuganaev, 1972, 1984).

Soils.

The soil sample from Zolotarevskoe Gorod-ishche had the following parameters: pH 5.5, hydrolyticacidity

H

= 3.79 mg-equiv/100 g, exchangeable bases

S

= 4.5 mg-equiv/100 g, base saturation

V

= 54.3%,phosphorus (

ê

2

é

5

) content 21.6 mg/100 g, potassium(

ä

2

é

) content 5 mg/100 g, and humus content 4.96%.Taking into account that the humus content in

ancient soils decreases almost by half within 1000years (Demkin, 1997), the initial value of this parame-ter in our sample could be estimated at 9–10%. Darkgray forest soils characteristic of broadleaf (most prob-ably, oak) forests or leached chernozems apparentlyformed the natural soil background of the study regionin the early 13th century. It should be noted that,throughout Europe, the climate at that time was warmerthan today.

Thus, inhabitants of the Penza Volga region in the13th century cultivated crops common for that time.Crops usually had a polydominant composition andwere characterized by weediness. Soils—variants ofdark gray forest soils and leached chernozems—werehighly fertile. Cultivation of heat-loving crops (

P. itali-cum

) and the occurrence of plants typical of steppes andsouthern regions (

T. compactum. T. serpyllum

, and

S. annua

) provide evidence that the climate in the 13thcentury was more xerothermic than the recent climate(Yasamanov, 1985).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to G.N. Belorybkin, Dr. Sci. (Hist.),for providing us with the seed material for analysis.

REFERENCES

Belorybkin, G.N.,

Zapadnoe Povolzh’e v srednie veka

(West-ern Volga Region in the Middle Ages), Penza: Penz. Gos.Ped. Univ., 2003.Demkin, V.A.,

Paleopochvovedenie i arkheologiya

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Semena sornykh rastenii

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Cultivated plants in samples from Zolotarevskoe Gorodishche, 13th century (Penza oblast)

PlantAmount

number of specimens proportion, %

Italian millet (

Panicum

italicum

L.) 1326 43.0

Rye (

Secale

cereale

L.) 1033 33.5

Common oat (

Avena

sativa

L.) 305 9.9

Emmer (

Triticum

dicoccum

(Schrank.) Schuebl.) 162 5.3

Barley (

Hordeum

vulgare

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Soft wheat (

Triticum

aestivum

L.) 109 3.5

Garden pea (

Pisum

sativum

L.) 9 0.3

Common lentil (

Lens

culinaris

Medik.) 9 0.3

Dwarf wheat (

Triticum

compactum

Host.) 1 <0.03

Total 3084 100.0

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CULTIVATED PLANTS AND WEEDS IN FIELDS OF THE PENZA VOLGA REGION 439

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