Terekhin E.A., Smekalova T.N.

ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURAL AND TEXTURAL FEATURES OF FORMS OF ANCIENT FARMING AND LAND SURVEY, TYPICAL OF THE TERRITORY OF WESTERN CRIMEA BASED ON REMOTE SENSING DATA

On the basis of multi-temporal remote sensing data received with an interval of 50 years, a study of ancient forms of farming in the territory of Western Crimea was carried out. The results of quantitative assessment of structural and textural features of ancient farming forms, typical of Western Crimea, are presented. A method of estimating textural features of ancient farming forms, which are located at the site of today's agricultural land is suggested. The method is based on calculating the parameters of texture within the contours of modern farmland, split into cells of a size which let us visually analyze the spatial features of the ancient forms of agriculture. A possibility of spatial transformation of images in order to identify and quantify ancient agricultural forms, which are located in the place of today's agricultural lands, is shown. It was found that the efficiency of the same spatial transformation of satellite images depends on a number of adjustable parameters, which are determined by the geometric features of the analyzed forms of archaeological objects.

Key words: Ancient arable farming, Geoarchaeology, remote sensing, GIS mapping, GIS technology, Western Crimea.

Rassadnikov A.Yu.

LIVESTOCK HANDLING CONDITIONS AT THE BRONZE AGE SETTLEMENTS IN THE SOUTHERN TRANS-URALS (ACCORDING TO THE ANALYSIS OF PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES OF THE BONE SYSTEM)

The article presents the results of a research of pathological changes in bones of livestock from five settlements of the Middle and Late Bronze Age of the Southern Trans-Urals: Kamennyi Ambar (Ol'gino), Konoplyanka, Malaya Berezovaya-4, Bol’shaya Berezovaya-2 and Alexandro-Nevskoe-II. It was found that most of all identified pathologies relate to the cattle bone remains. Far fewer cases of pathologies were observed on the bones of small cattle and horses. In more than a half of cases, pathologies on the cattle bones are manifestations of diffe-rent forms of limb bones osteoarthritis. This group of deviations has a chronic and age character. The remaining part of pathologies relates to the dental system. Pathologies of the skeletal system of small cattle and horses generally have an inflammatory character. The number and nature of the identified abnormalities in the bones of the livestock indicate to satisfactory health state and conditions of handling at the settlements under consideration. Different forms of osteoarthritis in the cattle limb bones in the settlement of Kamennyi Ambar (Ol'gino) suggest that some animals of those species were used as draught animals.

Key words: Southern Trans-Urals, the Bronze Age, Archaeozoology, Paleopathology, osteoarthritis, health state, cattle (Bos taurus), sheep and goats (Capra hircus et Ovis aries), horse (Equus caballus), draught cattle.