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Understanding the mechanisms responsible for the origin, evolution, and failure of pingos with explosive gas emissions and the formation of craters in the Arctic permafrost requires comprehensive studies in the context of fluid dynamic processes. Properly choosing modeling methods for the joint interpretation of geophysical results and analytical data on core samples from suitable sites are prerequisites for predicting pending pingo failure hazards. We suggest an optimal theoretically grounded workflow for such studies, in a site where pingo collapse induced gas blowout and crater formation in the Yamal Peninsula. The site was chosen with reference to the classification of periglacial landforms and their relation to the local deformation pattern, according to deciphered satellite images and reconnaissance geophysical surveys. The deciphered satellite images and combined geophysical data from the site reveal a pattern of periglacial landforms matching the structural framework with uplifted stable permafrost blocks (polygons) bounded by eroded fractured zones (lineaments). Greater percentages of landforms associated with permafrost degradation fall within the lineaments. Resistivity anomalies beneath pingo-like mounds presumably trace deeply rooted fluid conduits. This distribution can be explained in terms of fluid dynamics. N–E and W–E faults, and especially their junctions with N–W structures, are potentially the most widely open conduits for gas and water which migrate into shallow sediments in the modern stress field of N–S (or rather NEN) extension and cause a warming effect on permafrost. The results obtained with a new workflow and joint interpretation of remote sensing, geophysical, and analytical data from the site of explosive gas emission in the Yamal Peninsula confirm the advantages of the suggested approach and its applicability for future integrated fluid dynamics research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research relevance is determined by the substantial potential of the scientific search for information and sources on the life of the Scythians. Since the 18th century, researchers have thoroughly begun to approach the excavation of Scythian mounds in search of legendary treasures. Periodic finds with significant accompanying material memos provide more and more reasons to assert that the Scythian Herrhos, about which Herodotus wrote, really existed, but its location is still a mystery. This study presents the main versions and theories about the hidden treasures of the vanished Scythian civilization. The study involves the analysis of key hypotheses about the location of Scythian treasures and their correlation with objectively possible historical circumstances of their existence and location. The leading approach in the study is the analytical method, alongside synthesis, analogy, induction, deduction, comparative, systemic, and reductionism. As a result, the most common theories about the existence of Scythian treasures were presented, along with arguments confirming or refuting these positions using written evidence and archaeological materials. The study focuses on such an important aspect of Scythian culture as archaeological excavations and their legitimacy. The growing black archaeology issue is most presented in the case of the Scythian mounds, which greatly complicates scientific activity and casts doubt on the authenticity of the materials discovered as a result of excavations of already robbed burials. The materials of the study are of particular value to anyone interested in Scythian culture, including the sphere of scientific interests of historians, archaeologists, geologists, writers, etc. The investigation of the Scythians and their life remains a promising scientific area, which provides for further archaeological excavations, the examination of material and written sources, the analysis of information of various kinds considering cross-cultural studies, based on the area of distribution of finds of the Scythian period

This paper presents a reassessment of mound visibility through the analysis of Halvdanshaugen, a substantial Iron Age mound in Norway. In line with conventional views, the mound's visibility covers a considerable swath of the surrounding terrain, although views are limited by topographic features from certain directions and specific parts of the landscape. A refined viewshed analysis, incorporating vegetation as a visual barrier, however, suggests that the mound's visual impact extends no more than a few hundred meters from its base. This sees the mound placed in an enclosed setting which alters the mound’s visual characteristics, emphasizing details of both the mound and activities nearby. In contrast to traditional interpretations that emphasize landscape-wide symbolism, this study advocates for a more reflective perspective, and calls for a multi-sensory understanding of the fluid relationship between mound and landscape. It rejects the idea of universal placement rules and proposes more contextual interpretations that acknowledge the diversity observed in mound construction and use.

The article publishes preliminary results of archaeological research on mound No. 45, the Bustanaevsky burial mound, located on the territory of the Buraevsky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The monument was discovered in 2011, archaeological research began in 2015 under the leadership of A.G. Kolonskikh. Currently, excavations of the necropolis continue in the course of joint research by the Institute of Ethnological Research named after. R.G. Kuzeev and the Institute of Archaeology named after A. Kh. Khalikov Tatarstan Academy of Sciences. During excavations, one single burial was discovered under the mound. Along with the poorly preserved skeleton, the burial contained archaeological material represented by two vessels, arrowheads and elements of a belt set made in the heraldic style, horse bones and iron bits. The data obtained allow us to assume that the necropolis was left by the bearers of the Kushnarenkovo archaeological culture. The preliminary dating of the burial is the end of the 6th - beginning of the 7th century AD.

In 1988, in one of the burial mounds near the village. Rybinsk in the North-Eastern Azov region, a bone product was discovered, which was originally called a cheek-piece, but ultimately remained unidentified. Later it turned out that the cultural, and, consequently, the chronological position of the burial is undisputed. This short article again draws attention to an incomprehensible bone product from the North-Eastern Sea, because an analogy appeared – a bone product from a kind of Neolithic burial ground in the Bom Santo cave (southcentral Portugal), discovered in 1993 and partially explored in 1994-1995, 1997, 2001. The product from the Bom Santo cave was tentatively called a «flute», but the authors of the find are not sure that this is a musical instrument, and ultimately the find in this case also remained uncertain. Despite the significant territorial and cultural heterogeneity of the two bone finds, I consider it useful to compare them, especially since the chronological position of the item from the Sea of Azov can be significantly omitted and not differ so much now from the dating of the bone find from the Bom Santo cave.

Abstract Purpose High population growth and the expansion of industry from time to time produce a large amount of waste/pollution, which harms global environmental health. To overcome the above problems, soil feeding (mound/nest) builders of termite gut bacteria execute thriving since they can be obtained easily, available, and at low costs. The purpose of this review is to provide evidence of bacteria in the soil feeding termite gut and its potential role in various applications including reduction of methane gas emission, bio bocks/production of bricks, biomedicine, biocontrol (promising tool for sustainable agriculture), and bio-fertilizer (improve the fertility of the soil) and plant growth promote effectiveness all year. Methods This review was progressive in that it assessed and produced peer-reviewed papers related to bacteria in the soil feeding termite gut and its potential role in different applications for an environmentally sound. Based on the findings of reputable educational journals, articles were divided into four categories: methods used to distributions of soil-feeding termites, termite caste system, bacterial diversity, and strain improvement of bacteria in the termite guts for enhanced multipurpose and techniques. Results The bacterial diversity from termite guts of soil feeding termite caste systems/differentiations is vital for snowballing day to day due to their low cost and no side effect on the public health and environment becoming known improvement of the microbial bacteria rather than other microbes. So termites function as “soil engineers” in tropical agroforestry ecosystems that are of great benefit for economic importance to greener approach. Conclusion The present findings indicate that recovery was chosen as an appreciable bring out the bacteria in the soil feeding termite gut and its potential application of termite mounds/nests biotechnological applications. Because of the large amount of nutrients that have built up in termite embankment soil feeding, this type of termite is now known as a “gold-leaf excavation” for bacterial concentrations. This provides the assertion that termite insects are important from an ecological standpoint since they aid in nutrient flows in the ecosystem as a useful tool for various species.

Understanding the mechanisms responsible for the origin, evolution, and failure of pingos with explosive gas emissions and the formation of craters in the Arctic permafrost requires comprehensive studies in the context of fluid dynamic processes. Properly choosing modeling methods for the joint interpretation of geophysical results and analytical data on core samples from suitable sites are prerequisites for predicting pending pingo failure hazards. We suggest an optimal theoretically grounded workflow for such studies, in a site where pingo collapse induced gas blowout and crater formation in the Yamal Peninsula. The site was chosen with reference to the classification of periglacial landforms and their relation to the local deformation pattern, according to deciphered satellite images and reconnaissance geophysical surveys. The deciphered satellite images and combined geophysical data from the site reveal a pattern of periglacial landforms matching the structural framework with uplifted stable permafrost blocks (polygons) bounded by eroded fractured zones (lineaments). Greater percentages of landforms associated with permafrost degradation fall within the lineaments. Resistivity anomalies beneath pingo-like mounds presumably trace deeply rooted fluid conduits. This distribution can be explained in terms of fluid dynamics. N–E and W–E faults, and especially their junctions with N–W structures, are potentially the most widely open conduits for gas and water which migrate into shallow sediments in the modern stress field of N–S (or rather NEN) extension and cause a warming effect on permafrost. The results obtained with a new workflow and joint interpretation of remote sensing, geophysical, and analytical data from the site of explosive gas emission in the Yamal Peninsula confirm the advantages of the suggested approach and its applicability for future integrated fluid dynamics research.

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Purpose: High population growth and the expansion of industry from time to time produce a large amount of waste/pollution, which harms global environmental health. To overcome the above problems, soil feeding (mound/nest) builders of termite gut bacteria execute thriving since they can be obtained easily, available, and at low costs. The purpose of this review is to provide evidence of bacteria in the soil feeding termite gut and its potential role in various applications including reduction of methane gas emission, bio bocks/production of bricks, biomedicine, biocontrol (promising tool for sustainable agriculture), and bio-fertilizer (improve the fertility of the soil) and plant growth promote effectiveness all year. Methods: This review was progressive in that it assessed and produced peer-reviewed papers related to bacteria in the soil feeding termite gut and its potential role in different applications for an environmentally sound. Based on the findings of reputable educational journals, articles were divided into four categories: methods used to distributions of soil-feeding termites, termite caste system, bacterial diversity, and strain improvement of bacteria in the termite guts for enhanced multipurpose and techniques. Results: The bacterial diversity from termite guts of soil feeding termite caste systems/differentiations is vital for snowballing day to day due to their low cost and no side effect on the public health and environment becoming known improvement of the microbial bacteria rather than other microbes. So termites function as "soil engineers" in tropical agroforestry ecosystems that are of great benefit for economic importance to greener approach. Conclusion: The present findings indicate that recovery was chosen as an appreciable bring out the bacteria in the soil feeding termite gut and its potential application of termite mounds/nests biotechnological applications. Because of the large amount of nutrients that have built up in termite embankment soil feeding, this type of termite is now known as a "gold-leaf excavation" for bacterial concentrations. This provides the assertion that termite insects are important from an ecological standpoint since they aid in nutrient flows in the ecosystem as a useful tool for various species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in soil use have detrimental effects on its properties. This research was conducted to evaluate the physical degradation of histosol soils in the Putumayo department, Colombia. To do so, two types of areas were assessed: those without intervention (T0) and areas affected by mound structures caused by combined actions of livestock and high humidity, commonly known as "tatucos." These areas were categorized based on the percentage of deformation incidence: low degradation (T1); moderate (T2); and high (T3). Sampling was done at a depth of 15 cm, both in the tatucos-affected zone and its surrounding area. The height and diameter of the mound were measured, along with physical properties: apparent and bulk density, porosity, volumetric moisture, penetration resistance, and degree of organic material decomposition. The primary soil use in the area is extensive livestock farming. It was established that in areas with high degradation (T3), there was an average mound diameter of 151.9 ± 4.46 cm and a height of 22.7 ± 2.59 cm. Regarding physical properties, there was an apparent density of 0.24 g.cm-3, a bulk density of 1.62 g.cm-3, and a penetration resistance of 0.71 MPa. These values were significantly higher than those observed in the areas without intervention. Therefore, it is inferred that the alteration of land use causes a change in physical properties, which are vital for agro ecosystems in the southern regions of Colombia.

The article describes the events of 1906 related to the publishing of the results of several accidental discoveries from the Golden Horde age in the Stavropol Governorate area by A.A. Spitsyn. In 1887 and 1890, the Imperial Archaeological Commission received several accidental findings from the nearby area of Roguly, Kievsky, Zdvizhensky, Beshpagir villages and the tract of Gashun Usta. A.A. Spitsyn published the most important ones in 1906. The article presents the materials from the archives of the Institute for Material Culture History first published by the researcher. The bronze mirrors from the nearby areas of the Roguly and Beshpagir villages are made public for the first time. Materials from the archive allowed to determine the contents of the findings from the “Koltsov” mound and the mound of the Yun-baba mountain. The authors attempt to localize most of the listed findings. The published materials also add to the already existing knowledge of the culture of the inhabitants of Stavropol Plateau in the age of the Golden Horde reign.

Abstract Place names are an important but vanishing part of cultural diversity, and their relevance for environmental sciences is increasingly acknowledged. Still little is known about whether the diversity of toponyms affects human–nature relationships and the decisions of humans on how to use certain parts of the landscape. To investigate this question, we combined approaches from social sciences and ecology in a comprehensive multidisciplinary survey of 1521 cultural landscape features in Hungary. The landscape features studied were ancient millennia‐old burial earthen mounds built by nomadic steppic tribes, that often hold the last remnants of grassland vegetation and provide safe havens for grassland specialist plant and animal species in the intensively used agricultural landscapes of Eurasia. In our research, we (i) compiled a comprehensive database of the mounds in the 5150 km2‐sized study region, (ii) collected all toponyms of the mounds recorded since the 18th century, (iii) derived the height and distance from settlements for each mound and (iv) visited all the mounds in a field survey, and evaluated their vegetation naturalness. We found that despite the intensive landscape transformation in the region, and independently of topographical factors, a higher number of toponyms was associated with a higher degree of naturalness of the vegetation on the landscape features. Independently of the protective effect of the height of the mound against ploughing, and the distance from settlements that reflects to decreasing land use intensity, we found that the vegetation on the mounds with more names had a higher degree of naturalness. Synthesis and applications. Cultural recognition of these places has eroded considerably in the past centuries, but its effect is still noticeable, suggesting an extinction delay of culture‐driven biodiversity patterns. Our results suggest that reestablishment of the lost cultural connections between people and nature can contribute to reversing the deterioration. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Place names are an important but vanishing part of cultural diversity, and their relevance for environmental sciences is increasingly acknowledged. Still little is known about whether the diversity of toponyms affects human–nature relationships and the decisions of humans on how to use certain parts of the landscape.To investigate this question, we combined approaches from social sciences and ecology in a comprehensive multidisciplinary survey of 1521 cultural landscape features in Hungary. The landscape features studied were ancient millennia‐old burial earthen mounds built by nomadic steppic tribes, that often hold the last remnants of grassland vegetation and provide safe havens for grassland specialist plant and animal species in the intensively used agricultural landscapes of Eurasia. In our research, we (i) compiled a comprehensive database of the mounds in the 5150 km2‐sized study region, (ii) collected all toponyms of the mounds recorded since the 18th century, (iii) derived the height and distance from settlements for each mound and (iv) visited all the mounds in a field survey, and evaluated their vegetation naturalness.We found that despite the intensive landscape transformation in the region, and independently of topographical factors, a higher number of toponyms was associated with a higher degree of naturalness of the vegetation on the landscape features. Independently of the protective effect of the height of the mound against ploughing, and the distance from settlements that reflects to decreasing land use intensity, we found that the vegetation on the mounds with more names had a higher degree of naturalness.Synthesis and applications. Cultural recognition of these places has eroded considerably in the past centuries, but its effect is still noticeable, suggesting an extinction delay of culture‐driven biodiversity patterns. Our results suggest that reestablishment of the lost cultural connections between people and nature can contribute to reversing the deterioration. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the second half of the 1st millennium AD, Early Turkic tribes started penetrating the territory of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and Siberia. Under their influence on the territory of the Upper Irtysh, the process of development of a Kimek-Kipchak state formation began. The initial stage of this process, reflected in the funeral rite and characteristic elements of the material culture, is barely known. In this paper, materials of the kurgan 1 of the barrow cemetery of Menovnoye XII, located in the territory of the Upper Irtysh 2.1 km to the southeast of the village of Menovnoye, Tavrichesky district, East Kazakhstan Region, are analysed. Under the mound of the kurgan was a fence with an annex containing a burial of a person, a dog, and two pairs of horses. The central male burial has been robbed. In the sacrificial pit, located south of the grave, there were remains of two horses: one had been laid on the stomach with its legs bent under the body and head to the east; the other, overlaying the first one, had been placed on a banket, laid on the right side with its legs bent under and head to the east. The man was accompanied by a child lying on the back with the head to the north, placed in a stone box attached to the eastern wall of the fence. The burial of the dog was in a pit placed in the aisle of the western wall of the fence. In the pit of the annex, there were remains of two horses: the complete carcass and the hinder part of the carcass. The grave goods were represented by a leather rendering and parts of a horse harness (iron stirrups and a bone belly buckle). The belts of the horse ammunition were adorned with silver and bronze decorations: badge-triplets, onlays, and buckle tips. To adjust the strain of the check-straps, a bronze buckle with an iron prong was used. Two horses showed traces of saddle bags containing iron adzes. The features of the funeral rituals and analysis of the material remains allow attributing the burials of the kurgan 1 of the Menovnoye XII burial ground to the Early Kimek period of the Turkic epoch within the 7th–8th centuries AD.

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Background: Burrowing mammals are important ecosystem engineers, especially in open ecosystems where they create patches that differ from the surrounding matrix in their structure or ecosystem functions. Methods: We evaluated the fine-scale effects of a subterranean ecosystem engineer, the Lesser blind mole rat on the vegetation composition of sandy dry grasslands in Hungary. In this model system we tested whether the characteristics of the patch (mound size) and the matrix (total vegetation cover in the undisturbed grassland) influence the structural and functional contrasts between the mounds and the undisturbed grasslands. We sampled the vegetation of 80 mounds and 80 undisturbed grassland plots in four sites, where we recorded the total vegetation cover, and the occurrence and cover of each vascular plant species. We used two proxies to characterise the patches (mounds) and the matrix (undisturbed grassland): we measured the perimeter of the mounds and estimated the total vegetation cover of the undisturbed grasslands. First, we compared the vegetation characteristics of the mounds and the surrounding grasslands with general linear models. Second, we characterised the contrasts between the mounds and the undisturbed grassland by relative response indices (RRIs) of the vegetation characteristics studied in the first step. Results: Species composition of the vegetation of the mounds and undisturbed grasslands was well separated in three out of the four study sites. Mounds were characterised by lower vegetation cover, lower cover of perennial graminoids, and higher diversity, and evenness compared to undisturbed grasslands. The contrast in vegetation cover between mounds and undisturbed grasslands increased with decreasing patch size. Increasing vegetation cover in the matrix grasslands increased the contrasts between the mounds and undisturbed grasslands in terms of total cover, perennial graminoid cover, diversity, and evenness. Our results suggest that mole rat mounds provide improved establishment conditions for subordinate species, because they are larger than other types of natural gaps and are characterised by less intense belowground competition. The ecosystem engineering effect, i.e., the contrast between the patches and the matrix was the largest in the more closed grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The authors analyze the results of the study of the archaeological complex of Shimaila. The complex includes rock carvings and a burial mound. These objects were investigated by the Karatau archaeological expedition of Ahmed Yasawi University under the leadership of S.S. Murgabayev. The research materials are being introduced into scientific discourse for the first time. The chronological framework of petroglyphs dates from the Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages. During the excavations, three mounds were uncovered, the peculiarity of their structures was recorded, as well as the analysis of the accompanying inventory became the basis for the conclusion about the dating of burial structures within the middle of the IV century BC – II century BC. As part of the accompanying inventory, a two-edged sword, arrowheads, an earring and a pendant, a bronze mirror with a handle, a stone altar and beads. These objects, as well as the locations of petroglyphs, demonstrate the prospects for further field studies of Karatau monuments for the reconstruction of complex processes of cultural genesis in the Central Asian region from the Bronze Age to the turn of our era.

The paper discusses the features of the burial rite and inventory associated with the wolf’s image, and analyzes the wolf’s image in art, cult and beliefs. In the animal style of the Kazakhstan Urals, the image of a wolf and individual parts of its body are frequently found in male and female burials on weapons, bridles, mirrors, piercers, finials, and altars. Wolf’s teeth, fangs, paws and jaw are found as part of jewelry, in ritual burial complexes, they were used in rites and rituals, and as amulets. The wolf and its image are considered not only a symbol, but also one of the important components of the funeral rite, reflecting the status of a person. In the culture of the peoples, the wolf’s image was endowed with supernatural characteristics, it was a mythological image, and it was sacralized. Military unions formed in the early nomadic society after the initiation rite were created on the principle of a wolf pack, and warriors were referred to as dog warriors. The wolf is considered a symbol and one of the important components of the funeral rite. The body parts of a wolf in the burials reflected the totemistic views of the early nomads of the Ural region.

The article describes the contribution of L. R. Kyzlasov to the study of stone statues in Central Kazakhstan. During the field season of 1948, he researched more than ten statues in the valleys of the south-west and south-east of the Kazakh Uplands (Saryarka), as well as various structures they marked. In 1951, L. R. Kyzlasov described nine statues and related stone constructions as a complex and compared them with similar sites found in other regions while making an attempt to define their origin. Extra information was obtained from L. R. Kyzlasov’s field journal kept in the archive of the A. Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology and his field sketchbook, which was published in 2017. L. R. Kyzlasov researched stone monuments of all cultural and chronological groups in Saryarka, e.g. deer stones, statues of the Saka, Ancient Turkic, and Qipchag periods, etc. Like all such documents of his time, L. R. Kyzlasov’s archeological records are rather limited in information value; however, they remain highly relevant because the location of some of these sites is currently unknown.

Background Burrowing mammals are important ecosystem engineers, especially in open ecosystems where they create patches that differ from the surrounding matrix in their structure or ecosystem functions. Methods We evaluated the fine-scale effects of a subterranean ecosystem engineer, the Lesser blind mole rat on the vegetation composition of sandy dry grasslands in Hungary. In this model system we tested whether the characteristics of the patch (mound size) and the matrix (total vegetation cover in the undisturbed grassland) influence the structural and functional contrasts between the mounds and the undisturbed grasslands. We sampled the vegetation of 80 mounds and 80 undisturbed grassland plots in four sites, where we recorded the total vegetation cover, and the occurrence and cover of each vascular plant species. We used two proxies to characterise the patches (mounds) and the matrix (undisturbed grassland): we measured the perimeter of the mounds and estimated the total vegetation cover of the undisturbed grasslands. First, we compared the vegetation characteristics of the mounds and the surrounding grasslands with general linear models. Second, we characterised the contrasts between the mounds and the undisturbed grassland by relative response indices (RRIs) of the vegetation characteristics studied in the first step. Results Species composition of the vegetation of the mounds and undisturbed grasslands was well separated in three out of the four study sites. Mounds were characterised by lower vegetation cover, lower cover of perennial graminoids, and higher diversity, and evenness compared to undisturbed grasslands. The contrast in vegetation cover between mounds and undisturbed grasslands increased with decreasing patch size. Increasing vegetation cover in the matrix grasslands increased the contrasts between the mounds and undisturbed grasslands in terms of total cover, perennial graminoid cover, diversity, and evenness. Our results suggest that mole rat mounds provide improved establishment conditions for subordinate species, because they are larger than other types of natural gaps and are characterised by less intense belowground competition. The ecosystem engineering effect, i.e., the contrast between the patches and the matrix was the largest in the more closed grasslands.

Modern heritage protection goes beyond the mere protection of individual buildings and objects. Modern technologies and techniques of field data capture and visual (3D) presentations are increasingly penetrating this field and are becoming more and more essential and necessary for archives, cadastres, and users and visitors of museums, exhibitions, collections, and archaeological parks. In the area between Kotlje and Ravne na Koroškem, Slovenia, in 1476–1477, 9 to 10 anti-Turkish fortifications, called Turške Šance, reportedly were erected. The remains were left to decay slowly. This paper highlights the possibility of applying interdisciplinary data capture and 3D visualization techniques that are used in the fields of civil engineering and architecture for digital reconstruction of the anti-Turkish fortification as a case study in order to present them in the most contemporary way and emphasize them on a local, regional, national, and international level. Unfortunately, similar remains elsewhere in Europe are primarily ignored (with some notable exceptions). The digital reconstruction of anti-Turkish watchtowers therefore represented an extended reconstruction to revive that part of the historical heritage of Slovenia using the proposed techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A comprehensive study of the Golden Horde costume involves the study of not only clothing, but also numerous elements of accessories indicating the social status, practically complementing and completing the image. One of these elements is a “boktag” – an intricate headdress of a noble married woman. In 1968-69, the Bashkir-Berkutov barrows were excavated in the Kugarchinsky region of the Republic of Bashkortostan by the Institute of History, Language and Literature of the Bashkir branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The purpose of the publication is to analyze the preserved details and jewelry from the “boktag” female headdress. The paper considers the birch bark frames from two burials, as well as an amulet box and preserved fragments of fabric. The analogies to this birch-bark structure revealed in the Novy Kumak III, Khabarny I sites as well as the burial mounds Kara-Oba, Shlyakhovsky III, Guva III mounds are detailed. The thorough study of this type of frames is a step towards a unifi ed typology for boktag headdress.

The second half of the 1st millennium AD is associated with the development and formation of the culture of ancient Turkic peoples, who repeatedly developed several large ethnopolitical associations in the steppe zone of Central Asia. Political and cultural influences of the Turkic state formations were perceived not only by the sedentary population of the states that existed in the territory of East and Central Asia, but also by further north peoples who lived in the steppe and taiga zones. Under the Turkic influence, or with their direct participation, the Kimako-Kipchak proto-state association began taking shape in the Upper Irtysh River region in the 7th century AD. The initial stage of this process, features of the funeral rite, and characteristic elements of the material culture of the population living in the region are almost unknown due to insufficient exploration of the monuments of the developmental stage of this polyethnic formation. The paper describes the materials of the barrow cemetery of Menovnoye XII, located in the territory of the Upper Irtysh River, 2.1 km southeast of the village of Menovnoye, Tavrichesky district, East Kazakhstan Province. Under the barrow mound, there was a fence with outbuildings containing burials of a man, two horses, and two dogs. The central burial was robbed. The sacrificial pit, located north of the main grave, contained the burial of two horses, laid on their stomachs with their legs tucked under their bodies and with their heads oriented to the east. The buried person was accompanied by two dogs: one was laid across the ceiling of the grave, while the other was buried in a separate pit in an additional annex. The grave goods found with the deceased represented by astragali, a bronze ring, and a fragment of an iron arrowhead. The horse harness included stirrups and iron bits. The bridle belts were adorned with bronze items: bells, triplet plaques, bronze onlays, and belt tip ends. Bronze buckles with iron tongues, which were tucked into clips, were used to adjust the tension of the headband straps. The funeral rite features and analysis of the materials collected during the study of the memorial complex make it possible to associate the burials of the 3rd barrow of the Menovnoye XII with the Early Kimak antiquities within the framework of the Turkic era and to date them to the second half of the 7th — 8th century AD.

Megapodius reinwardt, the orange-footed scrubfowl, belongs to a small family of birds that inhabits the Indo-Australian region. Megapodes are unique in incubating their eggs in mounds using heat from microbial decomposition of organic materials and solar radiation. Little is known about the microorganisms involved in the decomposition of organic matter in mounds. To determine the source of microbes in the mounds, we used 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize the microbial communities of mound soil, adjacent soil and scrubfowl faeces. We found that the microbial communities of scrubfowl faeces were substantially different from those of the mounds and surrounding soils, suggesting that scrubfowls probably do not use their faeces to inoculate their mounds although a few microbial sequence variants were present in both faeces and mound samples. Further, the mound microbial community structure was significantly different to the adjacent soils. For example, mounds had a high relative abundance of sequence variants belonging to Thermomonosporaceae, a thermophilic soil bacteria family able to degrade cellulose from plant residues. It is not clear whether members of Thermomonosporaceae disproportionately contribute to the generation of heat in the mound, or whether they simply thrive in the warm mound environment created by the metabolic activity of the mound microbial community. The lack of clarity in the literature between designations of heat-producing (thermogenic) and heat-thriving (thermophilic) microbes poses a challenge to understanding the role of specific bacteria and fungi in incubation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A previously unreported Depression-era excavation at the Walling II site on the Tennessee River, Alabama, revealed a context that may provide insight into Mississippian shamanic ritual. Mound A, a low earthen mound, was erected over the remains of a small circular structure, followed by the burial of a single person accompanied by a human effigy smoking pipe, human calvaria, and other unusual objects. We describe the sequence of events that produced Mound A and review the evidence that links this context to a Middle Mississippian fire-sun ceremonialism concerned with healing and death rites. We conclude that Mound A was erected to commemorate the location of a ceremonial facility and entomb the associated ritual practitioner who served the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article presents the results of a study of signs on a Bronze Age slab discovered in the vicinity of a heavily plowed mound near the settlement of Pyatikhatki. The slab belongs to the Dolmen archaeological culture. In the course of this research, it was proved that the Pyatikhatki slab is a unique measuring tool, that combines elements of sundial and water clock. It has all the cup marks of an analemmatic sundial, except for the presence of a precise analemma, which at that time, it seems, could not yet be built. The vertical gnomon moved only along the north-south line, and the time was determined approximately. Most likely, this was due to the lack of accuracy in measuring time using the water clock of that era. It is possible that it was their imperfection that was the incentive for the development of a new type of watch - a sundial, which would allow measuring time over a long period with a higher accuracy.

The localization of the Scythian Gerros is still completely uncertain. The problems associated with it cover a wide range of currently unresolved topical issues due to both the state of preservation of rich burials and the lack of clear criteria for their definition, in particular, social ranking, i. e. issues related to the identification, number and location of the royal mounds. The study is based on the logic of the general scientific inductive and deductive method as the conceptual core of obtaining the initial and inferred knowledge about the object of our research – the localization of the mounds of the Scythian kings, the subject of which is the general cultural and archaeological signs of the Scythian kings’ mounds. We have come to the conclusion that the use of craniological studies of anthropological material from burial monuments located within the Scythian “square” of Herodotus, for their proximity to the Tuvan Okunevians will firstly allow us to identify and select the royal Scythians from the entire massif of Scythian material, then subsequent mapping of the data will make it possible to determine the area of their settlement. Secondly, with the help of craniological analysis, it will be possible to determine the burials of the Scythian kings, which should contain homogeneous anthropological material within the same burial room. Thirdly, in the process of searching for Scythian burials outside the steppe, we will also be helped by craniological studies of material that was not initially classified as “Scythian” due to the lack of clear criteria for its selection. Fourthly, the mapping of the burials of the royal Scythians and the systematization of all the signs of groups located in the same vector of their closest ties will bring us closer to solving an even more extensive problem – the definition of the concepts of “Scythian”, “Scythian culture” and “Scythian archaeological culture”

Megapodius reinwardt, the orange-footed scrubfowl, belongs to a small family of birds that inhabits the Indo-Australian region. Megapodes are unique in incubating their eggs in mounds using heat from microbial decomposition of organic materials and solar radiation. Little is known about the microorganisms involved in the decomposition of organic matter in mounds. To determine the source of microbes in the mounds, we used 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize the microbial communities of mound soil, adjacent soil and scrubfowl faeces. We found that the microbial communities of scrubfowl faeces were substantially different from those of the mounds and surrounding soils, suggesting that scrubfowls probably do not use their faeces to inoculate their mounds although a few microbial sequence variants were present in both faeces and mound samples. Further, the mound microbial community structure was significantly different to the adjacent soils. For example, mounds had a high relative abundance of sequence variants belonging to Thermomonosporaceae, a thermophilic soil bacteria family able to degrade cellulose from plant residues. It is not clear whether members of Thermomonosporaceae disproportionately contribute to the generation of heat in the mound, or whether they simply thrive in the warm mound environment created by the metabolic activity of the mound microbial community. The lack of clarity in the literature between designations of heat-producing (thermogenic) and heat-thriving (thermophilic) microbes poses a challenge to understanding the role of specific bacteria and fungi in incubation.

Materials of a mound of the early Sarmatian time investigated by the Turgay archaeological expedition of the A. Baitursynov Kostanay State University under the leadership of V.N. Logvin and S.S. Kaliyeva in a field season of 1995 were considered in the article for the first time. The earthen mound before the beginning of excavation had a diameter of 25 m, a height of 1.25 m. It was surrounded by a circular ditch with a diameter of 31 m. Fragments of a wooden tent structure were recorded in the embankment. A pair burial was found under the mound. The inventory is represented by iron sword and dagger, bronze sleeve and iron petiolate arrowheads, bone and iron buckles and fragments of wooden utensils. Burial refers to the end of Early Sarmatian culture (2nd century BC). The issueof the origin and spread of the tradition of wooden tent ceiling isconsideredby the authors.

Solenopsis invicta or the red imported fire ant is a well-known and common pest in Texas. They can be seen in many different grassy habitats and affect both people and animals. Their most distinctive feature is the red head and thorax and black abdomen. Due the aggressiveness of this species of fire ant, it is often very sought after how to get rid of them, especially when they invade homes. It is often annoying to see ants all over any type of food that is left outside. However, this can be used as an advantage to get rid of them. Baiting is a very affective technique; it is just important to know what attracts them the most. This experiment tests 8 different foods, with differing carbohydrate, protein and lipid contents to see which are the most attractive to ants. Three different "plates" will act as three different trials and the number of ants of each food on each plate will be counted. A system of how ants are counted is also specified to make sure they don't get counted twice. Finally, based on these results, inferences on which baits would be the most effective can be discussed. In addition, the contents an ideal bait can also be explained as well, leading to further research on Solenopsis invicta baiting techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The lacustrine sediments and geomorphological data from the Bor Plain situated at elevations between 1050 and 1100 m in southern Central Anatolia provide record between 9800 and 6700 yr cal BP of climate changes and events. The main aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the location of Neolithic sites and the deposition and recession phases of the lake during Holocene. The geomorphological history of the Bor Plain and palynological results allows us to reconstruct the relationship between the Holocene environment and reconstruction of Neolithic settlements within a spatially well-defined lacustrine landscape of ~ 600 km2. A 75 ± 13 ka aged terrace, consisting almost entirely of calcite and situated about 76 m above the plain floor, indicates that the plain was covered with a paleolake in the transition from MIS 5 to MIS 4. Considering the low total organic carbon and the high CaCO3 clay values, we conclude that the lake slowly receded in 9867 ± 39 cal BP. However, the presence of aquatic herbaceous forms such as Nymphaceae and Cyperaceae indicates an increase in the water level of the lake during 6776 ± 35 cal BP, after which it transitioned to a dried lake. Thus, the progression and recession phases of the lake became the determining factor in the site selection of Neolithic settlements on mounds by which are found the plain floor at elevations between 1090 and 1100 m in this period on the Bor Plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article substantiates the relevance of the museumification of Kazakhstan’s mounds based on foreign experience. The authors present general information about the Issyk mounds and analyze the theoretical concept of the spatial solution of the museum complex around them. A number of studies devoted to the museumification of the Besshatyr burial mound are considered. The history and specificity of the spatial organization of the Ak-Baur temple intended for funeral rites as well as the modern concept of its museumification are analyzed.

The paper is devoted to the rich Sarmatian burial from the destroyed mound. The burial was a pit with overlapping of narrow wooden poles or boards. The skeleton was laid stretched on its back, the skull was oriented to SSW. Sheep bones and an iron knife were located at the feet, near the pit wall. The assemblage of grave goods is quite various and informative: a bronze mirror, gold bracelets and earrings, necklaces with cornelian and chalcedony beads, glass beads on the legs and arms, flint nucleus, “whetstone” (assay stone), clay spindles, iron arrowheads and small grey clay bowl of Maeotian production. Cast mirrors of Prokhorov Type are often found in Sarmatian burial mounds of the Kuban region of the 3rd – 1st c. BC. The bead types are typical for the Hellenistic period. The gold earrings are late replicas of the “lionheaded” earrings of the Northern Black Sea group. The magical items (nucleus, assay stone) have the closest analogies in Sarmatian assemblages of the early 1st c. BC. The bronze fingerings of the late Latin type with spiral shields were spread in the Northern Black Sea region and among Kuban Maeotian tribes in the Roman period. However their appearance in this region probably refers to an earlier period. The gold jewellery, rich necklace, full quiver of arrows and items related to cult activities make it possible to attribute this assemblage to the category of elite burials of the Siracian nobility.

Tanqasi village lies on the left side of the river Nile, about 17 km downstream from Merowe city. A large tumuli field is located some kilometers southeast of the village toward the edge of the Bayuda Desert. It contains no less than 250 tumuli of various size and form of superstructure, varying from very large to very small, but only four of these have been excavated so far (three in 1953 and one in 2006). A new study program, starting in 2018 within the frame of the Early Makuria Research Project, has now explored five more tombs located in different parts of the cemetery, providing a broad chronological sequence from late to terminal Meroitic.

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Copyright of Zephyrus is the property of Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Deep-sea mounds can have a variety of origins and may provide hard-substrate features in depths that are normally dominated by mud. Orphan Knoll, a 2 km high bedrock horst off northeast Newfoundland, hosts more than 200 mounds, or mound complexes, of unknown composition, in water depths of 1720–2500 m. Most mounds are 10–600 m high, with average mound height 187 m, and 1–3 km wide. The study objective was to characterize the size, shape, orientation, and composition of the enigmatic Orphan Knoll mounds, in order to determine their age and origin. Archival ship-based side-scan sonar, multibeam sonar, airgun, high-resolution sparker and 3.5 kHz acoustic sub-bottom profiling, and newly acquired ship-based multibeam sonar, video transects by remotely operated vehicle (ROV), rock samples, and near-bottom multibeam sonar data were analyzed. Four mounds were studied during two ROV dives. Archival sidescan sonar data show > 200 mounds. Sparker profiles show that the mound crests are covered by condensed stratified Quaternary sediment and airgun seismic data show faults reaching near the seafloor. New multibeam sonar data show mounds are dominantly conical to elliptical in shape, but without preferred orientation or alignment. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) transects and near-bottom multibeam showed that three mounds were rounded and symmetrically arranged, while a fourth was more asymmetrical, with steep faces on the southwestern and southeastern flanks, where finely bedded to massive sedimentary bedrock outcropped dipping 15–45°SW. Rock samples from the mounds include Eocene calcareous ooze and mid-Miocene bedded pelagic limestone. Thick ferromanganese crusts were found on many surfaces, obscuring possible outcrops from physical sampling. Polymetallic nodules were found on the slope of one mound. Ice-rafted detritus, including igneous and metamorphic rocks and Paleozoic limestone and dolostone, was common in the sediments immediately surrounding the mounds. Quaternary sub-fossil solitary scleractinian corals accumulated over a span of at least 0.18 Ma at the base of one mound. The presence of uplifted condensed Eocene-Miocene rocks on the mounds and faulting in seismic profiles suggest uplift during reactivation of old rift-related faults during the Neogene, with seabed mass wasting creating residual mounds, which were then draped by Quaternary proglacial muds. Sculpting of hemipelagic Quaternary sediment by bottom currents probably contributed to mound morphology.

Red wood ants are capable of active thermoregulation in the nest, which allows them to achieve a high number of workers and a dominant position in biocenoses. We investigated the features of the spring warm-up and the ability for active thermoregulation of the mounds of the ants Formica polyctena and F. rufa in the vicinity of Kyiv, Ukraine. We have proposed a model of thermoregulation of the mound, which takes into account the heat flow from the sun, heat exchange with air and soil, and endogenous heat generated by the antcolony. The calculation of the model for specific values showed that only F. polyctena mounds with a diameter of more than 0.9 m and F. rufa mounds with a diameter of more than 1.1 m are able to maintain a constant optimum temperature in the nest. Comparison of the calculated data with the measurement results onthe studied nests showed that the diameters of the majority of moundsexceededthe critical values for both speciesindicatingthe ability ofthermoregulation. The possibility of using the model to study the thermoregulation of moundsin different natural areas is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]