Koloda, V., Gorbanenko, S. 2020. Agriculture in the Forest-Steppe Region of Khazaria. East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450—1450, 66. Leiden: Brill, x, 115 pp.
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004429574
ISBN: 978-90-04-34944-5 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-90-04-42957-4 (E-Book (PDF))

In this book, Volodymyr Koloda and Serhiy Gorbanenko discuss the important role of agriculture in the socio-economic development of the Khazar Khaganate and its influence on neighboring peoples. Drawing on the methods of the natural sciences (such as palaeobotany, archeozoology, soil science, palaeoclimatology), the volume focuses on how agriculture became the basis of the economy of the Khazarian populace. Comparative analysis suggests a significant influence of the agricultural traditions of the Saltiv population on the neighboring tribes of the Eastern Slavs, such as Severians mentioned in the annals (the Romny culture of Left-Bank Ukraine) and Slavs on the Don (the Borshevo culture).

Contents

Acknowledgements VII

List of Illustrations VIII

Introduction — 1

1. Historiography and History of Research — 4
1.1. The Research Area and Its Ethnic and Cultural Characteristics — 5
1.2. History of Research in the Region — 6
1.3. Research of Basic Sites — 10
1.3.1. Verkhnyi Saltiv — 11
1.3.2. P’iatnyts’ke І — 12
1.3.3. Mokhnach — 13
1.3.4. Koropovi Khutory — 14

2. Methods of Interpreting the Agricultural Material — 18
2.1. General Analysis of Agriculture — 18
2.1.1. Research of Settlement Resource Areas — 19
2.1.2. Animal Husbandry — 28

3. Natural Conditions and Resettlement Areas — 31
3.1. Natural Conditions — 31
3.1.1. Natural Zone — 32
3.1.2. Relief — 32
3.1.3. The Climate — 33
3.1.4. Water Content — 34
3.1.5. Vegetation — 35
3.1.6. Soils — 37
3.2. Settlements — 37

4. Arable Farming — 46
4.1. Tools for Primary Soil Tillage with the Use of Draft Animals — 46
4.2. Auxiliary Tools for Soil Tillage — 48
4.3. Palaeobotanical Data — 50
4.4. Tools for Harvesting — 54
4.5. Crop Storing — 58
4.6. Crop Processing — 68

5. Animal Husbandry — 71
5.1. Animal Bones — 71
5.1.1. Calculations of Meat Production — 76
5.2. Tools for Animal Husbandry — 77
5.3. Livestock Maintenance — 79

6. The Khazars and their Neighbors: a Comparative Analysis, in Lieu of Conclusions — 84
6.1. Zones around Settlements — 84
6.2. Arable Farming — 84
6.3. Animal Husbandry — 95

Appendix: The Anthracological Analysis of Samples from the P’iatnyts’ke І Settlement — 101

Bibliography — 102

Index — 114