Аннотация:In the floodplain of the Moscow River and other rivers in Central Russia buried soils
have been found, sometimes forming series of 3-4 soils. The soil ages back to early Holocene,
sometimes allerod. We can distinguish 7 main periods of soil formation (Aleandrovskiy et al.,
1987, Sycheva, 1999).
We analyzed paleosols buried under alluvial deposits, slope deposits, and
archaeological deposits within the catchment area of the Moskva River. Paleopedological
reconstructions were based on studies of soil genesis and correlated with data from
pedoantracological and palynological analyses. Series of Radiocarbon dates were obtained on humic acids, soil bulk mass, and dispersed (soil) charcoal from paleosols. They were compared with the age of archaeological finds from the same sites. The comparison revealed a close correspondence between the ages of soil charcoal and the timing of archaeological occupations of the area. That allowed us to conclude that the fire occurrence on a regional level was associated mainly with the human occupation of the area. The fire record of peopling the landscape is especially pronounced in floodplain paleosols, due both the role of rivers as human migration corridors and the integral accumulation of combustion products from the entire catchment area in these paleosols. One cluster of dates obtained on soil charcoal, from 5 to 7th century AD, was not associated with any known archaeological cultures in the area. This time period coincides with a wet and cold climatic phase that does not favor wildfires; in archaeology, it is known as a “Dark Ages”. The dates with no cultural attribution may indicate the presence of an unknown yet layer of archaeological occupation(s), that is currently overlooked.