Peculiarities of Economic Regionalization in the Ethnic Areas of the Soviet North

A historical account of the formation of national okrugs in the indigenous tribal areas of the Soviet North stresses the need the combining of the undeveloped northern portions of Siberia with the developed southern areas in complementary economic regions in which the economic potential of the south may be used to develop the north. After a certain level of development has been reached, the northern areas may be set up as separate economic regions. This happened in the case of Magadan Oblast (formerly part of Khabarovsk Kray), and it is suggested that the creation of a Noril'sk Oblast in the northern portion of Krasnoyarsk Kray be considered. The new northern industrial centers of Noril'sk and Magadan developed initially in isolation from the traditional reindeer, hunting and fishing economy of the surrounding region; but the traditional and new economic activities have gradually become integrated into a single whole.     

The Formation of Future Types of Rural Places in the Kuban'-Stavropol' Plain

The historical settling process in the Kuban'-Stavropol' plain of the Northern Caucasus has been dominated by the formation of large Cossack settlements and the subsequent establishment ot smaller peasant villages and individual homesteads. Two thirds of the collective and state farms of the region, as illustrated by the situation in Krasnodar Kray, now have a centralized settlement pattern consisting of a single permanent central settlement and seasonal outlying settlements. The other third is distinguished by a decentralized pattern of several smaller settlements. In the interest of more efficient production and the provision ot higher living standards, the recommendation is made that the centralized pattern be favored in the redesign of future rural settlement in the region.     

Dental Affinities of The Irmen People,Western Siberia

Dental features of the Late Bronze Age Irmen population of Western Siberia (14th–10th centuries BC) were studied on the basis of cranio-dental remains from 23 cemeteries in the Kuznetsk Basin, Baraba forest-steppe, the forest-steppe zone of the Altai, Tomsk and Novosibirsk areas of the Ob basin. The results suggest that the Irmen people originated in the Novosibirsk and Baraba areas from a mixture of Andronovo (Fedorovka) and autochthonous groups. Dental data are inconsistent with the idea that the Karasuk tribes might have taken part in this process. The Karasuk people clearly descended from the Okunevo people, as evidenced by the elevated frequencies of the Carabelli cusp and deflecting wrinkle. None of these traits is present in the Irmen people, who display dental gracility evidently introduced by Andronovo (Fedorovka) tribes.     

GEOGRAPHICAL PROBLEMS IN THE ORGANIZATION OF TOURISM AND RECREATION IN THE SAYAN TERRITORIAL-PRODUCTION COMPLEX

The Sayan hydroelectric station, now under construction, will give rise to a new industrial district in southern Siberia that is expected to attract a population of one million to the area by the year 2000. This development, together with the attractiveness of the region, is likely to spur the development of one of the Soviet Union's most important recreation zones in the southern portion of Krasnoyarsk Kray and adjoining Tuva ASSR. Careful planning of recreational uses of the region is urged within the framework of the regional geo-engineering system, which involves the interplay between the natural environment and the engineering structures generated by the impending economic development of the area.     

The Holocene History of the Southern Lake Chad Basin: Archaeological, Linguistic and Genetic Evidence

Archaeological evidence indicates a complex history of settlement of the southern Lake Chad Basin from the mid-Holocene onward, in parallel with the gradual desiccation of the Sahara and reduction of lake and river systems in the region. These archaeological data can be compared with a growing body of data from historical linguistics and genetics, and the southern Lake Chad Basin is one of few areas in Africa where such comparisons can be undertaken. This paper will serve as a preliminary consideration of some of the issues generated by an initial comparison of archaeological, genetic and linguistic evidence for the peopling of the Lake Chad Basin. It focuses on the contexts of initial encounters between ancestral Nilo-Saharan and Chadic populations south of Lake Megachad and subsequent population expansions and diversifications around the Mandara Mountains.     

The Formation of Territorial Differences in the Economy of the South of Eastern Siberia in the First Half of the 18th Century

A regional survey of the principal economic activities and settlement patterns in the southern part of Eastern Siberia in the first half of the 18th century, based on the study of archival materials. Six regions are distinguished in a territory extending from Krasnoyarsk in the west to Nerchinsk in the east, with information on population and the relative significance of Russian agriculture, indigenous stockherding, hunting and fishing, mining, craft industries, and trade.     

On “Economic Types of Rural Settlement”

Topographic maps are found not to be a reliable guide to rural settlement patterns associated with definite types of economic types. In the case of Eastern Siberia, the rural settlement map of V.S. Valov, discussed in the preceding paper, does not correctly reflect the specialization and distribution of economic activity. The discrepancy is explained in part by the incomplete information on ethnic groups and portable dwellings on topographic sheets. However, apparent conflicts between settlement patterns on topographic maps and the actual type of economic activity can serve as a useful guide to correcting or reconstructing settlement patterns to bring them more in line with the particular type of economy.     

Geographical Preplanning Studies of Economic Complexes in the South of Krasnoyarsk Kray

The planning of the Sayan economic complex, a major development region in the South of Krasnoyarsk Kray, is found to have focused mainly on the use of local resources without adequately considering the complex interplay of man-nature relationships. In particular, little work has been done on problems of landscape ecology, including a determination of landscape budgets and of the ecological functioning of geosystems. The results of relevant investigations are presented, focusing on the present distribution of production and settlement within the study region, the natural landscape and forest use, land and agroclimatic resources, types of farming and levels of farm equipment, and some aspects of human ecology. The study region is found to suffer from excessive concentration of production and settlement in the center of the Minusinsk Basin, a net out-migration exceeding natural increase of population, and an extensive type of farming that is less economical than the dairy economy and truck produce required for a growing urban population.     

Geographical Aspects and Problems of the Industrialization of Siberia

A review of past industrialization of Siberia and future plans, discussed in terms of three basic zones: (1) the developed belt along the Trans-Siberian Railroad; (2) the southern margins of the tayga immediately to the north of the railroad, and (3) valuable mineral sites selectively developed in the rest of Siberia. Individual industrial nodes are listed and developmental problems outlined.     

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN THE WEST SIBERIAN PLAIN

The various types of natural landscapes of West Siberia are analyzed in terms of the environmental impacts of the more common forms of human activity. These are natural gas extraction and reindeer herding in the northern tundra; oil extraction and logging in the middle taiga, and agriculture as well as manufacturing in the southern wooded steppe and steppe. The impacts of human activity on specific natural processes (cryogenesis, bog formation, salinization) are discussed. The territory of West Siberia is broken down into three types of environmental impact regions: regions of significant impacts (from oil and gas extraction and agriculture); regions of moderate impacts (from logging and reindeer herding); and a region in which natural landscape structures have remained virtually unaffected by human activity.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CAIRNS AND SETTLEMENT SITES

Summary. This article discusses the problem of how to relate a special grave construction to a particular settlement site. An example from the West Swedish Bronze Age is presented to pinpoint the difficulties of the chronological criteria and the drawbacks of using 'nearness' as a criterion.
The idea presented is that a relationship between a grave monument and a settlement site may be reflected in areas where the building material, the stones, were picked up. Such areas can be demonstrated in a test example from West Sweden, which showed that, under special circumstances, such a link may be valuable for solving the problem of how to relate a cairn to a settlement site.     

THE BAYKAL-AMUR MAINLINE AND THE INTEGRATED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE EASTERN REGIONS OF THE USSR

The construction of the BAM is viewed as serving two purposes: one, the development of new resource sites for export through Soviet Pacific ports, particularly to Japan; second, the accelerated development of new parts of East Siberia and the Far East, serving ultimately as a bridgehead for further advance toward the Northeast. Key resource areas to be given priority in development are the Neryungri coking-coal basin of South Yakutia, for export to Japan; the Udokan copper deposit, and the Molodezhnoye asbestos deposit. Because of the harsh environment, it is unlikely that any processing activities beyond mineral concentration and forest products industries will be located in the BAM zone, at least in the early stages of development. Food supply for the growing population will be largely dependent on hauls of bread and feed grains from southern portions of West Siberia and vegetables from as far away as Central Asia. Future territorial production complexes along the BAM are tentatively outlined.     

Testing settlement models in the early Roman colonial landscapes of Venusia (291 B.C.), Cosa (273 B.C.) and Aesernia (263 B.C.)

This paper examines settlement density and settlement patterns in the Roman colonial territories of Venusia, Cosa and Aesernia, located in three different landscapes of central southern Italy (modern Basilicata, Tuscany and Molise). Using a series of GIS tools, we conducted a comparative analysis of the density and spatial distribution of sites dating to the Hellenistic period (ca. 350–50 b.c.). We used the legacy settlement data collected by previous large-scale, intensive, site-oriented field surveys to test the validity of two competing rural settlement models of early Roman colonization: the conventional model of neatly organized settlements regularly dispersed across the landscape and the recently proposed theory that colonists adopted a polynuclear settlement strategy. After calculating the extent to which the archaeological datasets conform to the regular or polynuclear model, we conclude that only a very small portion of the colonized areas actually meets traditional expectations regarding the organization of early colonial settlements. Our analyses show that the legacy survey data is more consistent with the polynuclear settlement theory, but the data also reveals some completely unexpected patterns, suggesting that early Roman colonial landscapes were more diverse than previously thought.     

Regional Planning Problems in the Soviet Far East

A variety of approaches are being recommended in regional plans for future settlements patterns in the Soviet Far East. In Magadan Oblast, the present scattered pattern of small populated places is to be superseded by greater concentration of urban population in a set of subregional service centers. In Khabarovsk Kray, different approaches are being recommended for the future development of the Khabarovsk and Komsomol'sk areas. Because limitation of the future growth of Khabarovsk is desirable, new industrial establishments are to be located in the future in nearby small towns and urban settlements of the Khabarovsk industrial district. In the Komsomol'sk area, satellite towns are to be significantly developed, giving rise to a grouped form of urban settlement, including the tin-mining center of Solnechnyy and the paper and chemical center of Amursk. In Amur Oblast, consideration is being given to the development of an iron and steel plant in the Svobodnyy area, giving rise to a city of up to 200,000 population.     

WAYS OF IMPROVING SETTLEMENT IN WEST SIBERIA

A paper devoted to the settlement system and the problem of rural population loss in that portion of West Siberia having a significant agricultural base takes issue with some implicit assumptions incorporated within the General Scheme of Settlement within the USSR. More specifically, policies calling for the deliberate, i.e., forced, resettlement of rural population in selected villages in order to provide economies of scale in rural services provision are criticized on two major counts: (1) that such “enlarged” settlements will still be too small to be allocated the necessary range of functions according to standard city-planning formulae, and (2) that they accelerate rural depopulation by serving as spring-boards for migration to still larger centers. (Translated by Andrew R. Bond.)     

BUTCHERING PATTERNS AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF FAUNAL ANIMAL REMAINS CONSUMED AT THE LOS MILLARES CHALCOLITHIC SETTLEMENT (SANTA FE DE MONDÚJAR,ALMERÍA,SPAIN)

The archaeological settlement of Los Millares (Santa Fe de Mondújar, Almería) is located in the Mediterranean coastal area of southern Spain. This archaeological site constitutes one of the most important settlements belonging to the Copper Age in the Iberian Peninsula and has given its name to the ‘millariense’ culture. The settlement has been completely excavated, yielding major archaeological faunal remains, with 27,426 bone fragments classified by researchers from Munich University (Germany). In this paper, we apply different statistical methods (mainly χ² analysis) to study the spatial distribution of bones from domestic and wild animals, reconstructing the patterns of appearance within specific functional spaces. These functions can be associated with meat consumption (sites to cut the animals into small pieces, areas where the meat was eaten, garbage sites, etc.) and the production of handmade objects (bone tools, stone tools, etc.). The results show different spatial distributions of faunal remains within the areas of the settlement, according to the animal species and particular parts of the animal skeleton, as well as the age and the sex of individuals. The findings reflect social behaviour that relates the consumption of certain species to a specific sector of population, and such behaviour can be discerned in the animal remains. Moreover, there is evidence regarding economic matters, such as meat production and the exchange of animals, which require further research.     

Siberia at the Last Glacial Maximum: Environment and Archaeology

This article focuses on the presence of humans in Siberia and the Russian Far East at the coldest time of the Late Pleistocene, called the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and dated to c. 20,000–18,000 rcbp. Reconstruction of the LGM environment of Siberia, based on the latest models and compilations, provides a background for human existence in this region. Most of Siberia and the Russian Far East at c. 20,000–18,000 rcbp was covered by tundra and cool steppe, with some forest formations in the river valleys. Climate was much colder and drier than it is today. Eighteen Upper Paleolithic sites in Siberia are radiocarbon dated strictly to the LGM, and at least six of them, located in southern parts of western and eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East, have solid evidence of occupation during that time span. It seems clear that southern Siberia was populated by humans even at the height of the LGM, and that there was no dramatic decline or complete disappearance of humans in Siberia at that time. The degree of human adaptation to periglacial landscapes in the mid-Upper Paleolithic of northern Eurasia was quite high; humans coped with the cold and dry environmental conditions using microblade technology, artificial shelters, tailored clothes, and megafaunal bones as fuel. An erratum to this article can be found at     

PROBLEMS OF PASSENGER MOBILITY AND ROAD TRANSPORT IN THE SOUTHERN FAR EAST REGION

Dimensions of the road transport problem in the southern Far East Economic Region (Primorskiy Kray, Amur Oblast, and Khabarovsk Kray) are outlined and some of its social and economic impacts described (for example, the inadequate levels of services provision addressed in the preceding paper). Road connectivity and passenger mobility trends are analyzed before coverage shifts to more specific challenges confronting planners: the need to (a) separate inter-city from intra-city flows in cities along major transport corridors, (b) improve road surfaces, (c) reduce travel times and regulate seasonal fluctuations in service, and (d) provide a more favorable environment for growing private automobile use (translated by H. L. Haslett, Leamington Spa, UK).     

Using multivariate statistics and fuzzy logic system to analyse settlement preferences in lowland areas of the temperate zone: an example from the Polish Lowlands

The influence of relief, as well as other environmental features such as soils or the hydrological regime, on prehistoric settlement patterns is commonly accepted. Settlement patterns and preferences changed over time in different areas, so it is difficult to formulate general rules of human behaviour throughout history. In lowland areas of the temperate zone, which lack radical relief changes and have widespread access to water resources, specific settlement preferences and significant changes in these preferences are difficult to interpret.New methods developed to address the problem of the settlement transformations as a result of prehistoric settlement and economic processes using multivariate statistics have been adapted for the middle part of the Great Poland Lowland. In this region, data from the Polish Archaeological Record Project database have been used.Models of the dependence between geomorphological features and settlement intensity form the basis for estimating changes in prehistoric settlements. The degree of preference (or avoidance) is a nonparametric function of the number of archaeological sites observed in the area relative to the number of sites expected from a completely random pattern. The most crucial factors for settlement are distance to plateau edges, distance to water bodies, and the wetness index. The results show that the entire investigated area is more or less suitable for settlement, but the most occupied terrains are the areas near plateau edges.