“I Believe in Russia”

Petr Stolypin is better known than the many supporters who, although not prominent in government circles, did all within their power to assist his reform program–including Lev Tikhomirov (1852–1923), the former member of the People’s Will who became a major conservative thinker of his time.     

Proto-Cities or Non-Proto-Cities? On the Nature of Cucuteni–Trypillia Mega-Sites

The Eneolithic Cucuteni–Trypillia mega-sites were undoubtedly the largest residential agglomerates in southeastern Europe from c. 4100 to 3400 cal BC. Their sheer size and estimated population have triggered animated discussion of whether or not they should be regarded as ‘proto-cities’. Considering trajectories of change in, for instance, density of dwellings and settlement size, this paper discusses a series of issues that will help the reader decide in which category these large sites should be placed, while at the same time examining the arguments for and against Trypillia low-density settlement patterns, recently problematized by Chapman and Gaydarska (2016).     

Prehistoric Seal Hunting on Lake Baikal: Methodology and Preliminary Results of the Analysis of Canine Sections

A number of archaeological sites on Lake Baikal revealed evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age seal hunting. A collection of 35 canines from four sites was used to develop a methodology for analysing growth increments of canine dentine for the purpose of examining aspects of prehistoric seal hunting. Results from this preliminary analysis indicate that seal hunting at these sites was a seasonal activity confined to spring and early summer. Baikal seals were probably hunted in early spring for their meat, blubber and furs, and later in the season for their meat and skins.     

Self-Organized Cultural Cycles and the Uncertainty of Archaeological Thought

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory - Contributing to the issue of complex relationship between social and cultural evolution, this paper aims to analyze repetitive patterns, or cycles, in...     

Ivan the Terrible's Struggle for International Recognition as Tsar in the Latter Half of the Sixteenth Century

Russia's coronation of Ivan IV as tsar in 1547 created a series of problems in diplomatic relations, including whether foreign powers would accept the title and whether foreign kings could be considered the equals ("brothers") of the Muscovite ruler.     

The Status of Geography in Cuba

A review of current Cuban research in geography and associated fields and of the institutions established for that purpose.     

A new species of Kalligramma Walther, 1904 (Insecta,Neuroptera, Kalligrammatidae) from the Middle–Upper Jurassic of Daohugou,Inner Mongolia,China

Liu, Q., Khramov, A.V. & Zhang, H.C., 21.4.2015. A new species of Kalligramma Walther, 1904 Walther, J., 1904. Die Fauna der Solnhofener Plattenkalke bionomisch betrachtet. Denkschriften der Medizinisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Jena 11, 133–214. [Google Scholar] (Insecta, Neuroptera, Kalligrammatidae) from the Middle–Upper Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Alcheringa 39, XXX–XXX. ISSN 0311-5518.

A new species of Kalligramma Walther, 1904 Walther, J., 1904. Die Fauna der Solnhofener Plattenkalke bionomisch betrachtet. Denkschriften der Medizinisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Jena 11, 133–214. [Google Scholar] (Insecta, Neuroptera, Kalligrammatidae) is described as Kalligramma delicatum based on a nearly complete forewing from the Middle–Upper Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. The new species is characterized by the narrow costal space with sinuous costal veinlets, Rs with eight primary branches, MP with five pectinate branches and 1A forked beyond its mid-length. The forewing of Kalligramma can be distinguished from the hind wing by its ovate rather than subtriangular shape, significantly wider costal space and more numerous crossveins between costal veinlets. The new species is interpreted to represent a forewing based mainly on its shape.

Qing Liu [qingliu1029@yeah.net] and Haichun Zhang [hczhang@nigpas.ac.cn], State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China; Aleksandr V. Khramov [a-hramov@yandex.ru], Borissiak Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117997, Russia. Received 10.12.2014; revised 11.2.2015; accepted 17.2.2015.     

Mitochondrial DNA studies of the Pazyryk people (4th to 3rd centuries BC) from northwestern Mongolia

The discovery and excavations in 2006 by joint Russian–German–Mongolian expeditions of the Pazyryk culture burial sites (4th to 3rd centuries BC, Early Iron Age, the Scythian period) in the Altai mountains of northwestern Mongolia near the Russia border provided new material for studying various aspects of these ancient peoples lives, including human, animal and plant remains. Ice accumulation in the graves preserved the human remains, allowing biological analysis of the samples. We conducted a genetic study based on mitochondrial DNA from remains of three Pazyryk culture representatives to investigate the possible genetic relationships of this Siberian Scythian group with populations of adjacent territories. These data support possible genetic contacts between populations of Altai and other Eurasia regions in the Early Iron Age, and are in good agreement with corresponding archaeological and anthropological data. However, a large-scale study of the Pazyryk population gene pool structure must be performed to further confirm these findings.     

Mitochondrial DNA diversity in a Transbaikalian Xiongnu population

Xiongnu was a confederation of nomadic pastoral tribes (~200 bc–100 ad) that founded the first nomadic empire in Central Asia. According to archeological and historical data, the tribes played a key role in ethnic and cultural processes in Central Asia and adjacent regions of Eurasia. Genetic studies of the Xiongnu published to date have focused on remains from burial grounds in present-day Mongolia, in the southern part of the ancient Xiongnu area. However, paleoanthropological materials from numerous Xiongnu cemeteries and settlements in Transbaikalia (the southern region of Eastern Siberia, Russia) in the northern part of the Xiongnu Empire have not been examined genetically. Here, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA variation in a Transbaikalian Xiongnu population based on ancient DNA obtained from skeletal remains (n = 18) at four burial grounds to complement available Xiongnu genetic diversity data. We detected 16 mitochondrial DNA haplotypes belonging to seven East Eurasian haplogroups (A, B5, C, D4, G2a, N9a, and Y) in the Transbaikalian Xiongnu series. We observed substantial similarity between Transbaikalian and Mongolian Xiongnu series with respect to main haplogroup composition and frequencies. We observed several mitochondrial DNA clusters (N9a, Y, B5, and A16) and 11 of 16 haplotypes that were previously undetected in the Xiongnu gene pool. We also observed high similarity between the Xiongnu and contemporary indigenous populations of eastern Central Asia, particularly Mongolian-speaking groups. These findings extend our knowledge of Xiongnu genetic diversity.