PALYNOLOGICAL STUDIES OF BRONZE AGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBJECTS FROM THE ISHKINOVKA MINING SITE
The paper describes the results of palynological studies of Bronze Age archaeological assemblages discovered within the Ishkinovka copper mining center, i. e. the section at the Ishkinovka settlement, and the buried soils preserved under the dumps from the open-pit mines. Palynological studies of the samples from Ishkinovka helped obtain information on how the occupation layer at the settlement was formed. Its formation is linked to ruination of mudbrick constructions with organic roofing. Distinctive features of the construction materials predetermined a complex multi-component composition of palynological assemblages. The results of the palynological studies at the Ishkinovka mining site and the Ishkinovka settlement correlate well with the reconstructed model of their operation. At least three stages of the Ishkinovka deposit development during the Late Bronze Age have been singled out. Each identified chronological stage corresponds to a distinctive palynological spectrum reflecting changes over time in the natural and climatic situation in the studied region. These data are reliably verified by the radiocarbon dating of the buried soils preserved under the dumps of the open-pit mines.