Cattle breeding of the Bakalskaya culture’s population of the Trans-Urals

Residual models of spatial exploitation formed under the impact of sustenance processes of ancient population groups. This attempt of reconstruction of medieval common’s economic activity is able to display adaptation model to climatic and social conditions of the I millennium AD. Controversial issue about type of breeding among Bakalskaya culture’s population discusses by analyzing results of paleoeconomical model of Kolovskoye settlement. The research was based on information about the dwellings, the implement and zoology collections. Calculations are based on ethnographic information about number of family members between the nomads and semi-nomads, expenses for ceremonies and nutrition. We took into account average standard of housing space per person, reconstructed composition of nutrition and domestic animal specimens, estimate number of the society and livestock. Grassland’s resources of specific area and pattern of its use were computed for further detailing of economic areas around settlements. Basing on central place theory and results of mapping the region (archaeological complexes are located at the distance of 30-40 km along the rivers) we came to the conclusion that Bakalskaya culture’s settlements of the Early and High Middle Ages were economic, political and trade centers. Kolovskoe fortified settlement with secondary Krasnogorskoye settlement and four unfortified settlement are interpreted as a center of territory development and appropriation. Economic area of Kolovskoye settlement included different areas depended on number of society (50-200), herd’s composition, level of social stratification, pattern of military threats. Model 1 - the early medieval society in the forest-steppe area of Trans-Urals could practice the semi-settled type of breeding with high proportion of cattle in livestock, appropriating economy provided feeding of cattle implements by “tebenevka” and keeping in pens in floodplain. Ratio of settlement’s complexes located on the same economic area reflects formation of hard-stratified society in Middle Ages and possibility of model 2 realization. In this model an aristocratic class had a semi-nomadic type of breeding and ordinary population has the semi-settled type of breeding based on horse-breeding and sheep-breeding. They had beginning of agriculture and appropriating branches economy. Aristocracy had most of cattle and grazed them on winter pasture in steppe area. Accommodation population of Bakalyskaya culture and nomads of Kazakhstan in the same ecological niche (basing on data of cemeteries Bobrovskij, Pakhomovskij, Ingala, Mednij borok) confirms alternating resettlement different ethno-cultural populations in the forest-steppe and the steppe, which they managed seasonally. The authors suggest ways of hypothesis verification about economic dynamics in the settlement’s areas according to the state of the environment, the complication social stratification.

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